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.

The anger he had been ready

steering wheel tightened, his knuckles whitening

Mom and Dad thought it was best for you to stay there and learn to mend your ways. They were thinking

own good,

fall for Vanessa, enduring the

her

pulled into

a shopping bag

heading inside. He stopped abruptly, as if remembering Claire, and turned

the party," he instructed, before disappearing inside without

It had never felt like home, lacking even the smallest hint of warmth. The orphanage, in contrast, had been more

Sunlight would flood the space each morning, creating a cozy atmosphere. She loved the

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

opened the door to

and crowded with boxes. The only