I do not own any of the characters from The Phantom of the Opera, although I do rather enjoy borrowing them from time to time.
Author – ToryD
Erik's Vengeance
Chapter 2
Erik's cold words reverberated off her confused mind as she stared in hopeless fascination at his handsome face. Gripping the edge of the conference room table for support, Christine swallowed hard at the look of utter contempt she was receiving from Erik. "Your face…" she whispered in a questioning tone.
Erik allowed himself a slight smile. "Yes, it is amazing what plastic surgery can do these days. I'd even bet that your father has yet to recognize me," he said as he turned his attention to his former employer.
Charles rose to greet the mysterious owner of VIM Enterprises. "Have we met before?" he asked with his hand extended before him, unaware to the deadly undercurrents within the room.
Erik lazily took his chair at the head of the long conference table, pointedly ignoring Charles' out stretched hand. "'Met' might not quite be the word I would use," he said with a smugness that caused Charles for frown. "How would you answer your father's question Christine?"
Christine jumped at the sound of her name on his lips. Turning towards her father, she shook her head in bewilderment. Taking a deep breath, she pooled her courage to get through the next few minutes. "Father, you must remember Erik Dessler. He and his mother worked for us at the house," she informed her father in a quiet voice.
"The deformed stable boy?" Charles asked with an astonished look on his face.
"Yes," Christine whispered back embarrassed at her father's thoughtless comment as she sank down into her own chair. From beneath her thick lashes, Christine stole a look at this stranger who was her once loving Erik. How different he looked, not just in the physical sense, for his physical transformation was nothing less than miraculous. However, as much as his appearance had changed, there seemed to be a more profound change in the man whom she had once pined all her dreams of happiness upon. She felt her eyes begin to well with tears as she remembered the young and innocent love they had once shared…a love that held such a pure promise of partnership and everlasting devotion. She felt a lone tear fall upon her cheek and turned away from the other three men to hide her sorrow of all that she had lost.
Erik felt his heart stop at the sight of Christine's tears. Clenching his hand into a tight fist under the table, he bitterly reminded himself that he was here to realize his one and only goal of the past fifteen years. The one goal that he had worked nonstop for, all of the eighteen hour days he put in were finally about to pay off. For here she was, within the palm of his hand, ready to be destroyed, as he was when her careless lies betrayed him and their love. Crossing his legs in a grand gesture of boredom, he turned and addressed his vice president. "Nadir, you may proceed."
Nadir reached into the thick folder and pulled out the court ordered document. "Mr. Daae, VIM is hereby formally calling in the loan," he said in a cold tone that chilled the blood within Christine's veins.
"What in the hell are you talking about? You can't call in a loan we just finalized twenty minutes ago!" Charles yelled as his face began to turn red with suppressed rage.
Nadir pushed the document towards the older man. "As a matter of fact we can. If you had read your contract carefully, you would have seen the clause for an immediate call on the loan if there were any discrepancies found in the ownership of the collateral used to secure the loan. And as it has come to our attention that you have falsified the value of your assets, you are clearly in default of the contract."
Charles abruptly snatched the court ordered document from the table's surface. Reading the document, he paled as the full scope of the document took hold. Turning his attention to Erik, he yelled into the calm features of his former employee. "You can't do this!"
Erik smiled at Charles comment. "Oh, but I can, Mr. Daae. But more to the point, I have," he said with a clear intent to his tone.
"I knew you were nothing but bad news! I took you and your mother in, put a roof over your head and this is how you repay me?" Charles spat in Erik's direction.
Erik pinned Charles with a cold stare. "If you take nothing else away from this day, Mr. Daae, at least do me the honor of hearing this. My mother earned more than the meager wage you paid her; she earned more than the shabby accommodations you termed as a roof over her head. She earned your respect. A respect that to this very day has never been compensated," he said in a quiet steely voice that caused Charles to recoil slightly.
"Is that what this is all about, some misguided notion that you have regarding your mother?" Charles snapped in anger.
Erik fought the urge to smash his fist into the face of his former boss. Without taking his menacing gaze from Charles, he prompted Nadir to continue with the task at hand. "Nadir, if you would please continue."
Christine's body felt as though it were about to fracture into a thousand pieces as she watched the fierce battle between her father and Erik.
Taking out a second document Nadir pushed it towards Charles. "This document is to serve as notice that your employment with Smythe Holdings has been terminated, effective immediately."
Christine's shocked gasp filled the room. Glancing to her left, she saw disbelief written plainly across her father's face.
"What game are you playing at now, Dessler? You think you can oust me from my own company?" Charles shouted as he grabbed up the paper and ripped it in two.
"Oh, Mr. Daae, I assure you that this is no game. As I have acquired sixty-five percent ownership of Smythe, I have the authority to employee who I wish." Sitting forward in his leather chair, Erik looked directly into Charles' anger filled eyes. "And let me assure you I have no desire to employ you."
"You fucking bastard! I'll kill you for this!" Charles erupted in rage as he made a lunge for Erik.
Christine jumped to her feet and grabbed franticly at her father's arm as he threaded his hands around Erik's neck. "Father, no!" she cried as she tried to pull her father back.
"Let me go, Christine!" Charles yelled as he drew up his hand and succinctly dealt her a backhanded blow across her cheek that caused her to fall to her knees. In the next instant, she heard a savage roar as Erik jumped to his feet and hauled Charles up against the wall.
