The trio woke up the next morning, gathered their belongings, and exited through the secret passageway. Meg accompanied them to the docks and they all said their goodbyes.

"I'll see you next month," Christine told Meg, tears brimming her eyes.

The trio boarded the large ship and immediately went to their room. They had breakfast in the dining hall, which was a very large, majestic place. Gustave looked around the room with intensity, taking in every detail.
The family arrived in London later that day. Erik and Christine were glad to be back home. Traveling with a one-month-old baby was certainly not easy.
Over the next ten years, Meg continued to come and visit the family every month as promised. Gustave grew to love Meg and always looked forward to her visits.
Gustave was a musical genius, much like his father. Erik taught Gustave well. He passed on all his knowledge to his son.
Every year, the family would go to Paris the day after Erik and Christine's anniversary and visit Gustave Daaé's grave.
This year though, would be different. Meg was supposed to stay with the family and then the four would return to Paris together as they always did, but Meg became ill. Very ill. The family was greatly concerned.
To make matters worse, an unknown party had told the London authorities about Erik's past and of the murders he committed. He was now a wanted man. Gustave still hadn't any knowledge of his father's past mistakes, and of that, the parents were thankful.
The family left for Paris a week earlier than planned. This time they didn't know when they would return to London.

"Why are we packing so much stuff?" Gustave asked.

"We aren't going to be back here for some time, Gustave," Christine told her son.

Gustave turned to his father. "Why?"

"Because Meg is sick. We are staying with her until she gets well," Erik replied. He didn't want to tell his son the other reason for their long stay.

"It's nearly six in the morning. We have to hurry," Christine said and then quickly added, "We don't want to miss the ship."

They thought it best to escape before the break of dawn. The trio quickly finished packing their things. Erik looked around to make sure they had left nothing behind, and finding that they had everything they needed, locked the door behind him.
Erik and Christine were afraid. This was a very risky action. Fleeing to Paris wasn't the best choice, but it was the only place they could think of to go. At least the authorities weren't still looking for Erik there.
It didn't make sense, really. Nobody in Paris was looking to press charges anymore, so why were they after him in London? What reasons did they have to press charges?
That didn't matter right now. It would all be sorted out in time. Erik would make sure of that, but for now, he just needed to make sure his family was safe. They would be hiding out in his old lair underneath the opera house.
Erik and Christine never stayed in the catacombs with Gustave after that first year. They would always find a hotel. They didn't want to explain the place and it's significance to their son. It would lead to too many questions. Questions that neither parent wanted to answer. Not yet, anyway.
They arrived in Paris and made their way hastily to the opera house.

"Why don't we just go in the front entrance?" Gustave questioned.

The husband and wife exchanged nervous glances.

"We'll tell you later," Christine finally answered.

They entered through the passageway. It was long and dark and eerie. Gustave was simultaneously frightened and amazed as they entered the large room. "What is this place?" He asked.

"We have to tell him," Erik whispered to Christine.

Christine gave a heavy sigh. "Are you sure about this?" She whispered back.

Erik nodded in response. "Gustave," the father paused, "we have something to tell you."