Chains of Velvet, Heart of Fire
She was auctioned like an object, bought like a secret, and caged like a sin.
After a brutal betrayal by the people she trusted most, Seraphina Vale is left drowning in debt and despair—until she’s sold at an underground auction to the one man every criminal fears: Lucien Marchesi, the ruthless head of a powerful mafia empire. Cold. Controlled. Deadly. The world assumes she’ll be discarded like the others who came before her. But Seraphina isn't a lamb sent to slaughter.
She’s a lioness in velvet chains—calm, calculating, and waiting for her moment.
Lucien didn’t expect her fire. She didn’t expect his scars. What begins as a twisted game of control and survival becomes something far more dangerous: emotion. As secrets unravel and obsession burns into something deeper, Seraphina edges dangerously close to what she swore she’d never feel again—trust. Love. Want.
But she hasn’t forgotten her mission. Lucien was supposed to be her weapon, not her salvation. And when her revenge explodes into reality, both hearts will shatter under the weight of betrayal.
Until he asks the one question that changes everything:
“Have you ever loved me?”
Chains of Velvet, Heart of Fire is a gripping dark mafia romance about love born from power, loyalty forged in fire, and two broken souls who dared to rewrite their fate. Perfect for fans of morally gray heroes, twist-filled emotional sagas, and heroines who take their power back—beautifully, mercilessly, and on their own terms.
อ่าน
Chapter: Chapter 76The Mediterranean dusk was shattered by explosions.Gold-and-black Marchesi shipping containers went up in flame at the Corsican dock, their rows igniting like torches under a red sky. An elite Viking-style yacht with Marchesi insignia sank within minutes, tilting grotesquely before taking on water. Shipping logs and papers instantly degraded within the inferno.Near the dock’s edge, Anton watched by the perimeter fence, throat dry, breathing harsh. "That’s not a raid," he murmured into his comms. "It's a precision sabotage."A second explosion caused Anton to stagger sideways. A splintered steel girder clanged overhead—brushed him—but he stayed steady, raising his pistol, alerting Matteo off-screen: "Two packages. Man down. Someone knows exactly what they want."Within minutes, firefights erupted between local Corsican guards and shadowy saboteurs in unmarked tactical gear. The blaze cut smoke rings into the sky; halogen spotlights bounced between wreckage and waterline.As heat wave
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-06-16
Chapter: Chapter 75Dawn mist curled around the perimeter fence as Seraphina Vale crouched alongside Lucien Marchesi at the edge of the gravel access road. A black unmarked van idled behind them, thirty of Lucien’s best men strapped into armored gear. Their breath drifted in the cold air.The uplink facility hovered ahead in near-total silence: three low-slung hangars, a satellite array rising like skeletal fingers, and five guarded guard towers no taller than shipping containers. To reach it, they would cross the short stretch of open ground under those towers.“We bought you forty minutes before the towers rotate,” Anton whispered, checking his timer. “After that—they’ll ping. Then all hell breaks loose.”Seraphina leaned forward, pressing her hand on his arm. “We’ll be in and out before then.”Lucien gave a firm nod. “Stay sharp.”He flicked his earpiece. “Alpha move.”The front doors swung open on cue. The Marchesi men slipped into the hangars like smoke—tight and unseen—while Seraphina and Lucien ad
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-06-16
Chapter: Chapter 74The first clue came not from bullets or broken alliances—but from silence.The Marchesi war room was quiet at dawn, even though the board glowed with a hundred flashing lights—unusual activity in Europe’s shadow network. Lucien hovered over the console, flicking through encrypted channels.“Every syndicate’s splintering,” Matteo said, standing behind him. “Dell’s rumored with Ciro and Cristiano again. Julian’s off on one of his rented bays. Isolde’s still in the Beretti vaults, pulling Mercer-front material from Florence.”Lucien nodded. “All moving—chaos in motion is still movement.”Seraphina entered quietly, carrying a stack of intelligence briefs. She glanced at the map. Flecks of red, blue, black, purple—each color a fractured remnant of the old alliance.“Tell Robert,” she whispered, “to activate the Corsican relay. And initiate the Baltic over-watch.”Lucien turned to her. “Already done.”Seraphina placed the files down in front of him. “But this—this is different.”Across the
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-06-16
