Rise of The Abandoned Husband (Liam Knight) novel Chapter 173

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173 Chapter 173 – A Perilous Experiment and a Family’s Fury

173 Chapter 173 – A Perilous Experiment and a Family’s

Fury

The cemetery stretched before me, a field of forgotten stones and weathered monuments bathed in moonlight. Perfect isolation. The wind whispered through dead trees as I dragged Miles Thornton’s st

form deeper into this forsaken place.

“You’ve lost your mind!” Miles spat, his designer shoes scraping against the dirt path. “Do you have any idea what

my family will do to you?”

I tightened my grip on his collar, barely registering his threats. My mind was focused on the opportunity before me – a chance to test the limits of my power.

“Shut up.” I shoved him against a crumbling mausoleum wall. “Your voice irritates me.”

Fear flashed in his eyes as I bound his wrists with rope. His clothes, worth more than what most people earned in months, were now smeared with dirt and sweat. How quickly the mighty fell.

“Listen to me,” he pleaded, his arrogance replaced by desperation. “Whatever they’re paying you, my father will double it. Triple it!”

I laughed. “This isn’t about money.”

“Then what? Power? Influence? I can give you that too!”

I finished securing him to an iron ring embedded in the stone wall. “What I want is something you can’t give me. Power –/real power – doesn’t come from families or

connections.”

Miles stared at me, uncomprehending. “What are you talking about?”

I stepped away, surveying the moonlit cemetery. Death permeated this place, and with it, the dark energy I needed. According to the ancient texts, such energy could be cultivated, harnessed by those brave enough to try.

“You’re just a means to an end,” I told him, rolling up my sleeves. “A distraction for your family while I accomplish something far more important.”

Fear twisted his features. “What are you going to do to me?”

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“Nothing” I replied, settling cross–legged on the ground several yards away. “If you stay

quiet?

I closed my eyes, steadying my breathing. The cemetery pulsed with dark energy – I could feel it swirling around me, drawn by centuries of grief and loss. According to the forbidden scrolls I’d studied, this energy could be absorbed, integrated with my own qi to create something more powerful than either energy alone.

It was dangerous. Reckless, even. But I needed more power to protect what was mine.

I extended my senses outward, feeling the dark tendrils responding to my call. They circled me cautiously, like curious serpents.

“What the hell are you doing?” Miles’s voice broke through my concentration.

I opened my eyes, shooting him a glare that silenced him instantly. Returning to my meditative state, I reached out again, this time drawing the dark energy toward me.

The first touch of it against my skin sent shivers down my spine, Cold, ancient, and hungry. I pushed past my instinctive revulsion and pulled it closer, guiding it toward my dantian where my golden qi circulated.

The moment the dark energy made contact with my internal energy, pain exploded through my body. I gasped, my back arching as conflicting forces waged war inside me. It felt like liquid ice flowing through my veins, battling against the warm current of my

1. qi.

“Something wrong? Miles called out, a note of hope in his voice,

I gritted my teeth, refusing to show weakness. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

But I was wrong. As more dark energy poured into me, the pain intensified beyond anything I’d experienced before. My golden qi rejected the invasion, turning violent as it fought against the darkness.

I tried to regulate the flow, to slow the process, but the dark energy had developed its own momentum. It surged through my meridians like a flash flood, overwhelming my

defenses.

“Stop I gasped to myself trying to halt the absorption. “Enough“”

But it was too late. The energy bad found a path and wouldn’t be denied. My skin began to frost over, tiny crystals forming across my arms and chest. My breath came

173 Chapter 173–A Perilous Experiment and a Family’s Fury

out in visible puffs despite the mild night air.

I fell forward onto my hands and knees, my entire body convulsing. Through blurred vision, I saw Miles watching with a mixture of terror and fascination.

“What’s happening to you?” he asked, his voice small.

I couldn’t answer. My jaw was locked tight against screams that threatened to tear

energies from my throat. The battle inside me reached its crescendo, light and dark clashing like thunder.

Then darkness claimed me, and I collapsed face–first onto the cemetery ground.

Across town, the Thornton family estate blazed with light. Servants scurried through marble hallways, keeping their heads down as raised voices echoed from the main study.

Chief William Vance stood rigid before the massive oak desk, hands clasped behind his back to hide their trembling. Across from him/sat Conrad Thornton, Miles’s older brother and the current acting head of the family while their father recovered from

surgery.

“Let me understand this clearly,” Conrad said, his voice deceptively soft. “Someone had the audacity to assault my brother in public and then drag him away like a common

criminal?”

William swallowed hard. “Yes, sir. A man named Liam Knight. He’s demanding

medicinal material as ransom.”

“Liam Knight.” Conrad savored the name, committing it to memory. “And you, the Chief of Police, did nothing to stop this?”

“It happened very quickly, Mr. Thornton. Knight is… he’s not an ordinary man. His movements were too fast to follow.”

Conrad raised an eyebrow. At thirty–three, he was seven years older than Miles and infinitely more composed. Where Miles was brash and entitled, Conrad was calculated and cold. His reputation in business circles was fearsome a brilliant strategist who crushed competitors without mercy.

“A martial artist, then,” Conrad mused. “Interesting.”

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173 Chapter 173–A Perilous Experiment and a Family’s Fury

William nodded. “From what I’ve gathered, he’s relatively new to Eldoria but has connections to the Celestial Apothecary Guild.”

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Conrad rose from his chair, moving to the window overlooking the family’s private gardens. Moonlight illuminated his sharp features and the silver threads in his otherwise dark hair.

“My brother has many flaws,” he said quietly. “He’s impulsive, arrogant, and often cruel. But he is a Thornton.” He turned, fixing William with a stare that made the police chief step back involuntarily. “And no one–absolutely no one–lays hands on a Thornton without consequences.”

“Of course, sir. We’ve mobilized our best officers to search for him. I have men canvassing the entire-”

Conrad raised a hand, cutting him off. “Your officers are unnecessary. We will handle

this ourselves.”

“But sir, this is a police matter-”

“Is it?” Conrad’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Tell me, Chief Vance, how many building permits does your department need approved this quarter? How many budget increases rely on city council members who happen to golf regularly with my father?”

William’s face paled. “I understand your point, Mr. Thornton.”

“Good.” Conrad returned to his desk, pressing a button on the intercom. “Send in Jackson and the security team.”

Within moments, the door opened to admit a grim–faced man in a tailored suit, followed by four others with the unmistakable bearing of professional fighters.

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