Club Shadows and Secrets

In the pulsing heart of Cinco City, Adeline Redgrave slips between the worlds of the ordinary and the illicit. Drawn to the club Opium and its secretive underworld, she's swept into a labyrinth of shadows, where pleasure, violence, and power intermingle. Her first encounter with the enigmatic Sinjin Bellisario and his crew—the Merchants—sets her on a collision course with fate. The city's criminal elite, masked and merciless, rule the night, and Adeline's hunger for more than survival awakens. The club's secrets are only the beginning; beneath the surface, a deadly game is already in motion, and Adeline is about to become its most valuable player.

The Auction's Deadly Game

Adeline's world tilts as she's drawn into a high-stakes auction beneath the city's most exclusive club. Here, bodies and secrets are traded for fortunes. Her pursuit of pleasure and power collides with violence when a murder shatters the night. The Merchants—Sinjin, Cash, Brutal, and Mercer—emerge as both saviors and threats, their motives as tangled as their pasts. Adeline's choices, driven by desire and desperation, set off a chain reaction. The city's criminal underworld is watching, and the price of a single night will echo for years.

Four Years Later

Time has passed, but Cinco City's darkness lingers. Adeline, now a chef struggling to keep her life afloat, is pulled back into the city's criminal web. Her best friend Gianna, her ailing father, and her own ambitions keep her tethered to a world she can't escape. The Merchants resurface, their power and ruthlessness undiminished. As Adeline's loyalties are tested, she's forced to confront the cost of survival—and the allure of the men who hold the city's fate in their hands.

The Merchants' Web

Adeline is ensnared by the Merchants, forced into their world as both captive and confidante. Each man—Sinjin, Cash, Brutal, and Mercer—reveals a different face: protector, tormentor, lover, and liar. The lines between victim and accomplice blur as Adeline navigates their demands and her own desires. The city's criminal families close in, and the Merchants' enemies multiply. In this web of secrets and seduction, Adeline must decide who to trust—and how far she'll go to claim her own power.

The Party That Changed Everything

A glittering party in a Leighbridge penthouse becomes the crucible for betrayal and violence. Adeline's attempt to escape her fate is thwarted by the Merchants' machinations and the city's ever-present dangers. A brutal murder, a stolen ledger, and a web of blackmail draw the city's most dangerous players into open conflict. As the Merchants' true ambitions are revealed, Adeline is forced to choose between love and loyalty, survival and sacrifice.

Blood, Betrayal, and Blackmail

The legendary ledger—Kieran's book of secrets—emerges as the city's most coveted prize. Its pages hold the power to destroy or save, and everyone wants it. Adeline and Gianna's friendship fractures under the weight of ambition and fear. The Merchants' unity is tested by old wounds and new betrayals. As violence erupts and the city teeters on the brink, Adeline must confront the darkness within herself and those she loves.

The Ledger's Curse

The hunt for the ledger consumes all. Adeline, torn between her past and her future, faces impossible choices. The Merchants' enemies close in, and the city's criminal underworld erupts in chaos. The ledger's curse infects everyone it touches, turning friends into foes and lovers into threats. As the body count rises, Adeline must decide what she's willing to sacrifice for power, love, and redemption.

Love, Lies, and Loyalties

In the aftermath of violence, Adeline and the Merchants are forced to confront the lies that bind them. Old secrets come to light, and the true cost of loyalty is revealed. Gianna's betrayal, Jasper's hidden past, and the Merchants' own sins threaten to tear them apart. As the city burns, Adeline must choose between forgiveness and vengeance, love and survival. The future of Cinco City—and her own heart—hangs in the balance.

The Kings' Deadly Tournament

The Kings, desperate to reclaim their power, force Brutal into a deadly tournament. Adeline, Gianna, and the Merchants risk everything to save him. Blood is spilled, alliances are tested, and the city's criminal order is upended. In the ring, Brutal faces not only his enemies but his own haunted past. The fight for survival becomes a fight for the soul of the city—and for the family Adeline has built from broken pieces.

The Ledger Burns

As the city descends into chaos, Adeline and Gianna orchestrate a final gambit. The ledger, symbol of power and corruption, is destroyed in a blaze for all to see. The city's gangs turn on each other, and the Merchants are forced to fake their own deaths to escape the storm. In the ashes of the old order, Adeline and her chosen family find a fragile peace. The cost of victory is high, but the curse of the ledger is finally broken.

