Chapter Three
The Fall of the Chandelier
For about two weeks, William was bedridden. It wasn't until the third
week that William was on his feet again. Since the Phantom was looking
after his brother, he missed much of the rehearsal for the most recent
opera.
The Phantom sat in his chair plotting on revenge for the assault on his
brother. William stopped playing his violin and turned to his brother.
" Erik, when was the last time we got our salary?" asked
William. The Phantom looked up.
" The day John left," growled the Phantom. William whistled.
" Well, I guess today's Pay Day then. I'll take care of it,"
said William.
" Good luck," The Phantom sneered.
" I won't need it," said William. He left the lair.
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Forty-five minutes later, William returned with the overdue money. The
Phantom stared at the bag of money. " How on Earth did you get that?"
he asked.
" Erik! Don't tell me that you've forgotten! William Dauphin!
The master of combinations!" The Phantom let out a loud laugh, then
walked over and patted his brother on the shoulder.
" Good job William! I'd say you deserve a surprise," said the
Phantom. William rolled his eyes.
" Erik, I'm a little old for that. That was back when I was ten," said
William.
" Oh no, I've got something else planned!" he jeered. " You'll
get it during the opera." William's eyes widened.
" You're not going to hurt anybody, are you?" asked William nervously.
" My dear brother, perish the thought!" exclaimed the Phantom.
Soon night came and the opera opened. William and the Phantom observed
the opera from the catwalk by the chandelier. The two waited until the
ballet started. The ballerinas gathered on the stage and started to
dance. The Phantom took out his dagger and began to cut the chandelier.
William grabbed his brother's wrist.
" You said you wouldn't hurt anyone!" William hissed. The
Phantom chuckled.
" William, you will observe the ballerinas are to the far left
of the stage. The chandelier is to the right. No one will be harmed, I'm only
going to give them a good scare," explained the older brother.
William released his grip and watched grinning. The Phantom cut the
chandelier loose and it crashed to the stage. The Phantom closed his
eyes and smiled over his victory. He heard everything that he expected.
Shrieks and cries for help. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that
his brother's grin was gone. When the Phantom looked down he was struck
with horror. While he had been absent from rehearsal, changes had been
made. On the stage were the three young male dancers. On the right of
the chandelier was Gregory. On the left was Jonathan. Under the
chandelier was Josh, he had been crushed to death. The audience ran out of the
theater screaming. Firmin and Andre ran onto the stage past the crying ballerinas.
The two managers and the two dancers used all their strength to lift up the
chandelier and put it aside. The managers took one look at Josh and immediately
turned away. Gregory and Jonathan shuddered at horror at the sight of their
crushed companion.
" What have we done now?" choked Andre. Firmin looked at Andre sadly
and shook his head. Above William was shaking his head.
" So this was it Erik? This was the big surprise? Another murder?"
asked William.
" I didn't know he was going to be there! I wasn't there for rehearsal!" explained
the Phantom.
" That's no excuse!" snarled William. The younger brother turned around
and dashed off. Down on the stage, Josh's body was covered and carried
off. Firmin started to tremble with rage.
" This is it! I've had enough! We are going to rid this theater
of that Phantom!" snarled Firmin. The Phantom listened on, worried about
his future with the managers. " This Opera Ghost has now murdered two
members of this theater and that's all I'm going to take!" Firmin
threw his head into his hands. Andre took hold of Firmin and started to
lead him off the stage. William in the meantime was writing a note in
the managers' office.
' Dear Andre and Firmin, my deepest apologies about what happened to
Josh. I can assure you that I didn't know that Josh was going to be on
stage. My intention was to give the ballet girls a good scare, not to
have another death, please forgive me
O.G '
William folded the note and placed it next to Firmin's picture of
Jennifer, he then left through the passageway through the wall. The two
managers entered the office. Firmin saw the note and read it.
" Hmph! Andre! He expects us to forgive him! I'll tell you right now,
I'm not going to forgive him for murdering a child!" snarled Firmin. As
Firmin went on, Andre inspected the money in the safe. When he was done
counting he gave a gasp of confusion.
