2026-08-07 17:57:42Ethan pushed open the front doors of the Morrison estate with both hands, and for the first time in eighteen years, he was smiling so wide his cheeks hurt.
His heart was pounding, not from fear, not from anxiety, but from pure, raw excitement that he couldn't contain no matter how hard he tried.
His shoes clicked fast against the marble hallway as he half walked, half ran toward the grand hall where he knew his parents would be sitting at this hour.
Today was the day. Today everything would change.
He had spent eighteen years being invisible in this house. Eighteen years of watching his parents pour every ounce of their love into Derek while he stood in the corner like a piece of furniture nobody wanted but nobody bothered to throw away.
He had told himself a thousand times that it was because he wasn't good enough. That Derek was smarter, more talented, more worthy of their attention.
That if Ethan could just do something extraordinary, something undeniable, his parents would finally turn their heads and see him standing there.
And today, he had done it. He had awakened his bloodline.
He burst through the grand hall doors with his chest heaving and his eyes bright, and the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could even catch his breath.
"Father! Mother! I did it!" Ethan's face was flushed red, his eyes shining like a child who had just brought home his first gold star. "I awakened my bloodline! The examiners at the Awakening Hall said my Core stability is in the top percentile. I actually did it!"
He stood there in the center of the grand hall, grinning, panting, waiting for the moment he had been dreaming about since he was old enough to understand that his parents loved his brother more than him.
He waited for his father to stand up. For his mother to open her arms. For someone, anyone, to say the words he had been starving to hear his entire life.
Well done, Ethan. We're proud of you.
But Richard Morrison didn't stand up. He didn't smile. He didn't even blink. He sat in his chair on the raised platform with his jaw clenched so tight the muscles in his cheeks twitched.
His eyes were dark, cold, and fixed on Ethan with a look that could have frozen boiling water.
Patricia sat beside him, her handkerchief already pressed against her nose, her eyes swollen and red, refusing to look at Ethan at all.
The smile on Ethan's face flickered. Then it cracked. Then it slowly, painfully, died.
"Father...? Did you hear what I said? I awakened my..."
"Kneel."
The single word hit the air like a hammer striking an anvil. Richard's voice was so low, so controlled, so full of barely contained fury that it didn't even sound like a voice anymore. It sounded like a warning that came right before something terrible.
Ethan blinked. His lips parted, but nothing came out.
His brain couldn't connect the word to any reason that made sense. He had just awakened his bloodline.
He had just achieved what half the candidates at the Awakening Hall failed to do. And his father's first word to him was kneel.
"I... Father, I don't understand. What did I..."
"I said kneel!" Richard slammed his fist against the armrest so hard the wood cracked beneath his knuckles. "Get on your knees right now, or I will have the guards put you there."
Ethan's legs moved before his mind could catch up. His knees hit the cold marble floor, and the impact shot through his bones like electricity.
His palms lay open on his thighs, fingers trembling, head forced down by the sheer weight of his father's stare.
The grand hall stretched wide around him, tall pillars and golden chandeliers towering above like a courtroom built to crush small things.
Richard stood from his chair, his hands clasped behind his back, his chin lifted so high he looked down at Ethan the way a man looks at a stain on his shoe.
"You disgusting, ungrateful parasite."
