Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom novel Chapter 483

And she had a bold theory.

This theory was rooted in her second chance at life.

Claire suspected that her ability to be “reborn” might be because her previous life had been so tragic—she died with too much regret, and that fierce unwillingness gave her a uniquely powerful mind.

If she could invent a device capable of detecting and harnessing mental energy, then it could revolutionize military strategy, medicine, education, and even gaming.

In the military, she imagined: future combat exosuits.

In gaming: fully immersive virtual reality.

And when a technology called “NeuroCore” finally emerged, it would transform everyday life for ordinary people in ways no one could imagine.

When that day came, Vesperia Technologies would be at least a century ahead of the world.

Claire had once shared this theory with her mentor.

He’d been so moved he’d teared up on the spot, promising her that if she could really pull it off, he’d support her with everything he had.

She’d even touched on these ideas in her graduation thesis.

What she didn’t expect was that it was precisely this paper that drew the attention of the Federated States of Bellatoria.

Claire refused them immediately, but Bellatoria wouldn’t give up—they started lobbying Mr. and Mrs. Tempest instead.

No matter what Bellatoria offered, though, the Tempests showed no interest.

When news of this reached the authorities, they took it very seriously.

The very next day, someone came to see Claire. After a brief word with Mr. and Mrs. Tempest, they handed over a phone number and said, “We’re taking your daughter with us. If you want to contact her, call this number—but unless it’s important, please don’t.”

Mr. and Mrs. Tempest were stunned.

They’d raised Claire as the apple of their eye, and thought that once she graduated, she’d come home to Northcrest City and the family would finally be whole again.

They never imagined that she’d be taken away right after graduation.

It broke their hearts, but this was about Claire’s future—about Vesperia’s future. No matter how much it hurt, they couldn’t stand in her way.

Zachary added, “Didn’t you bring her home, or did she go out somewhere?”

Orion looked up at them. “It’s not either of those things.”

“So what happened? Just spit it out, you’re killing us here!”

Orion hesitated, then said, “My sister… she’s been taken away.”

The words stunned everyone into silence.

Sean’s fists clenched. “Explain yourself. Who took Claire? Was she kidnapped?”

York, Zachary, and Daisy exchanged uneasy glances.

“Damn…”