All Chapters of Chains of Velvet, Heart of Fire: Chapter 101 - Chapter 110

The courthouse stood ancient and white in early autumn’s chill.Lucien marched beside Seraphina through wide marble halls—each step echoing like a drumbeat toward justice.Courtroom 27 awaited them: tall windows, rows of benches, spotlights focused on the bench.Today’s docket held Gabe Vale Jr. and Julian Cristoff, but beyond that, it held Seraphina’s mother’s death, finally being put to rest.In the gallery, Matteo, Anton, Vincenzo, and Elian settled in formation.Under crisp evening light, Seraphina bowed her head to Lucien; he brushed a gentle touch across her cheek. No words needed. They entered.Gabe had hardened since last he wore those walks. His hair was thinner, face sharper, guilt etched in the furrows by his mouth. Julian, beside him in a dark suit, looked less composed—his bravado abandoned, replaced by anxiety.The judge called the court to order. The prosecutor stepped forward, voice

Palazzo Marchesi hadn’t changed but a frigid dawn broke over it. Its ancient stones bathed in pale sunlight that barely touched the olive groves below.The golden light still spilled across its marbled floors, the Mediterranean air still drifted in through lace-curtained windows, and the scent of old Sicilian citrus still clung to every wall.But something was different inside it now.Lucien stood at the center of his war room, an iron figure cloaked in black, his eyes fixed on the screens tracking international movements and encrypted calls.Every breath he took was deliberate, every word spoken to Matteo or Anton clipped with authority.His bullet wound, though healing, did not slow him. He refused painkillers. He refused sleep. He refused distraction.And above all—he refused to let Seraphina out of his sight.She could feel the walls closing in.“You assigned two men outside my door again,” she said one morning, her voice cold. She stood at the window of their shared suite, arms fo

In the war room above Sicily, Lucien watched the prison monitors—routinely updated. His phone vibrated; the top-of-screen message: “Isolde – deceased. Cell 304.”No joy. No victory. Just more shadows.Vincenzo stood at his side. “Her guards were paid off months ago. She got what she deserved.”Lucien didn’t respond. His focus flicked to the riot footage as cameras followed the scuffle between the three cellmates.Matteo closed his mouth. “So it begins to collapse.”“Yes,” Lucien said quietly, voice reverberating with finality. “Let those guilt-ridden souls choke on their kingdom of bones.”He looked to Seraphina, standing just beyond the monitors, chin lifted.She held his gaze for a heartbeat; there was no joy in her eyes, only the cold seed of something else.Then she broke away and left.In his private chambers that night, Lucien poured himself a glass of Marchesi Riserva and savored the burn. Every sip felt like victory—but a bitter one.Matteo lowered a folder onto the desk. “Cri

Seraphina clutched her burner phone beneath the silken folds of her nightgown. It was well past midnight, the estate draped in slumber. Only the distant hum of crickets stirred the night. She tapped a message into the secure app: Everything is ready. I’m inside.Moments later, Detective Elian Shore replied: Understand. You have everything?She swallowed hard, pressing the phone against her chest. Folders, transactions, shipping logs, SILENT contracts—so many skeletons behind every “legitimate” venture. I hate it, Elian. It killed my mother, stole my youth, buried every truth I held dear.Elian's reply was immediate but tender: Stay careful, Sera. I’m close.The glow of the screen faded. Seraphina slipped the phone into her bedside drawer and exhaled. Each encrypted line sent represented a thread cutting through Lucien’s world—his empire laid bare piece by piece. She forced her thoughts away from him, even as images of his mercy and fury danced in her mind.She rose from the bed and mo

The news of her pregnancy had awakened something inside Seraphina that no legal victory could ever touch.She had shattered Lucien’s empire—and nearly shattered him. But the life growing within her felt like fate’s final decree: this child deserved more than a world built on betrayal.If there was ever a moment to find Lucien again, this was it.She began quietly. Friends of friends. Loose rumors. Whispers in those tight social circles Lucien once moved in.She walked the streets he had walked, stood outside the villa gates under moonlight, hoping to glimpse him in the gardens he once vowed to protect.But every night she returned home empty-handed, her heart clenched in a familiar ache.One afternoon, she befriended the florist across from her rented villa.He remembered her vaguely from Palermo but hesitated to tell her where Lucien was.She told him she was here “for family reasons,” eyes transparent with longing.He offered a bouquet of lavender and olive branches—“something delic