Chapter: Chapter 73The quiet that fell over the Marchesi estate in the days that followed was the kind of silence Lucien had only read about in books—mythic, fleeting, the breath drawn before a storm breaks the sky.Across Europe, the shattered alliance between Isolde, Dell, Julian, Gabe, Ciro, and Cristiano had imploded into distrust and maneuvering. Assassination attempts. Disappeared couriers. Poisoned shipments. Lucien hadn’t lifted a finger since the fall of Adriana, and yet his enemies tore at each other like rabid dogs fighting over scraps of a feast they no longer had the stomach to eat.In the world of mafia politics, it was a kind of divine comedy. And Lucien? He played the quiet conductor of peace.Peace—however temporary—was a weapon too.And Lucien Marchesi knew how to wield it.The estate thrived under the truce.Vineyards bloomed again with disciplined workers returning to their posts. Trade routes that had once been guar
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-06-15
Chapter: Chapter 72The room was warm, firelight casting amber across the polished wood floor of Isolde Beretti’s Montenegrin estate. On the far side of the chamber, she stood with her back to the door, her silhouette framed by tall windows that looked down over the river valley.Julian Cristoff stepped inside, his weapon drawn but held low—uncertain, wary.The door clicked shut behind him."Julian," Isolde said, her voice smooth, without fear. "I was wondering how long it would take before you crawled through my threshold with questions.""You set her up," Julian snapped. "You left Adriana out there to die."Isolde turned slowly, her expression one of cold amusement. "I gave her every chance. She chose loyalty to a sinking ship instead of learning to swim. I didn’t kill her, Julian. You did. You and that brittle male ego of yours."He raised the pistol slightly. "You think I won't pull this trigger?""I think you’d be a fool to try."She didn’t f
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-06-14
Chapter: Chapter 71The black vans moved in silence through the fog-draped valleys of Montenegro. Their engines were cut a half-mile before the drop point. One by one, over fifty operatives—Lucien's most elite—exited with suppressed rifles and dark uniforms. They melted into the mist, phantoms without a trace.At dawn, the camp emerged through the haze: a half-dozen tents, a central fire pit, a perimeter of minimal guard posts. This was Adriana's hidden base—temporary, improvisational, and ripe for taking.Lucien stood at the edge of a wooded clearing, eyes sharp behind his night-vision gear. His earpiece crackled:“Team Alpha in position.”“Bravo secured the ridge.”“Charlie on fire watch.”He nodded. Across the rolled map, he'd personally marked the escape routes, the med tent, the armory. Every detail.“Wait for my signal,” he whispered.When the first light of morning woke the encam
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-06-14
Chapter: The Past Made PerfectThe Meyer ancestral home in Oregon had never looked more magnificent. Tucked among ancient evergreens, its stone facade and sprawling verandas welcomed guests from across generations. The garden, once a tranquil haven, now bloomed in full festive splendor, transformed into a grand setting for the celebration of Leonora Meyer’s 90th birthday.Orchids and peonies formed elegant arches, and fairy lights wove through ivy-covered trellises. Dozens of round tables covered in ivory linens dotted the lawn, each decorated with crystal centerpieces and name cards written in calligraphy. A quartet played soft jazz near the pond while servers in white moved gracefully with trays of hors d'oeuvres.Inside, the house buzzed with anticipation. Family portraits lined the hallway, sepia photographs of pioneers, sepia giving way to vibrant color as generations passed. It was a house filled with stories, and today, another story was about to be written.Leonora, regal in a deep green gown that shimmered
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-05-18
Chapter: Unwritten YesterdaysAlice bolted awake as the alarm blared beside her. She groggily reached for her phone, squinting at the screen."What?!" she gasped. “2025? Not 2024?”Confused, she shot up from the bed and looked around. She wasn’t in her usual bedroom. Instead, she lay on a luxurious bed inside a grand room with an enormous walk-in closet filled with designer clothes and limited-edition shoes, everything looked like it belonged in a glossy magazine spread for the ultra-rich.Before she could gather her thoughts, a knock came at the door.A woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a sleek, modern maid’s uniform, stepped inside."Miss Alice, your breakfast is ready," she said with a polite smile."Breakfast?" Alice blinked at her in confusion.The woman gestured, and two younger maids entered, carrying trays laden with food. They headed straight to a table on the balcony and began setting up what looked like a royal feast."Just ring the bell when you're finished. You have a busy schedule ahead," the older m