The Governor's Fall

The true architect of the city's misery—Governor Katz—is unmasked. Adeline, Sinjin, and the Merchants execute a daring plan to bring him down. Betrayals are revealed, old wounds are avenged, and the city's most powerful man meets a fitting end. In the ruins of the cathedral where Sinjin's father died, justice is served. The city's future is uncertain, but for the first time, hope flickers in the darkness.

The City in Flames

Cinco City erupts in violence as the power vacuum left by the ledger's destruction draws every criminal into open war. Adeline, the Merchants, and their allies fight to protect what remains of their family and their city. In the chaos, love and loyalty are tested to the breaking point. The city's fate—and Adeline's—will be decided in fire and blood.

The Last Owner

With the ledger gone and the city in ruins, Adeline and her family must rebuild from nothing. Old enemies are gone, but new challenges arise. Forgiveness, healing, and the promise of a new future beckon. The Merchants, once feared and hunted, find a place in the city they helped save. Adeline, scarred but unbroken, claims her place as the last owner of the ledger—and the architect of a new order.

Rebuilding from Ashes

A year has passed. Cinco City is changed, but not unrecognizable. Adeline, the Merchants, and their loved ones have carved out a new life from the ashes. The wounds of the past linger, but love and family endure. The city's darkness is not gone, but it is no longer all-consuming. In the warmth of her restaurant, surrounded by those she loves, Adeline finds the peace she fought so hard to win.

Family, Forgiveness, and Forever

In the final chapter, Adeline's family—by blood and by choice—gathers to celebrate survival, forgiveness, and the promise of forever. The scars of the past remain, but they are reminders of battles fought and won. The city is not perfect, but it is theirs. In the laughter of children, the warmth of friends, and the embrace of her husbands, Adeline finds her happy ending. The curse of the ledger is broken, and a new legacy begins.

Characters

Adeline Redgrave

Adeline is the heart and engine of the novel—a woman forged by trauma, ambition, and the relentless need to protect those she loves. Her journey from vulnerable outsider to the city's most dangerous player is marked by resilience, cunning, and a fierce sense of justice. Adeline's relationships—with her best friend Gianna, her ailing father, and the four men who become her lovers and partners—are complex, passionate, and fraught with betrayal. She is both victim and victor, haunted by her past but never defined by it. Her greatest strength is her ability to love deeply, even when it means risking everything. By the end, Adeline is the architect of her own destiny, the last owner of the ledger, and the woman who remakes Cinco City in her image.

Sinjin Bellisario (Saint)

Sinjin is the enigmatic, unpredictable leader of the Merchants. Scarred by the murder of his father and a childhood marked by loss, he is both ruthless and deeply loyal. His relationship with Adeline is a tempest—marked by passion, violence, and a shared darkness. Sinjin's need for revenge drives much of the plot, but his love for Adeline and his found family ultimately redeems him. He is a man of contradictions: capable of tenderness and brutality, leadership and self-destruction. His arc is one of healing, as he learns to let go of vengeance and embrace the possibility of happiness.

Killian Hunt (Cash)

Killian is the brain of the Merchants—a master planner, grifter, and the man who sees everything. His loyalty to his family and his need to control every variable make him both invaluable and infuriating. Killian's relationship with Adeline is marked by mutual respect, sexual tension, and a constant battle for dominance. He is slow to trust, quick to act, and always thinking five moves ahead. His arc is one of learning to let go—of control, of fear, and of the past that binds him.

Baris Alexander (Brutal)

Baris is the muscle of the Merchants—a man of few words, haunted by a violent past and the loss of his family. His silence hides deep pain, but also a capacity for love and loyalty that is unmatched. Baris's relationship with Adeline is gentle, grounding, and healing. He is her anchor, and she is his reason to fight. His arc is one of redemption, as he learns to forgive himself and accept the love he thought he didn't deserve.

Jasper Croix (Mercer)

Jasper is the most mysterious of the Merchants—a man who has lived a dozen lives, each with its own secrets and lies. His ability to become anyone makes him invaluable, but also isolated. Jasper's love for Adeline is transformative, forcing him to confront the emptiness at his core and the lies he's told himself and others. His arc is one of self-discovery, as he learns to be real, to trust, and to accept love. His past as a contract killer and his quest to protect his daughter add layers of complexity and vulnerability.