Nadir rushed to her side and steadied her trembling form. She could feel the tension in him as he gently assisted her to her feet. Christine found that she could not tear her eyes from Erik, for she had never seen him with such a furious look upon his face. The panic that filled her was tangible as she pleaded for her father's life. "Erik, please…let him go!" she cried in a terrified voice.
Erik was breathing hard with the all-encompassing rage that was filling him. Hearing Christine's plea, he slowly lowered Charles to the floor. "If you dare to ever lay a hand to her again, I will kill you," he said with an undeniable truth.
Nadir pushed her gently into her chair, his hand lifting her chin to the right so that he could inspect the damage her father's hand had wrought. Probing gently with his fingers upon her cheek he frowned as he witnessed her wince. "You need to have an x-ray, Ms. Daae," he said in an efficient manner.
"I'm …I'm fine," she said in a faltering voice.
Erik crossed the room to kneel slowly at her feet. Looking up into her pain-filled eyes, he cursed himself for his role in her injury. Lifting a trembling hand, he tenderly caressed the red welt that was marring her pale cheek.
Christine's eyes filled with tears as she stared into the eyes that she had come to love all of those long years ago…her Erik, her one and only love. "Erik," she called softly.
Erik felt the long suppressed emotions begin to fill him at her nearness. God, how he had loved her, for she had once represented all that was beautiful in life. What a life they could have shared. Closing his eyes tightly against the beseeching look on her beautiful face, he hardened his heart and reaffirmed his vow to have his long awaited vengeance. Rising gracefully to his feet, he turned his attention back to Nadir. "Arrange for her to see a doctor as soon as we are through here," he instructed in a stilted tone.
Christine watched with her heart breaking as he returned to his position at the head of the table. Glancing to her left, she saw that her father held his head in his hands, clearly overcome with the intense events of the day. "Father," she called to him softly.
Charles hearing her voice looked up sharply. "Christine, I never meant…" his voice broke on the guilt that was filling him at the vision of his daughter's battered face.
Reaching out her hand, she gently laid it upon his arm. "I know," she responded in a soft voice.
Erik felt a renewed rage at the sight of her kindness to her bulling father. Looking up into the concerned expression of his Vice President, he ordered the conclusion to his carefully planed out agenda. "Finish it, Nadir."
Nadir drew in a sharp breath at the tone of his boss's voice. Looking at the hardened features of Erik's face, he knew that this was taking more of an emotional toll on his friend then expected. "Erik," he called in a tone that intoned lenience.
Erik pinned Nadir with his fierce eyes. "Finish it!" he said forcefully.
Sighing resignedly, Nadir once again reached into his folder. "Mr. Daae, as of this moment, your home, penthouse and all personal assets have become the sole possession of VIM Enterprises," he said in a flat tone. "You are hereby notified that all of your personal and business assets have been frozen as collateral for the outstanding loan that you owe to Smythe Holdings. You and your family are hereby given notice that you must vacate all property within forty-eight hours. Your are also hereby given notice that all possessions held within the households has become the property of VIM Enterprises and Smythe Holdings, and in being such, are to remain on the premises upon your vacation of said property."
Charles remained frozen in place as Nadir informed him of his ruin.
Christine drew in a sharp breath at the unflinching hate reflected in Erik's eyes as he stared down the long table at her. "Why? Oh God, Erik, please tell me why?" she asked simply as she allowed the total devastation wash over her.
Erik felt himself stiffen at her softly worded question. "Why you dare to ask me!" he snarled in her direction.
Christine recoiled in fear at his sharp response.
Laughing a humorless laugh, he rose to approach her seated form. "Why, you ask," he said with distain dripping from every word. "I wish I could tell you it was for the simple reason as it was a good investment. But that would be a lie, as this has cost me more than I can ever recoup. No, this is not at all for business."
Christine frowned up at his rigid features. "Then why? Why did you so coldly set out to destroy us?"
"Vengeance!" he snapped with a hard crack of his voice. "For all of your cold and heartless lies, for your total and callus betrayal of what we once were. For that, Christine, that is why you now must pay."
Shaking her head in confusion, she tried to find some reasoning behind his cold words. "I don't understand. What betrayal? What lies?" she cried in a quiet voice.
Erik grasped the arms of her chair and swung her around to face him directly. "WHAT BETRAYAL! Damn you and your impertinence. Did you really think that I would never find out?"
Christine felt the blood drain from her face at the extent of Erik's hate for her. "I truly don't know what you're talking about," she said tearfully up into his cold face.
"My God, I believe that you have truly pushed it from you mind." Giving her a short laugh, he pushed her chair away from him as though he found her nearness utterly repugnant. "Maybe that is how you were able to live with yourself all of these years," he said in a tone bereft of any feeling. Walking towards the conference room door, he knew that he had better put some distance between them before he said something to give away the unwelcome emotion that he was feeling for her. Pausing at the door, he turned to once again pierce her with his green gaze. "Tell me one thing, Christine. Did you once ever think of me as I served my time in prison at the direct result of your lies?"
Christine's eyes widened in shock at the implication of Erik's words. "Erik, please, I don't know what you are talking about," she pleaded.
Erik's face closed up on her denial. "Never mind, Christine, it is clear that you did not once think of me as I rotted away for four years," he said in a dead tone that pulled directly at her breaking heart. "Nadir, make sure she gets to the doctor." With that, he opened the door and left the room, failing to see the haunted look of pain on Christine's face.
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