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Guest Reviews:

Guest 'Happy Typing': Wow, you are the first person to tell me to STOP posting so fast, ha ha. I am glad you are catching up though! I agree, age is relative when love is involved. Yes, Amir was SOOOO a ladies man! ha ha. You were right, Christine was pregnant. I am glad the doctor did NOT take the window exit, we will need him later. ha ha. I am sure Emily still gets her monthly...why do you ask? And I agree, Erik has been as hormonal mes lately - must be sympathy hormones I guess. ha ha. Yes, Amir has been taken...and beat up...and almost killed...but hey, he still has his good looks! Yes with Max things just got out of hand and he let them keep spiraling out of control till he was neck deep. Lets not inscribe too much depth into Simon...he is just evil...plain and simple. ha ha. Oh no one is going to be running and hiding...since no one sees it coming. I can only HOPE Erik will be the dashing hero. I will list the story's stats at the end of the chapter to ease your curiosity, OK?

Winslow'sPhoenix: yes, Amir is alive and safe...for now. Erik appreciates your "CAN DO" attitude in cleaning out the baddies for him. I will do my best to see that everyone you love lives...but no promises.

Guest 1: I will pass your directive on to Erik. "did you hear that, Erik...HURRY!"

CherryChocoholic: Nope, do not like chocolate and mint mixed together. Sorry. And now that they know it was a trap, they need to hightail it back home, toot sweet! I like Mr. Bower too! No! No pity for Max! He was and still is BAD!

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So who thinks Erik made it in time?

Who thinks they got out of Summercrest before Simon showed up?

Who wonders if Blake has shot himself in the foot yet? ha ha.

Well read on and find out!

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Chapter 50

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Radcliff had indeed been watching from the cover of the trees as Erik and Blake rode away from Summercrest. He smiled devilishly to himself, thinking of how devastated Erik would be when he returned to find everyone at the mansion dead and the place burned to the ground. Everyone except his grandson. Yes, the boy would be leaving with him.

Simon ordered the men to wait just long enough to be sure Erik had not doubled back and was far enough away to not hear the gunfire that was certain to occur when they stormed the place. Yet while they waited, something odd began to happen. One by one the servants exited the house and began leaving, as if they were done for the day and heading home. This made Radcliff curious and he instructed the men to hold off a bit longer, thinking that it would make his job that much easier if no one was left inside to oppose him. As long as he did not see any of his specific targets leave, he was willing to wait and see what happened.

It took most of an hour for the maids, gardeners and kitchen help to gather their things and head home for the day upon Madam Giry's request. Many of them wore a look of confusion on their faces but a paid day off was not something they were about to pass up for any reason.

Yet when the steady stream of workers dwindled to none, Simon knew it was time to strike. So signaling for his men to fan out, surrounding the house, he made his way towards the front entrance.

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"Are you ready?" Antoinette asked Christine as she came down the stairs holding Amy and Robert's hands, followed closely behind by Rose. The little girl held her beloved kitten, Bandit in her arms as they went, the docile feline already asleep.

"We are ready," Christine assured her, having had both children dress for the short ride to Amir's empty estate.

"Mr. Bower is gathering up a few supplies and will then bring the carriage around to the front so we can load Peter in safely," the ever efficient housemaid informed them. "Meg will tend to him during the ride, since the doctor showed her what to do before he left, while you, Emily and Rose just worry about the children."

"Where is Emily?" Christine asked, looking around but not seeing her sister-in-law.

"She ran back up to her room to fetch something," Antoinette told her, turning around to check on the bags she had packed for the journey. One of them held several weapons Mr. Bower had already taken from the gun cabinet upon Erik's orders.

Unfortunately she never had a chance to do so, since at that moment the front door burst open and in raced several men holding guns and shouting that everyone was to stay where they were. Antoinette eyed her cane that was leaning against the stair railing but knew there was no way she could reach it in time and neither would it be much use against men with guns. Christine grabbed both children and hugged them to her, the frightened twins burying their faces in her skirts as the men continued to shout. Even Bandit woke up at the sound of all the ruckus and began to hiss at the sight of the large burly men. Rose stood there stock still, raising her hands just a bit as if to indicate that she would not offer any resistance.

"What is the meaning of this?" Antoinette shouted, doing her best to retain a sense of calm in all the disorder. "You have no right to come bursting in here, I insist you leave at once or I will notify the authorities!"

