Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

The only sound left in the living room was Brian's heartbroken sobs.

Watching their son fall apart, Jarrod and Karin felt a deep ache themselves. But what could they possibly do now?

They, too, had wronged Claire. They didn't even have the courage to face her, let alone the right to ask for forgiveness.

The fact that Claire hadn't retaliated against them was already a tremendous mercy.

Jarrod steeled himself and snapped, "Stop crying. You don't deserve to shed tears. We're going home-now."

He yanked Brian up from where he'd collapsed on the floor, dragging him toward the door.

Karin followed, pushing Irene's wheelchair.

Irene glanced up at the staircase, a silent prayer flickering in her mind: Claire, I hope you find happiness.

Outside, Brian refused to budge. He stood at the foot of the house, begging for Claire's forgiveness. He pleaded and pleaded, but Jarrod, furious, lost all patience and slapped Brian twice across the face. Only then did he manage to haul his son away.noveldrama

When they finally returned to the Cole family home, Jarrod was hit with more bad news: Cole Corporation was on the brink of bankruptcy, crushed under Foster & Co.'s relentless pressure.

They'd barely avoided total collapse, but the company's present state was hardly any better than ruin.

Jarrod, Karin, and Brian all fell silent. The air was heavy with defeat.

Irene, however, let out a cold laugh. "This is called karma," she said.

Ever since she'd woken up to see Brian blindly defending Vanessa, she'd had a sinking feeling that this day would come.

If she hadn't, by a twist of fate, saved Claire's life, Cole Corporation would've already ended up like Linwood Group-wiped out, disgraced.

Her parents and brother were only able to come home unharmed because Claire, for Irene's sake, had shown them mercy.

In all honesty, anyone who learned the ugly secret they'd hidden would've made the same choice she had.

Before Irene discovered Vanessa's true face, hadn't she been just like Brian- hurting Claire again and again, all for Vanessa's sake?

Anyone who'd hurt Claire deserved no happy ending.

"Dad, can I borrow your driver?" Irene asked suddenly.

Jarrod looked at her, confused. "Where are you going?"

A cold determination flashed in Irene's eyes. "To the prison. Everyone else knows the truth now, but Ethan Linwood still doesn't."

"As someone who helped frame Claire and send her to jail, I won't let Ethan go on living without a shred of guilt."

With that, she gripped the wheels of her chair and rolled herself resolutely out the door.

Cresthaven Psychiatric Hospital.

Adah thrashed wildly, screaming at the top of her lungs. "I'm not sick! Let me out of here!"

It took two orderlies all their strength to pin her down while a third tightly strapped her to the bed.

Terror spread across Adah's face. Her voice trembled as she shouted, "What are you doing to me? Do you know who I am? I'm-"

But halfway through her sentence, the words caught in her throat.

Before she'd met Nathan, she was the heiress of Jones Group-everyone in Cresthaven knew her name.

After marrying Nathan, she became Mrs. Linwood.

But now?

Her father was dead.

Nathan, that liar, had betrayed her over and over. She didn't want to be Mrs. Linwood anymore.

Now she had no one left-her father and husband were gone, her son was in prison, and her daughter loathed her.

She was nothing.

For the first time in her life, Adah felt truly helpless.

Tears streaming down her face, she begged, "Please, let me go. I'm not sick, I swear."

But the doctor ignored her pleas, his voice icy. "Everyone who comes in here says they're not sick. But if you're not, why would anyone send you here?"

"I really am not sick!" Adah repeated, desperate, but no one listened.

"Don't worry. Once you're here, it won't be long before you are."

With that, the needle sank into her arm.

The sedative coursed through her veins, and a fog rolled over her mind. All that remained was despair.

Now, at last, she understood what Claire must have felt-misunderstood, condemned, no matter how she tried to explain herself. Back then, had Claire felt this same crushing helplessness and despair?

Just before her eyes closed, a single tear of regret slid down Adah's cheek.