All The Way

An Envelope and A New Master

The town car pulled up to the curb. The young woman standing there had been waiting anxiously for it.

After climbing into the backseat and closing the door behind her, Lila smiled at the back of the driver's head. "Good evening Mr Agreste," she sang. "I was very happy to receive your call today."

"That envelope on the seat is for you," Gabriel replied, not bothering with pleasantries.

She reached over to the white envelope on the seat next to her and quickly tore it open, letting the small silver key inside fall out into her hand.

"Gare Montparnasse," he continued. "Locker number 368. Everything you need should be in there. But there are cameras and security officers everywhere. Don't draw attention to yourself, and make sure that no one can recognize you when you go."

"Thank you so much for trusting me with this, Sir. I won't let you down."

Gabriel nodded. "I'm afraid that we're in a bit of a time crunch now. They set the wedding date for the twentieth of March, so we need to work much quicker than we were expecting."

A snarl grew on Lila's lips. "I don't understand what he sees in her," she seethed. "A pathetic nobody like Marinette? She's not good enough for him."

"Be that as it may, he's convinced that he's in love with her. You uphold your end of the bargain before they get married, and I promise you that I'll stop the wedding from happening."

"Not that I doubt you Mr Agreste, but even if you stop the wedding, how can you be sure that Adrien will split up with her? You just said it yourself, he's convinced that he's in love."

A momentary pause. "Well, money can be a very strong motivator. Once he finds out that I'll cut him out of the will if he continues dating her, we'll see just how much his 'love' is worth. My guess is not as much as a hundred and sixty million."

Lila scoffed. "That girl's not even worth a hundred and sixty euros, let alone a hundred and sixty million."

"Indeed," Gabriel murmured. "Well, I wish you good luck Miss Rossi. I'll be keeping an eye on things from afar."

"Thank you again, Mr Agreste," she said as she reached for the handle.

"Oh, and one more thing," Gabriel continued, causing her to stop. Now he actually turned around to look at her. "You have to be smart about this. I don't want anyone getting hurt, not even Chat Noir or Ladybug."

She frowned. "I'm sorry, but I can't promise you that. The only person in the world that I hate more than Marinette is Ladybug. So I seriously doubt that I'll be able to hold back on her if I get the chance."

The man glared at her. "Do your job properly and you'll get rid of both of them. If anyone gets hurt, our deal is off. I'm sure that a spousal share of a hundred and sixty million euros is worth more to you than your revenge."

Lila exhaled through her nose in anger before she paused. "Fine," she conceded. "I promise not to hurt the insect or her annoying pet."

"Good, now it's time for you to go," Gabriel said, turning forward again. "I'll be in touch Miss Rossi."

"A pleasure as always, Mr Agreste." She opened the car door and climbed out.

************************************

A knock at the bedroom door made Marinette flinch. She was sitting on her bed, her knees to her chest and her arms around her legs. Tikki and Plagg were next to her. "Yes?" she called out.

The door opened, revealing Adrien outside. "Hey Marinette, how are you feeling?" he asked gently.

"Better," she whispered.