"Ahhh, still so firm and brave, Madam Giry," Simon complimented smoothly as he strode into the room behind the men. "I had always admired William for finding such an efficient housekeeper. Too bad you chose to turn on him and throw in with my enemies, or I might have spared your life and allowed you to work for me."

"I would sooner die than work for any Radcliff again!" Antoinette seethed, her skin crawling just at the sight of the patriarch of the family she hated so much.

"You know what they say…be careful what you wish for," Simon laughed, yet there was no humor in the sound. He then turned his attention to Christine and gave a very sickening smile. "And this must be the delectable Christine," he guessed, watching her flinch at the sound of his voice. "You have grown up to be quite the beauty, my dear, just as your Uncle Max said. A far cry from the gangly little girl I remember from that night so long ago."

Christine simply stood there and stared at the man before her, the man she now recognized as none other than Lord Radcliff…the man who had murdered her parents. As if a door had been opened in her mind, all her memories were at last revealed to her. Her childhood, the faces of her mother and father, how much they loved her and that horrible night they were killed. She could also now see the faces of each man who had been there in the room, yet the one that stood out clearly was that of the man before her, Simon Radcliff. He had aged a bit, his hair now sported more gray and his face a few extra wrinkles, yet those evil ice blue eyes had not changed a bit…and they still caused her heart to quake with fear.

"You…" she gasped, unable to move as she stood there frozen in place.

"That's right my dear," Simon nodded, enjoying the look of terror in the young woman's eyes. "I must say that you resemble your mother very much. For she too had that very same look on her face just before I slit your father's throat and then hers. I have waited a long time to finish this job, to see you are reunited with your parents…in death!"

"You monster! You horrible, sadistic fiend!" Christine yelled, her anger and hatred now overpowering her fear.

"Guilty as charged," Simon said, bowing at his waist as he swept out his hand in a prideful gesture. "Unfortunately I was a bit lax in my execution last time and left you regrettably alive. A mistake I intend to rectify very soon." His eyes then fell upon the two children at her side, both peeking out with terrified eyes to see what was going on. "And these I take it are my William's children." He knelt down on one knee and held his hands out in a welcoming gesture. "Come give your grandfather a proper hello."

"You will never touch them!" Christine spat, clutching the twins even tighter. "He never deserved to be their father and you certainly have no right to claim them as your grandchildren either. You are a monster and I will see you rot in hell before they go with you!"

"My, my, such language," Simon scolded, making a disappointed clicking noise with his tongue. "Yet, no matter what you think, my dear, they will be leaving with me…or at least the boy will."

"NO!" Robert yelled, turning his angry little eyes on the man before him. "I will never go with you. And you leave our mother alone!"

Christine gave a small gasp, not only because of Robert's outburst but because that had been the first time he had ever referred to her as his mother. It both exhilarated her as well as caused her grief, thinking of how it was Emily they should be calling that.

"Your mother?" Simon repeated, letting loose a little chuckle. "Is that what you think…that this woman is your mother?"

"She married our Papa, that makes her our mother!" Amy agreed, also willing to speak up in Christine's defense.

"Your father was William Radcliff, my son!" Simon bellowed, making both children cringe at the sound of his booming voice. "That freak in the mask killed him in cold blood and stole the two of you from me! Thus robbing you of your birthright and your proper place in society. But I am here to take you away and give you the life you were meant to have!"

"And what kind of life is that?" Christine countered. "A life of cruelty, pain and humiliation? Did you approve of your son's actions, Lord Radcliff? Did you know he was a man who enjoyed torture and torment, a man who saw nothing wrong with raising his hand to his own wife and treating her like she was nothing more than a possession?"

"Of course I knew, Lady Morant," he informed her in a sickening sweet voice. "Who do you think taught him everything he knew?"

At this even Christine had to take a step back, her face contorting in the most disgusted manner by his words. It was one thing to know what William had done to both Erik and Emily but it was quite another to hear this man brag about it as if he were proud of his son's actions.

"You sicken me!" she said, turning her head away, unable to even look at him.

"Well, look at the bright side, you will not have to feel that way for long," Simon told her with a shrug of his shoulders. "But first, I think we need to round up the rest of Summercrest, there has to be more than just the few of you still left in this big old house."

