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.

A/N Hallelujah we have reached the 500 mark! And to mark the event, the 500th reviewer, if she is so inclined can name the new bitchy character in my other story Erik's Vengeance. So, Passed Over let me know the name you have chosen either within your review or you can private message me. Thanks to all of you who helped us reach that mark. Here is the next chapter. Enjoy!

Author – ToryD

Beta – MJMod (Beta Extraordinaire)

Choices

Chapter 24

Cara waited impatiently for Javert's secretary to announce her arrival. Glancing at the diamond-studded watch that Erik had given her for her last birthday, she saw that she could quite possibly miss her flight if she did not leave immediately. Hearing the door open, Cara fixed her irritated gaze upon the slightly overweight secretary.

"This way Ms. Johnson," Lisa said politely as she held the door open for the well-dressed client.

Adjusting the strap of her twelve thousand dollar Hermes bag on her shoulder, Cara swept past the younger woman in a tantalizing whiff of Channel #5.

Javert rose from his chair as Cara entered his office. "Ms. Johnson," he greeted in a business like tone.

"I'm about to miss my plane. This had better be worth it!" She snapped as she took a seat opposite his desk.

Bitch, Javert thought to himself as he resumed his own seat. Taking out a folder, he handed a thick stack of papers to Cara. "My investigator found these in Mr. Desmond's private papers."

Cara snatched the documents and began to read. Frowning she tried to make out the legalese. "Is this a prenuptial agreement?" She asked as she turned the pages.

Javert leaned back in his chair while linking his hands behind his head. "What you have in your hand Ms. Johnson is a contract between one Erik Desmond and one Christine Daae…uh Desmond now I guess, that states in return for her agreeing to a marriage between the two parties that Mr. Desmond would guarantee the financial health of her father's company." Seeing the blank look on his client's face, he continued with a more simplified explanation. "In other words, if Ms. Daae had not entered into the marriage with Mr. Desmond, then he would have destroyed the company her father had spent his life creating."

"What?" she asked in a bewildered voice. "I don't understand…are you saying that Erik blackmailed Christine into marrying him?"

Javert let a smug smile grace his weathered face as he enjoyed the moment. "Blackmail is such a harsh word. I would say that Erik Desmond made Mrs. Desmond an offer that she couldn't possibly refuse."

Cara sprang to her feet as she considered the lengths that Erik had gone to win his precious Christine. Whirling she pinned Javert with her angry eyes. "How could this possibly be of any use to me?" She railed at him as she tried to push away the twinge of pain that accompanied the knowledge of just how desperately Erik had wanted Christine.

"The information in this document is highly confidential, therefore only those closest to Mr. Desmond would know of its existence. Therefore, there may be an opportunity for you to let it slip to Mrs. Desmond that you are aware of the special circumstances which brought about the 'marriage'.

Cara let a slow smile spread across her perfectly lined lips as she imagined herself rubbing the information in Christine's smug little face. "Yes, now I see."

"I have one more thing for you." He said as he opened his drawer and withdrew a cell phone that attached to a small black box. "This is an interceptor. It will enable you to monitor, and if you so choose, to defer a call from a particular preprogrammed cell phone to the attached cell phone."

Cara gave him a blank look.

"You can intercept Mrs. Desmond's calls to Mr. Desmond's cell phone." He informed her in a simplistic tone. "You must be within two hundred yards of Mr. Desmond's phone in order for it to work, so I have made arrangements for you to be in the suite three doors down from his."

"Fine, I get it." She said sharply as she did not appreciate his condescending tone. "Anything else?" She asked as she put the device in her bag.

"No Ms. Johnson." Javert sighed as he rose to escort her to the reception area.

"Good, if I don't hurry all of this will be wasted when I don't make my flight to London." She complained in her most prima-dona tone

"Have a safe and productive trip Ms. Johnson," he said as he opened the glass door for her. As she stalked down the busy hallway, Javert couldn't help himself from smiling as he watched several men stop in their tracks to stare at the stunningly attractive woman. Shaking his head, he wondered what they would think if they knew that she was on a mission. A mission that would bring nothing but pain and destruction…the only question was, to whom?

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Waving to Bradley's mother, Christine smiled as she watched mother and son walk off towards the school's parking lot. Glancing to her left, she saw that Steve had assumed his post at her side, ever watchful for even the slightest hint of impending danger. "I've got about an hour of paperwork to get through, Steve." She said as she entered the double doors at the school's entrance.

"Yes, Mrs. Desmond," he responded in a hushed tone.

Smiling Christine made her way towards her classroom, stopping abruptly as the baby decided to give a particularly vicious kick.

