Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 243 The atmosphere was suffocating, almost as if the air itself had been sucked out of the room.

Claire's laughter, raw and desperate, was a sound torn from the depths of her soul. Each note carried the weight of her anguish and sorrow, resonating with a profound sense of heartbreak.

Standing silently beside her, Sean's usually sharp and insightful eyes were now clouded with a mix of emotions. He opened his mouth, struggling to find words of comfort, but his throat felt dry, and any attempt at consolation seemed futile against the harsh reality before them.

Jeffry, too, couldn't bear to watch any longer and averted his gaze.

Gradually, Claire's laughter faded into a long, weary sigh, as if she was trying to release all the grievances, pain, and resentment she'd held for over two decades.

"Adah, didn't you always say I was a harbinger of misfortune?" Claire murmured to herself. "But it seems like the true misfortune was your beloved husband." Everything Adah had endured was because she had misjudged Nathan, falling for someone so utterly despicable. Claire wondered how Adah would feel when she found out about the daughter her beloved husband had abandoned, the kidney he had arranged to be removed and transplanted into his mistress, and that the cherished daughter she had raised was, in truth, Nathan and his mistress's love child.

Claire closed her eyes, picturing the heartbreak on Adah's face when the truth finally cto light. A strange sense of satisfaction washed over her.

She slowly opened her eyes and wiped the tears from her cheeks, her gaze returning to the stack of papers in her hands, which felt as heavy as a mountain. Her eyes skimmed over the words, and her face, already pale from crying, turned an ashen shade, like leaves left to wither in the frost.

Claire had always believed that the Linwood family's vast empire was built through Nathan's extraordinary talent and relentless effort. She never imagined that Nathan was nothing but a gold digger, a man who had married into the family to leech off their wealth.

She thought Nathan's descent into infidelity was a recent development, driven by his affair with the mistress and their illegitimate daughter, Vanessa. But the documents revealed the stark truth: Nathan had always been a calculating scoundrel, intent on scheming against Adah from the very start.

Adah, the only daughter of the prestigious Jones family, was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, showered with love and admiration from the start. Nathan, on the other hand, had clawed his way out of poverty, his mother disappearing shortly after his birth.

When Nathan was accepted into the prestigious Cresthaven Institute of Technology, he set his sights on Adah, the heiress who could change his destiny. Their meeting, their romance, and their love were all part of Nathan's grand scheme.

Adah's father, Abbott Jones, had spent decades navigating the business world, and his perceptive eyes quickly saw through Nathan's façade. He refused to let his daughter marry such a man. However, blinded by love, Adah's judgment faltered. Still in college, she found herself pregnant with Nathan's child and determined to be with him at all costs.

In the end, the elder Jones relented, agreeing to the marriage on the condition that Nathan would join the Jones family. Nathan outwardly accepted, but inside, he felt humiliated, burying his resentment deep within.

When their son was born, Abbott insisted that he take Adah's last name. Nathan seethed with anger but was powerless to change it, resorting to subtle manipulations to drive a wedge between Adah and her father. Adah, seeing her father repeatedly belittle Nathan, only grew more sympathetic towards him, promising that their second child would bear Nathan's surname.

Nathan outwardly agreed, but inside, he resented every member of the Jones family. To him, they all looked down on him. His frustration and bitterness festered, and he yearned for recognition and respect.

That's when Sophia cinto his life like a beacon, illuminating his twisted inner world. He was intoxicated by O the thrill of their affair, made even more exhilarating by the fact that it happened right under Adah's nose. Sophia's pregnancy was no accident; it was a calculated move by Nathan, designed to disgust the Jones family even further. In the end, the elder Jones relented, agreeing to the marriage on the condition that Nathan would join the Jones family. Nathan outwardly accepted, but inside, he felt humiliated, burying his resentment deep within.

When their son was born, Abbott insisted that he take Adah's last name. Nathan seethed with anger m but was powerless to change it, resorting to subtle manipulations to drive a wedge between Adah and her father. Adah, seeing her father repeatedly belittle Nathan, only grew more sympathetic towards him, promising that their second child would bear Nathan's surname. Nathan outwardly agreed, but inside, he resented every member of the Jones family. To him, they all looked down on him. His frustration and bitterness festered, and he yearned for recognition and respect.

That's when Sophia cinto his life like a beacon, illuminating his twisted inner world. He was intoxicated by ΟΠ the thrill of their affair, made even Ο more exhilarating by the fact that it happened right under Adah's nose. Sophia's pregnancy was no accident; it was a calculated move by Nathan, designed to disgust the Jones family even further.