Elara's POV,

"...the boss is agitated. I heard he's wondering about the hacker's next plan." One of my co-workers says. I think he's the logistics manager, I can't remember his name.

"Yeah. I heard he went on a rampage in his office yesterday because the person he'd hired to find the hacker didn't do the job." Another chimes in and I inwardly roll my eyes. These people never come to work to...well, work.

"Shh, he's passing." One of them says in hushed tones and we all stand up as Lucien Kòrvac passes without a glance at us. From my seat, I can see the frustration and anger on his face. Pfft, he should be happy I've stopped.

It's been a week since that night I found out the truth. Lucien never married Anya. So I'd been just tormenting an innocent company. I stopped only to find out that it made Lucien angrier. Apparently, he'd been so close to finding the person and when the person suddenly stopped, leaving no traces, he'd gone on a rampage.

He finally passes into the elevator and everyone heaves a huge sigh. They start whispering, "I heard he fired Monica yesterday because she looked at him."

"What do you mean 'looked at him'? You mean wrongly?"

"No, he just looked at him."

I guess I've tickled the tail of the Dragon. How sweet.

~ ~

I work harder than usual after that day to replace every stolen dollar and every rerouted transaction.

One afternoon, I'm in my study, fingers flying over my keyboard, when the door burst open.

"Mama!"

Asher crashes into me with the force of pure joy, small arms wrapping around my waist. I laugh despite myself, instinctively closing my laptop halfway and Camilla leans against the doorframe, arms crossed.

"You're welcome," she says dryly.

"For what?" I ask, kissing the top of Asher's head.

"For keeping your son alive. My credit card declined and some kind sir bought him a cake."

I blink. "A what?"

"A man," she says, rolling her eyes. "Tall, expensive shoes, perfume and ridiculously handsome."

I raise a brow. "Camilla."

She scoffs. "Relax. If I liked men, I'd let him ruin my life. I almost asked for his number."

I laugh it off, shaking my head and Asher pulls back, grinning.

"He was nice, Mama. He bought me chocolate cake."

"That's good," I say softly. "As a good boy, I hope you said thank you."

Two weeks later, Asher comes home with a flier clutched proudly in his hands.

"My new principal gave me this!" he announces.

I frown, taking it. Inter-school spelling competition.

"He's five," I mutter.

Camilla shrugs as she sets her bag down. "Apparently he's a genius."

When she leaves, Asher crawls onto the couch beside me.

"Mama," he says. "The principal did something weird."

I freeze for a moment. "What kind of weird?"

"She made us all spit in cups."

I blink. "...What?"

"All of us," he insists. "She said it was for something important."

I force a laugh. "Schools do strange things these days, baby."

But something cold slides down my spine.

The next day, Lucien Kòrvac calls me into his office.

Now here's the thing: the boss never called me.

My hands shake on their own as I walk down the hallway. They know, my mind screams. They've finally caught you.

When I enter, he is on a call, looking angry, sharp, and dangerous. He doesn't even look at me. He just slams a document onto his desk and gestures for me to open it.

I do.

And my heart stops.

My vision is blurred. My lungs forget how to work.

The world tilts.

Lucien Kòrvac is the masked man from six years ago.

I look up slowly to see he is already staring at me, eyes burning.

"So," he says coldly, ending the call, "why did you hide him from me?"

I can't speak.

He slams the desk hard, and I can't even flinch.

"Speak now, Solis," he says, voice low and lethal, "and I'll consider letting you remain his parent."

"What...?" My lips tremble.

"I don't know how it happened," he continues, pacing. "I remember every woman I've slept with. Maybe I was drunk. Maybe you drugged me. But hiding my child under my nose?"

He walks closer, backing me into the wall. "That's arrogance."

He doesn't recognize me.

The realization steadies me.

Good.

I lift my chin. "So now you want to claim him? You can't just waltz in and-"

"Unfortunately," he interrupts, "I can do whatever the fuck I want. You have twenty-four hours. Bring my child to me."

Something in me snaps,, and my eyes flare.

"And who the fuck do you think you are?"

As soon as the word leaves my lips, his hand comes up and wraps around my neck.

Fear claws up my throat. I know exactly who Lucien Kòrvac is, but he doesn't know I do.

His hand tightens around my neck.

"If I don't see my boy tomorrow," he whispers, "you won't have this pretty mouth anymore."

I see that he isn't bluffing, so I do the unthinkable.

I spit in his face and slap him.

The sound echoes.

Shock flickers across his features as I bolt from the office. Everyone sees me running, but I don't care.

I go straight home and throw essentials into a bag, hands shaking. I drive to Noemi's place and lie without blinking about my mother in Canada falling sick, about urgency, and about leaving tonight.

They believe me, of course, and Carla gives me snacks for the trip.

I don't even have time to feel guilty.

I call Camilla and tell her not to pick Asher up. That I'll do it myself.

Just close to the school gate, I don't see the bike.

Just metal, impact, and finally... Darkness.

~ ~

I wake up upside down.

I'm tied and gagged. My breathing becomes shallow in the dark, suffocating room.

My mind spirals. Asher.

The metal door creaks open, and the light stabs my eyes.

"I can't believe you tried to escape," a familiar voice says coldly. "Just who do you take me for?"