As if on cue, a total of five more of Simon's men came bursting through either the back doors or exiting from a few other rooms, all of them holding various weapons, be it guns or knives. One man had Mr. Bower by the back of the neck, the poor butler's hands laced together on top of his head and sporting an angry red mark across his cheek. As the goon shoved him out towards her, Christine could tell from his rumpled appearance that Mr. Bower had obviously put up some kind of struggle, yet had unfortunately lost.

Two of the others had Meg by each arm as she fought desperately between them, kicking and screaming while they dragged her from the sitting room. The last of Simon's henchmen to appear was Joseph as he shoved the wounded Peter ahead of him. The brave young man did his best to limp and shuffle towards where they had taken Meg, trying to keep his face void of pain.

"This is all we could find, boss," the large bald headed man announced, as they forced the three new captives to the floor. Meg immediately reached over and pulled Peter to her, cradling his head on her lap as he did his best to breathe through the pain and remain conscious.

"Joseph, you traitorous animal!" Meg yelled, giving the once fellow employee a cold and hateful stare. "Can't you see that Peter has been sorely wounded? Must you now cause him more pain? What did he ever do to you?"

"Shut your pie-hole, little missy or I swear I will shut it for you!" Joseph threatened, pulling his hand back as if he were about to strike out at her.

"Don't you touch her!" Peter snarled, rising up and supporting himself by one hand as he placed himself between Joseph and Meg, blocking his access to the girl.

"Or you will do what boy?" Joseph laughed cruelly. "I could take the little tart here and now and you couldn't do a thing to stop me." His threatening smile then turned to one of pure lust as he looked at Meg, her innocent eyes growing wide with fear by what she saw reflected there. "In fact I might do just that. I had always wanted a taste of that piece of sugar but had to keep my hands clean in order to retain my job here. But no more, I am free to do and take whatever and whomever I wish. So, girly, how about we see what you have been saving for old Joe under that dress!" He then reached down, planning to grab Meg by the arm, but Peter lashed out, striking the man's hand away as he did his best to defend his girl. Joseph roared in anger as he lunged at the wounded man, prepared to finish the job he and his men had started out on the road earlier, but a cry from behind made him falter.

"NO!" Antoinette screamed, grabbing for her cane and swinging it over her head as she brought it down across Joseph's back with a loud cracking sound. "You leave my daughter be!"

Joseph had let out a loud moan when Antoinette had struck him and while everyone had at first thought the cracking sound might have been his back, it had regrettably only been the cane. Now standing there holding a much shorter walking stick, Antoinette suddenly became the sole interest of the bald henchmen as he turned to face her.

"You are going to die for that, woman!" he roared, grabbing what was left of the cane from her hands and tossing it across the room. "You will die slowly and I will still have your little daughter!"

"Enough!" Simon shouted, tired of the foolish games going on before him. "All of that can wait…right now we need to find that slut who helped kill my son! I want her kneeling before me as I slit her throat so that the last thing she sees are my eyes. The same color eyes as my William's, the man she should have been thankful to have married. Yet she just couldn't seem to learn to honor and obey him like she vowed, the ungrateful chit. Tear this place apart if you have to, but find her!"

"There is no need for that," came a dark and cold voice from above, causing everyone to turn and look at the landing on the second floor. There, looking every inch in control and deadly serious, was Emily, holding a gun that was pointed directly at Simon's heart. "I am right here."

"Ahhh, Emily, my dear sweet daughter-in-law, how good of you to come out and say hello," Simon crooned, opening his arms wide as if he were trying to make a bigger target for her to aim her gun at. "Yet, is this any way to greet family? I must say you have changed a bit since I saw you last. What ever happened to that meek and mild little girl I was so fond of?"

"That girl is dead," she seethed, walking along the railing to the stairs, never taking her eyes, or her gun, off of Simon. "Your son killed her the night he tortured my brother and forced me to willingly play his little whore. That Emily is long gone, but a new one took her place. One that would gladly shoot you here and now, just to watch you die."

"Such hatred from one so young," Simon commented, no longer sure if he should be acting so confident.

"You sound surprised?" Emily continued as she took each step down the stairs with exact precision, not wavering or hesitating one bit. She finally stopped when she reached the bottom, coming to stand a few feet away from Christine and the twins. "And yet you shouldn't be. After all, I learned at the feet of the master when it came to cruelty. I learned with each slap, each blow and every degrading and abhorrent word just what it means to hate someone so much that you could wish them dead and not shed one tear of regret. Well I feel the same way about you, Simon. I know why you are here, I know what it is you came for and I will never let you leave here with my children! They are mine! Not William's and certainly not yours. Robert and Amy will grow up surrounded by love and kindness, not forced to endure a life controlled by an evil man festering with malice. They are my flesh and blood and I will die protecting them from you!"

