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.

of panic and guilt. The anger he had been ready to unleash was caught

piercing gaze, Ethan's grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles whitening

it's 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. They were thinking of your best

her own

taking the fall for Vanessa, enduring

barely muster the energy to care anymore. She turned her gaze out the window, not wanting to look at Ethan

the car pulled into the

shopping bag from the

Claire, and turned back with an

something appropriate for the party," he instructed,

years, this house still felt alien to Claire. It had never felt like home, lacking even the smallest hint of warmth. The orphanage, in contrast,

the space each morning, creating a cozy atmosphere. She loved the sun-drenched scent of her blanket, a rare comfort that

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

the door to

only