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 to unleash was caught in

grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles whitening

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

own

meant taking the fall

her

the car pulled into the

pleased, grabbing a shopping bag from

abruptly, as if remembering Claire, and turned back

the party,"

never felt like home, lacking even

she shared a sunlit dorm room with others. Sunlight would flood the space each morning, creating a cozy atmosphere. She loved the sun-drenched scent

she realized it wasn't the sunlit

door to

windowless, and crowded with boxes. The only