Once he had threatened Henrietta, she finally conceded to his request to climb out of the carriage. But, she now held a knife to Elizabeth's throat.

Every muscle in his body tensed as he watched Elizabeth's blood drip from her neck and he immediately knew Henrietta would kill Elizabeth. He also couldn't look at Gretchen. He knew that one look at her and he'd be weakened and he desperately needed to be strong and unyielding to Henrietta's demands if they were all going to walk away with their lives.

He heard Gretchen's pleas and declarations that she'd divorce him, he heard her scream, he heard Elizabeth's cries but what he hadn't seen or even heard was Juliet.

For some strange reason, Juliet was standing before him with Elizabeth in her arms. He raised his eyes from the wailing child to Juliet's face and he immediately knew he needed to act fast.

Lifting his gun in Henrietta’s direction, he pulled the trigger.

**

THE MOMENT JULIET DISMISSED the Lawyer, she immediately mounted the second horse of the carriage and began racing to the castle.

Her heart seemed to be beating in sync with the horse's hooves as they made contact with the road, fear clouding her mind —she was afraid of losing her child, she was afraid of never getting the opportunity to right her many wrongs to Elizabeth, and she was afraid of hurting Ethan further by allowing harm come to his wife.

She had never ridden so fast in her entire life. She raced as if she was racing against time itself —she raced knowing that so many people's happiness and life depended on her ability to reach the manor on time.

And it did.

When Juliet saw Lady Hall's carriage from afar, she immediately knew Ethan had gotten to them because the carriage wasn't moving.

Pulling her horse to a halt a little distance from the party who stood by the carriage, she dismounted and hid herself behind a rock, praying they hadn't seen her yet. She needed to stay hidden to think of the best way to salvage the situation.

Her gaze rested on Ethan who held a gun pointed at Henrietta's face. She saw what looked like a maid standing with her back pressed against the carriage. She saw Gretchen on her knees and finally, she saw Elizabeth with a knife pressed to her throat.

Something in Juliet snapped as she watched the blood of her daughter drip to the ground.

Rising to her feet, she immediately began approaching the party. The moment she heard Gretchen scream, she took the opportunity and practically raced toward Henrietta. Without stopping to think for a second, she grabbed the knife from behind, flung it aside and immediately retrieved the hysterical child from a visibly shocked Henrietta. Turning to Ethan then, she took a step toward him and held Elizabeth out to him.

A sudden sharp pain raced tore her back, making it almost impossible to maintain her hold on the wailing child. She felt her arms weaken and her eyelids widen. Her knees trembled, an explosive sound tearing through the air. Forcing her trembling foot forward, she watched as Ethan threw his gun to the side and covered the distance that stood between them.