The phantom's daughter

Chapter fourty

"Something on your mind, daughter?" Erik asked Victoria during their voice lesson. This was the seventh time she had messed up her big number. 

"Hmm?" Victoria snapped out of her thought. "Oh, nothing. Just pre-show jitters I assume." She lied quickly. He raised an eyebrow, seeming to not believe her but he didn't raise any questions.

"It's alright to get nervous." He sat down on his music bench across from her. "Maybe you should rest for a little bit, you deserve it." He motioned for her to go. "We'll come back to it in an hour or so." He turned to his organ and played a few keys mindlessly. 

"Alright, thank you father." She nodded and went to walk to her room to lay down. 

"That's a lovely ring you have hanging around your neck, dear." Erik spoke without turning around. There was an eerie calmness to his voice. "Makes me wonder where you got it from." He looked over his shoulder, to catch her reaction. 

"It from the show, a prop." Victoria tried to keep her voice stable. "I must've forgotten to take it off. I'll return it tomorrow during the dress rehearsal." She mindlessly fiddled with the ring. 

"Very well." He turned away from her again.

"Is that all, father?" Victoria asked, a tinge of sarcasm in her voice.

"That is all." He waved her away. "And don't talk to me with that tone." He added as she walked away, making it to her room this time. 

She lay on her bed, looking up at the ceiling as she played with the ring on its string. She let out a long breath that she wasn't even aware that she had been holding. Worried about all the things that could possibly go wrong before the show, she wrung her hands tightly in thought. She didn't know how long she'd be able to keep up this lie. All she knew was that if her father found out, both her and Elijah's life would be on the line. 

She knew her father was a smart man, he had seen the ring, it wouldn't take him very long to figure out the plan. She had to warn Elijah, work out another plan, but she was basically trapped until the morning where she could leave for "rehearsal".  But who knew, by that time it could be too late. She shuttered at the thought of something happening to her Elijah, it's not something she wanted to think of. Yet, the thought kept creeping into her mind, no matter how hard she fought against it. She didn't know when it was that she fell asleep, but she wasn't even aware of it until it was almost over. 

There's a single spot light on the two of them, it was the big finale of the show. Meaning that once that curtain fell, Elijah and Victoria had only a small window to escape. A stage hand that Elijah paid would help them and they had a carriage waiting for them after the performance. 

"My love, they've found out about us." Victoria's character cried, falling into Elijah's characters arms. "They're outraged and will be here at any moment." 

"Don't worry." Elijah touched the sword on his belt. "Everything will be fine, and we will talk this out like civilized adults." The sound of a knock comes from off stage. 

"Don't answer it, it could be them." Victoria moved so she was between him and the door. But he maneuvered around her and opened the door.

"It surely can't be that bad." He said, swinging the door open to be greeted by a pistol pointed at his chest. "Well this is a lovel-." Elijah's line was cut off by the sound of a gun going off. Elijah's body slumped back a few steps, Victoria caught him, a strangled sob slipped past her lips. 

"The Stockett's send their regards." The man with the gun smirked. Victoria slowly laid Elijah on the floor, quickly she realized that the stage gun was real, and Elijah had actually been shot. She looked up at the man with the gun, however, the actor who was supposed to be there wasn't there. 

It was her father.

"Why?" 

"So you can never escape me again." He kept the same smirk on his face while pointing the gun at Victoria and pulling the trigger.

The sound of the gun shot woke her up with a scream. 

"Victoria, is everything alright?" Erik asked, rushing into her room after hearing her scream. "Child, you're shaking..." His voiced sounded so sincere. He sat next to Victoria and pulled her into his lap like she was a child. "What's got you so shaken, child?" He asked, trying to calm her down by stroking her hair. Again, like he would if she were still a child.

Victoria couldn't responded, she couldn't even think. All that she could feel was pure unadulterated fear.

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Author's note:

Holy molely, it's been like what, a year? I hope this chapter is worth the year wait. Don't forget to vote/ and or comment regardless of if the chapter was worth it. Four chapters left guys! Bye!