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In a letter, Betts wrote:

Philippe, the Count de Chagny, knew the path down to the lair. How could he do this? Is it perhaps that he might have been related to Erik, even providing food and clothing so that he could survive? (Betts)

Gaston Leroux is very sly about this. He never comes out and says "Count Philippe descended the labyrinth of tunnels and arrived at the edge of the lake." What he does show us is that the Persian (supposedly the person who knows Erik best) is only able to find the house on the lake after secretly following Erik most of the way. Even then, when he tries to guide Raoul, he loses his way and the two of them end up in the torture chamber. Count Philippe, on the other hand, ends up at the dock�the place where the Phantom himself takes the boat to his home. Once there, he rings the doorbell. Please see the following excerpts (translated to English by me).

Erik and Christine are in the house by the underground lake:

Chapter 23 - Paragraph 17 Suddenly the silence on the other side was broken by the ringing of an electric bell. There was a scrambling sound opposite and then the thundering voice of Erik: "Someone's ringing! Please come in!!" A mirthless snicker. "Who's come to disturb us now? Wait a moment for me here; I'm going to tell the siren to open the door. (Leroux)

This scene is referred to again at the end of the book when Erik goes to visit the Persian. In that excerpt, the Persian shouts:

Chapter 27 - paragraph 25: "Murderer of Count Philippe, what have you done with his brother and Christine Daae?"
At that fearsome outburst, Erik faltered, speechless for a moment, then groped his way toward an armchair into which he collapsed with a deep sigh. Once there, he began to speak in choppy phrases and single words, each expelled with an effort.
"Daroga, don't speak to me of Count Philippe. He was dead... already... when I left my house. He was dead... already... when the siren sang. It was an accident... a sad... a... painfully sad... accident... He had fallen clumsily and simply and naturally into the lake...!" (Leroux)

This is all Leroux gives us on how Count Philippe found his way to the lake but it's enough. He did find his way. It was this that first caused Betts to consider the possibility that Erik and Philippe might be related. And Betts, being a genealogist, knew what she needed to do to learn more.

I turned to the French section of the Family History Library, and found two books published by the French Heraldry and Gentry historians called Noblesse de France, one published in 1971 and the other in 1975-76. In it was the countship de Changy (spelling was changed slightly: "gn" is actually "ng"). Francois de Carpentier was the original Count de Changy... And he had a son named Eric! (Betts)

This means that there was an Eric de Changy. Next Betts looked throught the de Changy family tree in the Noblesse de France for other members of the family whose names appeared in the novel. She found three more: Philippe, Raoul, and Mme. de la Martiniere, with spelling slightly changed in Leroux's Chapter 2:

Chapter 2 - Paragraph 16: The Comtesse de Chagny, nee de Moerogis de La Martyniere, had died in giving birth to Raoul, who was born twenty years after his elder brother . . . (Leroux)

Finally, Betts noticed another point of interest in the actual de Changy family tree:

[The family] had residences in Paris as well as Fleury-sur-Andelle, which is in Rouen � where the novel states Erik was born. (Betts)

Indeed, in Leroux's epilogue we get: "According to the Persian's account, Erik was born in a small town near Rouen..."

Here's a chart comparing the historical names with the names in Leroux's novel:

NAMES/RELATIONSHIPS HISTORICAL	NAMES/RELATIONSHIPS NOVEL
Raoul de Carpentier (His brother Francois becomes the first Count de Changy)	Raoul in the novel is brother to the Count de Chagny.
The de Changy's two residences are: Paris 15 and Fleury-sur Andelle, Rouen	Erik, the Phantom, lives in Paris and was born near Rouen
Eric, Francois' only son becomes the next Count de Changy	Erik is the name of the Phantom of the Opera in Leroux's novel.
Mme Gerard Machet de La Martiniere, was born Elizabeth de Changy (She's Count Eric's second cousin)	Mademoiselle de Moerogis de La Martyniere becomes Comtesse de Chagny through marriage, in the novel.
Philippe becomes the next Count de Changy.	Philippe is the Count de Chagny as the novel opens.

Bottom line is this: There really was a de Changy family in Paris and Rouen in the late 1800s. Members of the family were named Raoul, Philippe, Eric and de La Martiniere. In the novel taking place between 1879 and 1881 there is a de Chagny family with members named Raoul, Philippe and de La Martyniere. For me it's the "de La Martyniere" that clinches it and makes it doubtful that Leroux could be referring to any other family. That said, Leroux also has a character in his novel named "Erik" (last name unknown). You draw whatever conclusions you like. On the next page is an abridged chart showing the pertinent parts of the de Changy family tree as per the French Heraldry and Gentry historians. All names that coincide with a character from Leroux's Phantom novel are in red. If you'd like to view the published version of this chart for yourself it's in:

Noblesse de France. Vol. 1, 1975. (pages 210 - 311) Note: Although this book is difficult to find, the Church of Latter Day Saints keeps a copy on microfilm. You can request it from any of their libraries.