The dark energy from Ward''s Devouring Phantom Skull technique coursed through my body like ice water in my veins. It was foreign yet strangely familiar, as if a missing piece of myself had finally clicked into ce.


    "We need to get him somewhere safe," I told Leopold, nodding toward Ward''s withered body. Though barely alive, I could detect the faintest pulse—whatever essence had fled in those shadow tendrils had left just enough life force to keep the vessel functioning.


    Leopold''s eyes widened. "You want to save him? After what he just tried to do to you?"


    "He''s more valuable alive than dead," I replied pragmatically. "Besides, I need answers about this ''chaotic body'' he mentioned."


    I lifted Ward''s emaciated form. His once-imposing physique now weighed almost nothing, like lifting a bundle of twigs wrapped in paper-thin skin. His breathing was shallow, barely perceptible.


    "Can you take him to your clinic?" I asked Leopold. "Keep him sedated but alive. I''ll visit when I can."


    Leopold hesitated before nodding. "This is dangerous, Liam. If the Thorntons find out we''re harboring him..."


    "That''s why nobody can know," I said firmly. "Not even your staff. Tell them he''s a John Doe who was attacked. Keep him in a private room."


    "And my payment?" Leopold asked, revealing the practicality that had kept him alive in this cutthroat city.


    I smiled thinly. "I''ll transfer funds tonight. Plus a bonus for discretion."


    With Ward''s unconscious form secured in the back seat of our damaged car, I turned to Alistair. "I need to drop you home first. Your father will be worried."


    Alistair''s eyes darted nervously. "My father isn''t going to take this well. The Northwoods have always maintained neutrality in conflicts between major families."


    "And now you''re in the middle of one," I finished for him. "I understand if you want distance from me."


    Alistair straightened his shoulders. "You saved my life twice tonight. I won''t forget that."


    The drive to the Northwood estate was tense and silent. After arranging for Leopold to take Ward to his private clinic, I apanied Alistair to his front door, partly out of courtesy and partly because I expected trouble.


    I wasn''t disappointed.


    The massive oak door swung open before we reached it, revealing Ss Northwood—a stern man with steel-gray hair and eyes like flint. His gaze swept over his son''s rumpled appearance before settling on me with undisguised hostility.


    "Inside, Alistair," hemanded without taking his eyes off me.


    "Father, I can exin—" Alistair began.


    "Now."


    Alistair shot me an apologetic look before slipping past his father into the house. Ss stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind him.


    "Mr. Knight," he said, voice low and dangerous. "You''ve made quite a name for yourself in our city."


    I met his gaze evenly. "That wasn''t my intention."


    "Wasn''t it?" Ssughed without humor. "First the Sterling family, then the Ashworths, the Valerius woman backing you, and now you''ve provoked the Thorntons—one of the oldest martial families in Veridia. All while dragging my son into your chaos."


    "Your son was in danger. I helped him."


    "Don''t insult my intelligence," Ss snapped. "You''re using him as you use everyone—as a pawn in whatever game you''re ying."


    I felt my patience thinning. "I respect you, Mr. Northwood, but you don''t know what you''re talking about."


    "I know exactly what I''m talking about." He took a step closer. "You think you''re the first to challenge the established order? The first to believe himself above the rules that govern our society?" <samp ss="story-note-vis">Мy Virtuаl Librаry Еmpirе (М V L Е М Р Y R) аpprесiаtеs yоur rеаdеrship аt thе sоurсе.</samp>


    "Rules designed to keep power in the hands of a select few," I countered.


    Ss''s expression hardened. "Rules that maintain stability. You''ve lived in this city for what—a few years? I''ve watched dozens like you rise and fall. Men who thought their talent and ambition would protect them from consequences."


    "And what happened to them?"


    A shadow passed over his face. "They disappeared. Or worse. The system always prevails, Mr. Knight."


    "Maybe it''s time for a new system."


    Ss looked at me with something like pity. "That''s what they all said too." He straightened his jacket. "Stay away from my son. The Northwoods have survived centuries by knowing when to stand aside. I won''t let your crusade destroy my family''s legacy."


    "That should be Alistair''s choice."


    "No, it shouldn''t," Ss said sharply. "He''s young, impressionable. He sees your power and your defiance as something to admire. He doesn''t understand the cost."


    "And you do?"


    Ss''s expression faltered for just a moment, revealing something painful beneath the stern exterior. "Better than you could possibly imagine." He turned to go back inside. "This is your only warning, Mr. Knight. My son is off-limits to you."


    As the door closed, I stood there feeling the cool night air on my face. Part of me understood Ss''s position—he was protecting his son the only way he knew how. But another part recognized the fear behind his words. Fear of change. Fear of challenging a system that had worked for families like his for generations.


    That fear wouldn''t stop me. It couldn''t.


    ---


    By morning, news of the incident at the Golden Phoenix Casino had spread through Veridia City like wildfire. Sitting in a small café downtown, I sipped my coffee while browsing news on my phone. Social media was aze with spection.


    "Did you hear about what happened at the Thornton casino?" a woman at the next table whispered loudly to her friend. "They say someone actually beat up Tristin Thornton!"


    "No way," her friend replied. "The Thorntons would never let that stand."


    "That''s the thing—they haven''t done anything about it. Not a peep from the family. People are saying they''re afraid."


    I hid my smile behind my coffee cup. The public perception was exactly what I needed. Every hour the Thorntons didn''t respond weakened them in the eyes of the city.


    My phone buzzed with a text from Mariana Valerius: "Meeting. My office. One hour."


    Short and cryptic—typical Mariana. I paid my bill and headed out, unaware of the storm gathering just across town.


    ---


    In the elegant mahogany-paneled conference room of the Thornton Family''s mainpound, tension crackled like electricity. Two dozen martial artists—all wearing the family''s signature jade pins—surrounded a long table where family elders sat in grim silence.


    "Three days!" a muscr young man with the Thornton family''s characteristic amber eyes mmed his fist on the table. "It''s been three days since that nobody humiliated Tristin, and we''ve done nothing!"


    "Watch your tone, Callum," warned one of the elders, a gray-haired woman whose frail appearance belied her fearsome reputation. "The family makes decisions carefully, not rashly."


    "Careful decisions?" Callum scoffed. "The city isughing at us! Every hour we don''t respond, we look weaker."


    Several voices rose in agreement.


    "Liam Knight is not to be underestimated," Uncle Armando Thornton said quietly from his seat near the head of the table. His voice, though soft, silenced the room immediately. "We''ve been monitoring him since the incident with the Sterling family. He''s eliminated every opponent who has crossed him."


    "So we''re afraid of him now?" Callum demanded.


    Armando''s eyes shed. "We respect his capabilities while nning his destruction. That''s the Thornton way."


    "Your way, perhaps," a silky voice interjected from the end of the table. Victor Thornton, the current family head and Tristin''s father, had been silent until now. "Some might wonder if your caution is motivated by something else."


    The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.


    "Meaning what exactly, brother?" Armando asked, his voice dangerously soft.


    Victor smiled thinly. "Only that it''s convenient how this outsider has eliminated so many of ourpetitors. Convenient how you advise restraint while our family''s reputation suffers. One might almost suspect you''re using this Knight character to clear obstacles for your own... ambitions."


    A shocked silence fell over the room. The usation hung in the air, toxic and irrevocable.


    Armando''s teacup, which he''d been holding, suddenly shattered in his grip. Porcin fragments and hot tea scattered across the table, but he didn''t seem to notice the blood dripping from his clenched fist.


    "Choose your next words very carefully, Victor," he said with deadly calm, his eyes never leaving his brother''s face.