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CHAPTER 246
Outside the operating room, Brett Calloway’s face was the color of old paper. His hands were shaking at his sides, and his eyes were fixed on the flat green line glowing through the glass window.Captain Webb was dying again. And it was because of HIS doctor and HIS decision to interfere. I brought that idiot here. I put the needles in his hands.Lawrence Griffin crossed the hallway in three long strides and grabbed Brett by the collar. His silver hair was messy and his eyes burned like hot coals.“Call Ethan back. NOW.” His voice shook the hallway.“I won’t beg that...” Brett’s lip twitched, and his stubborn pride rose one last time like a dying flame.Bear kicked Brett’s legs out from under him without a word. Brett hit the floor knees first, and the crack echoed down the corridor. Bear grabbed the back of his head and slammed his forehead against the linoleum.“BEG.” The giant’s voice trembled with rage, and his huge fingers pressed Brett’s face into the cold floor.“I...” Brett’s
CHAPTER 245
Brett’s face went from red to pale. His throat bobbed once, and he backed away half a step, forcing a stiff little smile to hide it.Ha, the Spirit snorted. The big bad government agent just got stared down by a librarian with biceps. Frame this memory.But while everyone was busy glaring at each other, Dr. Preston Hale had slipped past them and pushed through the operating room doors.“Dr. Hale, wait,” Dr. Kimura called out in alarm, rushing after him with his handkerchief fluttering. “You can’t just walk in there.”Dr. Hale did not even turn around. He marched straight to the bed where Captain Webb lay resting, and his sharp eyes traveled over the silver needles still glowing faintly in the captain’s chest. His mouth curled into a smirk of total contempt.“Amateur work.” He waved one hand through the air as if brushing away smoke. “These needles are placed completely wrong. The angles are off and the depth is sloppy. They need to be removed immediately so I can apply my own treatmen
CHAPTER 244
Ethan stepped out of the operating room and found Bear waiting in the corridor. The giant stood with his shoulders rounded and his red eyes soft, like a man who had just watched his commander walk back out of the grave.“I owe you more than I can ever pay.” Bear held out a hand the size of a dinner plate. His voice was low and rough, and his grip shook slightly. Ethan took it and held it firmly.“He’s alive. That’s payment enough.” Ethan let go and rolled his tired shoulders. “But he needs a few rare herbs to fully recover. I’ll write them down for you.”Bear listened carefully as Ethan named each herb, and Lawrence Griffin, still standing by the wall with his bandages gone, nodded after every one. Both men promised to track them down within the week.Look at that, the Spirit said. A billionaire and a mountain, taking orders from a live in son in law. I love this city.Ethan almost smiled. Then the elevator doors at the end of the hall slid open with a soft chime.Brett Calloway strod
CHAPTER 243
Ethan began placing the needles with surgical precision. One into the crown of the head. Two at the temples. Three along the collarbone. Each needle slid into its acupoint with a soft whisper, never wavering, never hesitating. Across the torso, down the arms, over the heart, he worked with the calm speed of a man who had done this a thousand times and had never once made a mistake.When the eighteenth needle sank into place, Ethan placed both hands over the array and closed his eyes.Then he channeled true fire through the needles.The room temperature rose ten degrees in seconds. Sweat broke out on every forehead. The needles began to vibrate, humming at a frequency that made the surgical instruments rattle on their trays like teeth chattering in the cold. A thin shimmer of golden light spread across Webb’s body from needle to needle, forming a glowing web over his skin.Inside Webb’s body, the true energy traveled along the needle paths, a river of warmth flowing through broken chan
CHAPTER 242
Ethan pushed through the doors of the operating theater and the smell of antiseptic and blood hit him like a wall. The room was bright and cold, filled with the steady, mocking beep of machines that were counting down a life.Captain Marcus Webb lay on the table with a breathing tube down his throat and wires crossing his chest like a spider web. His skin was the color of old candle wax. The monitors showed vital signs so low they were practically flatlines decorated with occasional blips of hope.His heart meridian is shattered, the Spirit said, and the joking tone was completely gone. Organs bleeding from the inside. Whoever hit him used a palm technique meant to destroy from within. That was not a Dark List assassin’s style, kid. That was something worse.“Later.” Ethan stepped closer to the table. “First I save him.”The surgical team was already gathered around the bed in green gowns and masks, their hands raised and sterile, their eyes tense above the cloth. A tray of gleaming i
CHAPTER 241
Lawrence rose from his chair slowly. Even with bandages on his head, his presence filled the room like a wall.“This young man is more capable than your entire department combined.” His voice was calm and cold. “He saved my life twice. I would trust him over every doctor in this building.”Dr. Smith scoffed, his face reddening with wounded pride. His chin lifted and his shoulders squared, the posture of a man who had never once been told he was wrong and had no idea how to handle it.“Fine. I’ll make a bet.” He folded his arms across his chest. “If this boy can heal Captain Webb’s injuries without surgery, without sutures, and without leaving a single scar, I will get on my knees and call him Dad.”The room went quiet. Even the heart monitors seemed to beep softer.Oh, I love this man, the Spirit said with sparkling delight. A fool who puts his dignity on the table before the game even starts. Take the bet. Take it right now.Ethan looked at Dr. Smith for a long moment, his face as ca
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