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Chapter 56 – The Calm Before the Storm
Last Updated:
2025-05-01 22:30:09
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Velvet Chains Chapter 57 - Valerio Sera
The silence following their confrontation lingered over the suite like smoke. Valerio had not returned since the early morning, and Sera perched on the edge of the bed, her knees tucked up to her chest, the robe slipping down her shoulder slightly. The events of the day before rumbled through her mind like a clap of thunder: the betrayal, the fear, the lust, and the truth she had not been willing to embrace.Her phone buzzed.A message from Matteo, the bodyguard Valerio had sent. **Stay indoors. Don't open the door to anyone. He's on it.**Her heart sank. That meant the threat hadn't passed. She didn't want to think about how many corpses already littered the ground.The darkness fell softly, veiling the city in a velvet shroud. The air in the suite was stifling. She needed some air. Maybe just for a minute on the balcony.Sera stepped out barefoot, robe still clung to one shoulder, hair a tangled halo around her head. The wind tugged at it and made it whirl around her cheeks. From t
Last Updated : 2025-05-01Velvet Chains Chapter 58 - Valerio & Sera
The rest of the world outside Valerio's penthouse sparkled at twilight, Eros City casting a mauve sheen over the skyline like purple marks on the neck of a wine-stained throat. Inside, Sera sat on the edge of the velvet chaise lounge, legs tucked under her, robe cinched tightly around her waist, but heart wide open.Valerio stood on the opposite side of the room, half-facing away from her, phone stuffed into his ear. His voice was low, biting, and lethal."If he inhales anywhere close to her again, I want his lungs in my floor. Got it?"Sera trembled, not with fear—not anymore—but because of the menace in his tone. The way he ordered when it came to her. Claimingly. Roughly. Guardedly.He hung up and faced her, his features calm but still lined."Everything's alright," he told her."Are you certain?" she demanded, eyes tightening slightly."You're safe. That's the only thing that matters."He strode towards her, h
Last Updated : 2025-05-02Velvet Chains Chapter 59 - Valerio & Sera
There was suffocating quiet within the penthouse. Valerio moved through it with a ferocity that caused the air to feel too tight, too thick, as if the shadows themselves were bearing down on him. He did not walk; he stalked, stalked out whatever was hiding within the walls of his kingdom.His steps were deliberate, every stride precise as he approached the stairs leading to the upper floors. His men were already in place, each of them conversing with swift gestures and wordless nods. The danger was at hand. The threat? It was closing fast.But for all his training, all his power, his thoughts kept going back to her—Sera.The kiss they'd shared before he left the room had been different from the others. It hadn't just been a moment of lust or tenderness. It had been a soft promise. A desperate, brief plea for her to see that, in his world, his heart was the most dangerous thing he could offer.And now, he was too far from her.Va
Last Updated : 2025-05-02Velvet Chains Chapter 60 – Valerio & Sera (Part 1)
The moon hung low in the horizon, and it gave the city an eerie light. Eros City, with its neon lights and endless hum, was a world unto itself—one that Valerio dominated with ruthless effectiveness. But tonight, the cold of control felt like a suffocation around him.Sera sat by the window, her eyes gazing out into the city, but her mind was not nearly so distant. Valerio's presence in the room was magnetic, tangible, even when he said nothing. The space between them pulsed with a force that was electric and dangerous.It was weeks since they'd shared any real intimacy. Oh, yes, there had been moments—hot, breathless moments—but the tension beneath it all had never been so thick. Neither of them spoke of the past. Neither of them spoke of the weight of the unspoken.Tonight, it felt heavier."Do you ever wonder," Sera's voice cut through the silence, soft but unmistakable, "if we're just running in circles?"Valerio
Last Updated : 2025-05-02Velvet Chains Chapter 60 – Valerio & Sera (Part 2)
The kiss grew, slowly, as evening gives way to night. Sera melted into Valerio, her fists bunched in the collar of his shirt as if she thought he might disappear. But he didn't retreat. For once, there was no imperative in him, no command under his fingers—only raw, unbridled feeling.When they parted, air between them trembled."I don't want to lose you," she breathed, barely more than a whisper."You won't," he said, gently brushing his nose against hers. "Unless you run."A ghost of a smile danced on her lips. "And if I do?""I'll burn every corner of this city to get you back." His declaration was half-threat, half-promise—but all him.The tension that had simmered under their interactions for these weeks had become something fragile. Fragile, even. And that made it lethal. Because fragile things, when they broke, left the deepest cuts.Sera grasped and held his hand and pulled him wordlessly to the bed.
