Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 495

"Have pity on him? Then who's ever pitied me?"

"You know he's my own brother. But did he act like one when he tried to help outsiders carve out my kidney? Is that what brothers do?"

"In my last life, he framed me and I spent five years in prison. Before that, he humiliated me for three years in the Linwood family's house. After I got out, he kept coming back, humiliating me again and again. The only reason I haven't gone after him is out of mercy. If he'd just left me alone, I'd have treated him like he was nothing-barely worth a thought."

"But what did he do instead? He wanted to take my kidney, leave me disabled— and now you want me to just forgive him?"

"Adah, you know how terrified I am of being crippled. Last time around, your whole family left me in pieces. Do you really expect me to let that happen again?"

Tears streamed down Adah's face as she shook her head desperately. "No, that's not what I meant at all, sweetheart."

Claire let out a cold laugh. "Ethan's not a child. He's a grown man, and adults have to take responsibility for what they do."

"But you can relax. He was just an accomplice, not the mastermind—he won't get the death penalty. At worst, a few years behind bars. It's not the end of the world."

Adah's eyes widened in shock.

That line—she'd heard it so many times before.

had said

just five years in prison, right? All you did was serve time. Irene Cole ended up

to

no big deal, let him see for

don't worry. I'd never bribe anyone to make prison life any harder for him. The only thing he'll lose is his freedom. In my last life, I lost a leg and a

went blank. She couldn't say

walked out of the hospital

straight into a

she saw the man's face,

Brian Cole?

imagined she'd see Brian

the men who'd

past-though, compared

Linwoods

betrayals were almost

him left Claire

a sharp black suit, couldn't take his