There was silence. Absolute silence. Raoul, who had been standing nearby, cleared his throat, and said, "I think I'll take a walk around the city. So you can have some time alone." 
 
 Erik rolled his eyes as Raoul left the room. Coward.
 
 "Is this all true, Father?" Gustave asked. "Everything you just told me is true? You once kidnapped my mother, and then you and Raoul bargained for her?"
 
 Erik nodded and cast his eyes downward. "Yes. And now I am ashamed of it. I never should have left her that night. Raoul said that to me years ago, after Christine's funeral; she would not have been with him, but she would still be alive. I'm sorry, Gustave."
 
 He got up to leave, but Gustave grabbed his arm. "Do you regret ever meeting my mother?" he asked. "Do you ever regret me being born?"
 
 Erik shook his head. "No, of course not. Discovering I had a son changed my life."

 "And my mother's death really was an accident?"
 
 "Yes, it was. Meg Giry did not mean to hurt Christine."
 
 "Whatever became of the Girys?" Gustave asked.
 
 "I don't know. I never saw them again after that night. I have sometimes wondered what became of them."
 
 "Oh. But you are a brilliant man!" Gustave cried out rather suddenly. "How could everyone shun you merely because of your face, Father?"
 
 "I have done things I now regret, Gustave. I let myself become a murderer. The world is cruel, son. Do you have any other questions?"
 
 "Yes. You said you had a friend once, in Persia. Who was he? Did you ever see him again?"
 
  The question sent a chill throughout Erik's body. "No I did not. I think you should go to bed, Gustave. You must be tired."
 
 "No, I'm not. But you must be, Father. I-I'm sorry your early life was so horrible."
 
 Erik gave the slightest of smiles. "Well, thanks to someone I know, my life has improved greatly in the last six years."

~~~~~~

 I wonder if I've given them enough time, Raoul thought once he'd been walking around the city for a while. Perhaps I ought to go back in case they try to kill each other. The boy must have inherited some of his father's murderous tendencies.
 
 On his way back, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.
 
 "You are the Comte Raoul Chagny, I believe?"
 
 "Yes, I am," Raoul replied. "And who might you be?" He looked the man over. He was well-dressed and gave off the air of a gentleman, but he couldn't see him very well in the lamplight.

 "Come more into the lamplight, so that I can see you."
 
 "So you have no idea who I am?" the man asked. "Erik has never mentioned me before?"
 
 As the man stepped into the light, Raoul asked, "Do you know Erik?" He took another look at the man. Middle-aged, graying hair, tan skin, and remarkable jade-green eyes. 

 "I knew him many years ago, in Persia. I am Amir Attar. Is that familiar at all?"

 Raoul took a moment to think. An old friend of Erik's...ah, now it was coming back to him. "Oh. You are that friend, the one that would forever be watching him."
 
 The Persian smiled, which actually made Raoul shudder. "Yes. That friend. And I would like to know just what he is doing living with you."
 
 "Well, we have a son. Um, not together. I am his son's stepfather. The young man is my heir, as I have no children of my own. I meant to hire him a tutor, but Erik insisted on teaching him himself. We both love Gustave, and Erik and I are friends now. I think. I never actually asked him if he would like to be friends with me."
 
 "I see. Well, Monsieur," Amir took a step closer, "I am giving you a warning. I have been watching you as well for six years. If you ever hurt Erik in any way, I will kill you. Do you understand?"
 
 "Now, just a moment there!" Raoul cried. "I haven't had a reason to hurt Erik for the last six years! We have gotten on rather well, it seems. Why are you coming now to threaten me?"
 
 "I am just giving you fair warning. Back in Persia, I fought for justice, and I did it brutally. Everyone feared me. And you do not want to end up like the Girys, do you?"
 
 "What? What about them?"
 
 "They are dead, Comte. Neither one of them truly cared for my dear Erik. When they came back to France for your wife's funeral, I killed them. Their bodies are likely still somewhere in the ocean." He laughed at Raoul's horrified expression. "Now do you see, Chagny? I mean to convince Erik to leave this wretched city with me, and you will stay out it, unless you prefer to be a victim of the Punjab Lasso as well. Who do you think taught Erik how to use it?"

 And then he was gone, just melted away into the shadows. Raoul recovered from any shock and quickly turned homeward.
 
 Another one with the Punjab Lasso, he thought bitterly. Who does he think he is, telling me what to do? And how do I know he actually murdered the Girys? And of all the people who could become obsessed with Erik, it had to be another lunatic. Well, who cares what he says? I've faced lunatics with lassos before, I can do it again.
 
 But first, it seemed a good idea to tell Erik what had happened, since he was the one the Persian man was after.