All Chapters of Sinful Virtues: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

16 Chapters

1. Tradition is a virtue

Angeline Verona-Marielle LombardiIt was a name spoken so often that his ears were on the verge of bleeding if it was spoken one more time. It was a name that haunted him day and night without guilt. It was a name he couldn't go a day without hearing or thinking of. It was a name he hated with passion.His mother and father spoke of her more and more as the wedding drew closer and all he wanted to do was pull his hair out.Angeline this. Angeline that.'Does Angeline like pink for the table centerpieces?''Would Angeline want a live wedding painter at the reception or the ceremony?''Does Angeline like Salmon?''Do you think Angeline has any pearl jewelry? I know she must have diamonds but pearls symbolize good luck.''Does Angeline get sick often? I want plenty of Vitamin C in the house for her.'He was on the verge of snapping. From what he had seen, they surely valued her opinion a lot. The Lombardis were painfully secretive when it came to their Angeline—never speaking or hinting

Last Updated : 2025-12-28

2. Lying is a sin

The air in the chateau’s grand parlor was thick enough to choke a man. It smelled of expensive cigars, ancient floor wax, and the metallic tang of unspoken threats. Roman Moretti stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his tailored trousers. Outside, the armored SUV sat like a dark stain on the pristine gravel driveway."They’re late," Roman muttered, his voice a low grate."They're the Lombardis, Roman," his father, Vincenzo, replied from the leather armchair. "They don't arrive; they manifest."Roman’s mother, Maria, was pacing near the fireplace. Her fingers fretted over the silk of her sleeves, her face a mask of anxiety. She was worried about the pearls, worried about the salmon, but mostly, she was worried about the woman who had been a ghost for twenty-three years.Cruz leaned against the doorframe, checking his watch. "Maybe the 'ugly princess' had a wardrobe malfunction. Or maybe she’s busy practicing how to walk in those heels we saw

Last Updated : 2025-12-28

3. The Aisle of Thorns

The morning of the wedding did not bring the celebratory warmth Roman’s mother had prayed for. Instead, a cold, gray mist clung to the stone walls of the Moretti estate, mirroring the icy resolve in Roman’s chest. Today was the day the "calculated, showstopping alliance" became official.Roman stood before a mahogany-framed mirror, adjusting the cuffs of his shirt. In a few hours, the "Lombardi Princess"—the girl hidden from the world for twenty-three years—would walk down the aisle. He thought back to his childhood, hearing his parents whisper about "Angeline this" and "Angeline that," wondering if she liked salmon or if she needed extra Vitamin C. It had been a lifetime of preparation for a woman he intended to discard the moment the ink dried on the marriage certificate."You look like you're heading to a funeral, not a wedding," Cruz said, leaning against the doorframe."In a way, I am," Roman replied, his voice devoid of emotion. "The funeral of my privacy. But she won't be a par

Last Updated : 2025-12-29

4. The Gilded Cage

The reception at the Moretti chateau was a display of obscene wealth and guarded tension. Crystal chandeliers dripped from the ceilings, reflecting off the polished marble floors where the elite of the criminal underworld mingled. Every corner was manned by security—Roman’s men in charcoal suits and Carmine’s men in midnight black—creating a silent, armed border between the two families.Roman stood at the edge of the ballroom, a glass of amber whiskey in his hand. He watched Angeline. She was surrounded by the Lombardi men, a literal wall of muscle and heritage protecting her even now. She moved with a calculated grace, nodding to the Dons and Capos who had spent years speculating about her "ugly" features."She’s playing them," a voice muttered.Roman turned to see Cruz, his eyes narrowed as he watched the "Lombardi Princess". "She’s not the polished doll they groomed her to be, Roman. Look at her hands."Roman looked. While her expression was serene, her fingers were constantly mov

Last Updated : 2025-12-29

5. The Outskirts of Truth

The drive to the northern estate was silent, save for the hum of the armored tires against the asphalt. Outside, the city lights of New York faded into the skeletal silhouettes of trees. Roman sat in the corner of the leather seat, his eyes tracking the way the moonlight hit Angeline’s profile. She didn't look like a woman who had just been married off as a strategic pawn; she looked like a general surveying a new battlefield."You’re staring," she said, not breaking her gaze from the window."I’m wondering," Roman countered. "Seven years I’ve had that house ready for you. Seven years of my parents fussing over your 'delicate' nature. And yet, you handle a room full of killers like you were born with a blade in your hand."Angeline finally turned to him. "In the Lombardi house, we don’t play with dolls, Roman. We play with leverage. My 'delicate nature' was just the story your family wanted to hear so they’d sign the expansion papers."The EstateThe car pulled through the iron gates