" Richard! We're missing money!" shouted Andre.
" What? How much?" Firmin asked angrily.
" It looks like thousands!" Firmin collapsed in his chair and rubbed
his head. Andre went over to his side. " Richard, maybe you need some
time off." Firmin nodded.
" Yes, yes, that's what I need. Some time off." Firmin looked at
Andre. " Will you be alright on your own?" Andre smiled at Firmin.
" Of course Richard. Why? You worried that I might be next on his
list?" laughed Andre. Firmin stared at Andre, unamused. When Andre saw
his partner's expression he stopped laughing. " I'll be fine Richard.
Don't worry." Firmin nodded. He got up and put on his coat and top
hat.
" I shouldn't be longer than four days. Good luck Andre."
" Take care Richard." The two bowed to each other. Firmin then exited
the office. Andre sat down in Firmin's chair and buried his head into
his arms resting on the top of the desk.
Roaul then entered. He walked over to Andre and shook him gently.
"Andre? Are you alright?" asked Raoul. Andre sat up and faced Raoul.
" Yes, I'm fine Raoul," answered Andre.
" I can tell you're still upset about Josh's death."
" Well, who isn't?" asked Andre. Raoul gritted his teeth.
" The Phantom for one," hissed Raoul. Andre supported his head on one of
his hands.
" How are the girls?" asked Andre. Raoul frowned.
" They're in their dressing room crying. Andre if you saw them it would
break your heart. The girls are positively shattered. Josh was very
close to them you see," said Raoul
" And the boys? Gregory and Jonathan?"
" They didn't even stay. They went home to their parents." Andre nodded.
" Where's Richard, Andre?"
" Richard is going away for a couple days. He's having a nervous
breakdown," replied Andre.
" What if we need to reach him?" asked Raoul.
" Don't worry. I know where he's going. He's going to his cabin. It's
out in the middle of the country. I have his number, so we can keep in
touch," answered Andre. Raoul nodded.
" Let's hope the Phantom doesn't try anything else tonight. We've had
enough disasters for one day." Andre nodded. Raoul put on his scarf.
"Goodnight Andre. I'll see you tomorrow." Raoul bowed to Andre and left.
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Up on the roof of the Opera Populaire, William was standing by the angel
sculptures looking at the towns below. The Phantom walked over.
"William? William what are you doing up here? It's too cold for you to
be outside at night." The Phantom came closer. William scowled coldly
at his brother.
" How could you Erik?" William hissed.
" William, I----" started the Phantom.
" Do you know how old Josh was? Do you?" snarled William. The Phantom
looked at his brother sadly.
" No," he answered softly.
" Seventeen! He was seventeen! He was only a child and you took his life
from him!" snapped William.
" William! I told you, I didn't know he was going to be coming on the
stage!" the Phantom said sternly.
" You could have made sure the path was clear before causing the
disaster!" William snarled. The Phantom turned his back to William.
" Well, what's done is done. Josh is dead William. There's nothing we
can do about it," hissed the Phantom. He started to walk away.
" Hold it Erik! I'm not finished talking with you!" William snarled.
The Phantom looked over his shoulder.
" Yes you are," growled the Phantom." Come along William. You're going
to catch a chill up here." William glared at his brother.
" Erik, I want you to apologize to them." The Phantom stopped in his
tracks and glowered at his brother.
" William, I said no more talk about the subject," The Phantom snarled.
As the Phantom turned around again, William dashed over and grabbed his
brother by the shoulders.
" Erik! Will you listen to me?" shrieked William. The Phantom was
shocked by the sudden grasp. He seized his brother and threw him off.
William crashed headfirst into the angel statue. Realizing what he had
done, the Phantom bolted over and held his brother in his arms. It
wouldn't have mattered if the Phantom had apologized five times. His
brother was out cold. The Phantom carried William back to the lair and
placed him in his bed. The Phantom then sat down in his favorite chair,
opened his book and read through the entire night.
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