Steve rushed to her side as he witnessed the look of pain on her face. "Mrs. Desmond, are you all right?" he asked anxiously.

Laughing at herself, Christine looked up at her bodyguard with a slight wince on her face. "It's just the baby practicing his or her Lord of the Dance moves."

Nodding Steve took her arm and helped her into her classroom. Once he had her comfortably seated, he once again took his post at the classroom's entrance.

After twenty minutes of tedious forms, Christine sighed and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes against the burning sensation that stemmed from her lack of sleep the previous night. Oh Erik, why didn't you call me last night? Her mind questioned as she tried to bank down the apprehension that had been plaguing her for the last week. Damn that bitch Cara! She wants nothing more that to have me question Erik's faithfulness. She felt a single tear escape her closed eyelid to fall gently down her cheek, "And she is succeeding", she whispered to herself as she acknowledged the overpowering feelings of pain. "Enough!" She said aloud as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. Standing she gathered her books, as her cell phone began to ring. "Erik," she said smiling to herself as she reached for her phone to take Erik's call. As she looked at the caller id, she was shocked to see that it was Raoul on the line. "Hello," she answered in a hesitant voice.

Raoul smiled as he heard the apprehension in her tone. "Christine, how are you?"

"I'm fine. And you, how have you been doing?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I'm doing great; in fact that is the reason for my call. I wanted to see if we could get together for coffee. I have some news that I would like to share with my friend." Raoul responded as he smiled at the picture his mind portrayed of her as she struggled to decide if she should see him or not.

"I really need to get home, is it something we could discuss over the phone?" She asked shyly.

Laughing at her caution, he knew that if he really wanted to see her that he had better put her mind at ease. "No, I really want to tell you this in person. Please say you'll come."

Biting her bottom lip, she weighed her options. "I can meet you at the diner in twenty minutes." She said as she shook her head in astonishment at the words that had just come out of her mouth.

"Great! I'll see you in twenty minutes. And Christine, I just want to see my old friend, nothing more." He said in a reassuring tone that caused her to tear up at the generosity of his heart.

"Thank you Raoul," she said relieved as she disconnected the phone. Smiling at the thought of seeing Raoul again, she quickly made her way towards the door. "Steve, I am going to meet with a friend."

"Yes Mrs. Desmond." He responded as he fell into step at her side.

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Cara paced the length of her elegant suite. "Damn it!" she yelled as she kicked at the beautifully upholstered ottoman that adorned her room. Erik had been working day and night while in London, leaving her little opportunity to begin her carefully thought-out plan. "Shit, shit, shit!" She cried as her temper got the best of her. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was going on ten London time. "Let's see, we are eight hours ahead of New York, so that would make it two in the afternoon there." Walking over to the small bar, she poured herself a glass of wine, in hopes that it might settle her nerves. Surely, Christine will call him tonight, she thought to herself as she walked out onto the spacious private balcony. From her vantage point, she could see the comings and goings of all of the hotel's exclusive guests. Settling herself in the lounge chair, she sighed resignedly as she watched for Erik's arrival.

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Raoul raised his hand to alert Christine to their table. Standing as she approached he marveled at the radiance that impending motherhood had brought to her. "Christine," he greeted as he kissed her cheek in much the way of a beloved brother. "You look positively glowing."

Smiling up at Raoul, she realized just how much she missed his friendship. "You look wonderful as well."

Holding her chair for her, he smiled at the telling bump of her child. "Well tell me; is it a boy or a girl?" He asked as he took his own seat opposite her.

"We want to be surprised." She said with a smile.

"Ah, a surprise." He said as he reached for her hand. "Christine, thank you for meeting me. I know that we didn't part on the best of terms, but I truly do miss our friendship."

Christine felt tears fill her eyes at Raoul's the reciprocal feelings. "Oh Raoul, I have missed you too."

Raoul frowned at the emotion on her beautiful face. "Hey, what's with the tears?" he asked gently as he handed her his white linen handkerchief.

"I'm sorry," she apologized as she accepted his offered handkerchief. "Pregnancy hormones I guess, I seem to cry at anything these days." She said bravely. "Enough about me, what is your news?"

Clearing his throat, he sat up straighter as he began to speak. "I am getting married." He said with expectation.

Christine stared at him with a surprised smile on her lips. "That's wonderful! Who is she?"

Raoul leaned back in his chair, relieved that she appeared to be happy for him. "Her name is Colleen Rudolf. She is an attorney with Allen and Cameron." He said proudly as he mentioned the most prestigious law firm in New York.

"Oh Raoul, I'm so happy for you. When can I meet her?" She asked excited that her best friend had found the love that he deserved.