Last Updated : 2025-12-29

6. The Feast of Vultures

The dining room of the northern estate was a tomb of mahogany and velvet. Roman sat at the head of a table built for twenty, though only two settings had been laid. The silence was heavy, broken only by the rhythmic ticking of a grandfather clock in the foyer and the distant, muffled sound of rain beginning to lash against the windowpanes.Roman watched Angeline. She had changed out of the heavy wedding gown, but she hadn't opted for the "delicate" silk robes his mother had stocked in the dressing room. Instead, she wore a sharp, black silk suit that clung to her frame like a second skin. Her hair was pulled back tight, revealing the cold, aristocratic lines of her face. She looked less like a bride and more like a woman ready to preside over a board meeting—or an execution."You aren't eating the salmon," Roman noted, his voice echoing in the vast room. "My mother spent weeks worrying if you liked it."Angeline looked down at the perfectly seared fish. "I like salmon fine, Roman. But

Last Updated : 2025-12-29

7. The Architecture of Nightmares

The storm that had been brewing over the Hudson finally broke. Thunder rattled the window frames of the master suite, sounding like heavy artillery. Roman lay on top of the covers, still fully dressed in his charcoal trousers and a half-unbuttoned shirt. He hadn't intended to sleep; he had intended to watch the door.In the room across the hall, the woman who was supposed to be his "disposable" wife was sleeping—or so he thought.A sound pierced through the low rumble of the rain. It wasn't the wind. It was a jagged, breathless sob, followed by a frantic scratching sound, like someone trying to claw their way out of a wooden box.Roman was off the bed in a heartbeat. He didn't grab his gun; he knew this wasn't an assassin. This was the sound of a woman being haunted.He threw open the door to Angeline’s suite. The room was bathed in the strobe-light flashes of lightning. Angeline was tangled in the silk sheets of the four-poster bed. Her head thrashed from side to side, her knuckles w

Last Updated : 2026-01-03

8. The Morning of Ash and Silk

The morning light did not filter into the master suite; it stabbed through the heavy velvet curtains, gray and unforgiving. Roman woke with a heaviness in his lungs that had nothing to do with the storm and everything to do with the woman currently tangled in his arms.The "exile" was failing. He was supposed to be in his own bed in Manhattan, preparing for a briefing on the Brooklyn docks. Instead, he was inhaling the scent of vanilla and expensive gunpowder that seemed to cling to Angeline’s skin even in sleep.He looked down at her. Without the mask of the "Lombardi Princess," she looked younger, yet somehow more dangerous. Her dark hair was splayed across his chest, and one of her legs was hooked over his hip. The silk nightgown she had been wearing was bunched at her waist, revealing the cream-colored skin of her thighs—and the faint, silver-white line of a scar near her hip that Roman hadn't noticed in the dark.He reached out, his thumb hovering jus

Last Updated : 2026-01-03

9. The Manhattan Scandal

The drive from the outskirts to Manhattan was a different beast than the one that had taken them away. Two days ago, they had been strangers bound by a contract of mutual loathing. Now, the air inside the armored Maybach was thick with the scent of their shared morning—a mix of Roman’s expensive cologne and the lingering heat of their encounter.Roman sat with his laptop open, but he wasn't looking at the numbers. He was watching Angeline. She had taken his advice, dressing in a sharp, charcoal-gray power suit with a silk camisole underneath that hinted at the woman beneath the armor. She was focused on her own tablet, her fingers flying across the screen as she decrypted more of the Lombardi ledgers."My father is going to lose his mind when he sees you walking into the townhouse," Roman said, breaking the silence as they crossed the bridge. "The plan was for you to remain a myth. A ghost story told to the other families to prove the alliance exists without actually showing the asset

Last Updated : 2026-01-05

10. The Ghost in the Ledger

The morning after their Manhattan debut felt like the calm before a hurricane. Roman stood on the balcony of the master suite, overlooking the awakening city. The air was crisp, biting with the coming winter, but he didn't feel the cold. His blood was still buzzing from the night before—from the way Angeline had stood her ground against his father and the way she had come apart in his arms afterward.Inside the room, the shower stopped running. A few moments later, Angeline emerged, wrapped in a thick white robe, her damp hair clinging to her neck. She looked softer like this, but when she sat down at the vanity and reached for her tablet, the "Lombardi Princess" returned in full force."You haven’t checked the news," she said, her voice tight.Roman turned, stepping back inside and closing the glass door. "I don't need the news to tell me my father is furious. I expect a call from Carmine by noon.""It’s not just a call, Roman," she said, turning the screen toward him. "The London po

Last Updated : 2026-01-05

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