Like Father, Like Son | Phantom of the Opera

viii. Never Wanted To See You Again

FEBRUARY 1915

GUSTAVE

When I arrived at the house, I had to double-check the note Lara had given to me with her address. Needless to say, I was shocked by the beautiful three-storey manor that stood before me, and it went without saying that it did nothing for my nerves. Nevertheless, I couldn't be late. First impressions were everything, weren't they? I made my way up the front steps and knocked on the heavy-looking door. I straightened my tie and jacket one last time in the polished glass panes before the door opened and a sweet-looking lady appeared, her deep red curls meticulously tied back and complemented by the dark colours in her evening dress.

"Hello there. You must be Gustave. Please come in," she said as she stepped aside to let me pass through into the foyer. I could feel her eyes raking me up and down, though I wasn't exactly sure what she was scanning me for. "I am Lara's mother, Marguerite. It's lovely to finally meet you."

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Thomas," I replied as I extended my hand.

Lara had come to the front hall just in time to hear her mother burst out laughing after I spoke. She had gone pale and I couldn't hide my obvious confusion brought on by both reactions.

"So is that the name she's using now?" her mother asked in between laughs.

My confusion only seemed to intensify as I looked between the two ladies, silently praying that I would receive a proper explanation at some point that evening. "You'll have to forgive me but, what do you mean by that?" I inquired.

"Oh, of course. Lara doesn't want to be treated differently at school because of her family name, so she rarely gives her real one," her mother explained, still seemingly finding the entire situation much more entertaining than I did. "Though I thought she would have told you her real one, considering what I've heard about your...relationship." The way she said the word made me feel uncomfortable; I couldn't explain it but I could tell that I had already somehow made a mess of this.

"I see." I was only looking at Lara at that point, but she couldn't seem to look me in the eyes. I could tell that she wasn't going to say anything, so I posed my question to her mother instead: "Well, if that is the case, I hope you don't mind me asking what your family name is?"

"It's Chagny," Lara said, finally having decided to speak up. In all honesty, though, after hearing what she said, I wished that she hadn't said anything at all. I felt my heart sink to my feet, the blood drained from my face. I must have heard her wrong; that had to be what happened. There was no way Lara was from that family, it just couldn't possibly be true. She was the opposite of that family name, of him. It made no sense to me that she could be even remotely related to him. There had to be some other family with that name that I was unaware of, they couldn't be connected.

I only half heard her mother when she asked me to follow her further into the house; my feet moved but my mind didn't, as if I was some sort of automaton. Lara walked by my side, but I couldn't look at her, could make no move to take her hand as I normally did when we walked side by side. I still wasn't sure what to make of the entire situation. I felt a sting of betrayal and pain in my chest that I couldn't seem to shake and she was the last person I wanted to be the cause of that.

Eventually, we arrived in a sitting room of sorts, where I saw two men sitting in the corner by a table with some drinks. One of them had their back turned and didn't seem to be fazed by our presence; the only thing I could see was his blond hair. The other man, however, was in the complete opposite position, facing us straight on before he walked right up to me and shook my hand. He was blond like the other man with a mustache and thick sideburns to match, while his sharp blue eyes seemed to pierce right through me.