Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 498

But Claire couldn't give Irene what she wanted.

She owed a debt only to Irene-she didn't owe the rest of the Cole family a thing.

Claire gave Irene a gentle smile. "That's a privilege you have. As for him..." She turned her gaze to Brian.

Brian was watching her with open anticipation, hope written all over his face. Inside, Claire scoffed. "No."

The word landed like a stone. The hope in Brian's eyes shattered in an instant, and his whole demeanor crumpled. He stared at Claire, as if searching her eyes for a hint of warmth, and what he found instead was unmistakable dislike.

But why? He couldn't understand it. This was the first time they'd ever met-why would she dislike him so much?

The question gnawed at him, but he could do nothing except swallow the pain.

Even Irene was stunned. She could feel that Claire meant her no harm, but it was just as clear that Claire had no fondness for her brother.

Claire didn't care about Brian's feelings. In her previous life, she and Brian had been so close. But it had only taken a few careless words from Vanessa for Brian to turn on her without hesitation, always choosing to believe Vanessa's lies and never trusting her.

People like that she wanted nothing more than to keep them at arm's length. How could she ever consider being friends with him again?

"Let's go," Claire said.

family clustered around her as she

it, that she could finally go home. But as they stepped outside, she was caught off guard by the crowd of reporters swarming the entrance. The moment they spotted Claire, their eyes

could close in, security stepped in and barred their

"I figured this might happen, so I arranged for bodyguards

you, Orion," Claire said

"Hey, I'm your brother. It's my job to protect you. No

a lump in her throat. Ethan-her biological brother-had never once tried to protect her. All he'd ever given her was

now, she finally had a brother who would stand

by her family, Claire climbed

Dad, are we heading straight back to Northcrest

We need to thank the person who saved your

Claire

Adah

Cresthaven because she'd known that Nathan, Sophia and Vanessa wouldn't let her go so easily. With her current identity, any

time, they'd framed her and sent her to prison. This time, she was determined to turn

beforehand, arranging for her to call the police as

Adah who called the

"No, the police said it was a young man who made the