Last Updated : 2025-05-03Velvet Chains Chapter 61 - Valerio & Sera
Penthouse silence was shattered like crystal broken by a hammer. Alarms hadn't blared, and guards hadn't been alerted. Whoever had breached Valerio's security mesh had done so without activating the most sophisticated surveillance system in Eros City.Sera stood on the opposite side of the panic room door, her ear pressed against the cold metal. Each beat of her heart was met with the boom of fear pounding in her chest. She wasn't afraid for herself. She was afraid for *him*.Valerio had changed. She'd felt it in his touch, seen it in his gaze. The man who'd dominated the underworld with ruthless efficiency had eased in ways she alone was privy to. That made him strong—but vulnerable.A gentle knock shook her."It's me," came Valerio's filtered but unmistakably even voice. "Open up."She hesitated for a moment before she keyed the code and placed her hand to the biometric reader. The door opened with a soft hiss.Valerio stepped inside, weapon low and still at the ready. He closed the
Last Updated : 2025-05-03Velvet Chains Chapter 62 - Valerio & Sera
The sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a warm gold across the silk sheets that were wrapped around their bodies. Sera awoke first, her hands tracing over the bare chest of Valerio. She slowly blinked, watching the way the sunlight danced along his jawline, softening the sharp planes of the man who ruled a kingdom of darkness.She just watched him sleep for a moment.Peace was misplaced on his face. As if something borrowed, and not his. Dark lashes framing his cheeks, lips open, hair rumpled from their evening together. Unreal—this peace, this burn between them. But real. And hers. At least, for the time being.Her hand drifted down, resting on his heart.A steady, solid beat.He rolled beneath her touch. His eyes opened, slowly, as if the cloudiness of sleep and the shadows had fled with his meeting of eyes with hers. That look—like he was eager to see her most of all—set a blaze of fire within her belly."Morning, angel," he muttered.Sera smiled softly
Last Updated : 2025-05-03Velvet Chains Chapter 63 - Valerio & Sera
Eros City never rested. But tonight, it drew a breath.Sera was propped up against the wall-to-wall window of Valerio's penthouse, watching the sea of lights below her. Her face hovered vaguely against the glass, a ghost of the girl she used to be. Valerio sat in front of her, still as stone, speechless, a panther sprung waiting for night.The silence between them was no longer oppressive with distrust or uncertainty. It was a breath. A gasp. The harbinger of a storm they both knew would erupt.Valerio shattered the silence finally. "I need to show you something."She turned, brows raised. "Now?"He nodded and stood, moving across to the other side of the room. He pushed on a wall panel and the panel clicked open to reveal a state-of-the-art black safe. With code and fingerprint, the door opened to reveal a velvet-lined box.Valerio opened it.Inside its depths was a necklace.Not just any necklace. This one was tiny, silver and black diamonds, but the pendant hanging from it made her
Last Updated : 2025-05-03
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Velvet Chains Chapter 72 - Valerio & Sera
The aftermath of the attack on the safehouse left a thick tension hanging in the air, heavier than the smoke and blood splatters they'd all but escaped. It was early dawn, but Valerio's world had been rewritten. The game had new rules.He stood on the edge of a cliff, beyond the forest clearing several miles from the desecrated safehouse, the wind cutting through his coat and nibbling at him. Sera followed him, silent. The night was silent too, too silent. Out in the distance, there were owls hooting into the night, peacefully unaware of the war raging in silence beneath their branches."We have to go," she whispered.Valerio changed, his face carved from stone. "Where?""To whoever's next on your list."She kept pace with him, slipping her hand into his. He glanced down at the manner in which her fingers curled around his—tight, unyielding."This doesn't stop until we find the one pulling the strings," she continued. "Until you're free."Valerio's face twisted. "Then we start with Da
