Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 422

No matter how desperately he struggled, the bodyguards dragged him away.

His anguished cries echoed through the cemetery, lingering in the chilly air-a sound that tugged painfully at the heart.

Sean checked his watch, then turned to Amara. "Amara, it's time for us to go."

She nodded, her gaze drifting to the photo of Claire on the headstone. "Mom, Dad and I will come see you again soon."

Ethan wandered aimlessly down the street, his mind a tangled haze. His steps were unsteady, his eyes vacant, haunted by the memory of Claire's black-and- white portrait on the gravestone.

He kept mumbling under his breath, a broken mantra: "No way... I don't believe it... Claire must still be alive. You're all lying to me..."

Everything around him blurred into insignificance. He drifted along the wide avenue with no destination, lost in his own world.

Then, suddenly, a girl in a white dress caught his eye.

Her features her eyes, her smile-looked so much like Claire's.

Ethan's pupils widened in shock and a wild hope flashed across his face. "Claire? Claire—!"

but the girl was already slipping into the back of a sleek

the car

ran after it, pushing himself to the edge, his vision swimming with

time! I was wrong, I promise I'll never treat you like

no matter how he begged, the

uneasy curiosity, some even staring as if he'd

on the curb and he tumbled to

his knees throbbing with pain, but he barely noticed. He reached out toward the direction the car had disappeared, as if he could somehow grasp that last, fleeting shred

sat there for a long time, slumped on the sidewalk as the crowd shifted

he stayed there

made it home, night had already

still dazed, only to spot

against the car. As Ethan approached, the man straightened and spoke in a quiet, measured tone. "You're

changed in subtle ways, but Ethan

paid a far steeper price, but Sean had only

as cold and guarded as ever, his features shadowed by a trace of

"What do