Gretchen made to take another step back but bumped into something. Standing behind her, Matthew placed his hands on her shoulders to stable her. Up until that moment, Ethan hadn't even noticed Matthew's presence. With nowhere else to run, Juliet took the opportunity to wrestle the baby from Gretchen's grip. Once separated from Gretchen, Elizabeth's loud cries broke the silence in the room.

Not stopping to acknowledge the cries of Elizabeth, Juliet took the child and walked away with the Bailiff following behind.

With Elizabeth gone, Gretchen fell to her knees and wept.

Chapter Twenty Six

Two Months Before

"Get out!" She yelled, her fingers balling into a fist as she glared at the frightened maids. "Are you deaf or do you all need whipping?!" The maids, not wanting to displease their mistress further, began scurrying out the door like rats that had been let loose.

Turning to face the one person who still stood in the room with a calm demeanor, she said, "you too, get out!" Her fists shook beside her, filling her with the desire to slam them against something hard.

"Calm yourself." The woman answered simply.

"Calm myself?!" It was the most absurd thing she had heard in weeks. "Are you mad or do you just choose to stand there and feign ignorance to the fact that we are stuck?!"

"We can find her."

She laughed for the first time that afternoon; a mirthless laugh that made her feel worse. She wanted to point out the fact that they had been trying; they had tried everything and everything they had tried had failed. It was useless trying and just like the past, she was about to lose again.

Placing herself gingerly on the settee, she tried to think but every option that sprang to her mind seemed hopeless. There was no way out of it, for every turn she tried had turned out to be a dead end.

"Finding her is beyond critical." The woman continued, taking measured steps to where she sat.

"I cannot risk bringing her back, knowing the implications of that singular action." She admitted in defeat.

“We can try to find her or we can sit here and do nothing about it. She's the only proof we have; the only solution to both our problems."

Straightening, she stared into the eyes of the woman, completely certain she couldn't trust her. But she didn't have a choice; trusting this woman wasn't an option, it was a necessity.

"Fine," She lifted her gaze to the woman. "I shall bring her back. But," She raised a finger in warning. "When I do bring her back and she tries to betray me, I shall destroy her. I shall spend my last dime fighting to destroy her." Fear reflected in the woman's eyes, causing a satisfied smile to spread across her own lips.