Velvet Chains Chapter 71 - Valerio & Sera
The shoot-out's aftermath hung over the estate, such as the thick smoke of a fire smothered for too long. Morning light filtered through broken windows, reflected off blood-slicked floors and bullet holes. There was quiet where chaos had erupted mere hours before.Sera stood in the hallway outside the old library, arms wrapped around herself, a blanket draped over her shoulders. Her skin still trembled from adrenaline, her mind a whirlwind of images—Valerio with blood on his knuckles, the mole’s lifeless eyes, the shouts, the gunfire.But more than anything, she remembered Valerio’s arms around her afterward, his voice rough as he murmured, “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”She hadn't given up since.In the library, Valerio lay on the long, blackened table, his gaze down on a crumpled map and list of names. His shoulders tensed, jaw clenched. What was to have been a clever ambush had been successful—but at a cost. One of his men had been injured, and the mole they'd been following had
Velvet Chains Chapter 70 - Valerio & Sera
The air was filled with gunpowder and blood.Smoke still coiled in relaxed clouds over the ruins along the southern ridge. Forest remained still, save the fading roar of engines. There was a sea of dead bodies covering the frost-covered ground. Valerio was pacing at the edge of the field, coat torn, bruised knuckles, and a deep slash running across the left arm. Ambushers were professionals but had not been expecting him.He'd taken care of that.Sera crept out from behind a fallen tree trunk, chest heaving, face streaked with grime and anger. Her gaze landed on Valerio straight away, relief crossing her features even as her jaw tightened."Are you injured?"He spun around, voice low. "I'm fine. You?"She nodded, sweeping hair from her face. "Bruised. Not broken."Valerio walked toward her, cupping her cheek in his good hand. His thumb wiped a smudge of blood from the jawline. "I said to stay behind the line.""And I said I don't take orders for granted." Her voice shook with adrenali
Velvet Chains Chapter 69 - Valerio & Sera
The guns' noise had long since faded, leaving behind only the crackling of the blaze in the impromptu hideout Valerio's men had occupied. Darkness descended on the forest hideout, thick with silence and secrets. Valerio was at the window, his gaze trained on the trees as if trying to break through the shroud of treachery that had surrounded his organization.Sera slumped on the arm of the leather couch, covered in one of Valerio's warm jackets, dripping wet hair curving around her face in tender strands. Her mind spun from the chaos of everything they had just been through. The fight at the compound. The deception that ran deeper than they had expected. The shadow of what still remained out there, hanging in wait."I don't know whom to trust anymore," Valerio burst out, his voice low, husky. "Every time I think I've located the leak, someone else bleeds.""You trust me," Sera said softly.His head rotated toward her slowly, eyes obscured in the dark. "You're the only one I trust. That
Velvet Chains Chapter 68 - Valerio & Sera
Rifle fire cracked through the underbrush like a fury of vengeance, echoing across the destroyed manor. Sera winced, racing heart still within her, as Valerio shielded her body with his. His arms wrapped around her, driving her behind a blackened pillar as rounds spat stone and ash into the air."Down!" he bellowed, voice booming over the chaos.His men returned fire, moving as precisely as surgeons. The ambush hadn't surprised Valerio—it had merely reinforced what he already knew: there was a mole in his organization, selling information to the enemy.Sera clung to the icy stone, her breathing short and shallow. She could feel the shock of the gunfire through the floor, smell the bitter flavor of metal and smoke. But it wasn't fear that bound her.It was rage.Whoever had enough guts to come for Valerio—enough guts to disrupt what they were building—would regret it.Valerio whirled, dropped down beside her. His mask was streaked with dirt, eyes burning hot with fury. "You believe me?
