The Double Face of the Designer's Son

Chapter 1.

Snow fell on the beautiful, peaceful city of Paris. It was nighttime, the night before Gabriel Agreste's will would be read. Fate was up in the air for Adrien Agreste, the famous designer's son, whose dad had died just days before. The funeral would be soon, then his portion of the will would be read. He wasn't certain who would be at his father's funeral, considering that Nathalie was also dead. He knew that those who were close to both would choose Nathalie's funeral over his father's, considering how cold the old man had been toward everyone. Even his own son. Adrien had considered attending only Nathalie's funeral, but surely the will would be important. He wasn't sure what his father had wanted from him when he would die. The designer hadn't been all that old, he and his assistant had had a suicide pact. Since then, Hawkmoth had disappeared, making Adrien uneasy. His lifelong opponent could be waiting for the moment of weakness that the funeral would bring to the city. It would be the perfect time to strike...

Adrien was alone in his father's palace of a house. This was a new occurrence. Usually, some servants or Nathalie would be here, but both were gone, whether dead or missing. The Gorilla had even been at Adrien's dorm in college when he studied business abroad in America. He'd never spent a night alone.

Adrien checked his suit for a pocket that could fit Plagg. He was sure many of his old classmates would attend the funeral, making it a perfect target for one of Hawkmoth's akumatized villains. They seemed to attract trouble like flowers attract bees. Going anywhere when Hawkmoth hadn't attacked in days was risky, but Adrien couldn't skip his father's funeral. With grim determination in his eyes, he went to sleep in his own room.-Adrien was supposed to feel bad. If he was telling the truth, he didn't feel anything. He felt the void of loneliness that his father had cast him into. Father hadn't let him talk to any of his friends back home while he was in America. He blocked them from his phone and even stopped his mail. His bodyguard was always there whenever he would hang out with his friends. His bodyguard was here now. He was one of the 6 attendants of the funeral. Among them were a couple he didn't recognize and a woman with black hair who looked very familiar. He and the Gorilla were there, of course, and so was an old designer who had been friends with his father, and was meant to give the eulogy. The bodyguard was the only person Adrien was sure he knew, but Gorilla made him uncomfortable.

"Why are you still here? The death of my father is supposed to break your contract, isn't it?" He looked, stone-faced, at the silent man. "Oh, right. You need to be dismissed formally by my father's successor. Well, you're dismissed. I don't know if you have a life to return to, but you're free."

"I will see my wife and my daughter," said the bodyguard in a heavy Russian accent. Adrien did a double-take. "In Russia."

"You can talk?" Adrien asked, perhaps rather impolitely.

"Of course, but Russian accent is hard for Frenchman to understand," Gorilla replied. His face looked somehow more human with the knowledge that he could speak.

"What is your real name?"

"Sergei Ostrovsky." Adrien almost smiled at how Russian the name sounded. If he'd ever bothered to ask, maybe he would've known more about the bodyguard. He sighed, though. He'd never know more of his bodyguard. It was time to let go of his past.

-

"Your father had quite the plan for you, didn't he?" The lawyer muttered, unfolding the will. It was long and seemed to have been changed a good many times. "Ah, that's why. There're specific instructions for if his assistant should die. Claire, that's where you come in." The familiar stranger standing behind Adrien stepped forward. "Claire, you are to fulfill your contract. This means that you will care for my son as your mother cared for me. You will aid him in business decisions and in fulfilling his part of my will, you will make sure he chooses wisely," the lawyer read aloud.

"Yes, sir," Claire said quietly. Adrien turned to look at her. She had her straight black hair down, forming a veil around her head.

"Adrien, I wish for you to have a happy life as I did with your mother. Therefore, you will inherit all our houses and vacation houses, along with my company. For the next six months, you will run the company. Claire is to be your assistant. I instruct you to find a suitable companion within the next six months, and if you are unable to do so, the company will be passed to another benefactor."

"Companion? What does he mean by that?" Adrien was shocked.

"He means a, you know... suitor? A husband or wife," the lawyer said, awkwardly. In the tension, Adrien became aware of the others present in the room. There was a blonde boy about his age, a girl with long red hair and a veil covering her face from his view. Of course, Claire was also there. All these people seemed like just kids, not any older than him. The lawyer cleared his throat. "Adrien, Claire, you are both dismissed. You two, you stay here. You have news coming." 

Adrien stood, and Claire held the door for him. They sat quietly on a bench outside the lawyer's office.

"So I know you're the Agreste boy. But you don't know me, do you? Wait," she said, holding up one hand as he began to speak. "Let me guess, I'm so familiar but you don't know where from. Well, here's a hint. Black hair, blue eyes, great posture, and caring for you, just like my mother, right after your parent died. Who am I?" Claire looked into his eyes.

"I don't know... you seem a lot like Nathalie," Adrien muttered.

"Well, Nathalie was my mom. And Gabriel and Emilie were your parents. Big shadows we're living in, huh?" Adrien smiled and sighed."You bet."