At this startling revelation all eyes turned to her, including those of Robert and Amy, both looking at Emily with faces full of confusion.

"You're….our mother?" Amy asked in a small little voice.

"Yes my darlings," Emily whispered, taking her eyes off of Simon for a moment to gaze lovingly at her son and daughter. "I am your real mother and while I might have forgotten this for a while, I now remember everything and I will never, never forget again."

"Oh what a touching moment," Simon said in mock sincerity, placing his hand over his heart as if he truly cared. "Almost brings tears to my eyes to see such devotion. And yet it will all be for nothing, since everyone in this room except my grandchildren will soon be dead."

"You seem to forget, Simon, that I am holding a gun on you," Emily pointed out, once more returning her icy stare to him.

"Just as all of my men are doing to you, my dear." Simon countered. "Do you truly think you could manage to kill me before they do the same to you a dozen times over?"

"Only one way to find out," Emily answered, apparently not afraid to die for her children. "Do you really want to take the chance that I might be faster? I assure you that I am highly motivated and not simply by the thought of a paycheck. Haven't you ever heard the saying, don't get between a mother bear and her cubs?"

Simon's face lost all its humor then and his eyes narrowed as he contemplated her words. She truly did seem to be a whole different person from the meek little kitten William had managed to turn her into, from what he had observed during the few times he had been to their house. Now she was a wild cat with claws and he was not sure if he had the ability to tame her. So instead, he decided to try another tactic.

"Joseph," he called, snapping his fingers to bring the man over to his side.

"Yes boss?" he responded, stepping closer.

"Do me a favor and kill the girl," he ordered, saying it as calmly if he were asking him to fetch a cup of tea.

"Pardon?" Joseph asked, not quite sure he heard him. "But…she has a gun."

"So do you, you idiot!" Simon barked, grabbing him by the back of the collar and placing the man directly in front of him like a shield. "Now pull out your gun and shoot her!"

"Don't think for one moment I will not kill you both!" Emily warned, frowning as the two men began to advance on her.

Joseph was not liking this one bit and began to fumble for the weapon at his side as he was forced closer and closer to the crazy girl. She had that wild look in her eyes and he was not quite sure what she might do, neither did he want to find out.

"Shoot her, damn you!" Simon bellowed as he lost patience with his cowardly henchman and shoved him towards her, the man stumbling forward at her unexpectedly.

The gun in Emily's hand fired at the same time that Joseph came at her, his hands grasping on her shoulders as the look of shock was replaced by fear and pain. Emily screamed and stepped back, the gun in her hand still smoking from the bullet it had just fired into the man before her. Joseph sunk to his knees and then fell face down on the floor…dead.

Before Emily had time to react, or process what she had just been forced to do, Radcliff lunged forward and backhanded the startled girl across the face, causing her to drop her gun as she sailed backwards onto the floor. Reaching down, Simon picked up the weapon and began to stalk towards her.

Christine had let out a scream as well when Emily had fired the gun but she had been frozen by shock when Radcliff had struck the stunned girl. Yet seeing Simon now advancing on her sister-in-law caused Christine to snap out of her daze. She quickly disengaged herself from the children, who immediately ran into the waiting arms of Rose, and grabbed hold Radcliff's arm as he passed by her.

"NO!" Christine shouted, her nails digging into his arm in an attempt to halt him. "Leave her alone!"

"Let go of me, witch!" Simon roared, doing his best to shake her off. "You did enough damage when you were a troublesome little brat, I won't have you leaving any more marks on me before I kill you!" He then turned away from Emily and grabbed hold of his silk cravat. Pulling it down, he gave Christine a clear view of the scars she had left behind when she scratched him as a child. With a snarl of hatred, he aimed the gun directly at Christine. "I supposed it would be best to get it over with and not give you a second chance. Let's see if I can get it right this time."

Christine released her hold and began to back up, realizing that she had pushed Simon one step too far. She waited for her life to flash before her eyes but the only image that appeared was that of Erik. For in reality, he was her life, since she had not truly began living until she had met and fallen in love with him. Losing him would be her only regret, besides never knowing her unborn child, and her heart wept for them both. Still, she was determined to be strong, to face death without tears or pleading, she would not give Radcliff the satisfaction. So standing still she shut her eyes and braced herself for death.

"Drop your weapon, Radcliff!" Erik growled in a deep voice, like a feral animal protecting its mate. He stood there in the middle of the foyer with a pistol aimed right at Simon, having just entered by way of the unguarded front door. Erik's face beneath the mask was covered in sweat, his hair was a windblown mess and he was painfully out of breath from his hard ride…but he had made it in time! Christine was still alive. However, if he could not get Radcliff to lower his gun, she might not be for long.

Simon whirled around to see Erik standing there like the angel of death, a look of pure hatred in his eyes. Radcliff had not expected Erik to return so quickly but he did find some sadistic pleasure in the fact that the younger man stood there alone. Leading Simon to believe that Erik had not discovered where they were keeping his Persian friend. And while he knew he only needed to say the word and his men would open fire, Simon rather liked the idea of watching his son's murderer suffer a bit first. So as quick as lightning, he reached out and grabbed hold of the stunned Christine. Yanking on her arm in a jarring fashion as he pulled her in front of him, placing the gun to her neck. The force of his actions caused Christine to cry out in shock and pain, shutting her eyes as she tried to assess her new situation. Simon's actions triggered his henchmen to spring to life and all of them took a few steps forward, attempting to converge on Erik. Yet a shout from Simon halted them in their tracks.

"Stand down!" he yelled. "This is between me and Morant! You just mind the others…he is mine." The handful of armed men did as directed, each one returning his attention back to the eight remaining prisoners, each one standing or sitting there in shock. Simon then turned his gaze back to Erik, a wicked smile spreading across his evil face. "I think it is you who should be dropping your weapon, Erik," Radcliff warned, enjoying the sound of Christine's whimper as he harshly dug the barrel of the gun into her tender flesh. "We wouldn't want to see this delicate little thing die any sooner than necessary, would we?"

"Let her go, Radcliff!" Erik shouted, his voice laden with worry and fear. "Your grudge is with me, not her. If you want revenge, take it out on me…just don't make her pay for my sins."

"Why not?" Simon asked. "Aren't husband and wife supposed to share everything? The ups, the downs, the good times and bad? Well I think this falls under the category of bad…don't you?"

Erik was furious; the sight of his precious Christine in the clutches of that mad man was causing him not to think straight. He needed to keep a cool head but his heart was practically pounding out of his chest with fear for her life. He had to find a way to get her away from him!

"Kill me instead, Simon," Erik offered, walking closer to him, taking slow and easy steps so as not to startle the man. "Let her go and you can have me." He was now in the center of the large room, making everyone turn from where they were in order to keep an eye on the circling pair. Simon kept moving both Christine and himself, in order to keep Erik in front of him, his pistol still trained on the poor girl's throat. "I won't put up a fight, I willingly surrender," Erik told him, bending down as he laid the pistol on the floor and spread out his arms in defeat. "Just please, let her go."

"Erik no!" Christine cried, once more hissing in pain as Simon's grip on her arm grew tighter and the gun barrel dug in deeper. It was getting hard to swallow, as well as breath with the impediment against her neck.

"I won't lose you and the baby," Erik told her, not listening to Christine's objections. He had made up his mind on the ride there, swearing to God that if he were only in time to save his wife, he would gladly trade his life for hers. Well God had held up his end…now it was time for Erik to fulfill his promise as well.

"Yes…the baby," Simon nodded. "It would be such a shame to see a life snuffed out before it even had a chance to begin. And yet, you took the life of my son without so much as a moment of regret, didn't you, Morant? DIDN'T YOU!?" he roared, his eyes darkening with hate.

"Yes!" Erik shouted back, hating to see the grimace of pain crossing Christine's face at Radcliff's hateful words. "I killed your son! So take your revenge on me and leave her alone!"

Everyone in the room was staring at them in shocked silence. Simon's men were doing their best to keep their weapons trained on the prisoners while still watching the confrontation before them. While everyone from Summercrest held their breath in hopes that Erik could somehow talk his way out of the horrible mess they were now all in. However, things did not look very promising.

"Get on your knees you worthless dog!" Simon snarled. "I want to see you begging for mercy before I put a bullet between your eyes." He waited a few seconds and when Erik refused to move, he screamed his orders again, but this time he moved the gun from Christine's neck to her stomach. "I said, on your knees!"

