Rise of The Abandoned Husband (Liam Knight) novel Chapter 86

86 Chapter 86 Retribution’s Path to Shiglance City

I entered Gideon Blackwood’s room silently, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. He was arguing with a black–clad figure–an assassin, no doubt sent to silence him before he could reveal too much. Neither had noticed my presence yet.

“Please,” Gideon whimpered, backing against the wall. “I haven’t said anything. I swear!”

The assassin moved closer, his blade catching the moonlight. “Orders are orders. You’re a liability now.”

I cleared my throat. “Am I interrupting something?”

Both men whirled around. The assassin’s eyes widened behind his mask, while Gideon’s face drained of color.

“Knight…” Gideon whispered, a mixture of terror and desperate hope in his voice.

“You shouldn’t be here,” the assassin said, shifting his stance to face me. “This doesn’t

concern you.”

Haughed, the sound devoid of humor. “A plot against Isabelle Ashworth doesn’t concern me? That’s where you’re wrong.”

The room suddenly felt colder as I advanced. The rage I’d been controlling since finding Isabelle bound in that mountain cabin surged through me like ice in my veins.

“You orchestrated her kidnapping,” I said to Gideon, ignoring the assassin. “You had men put

their hands on her. Did you think I would let that stand?”

Gideon’s eyes darted between me and the assassin. “Knight, please. I can explain everything. It wasn’t my idea!”

The assassin moved, his blade arcing toward my throat. I sidestepped with practiced ease, grabbed his wrist, and slammed my elbow into his face. The crack of his nose breaking punctuated his muffled scream.

Before he could recover, I twisted the knife from his grasp and drove it into his chest. His eyes widened in shock as he collapsed to the floor.

Gideon screamed, scrambling backward until he hit his desk. “Oh god, oh god! You.

killed him!

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86 Chapter 86 Retribution’s Path to Sl

co City

“Yes,” I said, straightening and turning my attention back to him. “And now we’re going to have an honest conversation about what happened to Isabelle.”

Sweat beaded on Gideon’s forehead. “It wasn’t supposed to go that far. They were just supposed to scare her, make you comply with our demands.”

“Our demands?” I stepped closer. “Who else was involved?”

“Julian Hawthorne,” Gideon blurted out, desperation making him reckless. “It was his plan from the start. He approached me, said we could both benefit from taking you down a notch.

I tilted my head. “Julian Hawthorne from Shiglance City?”

Gideon nodded frantically. “Yes! His family has connections that mine doesn’t. He provided the men, I provided the location. But I never wanted her hurt, I swear!”

“And yet she was hurt.” My voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “She was bound, threatened, traumatized.”

“I’m sorry!” Tears streamed down his face now. “Please, Knight, I’ll do anything. I’ll testify against Hawthorne. I’ll pay whatever compensation you want.”

I studied him for a moment. The pathetic, sniveling man before me was a shadow of the arrogant businessman who’d once looked down on me. How quickly the mighty fell when faced with their own mortality.

“There was a time when I might have shown mercy,” I said quietly. “But that time has passed.”

His eyes widened. “No, please-”

The movement was quick, efficient. A single strike to his throat crushed his windpipe. Gideon clutched at his neck, eyes bulging as he struggled to breathe. I watched impassively as he slid down the wall to the floor, his legs kicking uselessly until, finally, they stilled.

A noise from the doorway made me turn. Seraphina Sterling stood frozen in shock, her hand clutched to her mouth to stifle her scream.

“Liam…” she whispered, using my first name for the first time in years. “What have you done?”

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86 Chapter 86 Retribution’s Path to Shance City

I stared at my ex–wife, feeling nothing but cold detachment. “What needed to be done.

She took a step back, bumping into a decorative bench in the hallway. “You’ve changed. You’re not the man I married.”

“No,” I agreed. “I’m not the weak, passive man you could walk all over anymore. That man died the day you betrayed him.”

Fear flickered across her face. “Are you going to kill me too?”

The question hung in the air between us. Before I could answer, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen–Isabelle.

I grabbed the bench Seraphina had bumped into and hurled it across the room. It crashed against the wall inches from her head, causing her to shriek and cower.

“If you breathe a word of what you saw here tonight,” I warned, “I won’t be as gentle next time. Do you understand?”

She nodded frantically, tears streaming down her face.

I answered the phone as I walked past her. “Isabelle.”

“Liam.” Her voice was steady, controlled. “I need you to come to the estate immediately. We’re leaving for Shiglance City within the hour.”

“Shiglance City?”

“Yes. I believe we have business with the Hawthorne family.”

I smiled grimly. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Isabelle was waiting for me when I arrived, impeccably dressed despite the late hour. Her secretary, Lin, stood beside her with a tablet in hand.

“Good timing. Isabelle said as I approached. “The car is ready.”

“May I ask what prompted this sudden trip?” I asked, following her to the waiting limousine.

Once inside, with the privacy partition raised, Isabelle’s composed expression slipped slightly. “Julian Hawthorne was behind the kidnapping attempt. We have proof.”

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86 Chapter 86 Retribution’s Path to Sanco City M

I raised an eyebrow. “You knew?”

Lin spoke up from her seat across from us. “Miss Ashworth had me investigating the Hawthorne family for weeks. They’ve been making questionable moves in several markets where the Ashworths have interests.”

“And,” Isabelle added, “they’ve been specifically targeting areas where you and I have been collaborating.”

I leaned back against the leather seat. “So the kidnapping wasn’t just about hurting

me.”

“It was business, she confirmed, her voice hard. “Julian Hawthorne wanted to disrupt our partnership and weaken both of us simultaneously.”

“And now?”

A small, dangerous smile crossed Isabelle’s face. “Now my father is paying the Hawthornes a surprise visit. We’re going to join him.”

Lin tapped something on her tablet. “According to our sources, Sebastian Hawthorne- Julian’s father–just received word about what happened. The entire household is in panic mode.”

I thought about Gideon’s body cooling on the floor of his study. “They should be panicking.”

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