Phantom No More: Kiaria - Phantom No More, #4

Erik in New York. What if he hadn't stayed in Paris during the construction of the opera? Perhaps some circumstances beyond his control caused him to leave France and seek out an undisturbed life elsewhere in the world. After years of dealing with abuse, drug addiction and injustice, he emigrates from France to escape yet another injustice and ends up managing a small theatre in midtown Manhattan. From the slums of Lower Manhattan, a young woman escapes an abusive situation to find herself on his doorstep. They both want to escape the vicious cycles of violence that have consumed them, but when Erik is forced to confront his family's dark secrets, their past demons are awakened.

This installment of Phantom No More deals specifically with issues of abuse and trauma. It's impossible to do justice to the character of Erik without acknowledging the significant traumas that he experiences. In this rendition of his story, the heroine is also a victim of abuse and trauma. Relationships between victims of abuse are complicated; while they understand one another's challenges, they don't necessarily know how to support one another adequately, and they run the risk of triggering each other and perpetuating the cycle of abuse. Can they learn to trust each other, and themselves, to truly be free of their pasts?