Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 24

"Ethan, if you're having stomach pains, you should call a doctor, not me."

Ethan felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces. All his hopes seemed laughably naive in the face of her calm indifference.

The pain overwhelmed him, and he dropped to his knees, clutching the railing with white-knuckled desperation, his eyes fixed on Claire through the bars.

Claire simply turned away, showing no intention of helping.

Her coldness ignited Nathan's fury. He shouted at her retreating figure, "Claire, get back here and fetch your brother's medication immediately!"

Adah, tears streaming down her face, pleaded, "Claire, you always took care of him when he had stomach issues. How can you just stand by and do nothing? We're family, how did it come to this?"

Even Vanessa joined in, her voice filled with righteous indignation, "Sister, I know you hold resentment from your five years in prison, but you can't gamble with Ethan's life. You know better than anyone which medicine helps him the most!"

her tracks once

her. But when she turned, they saw a smile-one that cut like a blade. "So, you did notice my efforts all along. You just didn't care. Since that's the

me, and now,

words struck Nathan, Adah, and Ethan like

the daughter I carried for

anger, "How did we raise such an ungrateful child? If we'd known you'd grow up so rebellious and spiteful, always targeting Vanessa, we'd never have

she tugged at Nathan's

dismissive snort, Nathan shot Claire

in, "Dad, it's understandable if my sister resents me. I did take the

happy, I'm willing to endure whatever she

to sob softly. "Sister, I can leave. Just don't upset our parents again, and please, don't let Ethan