Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 296

May had carried all these memories in her heart for years—every incident, every injustice—and now, finally, she had the chance to pour out everything she'd kept bottled up inside. As the words tumbled out, she felt a rush of relief, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her chest.

Aberdeen and Grace had known Claire's life with the Linwood family was hard, but they'd never imagined her own mother could be so heartless. Disgust was written plainly on their faces as they turned to glare at Adah.

Jarrod and Karin listened in stunned disbelief. As parents themselves, with a daughter they doted on, they couldn't fathom such cruelty. It was this very love for their own child that had driven them to lash out at Claire, seeking revenge for Irene's tragedy. Now, learning what Claire had truly endured-the wrongful imprisonment, the pain they'd inflicted on her in ignorance-Jarrod and Karin were consumed with guilt and sorrow. When they looked at Adah, all they saw was a woman whose actions were beyond forgiveness.

Brian, collapsed on the floor, was overwhelmed with grief. He couldn't even bring himself to face Claire anymore.

Nathan, paralyzed and confined to his wheelchair, was crying too-tears of regret streaming down his face. For over twenty years, he'd been deceived. Vanessa wasn't even his daughter. And yet, for a child who was never truly his, he had beaten and berated his own flesh and blood.

real daughter was abandoned to a foster home, left to survive alone. He'd let Claire take the fall for Vanessa's crimes, even gone so far as to steal her kidney

sorrow pressed down on Nathan like a mountain, suffocating him. He tried to speak, to beg for forgiveness, but when he opened his mouth, only garbled sounds came out, drool slipping down his chin. He was helpless, his remorse

act of cruelty toward Claire flashed before her eyes like a film she couldn't pause. Her gaze turned vacant as the memories stabbed at her heart, each one more

a mixture of envy and heartbreak. Adah had ignored it all, pouring every ounce of

She wanted desperately to believe this was just a nightmare, that she could wake up, turn back time, and somehow make things

the way Claire had looked at her for help, desperate and pleading, as Nathan raged at her-how

fists against her chest, Adah wished with everything in her that she could go back, that she could hold Claire

had done was carved into Claire's life and into her own soul-a scar that would never

cried out all the guilt and regret she'd buried for years. Her