Erik's eyes grew even wider as he gasped in fear at Simon's threat. No! Not the baby. Without a word he complied, falling to his knees at the feet of the man who now held all his happiness hostage.

"Much better," Simon told him, an evil smile coming to his face. "Now, remove your shirt and mask. I want to see exactly what my William did to you that caused you to bear the title of monster. He was always rather handy with a knife, as well as other things, so let's see just what kind of masterpiece he created using your worthless flesh. Show me what it is you hide!"

"No!" Christine sobbed, knowing just how humiliating it would be for Erik to expose his face and body to those around him, both enemy as well as friends.

"Well, it must truly be a horrible sight if even your wife is begging you to keep it hidden," Simon laughed, misinterpreting her plea and assuming the worst. "But I demand that you show me or I will not hesitate to kill her right before your eyes!"

Once more Erik knew he was trapped. He could either remove his mask, something he was more than reluctant to do, or risk Simon harming Christine.

His choice was instantaneous.

Reaching up he yanked his shirt open, ripping it from his body in one quick jerk. He then let his hands go to the ties that held his mask in place. Pulling it from his face, Erik stared up at Simon with a mixture of defiance and hatred in his eyes, so strong that it could have melted glass.

There was a collective gasp by many in the room, yet all Erik could hear was the quiet sobs of his wife as she looked at him in sorrow, knowing just what it was costing him to do this.

"Well…" Simon began, for even he was finding it a bit difficult to look at the travesty that was once Erik's face and chest. Each raised mark and each horrible scar was now on display for all to see, causing everyone from Summercrest, as well as a few of the goons, to flinch in pain as they could only imagine what the man had been put through. Yet of them all, Simon was the only one whose lips curled into a sadistic smile, one of pure pleasure and admiration. "I can see that my son took a lot of pride in his work. He even put his seal on it for good measures," the man remarked, referring to the brand that graced the right side of Erik's cheek. "I can now see why you went to such lengths to hide this from view. You truly are a hideous monster, Morant."

Out of the corner of his eye, Erik could see the looks of shock on Meg, Peter, Rose and Mr. Bower's faces, the four of them seeing this all for the first time. He was relieved to see that Rose had both children's faces turned away, buried in the folds of her skirt, shielding them from the horrific sight before them.

Off to his right he could see Emily, still lying on the floor where she had fallen, her eyes wide with shock and fear as she watched her nightmares play out once more before her face. He wanted to give her some kind of reassurance that things would be all right but for the life of him he couldn't find it in him. All he could do was kneel there, feeling utterly exposed and wracked with shame. Yet he would not allow those emotions to overshadow the fact that he was doing it for Christine…doing it to keep her alive. He would gladly endure a thousand more lashes and a hundred more brands if it meant saving her. Thus, kneeling there before his enemy, his shame fully exposed for all to see, meant nothing to him.

"You have had your look, Radcliff," Erik spat. "Now release her!"

"Oh I never said I would let her go," the older man corrected in an amused tone. "I only said I would kill her if you didn't comply. Yet now that I have seen what it is you must live with every day, the horror and humiliation of looking as you do, I think the kindest thing I can do is to kill you both. Put you out of your misery for resembling a monster and her for having to be bedded by one. It will be a mercy killing really, something I admit that I am not known for. Yet, even I can find it in my heart to show compassion every now and again."

"NO!" Christine shouted, desperately twisting in his hold on her. "Please...please don't kill him!"

"Do not worry, my dear," Simon murmured softly into her ear as he gripped her tighter. "You will not grieve long, for soon you will be following him." With that he pulled the pistol away from Christine and aimed it directly at Erik. "Any final words, Morant?"

"Go to hell!" Erik hissed, his eyes narrowing as he braced himself for the final shot that would end his life. He then looked up at Christine, giving her one last love filled look before the end. Yet no shot came! Instead he watched as Radcliff jerked forward, almost toppling both he and Christine over as he gave a cry of pain. Erik was not the only one who was confused by this, for all of Simon's men began to tense up, their heads whipping around as if looking for some new danger that remained unseen.

It only took Erik a second to realize what had happened, for as Radcliff turned in his agony he could see the hilt of a knife sticking out of the man's left shoulder, causing him to writhe and squirm. It was then that he saw Amir leaning against the wall near the entryway as if it were the only thing keeping him upright. Apparently, the exertion it had taken to get to Summercrest and throw the blade had drained what little strength the Persian had left. Yet it had been more than enough to turn the tide and as Erik leapt to his feet, the other residents of Summercrest flew into action as well.

Rose was the first one to respond grabbing the two children and collapsing to the floor as she covered their sobbing little forms like a mother hen would her chicks. If anyone wanted to harm the twins, they would have to go through their protective old nanny first!

Madam Giry had immediately dove for the bag that contained the weapons before any of the goons could react. Grabbing a gun, she not only shot one of Radcliff's men directly in the chest, killing him instantly, but managed to slide another one of the pistols across the floor to Meg and Peter. Mr. Bower had taken advantage of the ruckus and had elbowed the man behind him in the face, causing him to drop his knife. With a speed no one knew the portly man possessed, he spun around and struck the man across his already bleeding face, knocking him to the floor unconscious. He then hurled himself at a second man who was quickly approaching, tackling him around the waist and pinning him to the floor. A few more solid strikes to the man's face soon left the butler winded and tired...but victorious.

Peter had grabbed the gun Antoinette had given them and rapidly turned it on the two men standing to their left, shooting the first one and watching him crumble to the floor in death. The second man had been able to react quicker, getting off a shot himself. Thankfully he had aimed wide, missing the two lovers huddled on the floor by mere inches, as bits of tile and dust flew up when the bullet embedded itself in the floor. Peter flinched and once more instinctively shielded Meg with his own body, fearing that the man might have a second weapon and this shot would not fail.

Yet they were saved by the screeching yell of an enraged Emily, leaping off the floor as she jumped on the man's back, scratching and clawing at his face as she did her best to save Meg and Peter. The man cried out, thrashing around as he tried to force the wild cat off of him, finally reaching back and pulling her from him as he threw her to the tile floor. She landed with a terrible thump, the force efficient enough to knock the wind out of her and stun the girl temporarily. When the bloody faced goon turned on her, tossing his spent gun aside and pulling out a deadly blade, a cry of rage was heard from across the room, followed by the report of a gun going off, one that caused the man threatening Emily to fall to the floor dead.

Emily tore her eyes off of the still man as she looked over at her savior. Amir was lying on his side a few yards from where he had originally been leaning against the wall, a smoking gun still clutched in his visibly shaking hand. She gave him a quick smile of love and gratitude before her eyes were pulled away by the sight of the last henchman quickly advancing on Madam Giry, knife in hand. Emily shouted out a warning but it was too late, the woman had no time to turn and defend herself. Yet seconds before his blade might have pierced her flesh, a loud crash was heard and they watched as her attacker's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped to the floor. Once his body was no longer obstructing the view, Antoinette could see who her deliverer had been. Standing there was Blake Calloway, holding the remnants of a porcelain vase over his head. Obviously having struck the man with it, shattering the antique as well as the man's skull. The grateful housekeeper gave the man a nod of gratitude, but that was all they had time for since everyone's attention was now focused solely on the remaining battle going on in the room.

That of Erik and Simon.

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OH NO! So much to worry about! I am out of breath!

Wow, Simon is pretty evil here - and don't we all just love that rambling confession a villain does just before he gets his come-up-ins!

I think everyone at Summercrest deserves a metal for their efforts in vanquishing the enemy. Now let's see how Erik does with HIS opponent!

Oh and WAY TO GO AMIR! And Emily too...she remembers and the kids now know she is their mommy!

Now we have Joseph dead...two down...two to go!

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: As you all know I have been hoping that this new story would top my last one, Siren of the Sea, in reviews and popularity. Well, it appears that it will fall short of that goal (DRAT) but not by much! I only need 277 more reviews to pass Siren of the Sea! So thank you very much for all your wonderful support and responses. So far MBTM has generated almost 1600 reviews, 110 Follows, 91 Faves and a grand total of 52,283 views! Wow, I am overwhelmed by your kindness!

Now...some of you have been pleading for me to elaborate on Amir and Emily's humble beginnings - as in when and how they fell in love. I am seriously considering writing a few bonus chapters chronicling that precious love story in more detail (at least more detail than our adorable Persian saw fit to tell Christine in the garden that day). I will be working on it as soon as I am done posting the end to this story and as a reward to you all, I will begin releasing it on the day MBTM tops Siren of the Sea! I see that new readers are coming on all the time - so I hope it will not be long! So be sure and review for these last few chapters (or any past ones you might have missed) so you will all get your reward sooner! If this sounds like shameless begging...(which I admit it is) just pretend it doesn't and move on. ha ha.