Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

"That's right. Those five years I spent in prison? They were nothing. So now, Mr. Linwood, it's your turn to get a taste of it yourself. After all, it's not an experience most people ever get to have."

"When you've finished serving your time, you might as well die. And if there's another life after this, I'll still curse you to never know peace, not in this life or any other."

As Claire's words-cold and merciless-hung in the air, Nathan's eyes went wide with panic. His whole body trembled.

Claire hated him.

He knew the mistakes he'd made were unforgivable, but hadn't he already

suffered enough? In his last life, after his stroke left him half-paralyzed, he'd been abandoned in the mountains, left to endure endless torment.

Hadn't he paid his debt to Claire already?

Why couldn't she forgive him?

Even in this life, his crimes had led to a death sentence.

Wasn't that enough?

Why did she still have to curse him, to damn him for all eternity?

Tears streamed down Nathan's face as he sobbed, "Claire, I know I was wrong. Why can't you just forgive me?"

"In my last life and this one, I've paid the price for everything I did. Isn't that enough?"

"If there's another life after this, I swear, I'll be a good father to you-a father who loves you. Please, believe me just this once, Claire."

No matter how bitterly he wept, Claire's heart remained unyielding.

Forgiveness?

No. That wasn't forgiveness.

Forgiving those who hurt you is just another form of cruelty to yourself.

Wounds don't fade with time; they only turn to old scars-etched deep, impossible to forget.noveldrama

So, for all eternity, she would never forgive.

Claire looked at Nathan with a cold smile. "Nathan, you have zero credibility with me."

"You once said was hopeless, like a stray dog that can't stop

scavenging: Well, today, I'm

returning your words to you.

Someone as rotten as helnet

matter how many times you get to start over, you're still filth. You'll never deserve a decent end."

"No, please, Claire. I'm begging you just give me one more chance. Please." Nathan's voice was desperate, almost a wail.

But Claire had already hung up the phone. She stood, turned, and walked away without ever looking back at Nathan.

He pounded frantically on the glass, but Claire didn't so much as glance over her shoulder.

He never saw her again—not before his execution.

As for Sophia, Garnett Brown, and Vanessa—the three of them became favorite targets for the other inmates.

Vanessa's kidneys had always been weak. Before her execution date could ever arrive, she was beaten to death by the prisoners.

By the time Vanessa died, her ears had been battered deaf, her eyes stabbed blind, her arms and legs and ribs broken, and even her skull shattered-her head caved in, lying in a pool of blood.

In her final moments, all she could see in her mind was the memory of how she'd tormented Claire in their past life.

Every time Claire was beaten, scolded, or humiliated by the Linwoods, Vanessa had stood by, looking down on her with smug satisfaction, like a queen watching a beggar grovel.

Those memories made Vanessa die bitter and unwilling.

She didn't want to die. She believed she should have been the winner-the one adored by everyone, the one at the center of it all.

How had it come to this?

No matter how much she raged, her body finally gave out, and Vanessa died with that bitterness still burning inside her.

Sophia and Garnett Brown were

healthier, but that just meant the beatings lasted longer. Right up until the day before their own executions, they were still getting thrashed by fellow inmates.

Claire watched every single one of her abusers meet their end-everyone but Ethan.

Ethan, whose hypocrisy knew no bounds-always pretending to protect her with one hand while hurting her with the other.

A person like that didn't even deserve another look.

So Claire didn't give him one.

When she stepped out of the prison, ready to get into her car, she looked up just

in time to see a group of police officers marching several people past in handcuffs.