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-05-05
Chapter: The Return HomeTwo days later, Samuel and Emily boarded a plane bound for the United States. With them, they carried not only memories of Africa, but a child they had vowed to protect.Emily still hadn’t figured out how to face her parents. Her grief over losing her brother and sister-in-law was fresh, raw. She stared out the window of the plane, silent.Samuel squeezed her hand. “We’ll get through this, Em.”She nodded, her voice barely a whisper. “I just… I wish I had said goodbye to them.”“They knew you loved them,” he said gently. “And Cole will know who they were. We’ll make sure of it.”Before leaving, Samuel had written a letter to his parents:Mom, Dad—I’m coming home for good.I’ve decided to leave the front lines behind and live a quieter life in the States.I hope I’ll still make you proud, even from the small corner of the world I’ll be working in.Love,Samuel.Leonora wept when she read the letter. Holding it to her chest, she whispered a prayer of thanks. Then, looking to the garden
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-05-01
Chapter: The Future RewrittenAlice gasped awake.Pain stabbed through her shoulder, but the fire in her veins was dying, no, burning away. Her blood shimmered faintly, glowing beneath her skin like liquid light. The poisoned arrow that should have ended her life sizzled out, the toxins neutralized by something ancient and wild inside her. Her healing power, once weak, unstable, had awakened fully, sparked by danger and Samuel’s sacrifice.She rolled to her knees beneath the bench. The air was thick with smoke. Gunfire echoed like thunder across the clinic grounds.“Samuel,” she whispered. But he was gone. So was the noise.Too quiet.Alice staggered to her feet, gripping the bench for balance. She stumbled toward the clinic, and froze.Shattered walls. Blood was smeared on the floor and doors. Flies already swarmed the broken windows.Inside, everyone was dead.Mike. Suzanne. The guards. Patients, even the elderly man who always handed out fruit to the children. All gunned down. Bullet holes pocked the walls and
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-04-29
Chapter: In the Shadow of the RebellionAlice found herself staring at the thermometer that a young doctor had just pulled from her mouth.“She doesn’t have a fever,” said a young woman beside him after glancing at the reading.“Where am I?” Alice asked, her eyes scanning the sparse, humid room. Her gaze stopped on the young woman beside the doctor, and her breath caught.“Grandma!” she blurted, suddenly sitting up, eyes wide.The young woman stepped back, startled. She was beautiful, graceful even in her confusion. “My name’s Emily,” she said slowly, studying Alice like she’d grown a second head. Do I look that old? she wondered, frowning slightly.“I’m sorry. I just… had a strange dream,” Alice muttered, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.Emily exchanged a glance with the young doctor.“Brother, could it be…?” she whispered.“She doesn’t seem crazy,” he replied in a hushed tone.“I can hear you, Doctor…” Alice said pointedly. She glanced at the nameplates pinned to their uniforms. “Doctor Stevens and Nurse Stevens,”
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-04-29
Chapter: The Choice Between RoadsThe next day, the world felt heavier to Alice, though the sky outside was clear and bright.She sat on the edge of her bed, legs tucked underneath her, staring at the small patch of sun that pooled on her carpet. The light was warm against her skin, but a knot of sadness remained inside her, tangled tightly around something new, a quiet understanding.They gave me all the love that I needed, like a real mother and father, she thought, her hands resting limp in her lap. Alyssa and Cole weren't perfect, but they'd been everything she needed growing up. Every band-aid, every bedtime story, every small moment that stitched a childhood together, it had been them.Her anger wasn't really directed at them, she realized. It wasn't even anger, not truly. It was grief for a piece of her identity that had been hidden away. A missing corner of a puzzle she hadn't known she was even assembling.With a heavy sigh, Alice stood up. Her decision was made. --- The house looked just as it always had, w
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด: 2025-04-29
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