Obligatory disclaimer - I do not own any of the Characters or plotlines of Phantom of the Opera, they of course are from the genius of Leroux.

A/N Welcome, and thank you for giving my story a chance. A very heartfelt thank you to Terpsichore314, who has such an amazing gift with her insight to the complexities of storytelling. She has taken on quite a challenge with me I'm afraid.

Author – KatieKay90

Beta – Terpsichore314

Title – Unforgiven

Chapter 1 - Kidnapped

So this is how it all ends, Christine thought sadly to herself as she lay motionless on the cold hard stone floor. Her breathing was becoming more and more labored as she fought to stay conscious for just a few more brief moments. A strange floating sensation overcame her as she wondered if anyone would truly miss her presence on this earth. She had no family to speak of, so there would be no mother or father, sister or brother to mourn her sudden passing. The few people whom she had once counted as her friends had long ago shunned her in their desperate need to put a symbolic distance between themselves and her adulterous ways. Perhaps sweet, kindhearted Raoul, her partner at the art gallery, would shed a tear over her death.

Shifting to her left, she tried to alleviate some of the stiffness of her tightly bound hands. Gasping at the excruciating pain, she felt a sharp stabbing shoot through her shoulder where one of her kidnappers had viciously sliced a deep cut into her three days ago. Darkness threatened as the hot rapid throbbing became almost unbearable. Feeling the familiar trickle of blood run down her arm, she knew that she didn't have much time left. Through the dirt-encrusted window of the tiny deserted cabin, she could see that the sun was beginning its slow unerring descent, foreshadowing the coming of the frigidly cold January night. She knew that if she were not found within the next few hours, her life would end sometime during the cold darkened night.

Inhaling a deep breath, she was surprised that she was not feeling the usual panic or fear that was so often portrayed in the movies. What she was feeling was a sort of calming peace. A soft welcoming peace that promised an approaching ending to all of the pain that this life had conveyed. All of the hurt and lies would soon just be a long lost memory. She would soon be free of the man who had destroyed her life. As she closed her eyes, she once again saw the face of the man who still haunted her dreams. Her last conscious thought was of her estranged husband, the man whom she had come to despise with her whole being. The man whom she still unwillingly loved with every beat of her broken heart. A serene smile graced her bruised and battered face as she at last began to fade from this painful existence. She could hear a strange distant whirling sound as the darkness began to encroach ever so welcomingly. "Erik." The name escaped her cracked lips in a longing, pain-filled whisper. She hoped he would now, at long last, find some sort of closure at her death. Welcoming the sweet embrace of her death, Christine was aware of a bright light shining through the tiny cabin window. With her very last breath, she smiled as she felt the warmth of a heavenly light embracing her.

Five days earlier

"Good morning Sarah," Nadir greeted his assistant as he made his way into his large corner office in the midtown high rent district office tower in Manhattan, the home of Mansart Technologies.

Sarah rose from her chair and followed her boss into his office with a large stack of mail. "You have an appointment with the CFO in twenty minutes," she informed him in an efficient tone as she handed him the personal mail for Mr. Mansart.

"Has Erik arrived yet?" he asked as he hung up his gray wool overcoat.

"Yes, Renee said he has been in about an hour," Sarah responded, handing him a cup of his preferred black Persian coffee.

"Thanks," Nadir offered absently as he picked up Erik's private correspondence. "Buzz me five minutes before my meeting," he requested as he began to sort through the large stack of mail.

"Of course," Sarah said as she let herself out to attend to the mounting workload on her own desk.

Nadir frowned as he came to a strangely labeled nine by eleven envelope with the word 'urgent' stamped across its front. With no return address to identify the sender, he assumed it was yet another broker's clumsy attempt to contact Erik about the next big stock tip of the year. Lifting his letter opener, he proceeded to slit the top of the strange envelope. "Jesus!" Nadir cried out in horror as a picture of Erik's wife Christine fell out along with a note made up of cut out letters from a magazine.

WE HAVE YOUR WIFE. IF YOU ATTEMPT TO CONTACT THE POLICE OR FBI, WE WILL KILL HER. IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW OUR INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER WE WILL KILL HER. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIND US. ANY ATTEMPTS AGAINST US WILL RESULT IN THE INSTANT KILLING OF YOUR WIFE. YOU WILL RECEIVE FURTHER INSTRUCTION IN THE NEXT TEN HOURS

With a shaking hand, Nadir picked up the picture. To his horror, he saw that Christine had already been severely beaten by her captors. "Fucking hell!" he cursed as he inspected the picture more closely. Christine was holding up a copy of yesterday's edition of the New York Post, her lips were cracked with dried blood, denoting that the beating had taken place several hours earlier. Reaching for his phone, he alerted Renee of his urgent need to see Erik. "Renee, tell Erik I need to see him in five minutes," he instructed curtly. "I don't give a fuck who he has in his office, I need to see him in five minutes!" Nadir snapped in an uncharacteristic rage as he slammed down the phone. "Shit, who do I call?" he asked himself as he prepared to tell his boss the worst possible news he would ever be forced to deliver. Snatching up his phone a second time, he dialed John Corbin, the head of Mansart Technologies security department. "John, I need to see you in Erik's office in," Nadir paused as he tried to estimate the time he needed alone with Erik. "In fifteen minutes. Be there in fifteen minutes," he repeated as he hung up the phone. Carefully picking up the photograph, note and envelope, he headed out of his office, knowing that the next few minutes would prove to be the most difficult of his life.

"Excuse me Mr. Mansart," Renee interrupted her half-masked boss. "Mr. Khan has an urgent matter that needs your immediate attention."

Erik frowned at the unscheduled interruption. "Renee, tell Nadir that I can see him in half an hour," Erik said in a tone that would brook no further arguments.

"Yes sir," Renee said as she backed out of her formidable employer's office.

Nadir turned the corner just as Renee closed Erik's door softly. "Is he ready for me?" The rush of words had Renee staring at him strangely.

"No, he instructed me to tell you that he will be with you in half an hour," she replied with a slight frown marring her smooth forehead.

Nadir straightened his shoulders and made a direct line for Erik's door.

"No, Mr. Khan, he said that you were to wait," Renee cried urgently after his retreating form.

Erik looked up from the contract that he held in his hand to scowl fiercely at his vice president and friend. "Nadir, I am in a meeting," he said through clenched teeth. Roger Reyes, the man who had been trying to get an appointment with the head of Mansart Technologies for the past year politely hid his annoyance at the interruption,

"I'm sorry Erik, but this can't wait," Nadir said so anxiously that Erik felt a chill spread over him, as Nadir was not one to betray emotion.

"I apologize Roger; can we reschedule this for another time?" Erik suggested to the distinguished-looking gentleman seated across him at his hand-carved mahogany desk.

"Certainly, I'll have my girl call Renee," Roger responded as he shut his briefcase.

Once the obligatory handshakes were completed and Roger was escorted out, Erik turned his attention to his agitated friend. "Okay, Nadir, what is so all-important that you needed to interrupt my meeting?" Erik inquired evenly as he crossed to the glass bar to pour himself a cup of coffee.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Nadir walked over towards his boss. "This came in this morning's post," he said stiltedly.

Erik's blood froze within his veins as he saw the image of his wife's beaten face. An all-encompassing rage began to fill him at the thought of anyone causing harm to his once-precious Christine.

Nadir watched nervously as Erik took in the devastating evidence before him.

Erik read the note, feeling as if his brain were separating from his body, and he were a spectator watching the events unfold.

"John is on his way up," Nadir said as he tried to read his boss's reaction.

A viselike grip overtook Erik's cold heart as though someone had simply reached within his chest and begun to exert an unbearable amount of pressure. His hands began to shake as he handed the telling photo back to his friend. His body began to fill with a cold insurmountable fear, as he pictured Christine at the mercy of her attackers. Taking in several deep breaths of air, Erik began to tremble with his pent-up emotion. Lifting his fists into the air, he emitted an animalistic roar of immense rage, bringing his fists down with such violent force that the glass-topped bar shattered into thousands of sharp tiny shards.

Renee came rushing into the room, followed closely by John, at the sound of the shattering glass. The sight that met her eyes would be forever engraved upon her memory, for Erik was leaning heavily against the wall with blood dripping from his tightly clenched fists. "Mr. Mansart," she cried out in alarm.

Nadir turned towards Renee and shouted out several orders. "Get some clean towels and the first aid kit. Cancel all appointments for myself and Erik for the rest of the week. If you get any strange phone calls or deliveries, I want to be notified at once."

Renee rushed into Erik's private bathroom to retrieve the needed items. Whatever was happening had really taken a toll on her normally unflappable boss. She had a distinct impression that the news that had Erik so upset must involve his cheating wife. Shaking her head, she walked back into the office and handed off the requested items. "Can I do anything else?" she asked Nadir, who appeared to have taken charge of the situation.

"No, please just see that we are not disturbed," he said without looking up from Erik's injured hands. "Renee," he called as she opened the door, "Not a word to anyone. Is that clear?" he demanded forcefully.

"Yes sir," Renee responded in a voice of alarm, as she had never before seen either Erik or Nadir act with other than a cool and collected demeanor.

Nadir finally looked up and saw John. John raised his brows inquiringly at Nadir.

"John, Erik's wife has been kidnapped," Nadir said without preamble. "The note and picture we received are on the floor over there," Nadir said as he indicated the position of the evidence upon the shattered glass shards.

John, a former FBI agent, reached down and carefully picked up the kidnapper's note. He read the note and looked up. "Is this the only contact so far?" he inquired.

"Yes, the envelope arrived with this morning's mail," Nadir stated, wrapping a long strip of gauze around Erik's wounded hand. Erik seemed to be in a kind of state of shock, subdued after his outburst.

"The picture looks like it must have been taken last night. Did Mrs. Mansart still reside in the Eleventh Street penthouse?" His highly honed instincts of investigation came to the fore.

"No, she has refused to live under Erik's protection for the past year," Nadir said quietly, attempting to spare Erik's raw feelings.

"I need to know where she lived, worked. Who she was friends with," John stated as he reached into his jacket to retrieve his cell phone. "Rob, I need all the information you can get me on Christine Mansart, I want to know everything about her, especially in the last forty-eight hours. I need it now Rob," he commanded.

Nadir finished with Erik's injuries and rose to cross the room to join John. "What was Mrs. Mansart's maiden name?" John asked Nadir.

"Daae," Erik called out abruptly as he rejoined his shattered world. "Her maiden name was Daae," he said in an agonized tone.

"Erik, John is going to find her," Nadir said reassuringly.

Erik looked up into the concerned eyes of his long-time friend. "I want her back, Nadir. I want her back with me alive," Erik said in a chilled tone that caused Nadir to still at the intensity of his boss's statement.

"You will have her back, Erik," Nadir promised with a conviction that he felt to the bottom of his soul. For, if anything should happen to Christine, he knew with absolute certainty that Erik would not survive one day past her death.