Vicious

Vicious (2016) by American author L. J. Shen is the first installment in the Sinners of Saint series, which features morally ambiguous leads who undergo redemption as part of their romantic arcs. The novel explores themes including The Value and Risks of Forgiveness, Money as a Source of Identity, and The Difference Between Appearance and Reality.

This guide refers to the 2016 Amazon/KDP e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, child abuse, child sexual abuse, physical abuse, bullying, ableism, substance use, sexual content, and cursing.

Plot Summary

Emilia LeBlanc meets Baron “Vicious” Spencer, Jr., when she is a teenager and her parents are hired to work in the wealthy Spencers’ mansion in Todos Santos, California. Emilia overhears an altercation between Vicious and his stepmother’s brother, Daryl, whom he later reveals abused him throughout his childhood. Vicious fears that Emilia knows about this abuse and will pity him, and he therefore treats her cruelly. He remains disdainful of her, offering insults based on her lower socioeconomic status. He refers to her with the nickname “Help” to refer to her parents’ job as domestic employees. Vicious becomes increasingly obsessed with and possessive over Emilia. When she begins dating one of his friends, Dean Cole, it causes significant tension in their friendship.

Ten years later, Emilia lives in New York City, where she works as a waitress. She recently lost her job as an assistant at an ad agency, which causes significant problems for her ability to pay for cystic fibrosis medication for her sister, Rosie. Emilia is shocked when Vicious, whom she has not seen in a decade, comes into her bar. He taunts her and leaves her a note urging her to come to his hotel, which she throws away.

Vicious schemes to use Emilia to get revenge against his stepmother, Josephine “Jo” Spencer, who encouraged her brother to abuse him. Vicious offers Emilia an extremely large salary to come work for him, hoping to have her under his control. She initially refuses but ultimately gives in, as the large salary will help her afford Rosie’s medication. Vicious meets with Jo, who confides that Vicious’s father, Baron Sr., is ailing. Vicious announces his intent to keep Jo from inheriting any of her husband’s wealth.

The narrative returns to Emilia’s time in high school. She continues dating Dean, though she frequently thinks about Vicious. Vicious, increasingly jealous, kisses Emilia at a party and then tells her that he kissed Rosie earlier that evening.

In the adult timeline, Emilia begins working for Vicious. They take a business trip to California, which allows Emilia to spend time with her parents. Vicious explains his plan to have Emilia threaten Jo with a lawsuit that will reveal her role in his abuse if she tries to contest her husband’s will. Emilia, not certain if Vicious is telling the truth about the abuse, frets about the moral implications of this action. He shows her many scars that resulted from the abuse.

In the high school timeline, Dean and Emilia briefly break up, which pleases Vicious. He is furious, however, when the two reunite. He blackmails Emilia into breaking up with Dean and leaving Todos Santos by threatening her parents’ employment.

In the adult timeline, Vicious tells his ailing father that he knows that he, Jo, and Daryl conspired to kill Vicious’s mother. He vows to destroy Baron Sr.’s legacy. Vicious and Emilia return to New York, where they spend increasing time together despite Rosie’s disapproval. They begin a sexual relationship that includes rare moments of emotional intimacy. Vicious asks Emilia to come back to Los Angeles with him, but she refuses. She and Vicious spend Christmas together, which leads her to feel more emotionally connected to him. They have sex in what Emilia then learns is Dean’s apartment. After his father’s death, Vicious leaves for California without telling Emilia, leaving her feeling betrayed.

Emilia refuses to answer Vicious’s calls. Annoyed, he spends time with Georgia, a former fling, but finds himself uninterested in sex with anyone but Emilia. At the reading of his father’s will, Vicious learns that Baron Sr. left the majority of his fortune to Jo. Vicious is upset but decides to stop seeking revenge and instead find a way to make amends with Emilia. He returns to New York, where Emilia rebuffs him. He trades an exorbitant amount of his company shares to Dean in exchange for staying in New York to court Emilia. For weeks, he meets her at the subway every evening and walks her safely home, though she refuses to speak with him. When Emilia hears from her parents that Jo has fired them as vengeance for Emilia’s job with Vicious, however, she asks for his help.

Vicious immediately returns to California. He threatens to tell the police the truth: that Jo was a conspirator in his mother’s murder. He arranges to have his childhood home burned down while he throws a party to provide himself with an alibi. When Emilia learns that the Spencer mansion burned down, she knows that Vicious was responsible. He assures her that her parents are safe. She agrees to speak with him when he returns to New York.

Vicious comes back the night that Emilia is featured in an art gallery showing. He purchases her painting (a portrait of him) and waits while she is hailed by the New York art world. He escorts her home but leaves her with a kiss, explaining that his objective is emotional, not physical. When they go on a date the next day, Vicious admits all his secrets, including how his mother was murdered and how he killed Daryl in turn. He is relieved when Emilia does not judge him for his actions. The two date over several months and eventually confess their love for one another. Vicious explains his deal with Dean and his deadline to return to Los Angeles. Emilia decides to leave her job and go with him to California. When Jo comes to try to get more money from Vicious, Emilia intervenes, promising to testify against Jo about her role in Vicious’s abuse if she ever bothers Vicious again.

Two months later, Vicious and Emilia are engaged and living in Los Angeles. They attend the birth of Vicious’s friend Trent’s child. Vicious thinks happily about how his friends and Emilia are his true family.