Gianna Cross

Gianna is Adeline's oldest friend and fiercest rival. Their relationship is a study in love, jealousy, and the corrosive power of ambition. Gianna's own hunger for the ledger and her fear of being left behind drive her to betray Adeline, but their bond is ultimately unbreakable. Gianna is both a cautionary tale and a survivor—a woman who must learn to forgive and be forgiven.

Oscar Redgrave

Oscar is the architect of Adeline's early life—a fixer who helped create the ledger and paid the price for its curse. His love for Adeline is fierce, but his inability to escape his own past haunts them both. Oscar's arc is one of redemption and letting go, as he learns to trust his daughter to fight her own battles.

Thiago Pais

Thiago is the last and most dangerous leader of the Kings—a man whose charm masks a monstrous cruelty. His obsession with power, control, and the ledger makes him the perfect antagonist. Thiago's downfall is a testament to the novel's central theme: the curse of unchecked ambition and the inevitability of betrayal.

Nicolas Katz

Katz is the true architect of the city's misery—a man whose ambition and lack of conscience make him the most dangerous player in Cinco. His crimes are legion, his power nearly absolute, and his downfall is the novel's final reckoning. Katz is a warning: the cost of power without morality is destruction.

The Ledger

Though not a character in the traditional sense, the ledger is the novel's most important presence. It is the object everyone desires, the curse that destroys all who possess it, and the catalyst for every betrayal, alliance, and act of violence. The ledger is both a mirror and a weapon, reflecting the darkness within and turning it outward. Its destruction is the novel's true victory.

Plot Devices

The Ledger

The ledger is the central plot device—a physical manifestation of power, corruption, and fate. Its pages contain the sins of the city's elite, and its possession grants the power to destroy or save. The ledger drives every major conflict, alliance, and betrayal. It is both a MacGuffin and a curse, infecting all who seek it. Its destruction is both literal and symbolic, marking the end of an era and the possibility of a new beginning.

Multiple POV and Unreliable Narration

The novel's structure—divided into sections from the viewpoints of Sinjin, Cash, Brutal, and Mercer—allows for deep psychological exploration and unreliable narration. Each character's secrets, traumas, and desires are revealed in layers, often contradicting or complicating what others believe. This device heightens suspense, deepens character development, and keeps the reader guessing about motives and truths.

Betrayal and Shifting Alliances

Betrayal is a constant threat, and alliances are always in flux. Characters are forced to choose between love and loyalty, survival and sacrifice. The plot is driven by double-crosses, secret agendas, and the ever-present question: who can be trusted? This device keeps the stakes high and the emotional tension taut.

The City as Character

Cinco City is more than a setting—it is a living, breathing force that shapes every character and event. Its corruption, violence, and beauty are reflected in the people who inhabit it. The city's fate is tied to the ledger, and its redemption is the novel's ultimate goal.

Foreshadowing and Cyclical Structure

The novel is rich with foreshadowing—early events and choices echo in later chapters, and the sins of the past are never truly buried. The cyclical structure—beginning and ending with Adeline's struggle for survival and power—emphasizes the inescapable pull of fate and the possibility of breaking the cycle.

Analysis

Saint by Ruby Vincent is a dark, sprawling, and deeply psychological exploration of power, trauma, and the search for belonging. At its core, the novel is about the curse of secrets—the way they bind, corrupt, and ultimately destroy. The ledger, as both symbol and plot device, is a brilliant encapsulation of this theme: it offers the illusion of control, but in reality, it is a prison. The novel's greatest strength is its complex, flawed, and fiercely human characters. Adeline's journey—from victim to survivor to architect of her own destiny—is both harrowing and inspiring. The Merchants, each scarred by their own pasts, are both her tormentors and her salvation. The novel does not shy away from the darkness of its world: violence, betrayal, and abuse are ever-present, but so too are love, forgiveness, and the possibility of redemption. In a modern context, Saint is a meditation on the cost of survival in a corrupt world, the dangers of unchecked ambition, and the healing power of chosen family. Its lesson is clear: true power lies not in secrets or violence, but in the courage to love, forgive, and build something new from the ashes.

Last updated: October 18, 2025