Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 255

Vincent's gaze was sharp and accusatory, pinning Claire in place with the intensity of a betrayed husband who's just caught his wife in the act—rage and disbelief warring in his eyes.

Claire shot him a frosty glance, as if he were nothing more than a passing stranger, then looked away, her expression cool and distant, making it clear she wanted nothing to do with him.

Ever since his legs had been shattered in county lockup, Vincent's emotions had become wild and uncontrollable-one moment he was seething with anger, the next drowning in despair.

And when he lost his license to practice law, the career he'd spent his life building fell apart in an instant.

It didn't stop there. His house, his car, his savings-all seized overnight. In a split second, he'd plummeted from his high-flying life to rock bottom, with no hope of getting back up.

The confident, ambitious Vincent of the past was long gone. Now, he eked out an existence in a dank, windowless basement, where the ever-present smell of mold and the oppressive darkness gnawed at his soul.

Friends, colleagues, even strangers-people he'd once known or barely met- now looked at him with nothing but scorn and derision. In over twenty years, he'd never known this kind of humiliation; not even during those hard years growing up in the orphanage had he felt his dignity trampled so completely.

He'd lost everything-his career, his status, his wealth. It had all vanished overnight.

left-a single glimmer of hope in

and

his wish. But the scene before him struck like a bolt

looked at Vincent as if he

saw this

trembled, desperate and pleading. "Claire, I asked you

"Who he is

words hit Vincent like a sledgehammer to the chest. For

hard into the metal frame of his wheelchair that his knuckles turned white. The icy steel bit into his skin, but even that chilling

really cutting him off

He couldn't accept it.

me? We grew up together! We're childhood

have been my childhood friend, but you're not

man by Claire's side, his eyes

our promise? You said that when I made something