"How about we meet for dinner next week? Do you and Erik have any free evenings?" He asked her happily.

"I'll have to check with him and get back to you." She said as the waitress approached to take their order.

"Hi my name is Diane; I'll be your waitress. What can I get you?" the young girl asked with a bright smile.

Raoul handed Christine a menu. "I'll have a piece of apple pie and a coffee." He ordered as Christine perused the menu.

"And you Miss?" Diane asked with her pen poised at the ready.

"I'll have the decaf orange spiced tea, with an onion bagel with the olive and pimento cream cheese. I will also have an order of French fries, with Thousand Island dressing poured on top. Oh do you have any pineapple?" She asked hopefully.

"Uh…yes," Diane replied almost fearful.

Smiling brightly as though she had just won the lottery Christine continued with her order. "I would like a turkey sandwich on rye bread with a slice of pineapple and spicy brown mustard. A side of potato salad, oh!" she cried excitedly as her eyes alighted on something on the menu. "I want a bowl of sauerkraut."

"Just a bowl of sauerkraut? No hotdog or bratwurst to go with it?" Diane asked with a surprised look on her face.

"No, just the bowl. And I guess I will finish it up with a piece of apple pie like my friend here."

Diane swallowed hard as she wrote down the disgusting combination. "Anything else?" she asked as she gave Raoul a sympathetic look.

"No, that's all." Christine said cheerily.

"I'll get that right out." Diane said as she turned towards the kitchen.

Christine smiled into Raoul's astonished expression. "What? I am eating for two now." She said defensively.

"Yeah, two…not twenty-two." He said as he shook his head in disbelief.

Laughing, Christine brushed off his comment. "Tell me more about Colleen." She requested as she looked into the dear sweet face of her friend.

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Cara drummed her fingers on the balcony ledge as she waited for Erik's return. Looking at her watch for the seventeenth time in the last hour, she saw that it was going on midnight. Hearing a car pull up at the hotel's entrance, she quickly got to her feet to view the arriving car's occupants. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of Nadir and Erik as they exited the car. "About time!" she said to herself as she raced into her suite to ready the interceptor that Javert had given her.

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Erik felt as though he hadn't slept in four days as he pushed himself and his staff at a relentless pace in order for him to return home two days earlier than planned. Sighing he leaned against the elevator as it carried both him a Nadir towards their respective suites. 'Good work Nadir." He praised his exhausted assistant on the extemporary work of their successful takeover bid.

Chuckling to himself, Nadir knew that Erik was as tired as he was. "Thanks boss. Do you want me to alert the pilot for our departure in the morning?"

"Yes, I want to be home by tomorrow afternoon." He said as he pictured his reunion with Christine. God it had been pure hell being away from her the past five days. "Don't call the house, I want to surprise Christine. See if you can free up the next few days, I want to spend some time with her."

"You got it." Nadir said as they exited the elevators. "Do you need anything else tonight?"

"No, get some rest Nadir." Erik said tiredly as he opened the door to his lonely suite.

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Cara nearly jumped out of her skin as the cell phone announced an incoming call to Erik's line. Glancing at the machine's readout, Cara squealed in delight as she read 'Christine Desmond'. Knowing that she only had two more rings before the call would begin ringing on Erik's phone, she rushed into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Hitting the talk button, Cara smiled in satisfaction at her long awaited revenge. "Hello," she said sexily into the phone.

Christine felt as though her heart had stopped cold at the sound of Cara's voice on Erik's phone. "I'm sorry…I must have misdialed." She said in an unsure voice.

"No you haven't Christine." Cara said with a devilish gleam alighting from her blue eyes. "I'm afraid that Erik is in the shower just now. If you would like, I could have him call you when he gets out."

Christine fought the bile rising up in her throat. God no! This can't be happening. Her mind kept repeating as her knees began to buckle as she slipped slowly towards the floor.

"Christine…Christine…are you still there?" Cara's smug voice carried across the line.

Christine shook her head in horror at the undeniable truth of Erik's unfaithfulness. The pain was washing over her in unyielding waves, as she faced the cold hard reality.

"Christine!" Cara yelled into the phone. "I said do you want me to have him call you when he gets out of the shower?"

"No," Christine replied in a shaky voice. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your evening." She said with her voice breaking as tears began to fill her eyes. Pushing the button to disconnect the call, Christine began to rock herself gently as she allowed the pain of Erik's betrayal full reign. She laid her head against the soft Persian carpet as she wrapped her arms around herself as she felt her heart break at the loss of her one true love.

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A/N Let the I hate Cara party begin. If you can believe it, she still not done with Christine. Let me know what you think in the reviews.