Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 4

As Ethan's words hung in the air, a heavy silence filled the car. He glanced at Claire in the rearview mirror, his frustration evident.

"Claire, I'm talking to you. Did you hear me?"-

Finally, Claire turned to face him, her voice steady as she spoke the longest sentence she'd uttered since her release.

"According to the National Prison Act, Article 48, inmates are entitled to meet with family or guardians during their incarceration."

"Inmates typically get a visit once a month, each lasting from half an hour to an hour."

"I served five years, a total of sixty months. I was supposed to see my family sixty times. Yet, not once did I get a visit."

"If your parents missed me so much, why didn't they visit? Were they so busy they couldn't spare even half an hour each month?"

Her voice was calm, but every word pierced through Ethan's fabricated story like a sharp blade.

betrayed a mix of panic and guilt. The anger he had been ready to unleash was caught in

gaze, Ethan's grip on the steering wheel tightened,

too much trouble. Mom and Dad thought it was best for you to stay there and learn to mend your

own good,

taking the fall for Vanessa, enduring

her gaze out the window,

the car pulled into

seemed pleased, grabbing a shopping bag from

if remembering Claire, and turned

party," he instructed, before disappearing inside without

like home, lacking even the smallest hint of warmth. The orphanage, in contrast, had been

the space each morning, creating a cozy

have been her home, she realized it wasn't the sunlit warmth she longed for, but the damp, stale smell

the door

windowless, and crowded with boxes. The only furniture was a