Velvet Chains Chapter 67 - Valerio & Sera
The sun rose blood-red over the ruined estate, staining the skeletal remains of Valerio's childhood house in fire and gold. The smoke from the last battle still lingered in the air, curling like specters through the broken windows. Sera waited in the silence that followed, her pistol loose at her side, ears still ringing from the gunfire.Valerio crouched next to the body of the man who'd named his father."He's making a grab," Valerio growled, to himself more than anything else. "He waited so long to allow me to establish everything. so he could then attempt to steal it away."Sera stepped forward. "Then he's mistaken."He gazed up at her. There was pride in his eyes, but something more. Sadness. Grief. Not for the man he'd thought of as a father—but for what he'd lost because of him. His mother. His innocence. His peace."This house," Valerio said, standing slowly and surveying the wreckage, "was built on blood. It alway
Velvet Chains Chapter 66 - Valerio & Sera
The ride to the estate was a long one, winding through deserted woods covered in mist. The further they went, the further back into the distance the city retreated, a memory fading into night. Sera sat next to Valerio in the rear of the bulletproof SUV, hands clasped in her lap, eyes flicking toward him every few minutes.He'd said nothing since they'd left the penthouse.Valerio stood at the window, his jaw clenched, a muscle beating at the corner. The silence was another form of weight now—not of anger or distance, but of ghosts. The sort that tugged at him from the past, hissing through the trees they drove by."You alright?" Sera asked at last.He didn't answer initially. Then, in a gravel-edged voice, he said, "I haven't been back here since the fire. Since I saw him walk away from the ashes like he hadn't just killed her."Her breath caught. She leaned in, her fingers closing around his delicately."Then why now?" s
Velvet Chains Chapter 65 - Sera & Valerio
The old Thorne mansion stood as a forgotten presence on the fringes of Eros City. Time had not been kind. Ivy choked the once gracious facade, and shattered windows glared like vacant eyes into the night. The gate screamed open on a metallic shriek as Valerio drove them through, headlights clawing across ruined stone and weeds that clawed their way up the entry steps.Sera sat stiffly in the passenger seat, her fists tight in her lap. "You grew up here?"Valerio didn't look at her. "I survived here. That's all."It smelled of dust and secrets inside. The grand chandelier above the foyer sagged, its crystals dirty. Sera ran her fingers along the peeling wallpaper as Valerio led her through halls that echoed with too much silence.He finally stopped before a wooden door. He pushed it open to reveal a study. Unlike the rest of the house, it was intact against rot. The desk was clean, papers piled neatly. Books lined the shelves, each spine as s
Velvet Chains Chapter 64 - Valerio & Sera
The storm didn't wait.Thunder exploded overhead as rain pounded the roof of the estate in waves, washing away years' worth of dust. The air inside the mansion turned cold, the kind that crept into bones. Valerio and Sera did not move from the drawing room, though. They stayed on the bench of the broken piano, hands still loosely clasped, the resonance of their bond suspended between keys.Valerio's voice broke the silence. "I used to sneak in here when I was a kid to avoid my father's. lessons. This piano was the one thing that I did not find intimidating."Sera looked at him, her throat constricted in her throat. "Lessons?A muscle flexed in his jaw. "His way of making me 'a man.' Violence. Power. Control. Made me fight bigger boys until I couldn't walk. Made me watch things a child shouldn't."She touched him, her hand tracing along his. "And you came back here to confront it?"He met her gaze. "I came because the ghosts only let up on their chase when you meet them head-on.".Ligh
