Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 279

Claire's accusations landed on Jarrod and Karin like a mountain crushing down, leaving them pale and trembling. Their lips quivered as if they wanted to defend themselves, but the brutal truth choked any words before they could escape. No matter how hard they tried to deny it, the fact remained: Claire's disability was their doing. They had orchestrated it behind the scenes and sent others to do their dirty work.

Guilt washed over the couple, leaving them with nothing but desperate, pleading eyes fixed on Claire, silently begging for a second chance. But Claire had no intention of forgiving those who had destroyed her life. The damage was done. No matter how sweetly they spoke or how many apologies they offered, nothing could make up for the hell she had endured during those five years in prison.

The only reason she was alive and sitting here, face to face with the people who had ruined her, wasn't because Jarrod and Karin had shown her any mercy. She had survived through sheer stubbornness and iron will, dragging herself from one day to the next. She refused to die in prison, carrying a burden of injustice to her grave. She wanted the truth to come out, for everyone who had hurt her to pay a heavy price, and to witness the regret and anguish of those who had protected Vanessa once they learned what really happened.

So when Jarrod and Karin broke down, sobbing and begging for forgiveness, Claire's heart didn't soften-not even a little. Instead, she slowly rolled up her pant leg, exposing her twisted, mangled limb for everyone to see.

broken in my third year in prison. Six batons smashed it to pieces. You think your empty apologies can give

grotesquely misshapen, the bone jutting at unnatural angles. A jagged, angry scar snaked down her

left me screaming on the floor, writhing in agony, while people gathered around to watch and laugh," Claire continued. "I spent three long months like that, with no medical attention at all. My leg only healed as

Jarrod and Karin collapsed onto the floor, stunned as though struck by lightning. If she'd received even basic treatment, her leg wouldn't have become so grotesquely deformed. Anyone could see, even without an x-ray, that the bone had never been properly set; it was

to the floor in a desperate plea. "We're

so stoic, was on the verge of

on Claire's leg, tears sprung to her eyes and she broke down, barely able to speak. "Claire, this is all my fault. If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened to you. I'm the one who owes you the