Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 305

Adah was consumed with regret, her mind replaying every cruel thing she'd ever done to Claire. Guilt gnawed at her relentlessly.

Even so, she still felt that what Claire had done-committing her to a psychiatric hospital-was harsh. But if Claire had truly wanted revenge, there were countless more vicious ways she could have chosen.

Sending Adah to a hospital was almost merciful by comparison.

Otherwise, Adah could have ended up like Vanessa-humiliated and degraded in front of Nathan, passed from man to man like a disposable plaything.

Vanessa had fought back, tried to escape more than once. Each time, she was met with brutal beatings or worse-dragged back and forced upon by rough, predatory men from the mountains.

To stop her from ever running again, they even shattered her legs and chained her up in a filthy pen as if she were livestock.

From that moment on, Vanessa was nothing more than an outlet for their depravity.

Not long after, she became pregnant-no one knew, or cared, who the father was.

Even then, the abuse never stopped. Day after day, they used her until her body finally gave out and she lost the baby.

She lived in a constant cycle of violence and violation, pregnancy after pregnancy, only for each one to end in heartbreak and physical ruin.

Eventually, the repeated trauma left her with chronic miscarriages; her health deteriorated before everyone's eyes.

She dreamed of marrying into wealth and living on

treated worse than an animal, subjected to the whims of men who were

spirit were

torment, it didn't take a year for Vanessa to finally break. Her mind snapped-she

a story for

the Foster

gently laid Claire on her bed. He offered a few soft words of comfort

the tips of his ears were

him go, her heart warm

help but remember her own broken body-deaf, crippled, missing a kidney. The sweetness in

her fists

she told herself.

then nothing would stand in

thought lit a spark of determination

Sean returned to his own room and

still burning red, and the man in the mirror looked almost like

of kissing Claire—just to provoke Brian-flashed through his mind. He couldn't

lips, raising a

a kiss feels like-soft, warm,

first kiss, and it was

only he could experience it every