Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom novel Chapter 374

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**Hospital**

The doors of the operating room finally swung open, and Sean was wheeled out on a gurney.

The surgeon removed his mask and turned to Jeffry, who had been anxiously waiting outside. “The patient’s leg bone has been set. The surgery was a complete success,” he said. “From now on, proper rest is essential—he absolutely can’t get out of bed for at least a month.”

Jeffry nodded and carefully pushed Sean toward his private room.

Sean had no idea how much time passed before he finally woke up.

The first thing he did, the moment his eyes flickered open, was ask about Claire.

“How’s Claire?” he murmured, his voice raspy and weak.

Jeffry smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, sir. Ms. Linwood’s transplant surgery went perfectly. Since the kidney was already hers to begin with, there’s no risk of rejection. As long as she takes it easy, she’ll recover soon—probably even faster than your leg will heal.”

A faint smile broke through the pallor on Sean’s face.

“That’s good,” he breathed. “With a healthy kidney, Claire’s bound to get stronger day by day.”

As long as she grew healthier, maybe she’d stop blaming herself for dragging him down. Maybe, just maybe, she’d stop wanting to leave him.

Still, her injured leg and hearing loss needed the world’s best doctors. No matter the cost, he’d see her healed.

He shifted on the bed and asked quietly, “What about Vanessa?”

Jeffry’s lips curled in a cold, dismissive sneer. “She’s dead.”

“Dead?” Sean blinked, taken aback. “It was just a kidney removal—how could she die so easily?”

Jeffry shook his head. Vanessa’s death was far more complicated than a simple organ loss.

During the landslide, she’d been crushed by falling rocks—her lower body pinned under a massive boulder. Perhaps the pain had snapped her back to a fleeting moment of clarity. Desperation took over, and she’d clawed at the dirt, begging for help.

“Please… help me, I don’t want to die, please…” she’d pleaded, her voice raw with terror.

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**Elsewhere**

Claire drifted into consciousness, pulled awake by a wave of excruciating pain.

The anesthesia had worn off. An agonizing, stabbing sensation radiated from her side—like a thousand needles driving in at once. Cold sweat broke out over her entire body.

She opened her eyes, but everything was pitch black.

Had night fallen already?

Just as the thought crossed her mind, she heard the sudden rustle of fabric. With a dramatic flourish, a heavy black sheet was yanked away.

Scarlet stood before her, a mocking smile on her face. She looked Claire up and down, her voice dripping with malicious amusement. “Well, Claire… how does it feel to be living in a dog cage?”

She circled the cage, slow and deliberate. “Who would’ve thought—the fiancée of Foster & Co.’s CEO, locked up like a stray mutt? Isn’t that something?” Scarlet laughed, the sound echoing cruelly in the darkness.