Rise of The Abandoned Husband (Liam Knight) novel Chapter 208

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208 Chapter 208 His Agony. Her Vengeance

208 Chapter 208 – His Agony, Her Vengeance

Gage’s eyes widened in horror. “Miss Ashworth, please-”

Gage looked between Isabelle and Caspian, finally realizing the gravity of his situation.

The pain was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. It wasn’t just physical–it felt like something was being torn from inside me. I bit down hard on my lip, tasting blood as I fought to remain silent.

Caspian stepped forward. “Miss Isabelle, the car is ready. We should get Mr. Knight medical attention as soon as possible.”

I hung suspended from the ceiling, iron chains biting into my wrists. Blood trickled down my arms, but I refused to show weakness.

The threat hung in the air, a promise of vengeance that sent visible shivers through Gage’s body.

The whip arced toward my head, aiming for a fatal blow.

A ghost of a smile touched her lips before she turned back to Gage, who was now visibly trembling.

I steeled myself, knowing what was coming. The whip cracked through the air, striking my back with explosive force.

“That’s quite enough,” the man said coldly.

“Miss Ashworth, please,” he pleaded. “I was just following orders.”

“Thirty lashes, wasn’t it?” Isabelle interrupted, testing the whip with a flick of her wrist. “That seems appropriate.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner,” she whispered.

Gage swallowed hard. “I–I’m a representative of the Veridia City Martial Guild. You

can’t-”

“Liam,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

The next five lashes came in rapid succession, each one feeling like it might be the one

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208 Chapter 208- His Agony, Her Vengeance

to finally break me. My consciousness flickered, darkness creeping in at the edges of my vision.

“Gage Mcbride,” she said, her body trembling slightly with the force of her contained fury. Her eyes locked with his, cold as winter frost and twice as deadly. “Remember my face. Remember this moment. Because I swear to you, I will never forgive you for what you’ve done here today.”

“There we go,” Gage said with satisfaction. “Everyone bleeds eventually.”

At the doorway, Isabelle stopped and turned back one final time. Gage still stood frozen against the wall, relief and fear battling on his face.

Gage’s eye twitched with annoyance. He walked to a nearby table and lifted something that looked like a whip, but it glowed with an unnatural blue light.

As Caspian and another guard helped me toward the door, Isabelle walked beside me, her hand hovering near mine as if afraid to touch me and cause more pain.

“Caspian Kane, of the Ashworth Family,” he replied, his voice calm but threatening. “And you’re torturing someone under our protection.”

The air around me shimmered as the formation came fully alive. Giant blades of energy materialized, hovering around my suspended body.

“Can you stand?” she asked softly.

Isabelle continued as if she hadn’t heard either of us. “Do you know what happens to people who harm those under Ashworth protection?”

“You seem to have misunderstood who Liam Knight is,” she said, walking slowly toward him. “So let me educate you. This man saved my life. He stands under the full protection of the Ashworth family.”

He moved to stand in front of me, raising the whip one final time. “Conrad wanted your spirit crushed before your death. I’d say mission accomplished.”

“Twenty–five lashes,” Gage announced, sounding impressed despite himself. “You’re still conscious. Conrad was right to fear your potential.”

“Caspian,” she said without turning around, “prepare a car. We’re taking Liam back to the villa immediately.”

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208 Chapter 208- His Agony, Her Vengeance

She stepped close to Gage one last time. “But don’t think this is over. The punishment for what you’ve done will come, and when it does, you’ll long for something as merciful as this whip.”

Before Gage could respond, the door burst open again. Framed in the doorway stood Isabelle Ashworth, her face a perfect mask of composure–until her eyes found me.

My jaw tightened as pain radiated through my body, but I refused to cry out. “Is this the best the Veridia City Martial Guild can do?”

“An interesting weapon,” she observed. “Designed to cause maximum pain to both body and spirit, you said?”

The crack of the whip echoed through the chamber–but the pain never came.

The whip struck again, and this time I couldn’t contain a grunt of pain. The third lash came faster, then the fourth. By the fifth, my vision was blurring.

Through the haze of pain, I focused on a single thought: survival. Isabelle needed me. I

couldn’t die here.

“This is called a Spirit Whip,” he explained, running his fingers along its length. “It doesn’t just tear your flesh. It damages your spirit. Even if you survive, you’ll never be

the same.”

I couldn’t help but smile despite my predicament. My body had grown incredibly resilient through my recent cultivation breakthroughs.

I met his gaze steadily. “If you’re trying to intimidate me, you’ll need to try harder.”

“Let’s try for thirty,” Gage decided, raising the whip again..

She leaned closer to him. “Test me and find out.”

She walked back to the table where the Spirit Whip still lay and picked it up, examining it with clinical detachment.

He intensified the formation, and the energy in the room grew oppressive. The next blade that struck me cut deeper, finally breaking my skin. A thin line of blood appeared

across my torso.

Blood ran freely down my back, soaking into my tattered clothes. My breathing grew ragged as the whip continued its brutal work. Ten lashes became fifteen, then twenty.

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208 Chapter 208 His Agony, Her Vengeance

Isabelle finally turned away from Gage, who slumped against the wall in relief. But as she passed me, she paused.

My head hung low, but my eyes remained open. Blood dripped from my chin onto the floor, joining the growing pool beneath me.

Caspian moved to the wall where the chain controls were located and lowered me slowly to the ground. My legs buckled as my feet touched the floor, and he caught me before I could collapse.

Isabelle approached me, her expensive shoes clicking against the stone floor. She stopped just before me, her eyes taking in every cut, every bruise, every drop of blood.

“This special formation was designed just for you,” Gage said. “Conrad Thornton was very specific about how he wanted you to suffer.”

Rage flashed in Gage’s eyes. “Don’t get cocky. I’m just warming up.”

“On second thought,” she said, looking back at Gage with newfound purpose. “Before we leave, there’s something I need to do.”

Isabelle’s shock quickly transformed. Her eyes narrowed, her posture straightened, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

“You’re right,” she conceded, dropping the whip. “Liam’s wellbeing comes first.”

“For you? Always,” I managed to reply, straightening slightly despite the agony coursing through my body.

Gage Mcbride circled me like a vulture, his eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure. “The great Liam Knight,” he sneered, “not so powerful now, are you?”

“Release him,” she commanded, her voice now deadly quiet. “Now.”

“Can’t what?” Isabelle’s voice was soft but carried an unmistakable threat. “Can’t make

you disappear? Can’t ensure that your name is forgotten within a week? Can’t have your family blacklisted from every institution in this country?”

For a moment, Isabelle seemed torn, the whip still gripped tightly in her hand. Then she looked at me, and her expression softened marginally.

With that, Isabelle turned away, her attention fully returning to me as we left the chamber behind. But the look in her eyes had made one thing abundantly clear–Gage

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209 Chapter 208 His Agony Her Vengeance

Mcbride’s days were numbered, and when his reckoning came, it would be delivered by the elegant hand of Isabelle Ashworth herself.

“Easy,” he murmured, supporting my weight.

Images flashed through my mind: Isabelle’s smile, Clara’s innocent face, the promises I’d made, the enemies still to defeat.

“I have to admit,” Gage continued, “most men would have broken by now. What drives you, Knight? What keeps you hanging on?”

“The Nuremberg defense,” I muttered through gritted teeth. “How original.”

After the thirtieth lash, Gage paused, breathing heavily from exertion. “Enough playing around. Time to finish this.”

“Let’s see how tough you really are,” Gage whispered.

“You came,” I replied weakly. “That’s all that matters.”

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