ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀꜱᴋ: ᴄʜᴀᴇɴɴɪᴇ

Sequel - Chapter 2

Paris, 1881

RAOUL

When I went to Roseanne's house this morning her maid told me that Mlle. Park had left the house after I left yesterday and had not come back.

"I'm worried, Monsieur. Do you know where she is?" The old lady asked, I looked at her and nodded.

"I know where she is." I told the lady. "I must be crazy leaving her like this." I whispered before leaving Roseanne's house.

I asked my choachman to take me to the Opera house. I asked him to wait outside. He had been involved in my family for years and I trusted him a lot.

It was in the middle of the day and the grand stairs were empty. I only knew one way down to Jennie's house and that was through the mirror in Roseanne's dressing room.

I finally reached the 6th celler. The tortue chamber had its door open and I entered Jennie's house with no thoughts. I was shocked when I saw the state in which the house was in.

The pipe organ was destroyed and were laying in pieces. The carpet was rolled up together in a corner and the big red satin curtains were cut into pieces and placed all over the room. On the floor also laid a score to an Opera.

I stared with sadness at the mess, somehow I pitied the old woman.

I stepped on broken glas, I kneeled down on the floor and took up a photo which was torn apart. I took away the glas pieces so I could see the photo clearly...

There was a young woman with brown short hair with a porcelain mask. The other side of the photo was gone so I could not see it.

Suddenly something moved around me so I turned around, ready to face Jennie but the Persian man stood there.

"Good morning, Monsieur De Chagny." He said calmly on broken French, "Maybe it would be better if I said good evening?" He said as he looked at this pocket watch.

He showed me the black love seat and asked me to sit down, I did as he asked.

"Where are they?" I asked, "Where has she taken her?"

The Persian stayed silent and stared at a closed door. "Are they in there?" I thought of passing him to open the door but the Persian stopped me and slowly shock his head.

"Stay here, De Chagny. You have no rights to be there."

I stared at him, "I have all rights..."

"You have no rights in this case." He said. "As long as I am here you will never go into that room." He said.

We stared at each other, suddenly we were enemies. We, who had just a few weeks ago gone underground and risked our lives. The man was old, he had wrinkles around eyes and mouth, his hair was messy and he looked like he had been crying for hours.

I looked at the floor where candle lights were broken into pieces and thrown across the room.

"Did Jennie do this?"

The Persian nodded with sadness, "Why?" I asked.

"She didn't think Roseanne would come back. She said you wouldn't allow her too. She didn't want to leave any traces behind her so she destroyed everything. After her last attack she asked me to carry her to the bed in which she had been given from her mother. She said it would suit her to die in the bed she was once born in... she didn't let me take off her mask."