Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 262

She stood alone in the dark, a chill creeping slowly through her heart. That feeling of being overlooked by her family, forgotten by the world-it was something Claire could never quite shake, no matter how much time had passed.

Later, it was May who left a light on for her, a small beacon of warmth in the darkness—a rare comfort in the Linwood household, where such kindness was in short supply.

Having once experienced that deep, bone-chilling loneliness of a home devoid of affection, Claire treasured the warmth she found with the Foster family all the more.

She wanted to wait for Mr. Foster to return, just as she once waited for her fifteen- year-old self to come home, braving the snow and wind alone.

Minute by minute, time ticked by.

The entire house was wrapped in silence, broken only by the steady ticking of the living room clock.

When Claire grew tired of sitting, she curled up on the sofa. Her health had always been frail; exhaustion came easily. As weariness washed over her, she let her eyes drift shut.

She pulled her knees close, cocooning herself in the smallest space possible, as if that could somehow make her feel safer.

he came home: Claire-small

was no sign of his grandmother or Nanny Grace; they must have already

she left the light on for

brief moment, the hard set of Sean's face softened, almost imperceptibly, when he saw

side, careful not to wake her. Then he leaned down, slipping one arm beneath her back and the other

her upstairs and laid her on the bed, pulling the covers up around her with painstaking

Linwood," Sean murmured into the quiet room, a

from the room, closing the door softly behind

he walked straight to the study, settled behind the desk, and switched on the lamp. The warm

tackle the mountain of paperwork waiting for him, the only sound in the

later, the shrill ring of

Vincent," came Liam's voice on

Sean off at home, Liam had been driving back to his own apartment. Halfway there, he realized he was out of cigarettes and stopped to buy some. That's when he heard the faintest

and under the weak glow of a streetlamp, he found

said things to Claire at the hospital—things Jeffry had already relayed to Sean, with Liam