Ethan's eyes sharpened immediately. He knew Victor too well to believe things could be this straightforward. "Just say what's on your mind, Victor."
Victor's Adam's apple bobbed as he struggled to speak. "Ethan, Claire's scar... her left kidney is missing. From what I've observed, the scar is about a year old. A year ago, she was in prison..."
Ethan felt as if thunder had struck him on a clear day. He stood frozen, his mind buzzing.
His eyes widened as he stared at Victor, his face a portrait of shock and disbelief.
"Victor, you must be joking. How could she lose a kidney in prison? That's impossible, absolutely impossible."
Victor pressed his lips together and silently took out his phone. He pulled up a photo he had taken and handed it to Ethan.
In the picture, the scar on Claire's lower back twisted grotesquely, resembling a centipede clinging to her skin. The scar was a dark hue, and the surrounding skin had a few faint wrinkles.
Ethan's face turned ashen at the sight.
His sister had had a kidney removed while she was in prison!
His body began to tremble violently, legs almost giving way beneath him.
Victor quickly reached out to steady him. "Ethan, are you okay?"
Ethan was in utter agony, feeling a suffocating pain in his chest as if invisible hands were squeezing his heart, making it hard to breathe. Simultaneously, he burned with fury, his teeth grinding audibly.
With all his willpower, he suppressed the pain and steadied himself before gently pushing Victor away. His voice was icy, "Victor, please go and check on my sister in her room."
"What about you?" Victor asked with concern.
"I need to find out who dared to harm my sister," Ethan replied, his voice steely.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom