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Chapter 74 - The Masked Dance
Huling Na-update:
2025-05-06 14:03:37
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Velvet Chains Chapter 75 - Uncovering Chapel Secrets
The cold of the Verona air followed them as they made their way to the chapel that Dario had told them about. It was at the far end of the estate, flanked by cypress trees that groaned in the wind, their shadows extending long and foreboding in the moonlight. The building was old, its stones weathered with centuries of secrets and sin.Valerio held Sera's hand tightly, the other wrapped around the butt of his gun. Even with Dario guiding them, trust did not come easily."How far down does it go?" Valerio ordered, staring at the chapel's weathered interior."Under the altar," Dario whispered, his eyes darting up to the worn crucifix that hung above. "There's a trapdoor, hidden by the marble. My father and I would use it when we had to. store things."Sera swallowed, her nerves tightening. The air was colder in here, unnaturally so. She felt it in her bones, in the way her skin prickled."You’re sure no one else knows about this?" she asked.Dario hesitated. "Only Lucrezia. But she beli
Huling Na-update : 2025-05-06Velvet Chains Chapter 1 – The Girl Who Didn't Belong
The bass beat pounded like a heartbeat beneath the crimson brocade shadows of *The Crimson Room*. Smoke drifted along the darkened room, weaving with perfume, sweat, and decadence. Valerio Moretti leaned in the back of the VIP club, his hand wrapped around a glass of black whiskey, unmoving.Partygoers were around him, society's elite losing themselves in excess as if they had no fear of death. Which was appropriate.They did not know that he was there.Valerio was death in a specially tailored suit. No one breathed in that club without his permission. The owner knew it. The girls knew it. Even the bartender handed him his drinks without meeting his gaze.And yet…His gaze did not leave the stage.A new girl had appeared in the limelight.She did not dance like them. Did not stalk, did not strike. She was frozen in place for a moment too long, blinking in the blinding light as though she didn't belong there. Her trembling fingers twitched ever so little at her hips, and when the music
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-14Velvet Chains Chapter 2 – The Price of Skin
They called her *Stella* on stage. Some manager had picked the name because it sounded like a porn star and was easy to scream over a deafening bassline. But when the lights went down and the music died and the glitter stuck to her skin like shame, she was just **Sera** again.Sera Devlin.Twenty-three years old. College dropout. Full-time stripper.Part-time liar.She hated this place. *The Crimson Room* pulsed with the stench of greed and desperation. Men sat in velvet booths, drinking themselves under at bourbon and lust. Women moved across the floor in sequins and high heels, red paint on their lips, eyes lifeless behind their lashes.And Sera? She danced.Horribly, she'd admit. She wasn't as cool as the other girls. She didn't know how to make her body promise anything. Her movements were stiff, unsure—like she was moving through something dirty and didn't want it to smear on her skin.And yet she came here. Night after night.Letting strangers look at her like they were hers. Le
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-14Velvet Chains Chapter 3 – The First No
Valerio Moretti hated waiting.He loathed being told no.And he sure as hell didn't appreciate the fact that ever since the evening he had the nerve to set foot in her dressing room, Sera Devlin had been taking up space inside his head like a forbidden prayer he couldn't suppress.She was hardly the prettiest woman he'd ever seen. But she was the most *untouched*. Even when she danced half-naked in front of drunk, salivating men, there was something about her that stayed locked away, behind those big, suspicious eyes.And he wanted to be the one to break that lock.To *own* whatever it was she kept hidden.He had not been able to get the image out of his head of how her breath caught as she had kicked him out.The manner in which she looked at him—not with fear, but with fire.Tonight, he needed more.He walked along the blood-red hallway of the nightclub with two of his guards. As ever, the door swinging open behind him shifted the mood. Bartenders straightened aprons and spat toothp
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-14Velvet Chains Chapter 4 – The Line She Crossed
The dressing room still smelled like perfume, powder, and desperation.Sera peeled off her fishnets with shaking fingers, every muscle in her body humming with the leftover charge of his presence.*Valerio Moretti.*She hadn't meant to walk into that lion’s den. Hadn’t expected her manager to knock on the door and say, *“Mr. Moretti’s requested a private.”*Requested.Like he didn’t already expect obedience.As if her name was just another on his list.Her "no" had been spontaneous, hot, unscripted. But the instant the word *no* had left her lips, it was like a first breath of air after being under water.And now she was shaking.Not with fear.With heat.With rage.With that deep, low voice saying, *You will.*Her hoodie clung to her bare shoulders as she shrugged it on, sweat and glitter clinging to the material. Her phone buzzed once from her bag.She didn't answer it.She was halfway unpinned her hair when the door creaked open behind her.Not a knock.Not a warning.Just the door
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-14Velvet Chains Chapter 5 – The Gifts He Sends, The Fire She Rejects
Sera could feel him.Not see him. Not hear him.But *feel* him.There were nights, when she stepped out onto the stage, the weight of his eyes hit her like a flame, blistering down the length of her back.He never made himself seen.Never returned to her dressing room. Never requested her in secret again.But he was always there.In the shadows. In the VIP room. In the smoky rooms of the club where men of power lounged like gods.*Watching.*Sera hated the way her body responded to it. The way the thought of his dark eyes watching her every step made her feel a pulse between her thighs.She danced for the paycheck.She danced for her brother.But when Valerio Moretti was around, she danced with an edge sharper than survival.She danced like rebellion.And she could sense—it only made him desire her more.The first gift arrived three nights later.A black velvet box, smooth, fit neatly into her locker after work. Inside: a diamond choker, icy and sparkling like frost on a winter sword.
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-14Velvet Chains Chapter 6 – The Hallway Trap
The rear hallway of the club pulsed with muted red light and the muffled bass thumping of the main floor. It was tight, bordered by peeling paint and the reek of old perfume—choking, intimate.Sera walked with her head down, hoodie half-zipped, heels clicking against tile. Her shift had just ended. She was tired, drained, her mind spinning from the last few nights.More gifts.More notes.More glances from the shadows.She hadn't seen him tonight.*Good.*But just as she got to the staff door, she felt it again.That *pull*.The dense pressure of eyes upon her.She stopped.Her breath caught as the air behind her altered—denser now, electric, humming.And then—"Leaving without saying goodnight, *bella*?"Sera turned.Valerio.He stepped out of the shadows like he'd been sliced from them. All black suit, open collar, his shirt stretched just tight enough to hint at tattoos and sin.She swallowed, hard.The hallway suddenly felt like a trap. Like a cage with velvet walls and gold locks
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-14Velvet Chains Chapter 7 – Bruises and Butterflies
The dressing room was silent, dark.The other girls had already left for the night, their heels echoing down the hall, their perfume lingering like ghosts. Sera sat alone in front of the mirror, removing her makeup in slow, tired strokes. Her lashes fluttered, smudges of eyeliner staining her cheeks like war paint.She didn't gaze at her reflection anymore.She gazed at the past.The way it coiled around her neck in quiet moments. The way it slid into her chest and tightened until she forgot how to breathe.And tonight—after Valerio's whispered obscenities in the hallway, the heat of his breath on her ear, the way he didn't touch her—but could have?It all came rushing back.**The first man to touch her without her permission was when she was fifteen.**The sun had already set behind the red roofs of the trailer park. Her little brother Ezra was asleep on the sofa after another asthma attack. Her mother was working the late shift again, which really meant she'd be stumbling home drunk
Huling Na-update : 2025-04-16
Pinakabagong kabanata
Velvet Chains Chapter 75 - Uncovering Chapel Secrets
The cold of the Verona air followed them as they made their way to the chapel that Dario had told them about. It was at the far end of the estate, flanked by cypress trees that groaned in the wind, their shadows extending long and foreboding in the moonlight. The building was old, its stones weathered with centuries of secrets and sin.Valerio held Sera's hand tightly, the other wrapped around the butt of his gun. Even with Dario guiding them, trust did not come easily."How far down does it go?" Valerio ordered, staring at the chapel's weathered interior."Under the altar," Dario whispered, his eyes darting up to the worn crucifix that hung above. "There's a trapdoor, hidden by the marble. My father and I would use it when we had to. store things."Sera swallowed, her nerves tightening. The air was colder in here, unnaturally so. She felt it in her bones, in the way her skin prickled."You’re sure no one else knows about this?" she asked.Dario hesitated. "Only Lucrezia. But she beli
Velvet Chains Chapter 74 - The Masked Dance
The gala vibrated with secrets and shadows, but none thicker than that surrounding Sera as she navigated the crowd. She wasn't herself tonight. She was Celeste D'Amour, an enigmatic heiress from the French Riviera with a taste for danger and champagne. It was a name devised by Dario, corroborated by a fleshed-out identity trail and whispered associations with power.Sera had never been so naked, and yet so masked. And that paradox vibrated beneath her skin.Valerio's voice was a soft whisper in her ear, grounding. "She's watching you. Play it slow."Sera took a sip from her glass, letting her eyes drift over the room briefly, bored, uninterested. But she felt it—Lucrezia's eyes slicing through the crowd like blades. Waiting. Hunting."She's moving," Dario murmured over comms. "Two guards with her. Coming up on your left."Sera turned, just a bit. Enough to appear interested, not set up.Lucrezia walked like winter—deadly, gracious. Her voice, when it came, was a dagger in silk."I don
Velvet Chains Chapter 73 - Valerio & Sera
The chapel just beyond Dario's grounds stood like a monument to having been forgotten by time—ivy covering the stone walls, broken stained glass windows, their former brightly colored hues now faded with age. It was lovely, haunting. A cemetery of secrets.Sera stood beside Valerio, flashlight in hand. The marble floors echoed beneath their steps as they walked toward the altar. The air inside was cold, still, too quiet—as if the walls themselves were holding their breath."You’re sure the evidence is here?" she asked.Valerio nodded. "Dario said under the altar. There's a hiding place beneath the ancient offering table. My mother used to say her morning prayers here. If she knew what was rotting beneath her feet."He did not go on. Instead, he knelt and pressed a row of intricately carved angel wings on the altar. There was a quiet click. The marble swung back with a creak, and a thin stairway descending into darkness was revealed.Sera looked down. "Of course there's a creepy crypt.
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