Lucien emerges from the shadows looking furious as hell and somehow completely calm.

That's what terrifies me most.

I buck violently, throwing my body around in the air, screaming through the gag until my throat burns. I don't care how unhinged I look. His face twists in disgust.

He gestures once.

In seconds, hands are on me. The ropes fall away, and the gag is yanked out of my mouth.

I don't hesitate.

I launch myself at him, nails raking blindly.

"You monster!"

His men catch me before I can reach his throat, but I kick, thrash, and scream like a wounded animal.

"Where is my child?" I shriek. "Give me back my child!"

Lucien steps forward and grips my jaw so tightly my teeth ache. He forces my face up until our lips are a breath apart.

"You don't scare me," I spit. "So go on, kill me."

It's a bluff, and we both know it.

He studies my face for a long moment, then smirks.

"At least smile, Solis," he murmurs. "It's the longest moment you have."

My heart slams against my ribs. Oh God. He really might.

I refuse to flinch and instead scoff in his face.

His lips twitch, and he nods to his men. I'm tied upside down again.

"You won't get away with this," I snarl, and they put on the gag.

"I already have."

They leave, and silence swallows the room.

Hours pass. Or minutes. I don't really know.

Then I hear laughter.

My son.

My breath catches painfully as I hear his tiny footsteps.

He's close.

"Asher!" I scream through the gag, my whole body shaking, and Lucien chooses to return, unhurried.

"Relax," he says calmly. "He's having fun."

Fun?!!

My entire body shakes violently.

"How ironic," he continues. "You ran. You hid him from me. And still, you end up right here."

His fingers slide through my hanging hair like he owns it, and a chair is brought in.

He sits and opens a document.

"I don't need a wife, but I won't leave my son unprotected." A pause. "I'll give you that. You're strong."

I say nothing.

He signals, and the gag is removed again.

"You think I'd sign myself into a cage?" I hiss, and he nods once, clearly rage-baiting me.

"No. You'll sign because you have no choice. You're going to die, Solis."

Elara's POV,

"No." His voice is cold. "You'll sign because you have no choice. You're going to die, Solis." 

I laugh, and it's loud, cracked, and ugly. "How cute."

His voice drops. "You will die, once my enemies find out... and our son becomes a bargaining chip."

My blood turns cold. "They won't'..." I whisper because I know they won't. I've been hiding longer than he'd ever imagined. 

"My mother will raise him. My enemies will want him. My world-" He stops short.

He doesn't want me to know,,except I already do. His world will devour Asher alive. 

"You're the only reason he's still just a child," he finishes quietly.

Silence crashes down as the truth hits me like a blade between the ribs.

I've been cornered again, just like the Virelli mansion.

I scream. I curse. I kick until my head spins and my vision blurs from being upside down too long. He watches without stopping me.

When I finally go still, trembling and breathless, I twist upward with the last of my strength and grab his collar.

"Add a clause," I snarl. "I'm his legal guardian. I continue school. And no bodyguard bullshit."

His hand closes around mine, and he smiles, cruelly. 

"A done deal, Solis."

And just like that, I sign my soul to the devil.

~ ~

The first person I meet in the Kòrvac household is Isolde.

She looks at me like I'm something she stepped on by accident. Her eyes rake over me, slow, dismissive, and cruel, and she doesn't even bother hiding it. 

No greeting. No courtesy. Just open contempt.

But I don't even care.

For the past three long weeks since I signed that contract and agreed to co-parent with Lucien, I've stopped caring about a lot of things.

I waited a week before telling my friends. I tell them my boss took an interest in me, and that it turned into an engagement. I smile and pretend I'm happy. Carla even blesses us with tears in her eyes, and guilt pricks at me, but I bury it. 

Lies are easier than truth. Lies keep people alive.

I move with Asher into the Kòrvac mansion. It's massive and beautiful.

And I'm a ghost in it.

Asher, of course, is thrilled. He clings to Lucien like he's a god. He laughs more, smiles wider, and spends every waking moment with his father.

I tell myself I'm happy for him, but the bitterness still settles in my chest like rot.

I hate Lucien with a passion I don't bother hiding. And Lucien barely acknowledges my existence. We share a house, a child, a contract... and nothing else.

One afternoon, I sit alone in my room, staring at my open laptop.

I can't even remember the last time I did something reckless. Something me. I feel boxed in, watched and trapped.

That's when my screen flickers.

A breach attempt.

Someone is trying to break into my firewall.

I blink once, then scoff.

Amateur.

Probably someone Lucien hired to keep tabs on me. I shut it down in seconds, sealing every door. But when I scan deeper, my smile fades.

Too late.

The virus already chewed off a sliver of information.

Annoyed now, I trace the signal. It doesn't lead outside the mansion. It leads inside.

I follow the trail down the hall, past rooms I've learned to avoid, until I stop at an open door.

Isolde.

She's hunched over a computer, fingers flying, jaw clenched. She slams her palm against the desk in frustration.

"After hours," she mutters, "she still manages to block me out?"

I lean against the doorframe, arms crossed.

Ah, so it's you, you little bitch.

And just like that, something sharp and alive curls inside my chest.

Finally. I grin. A little fun.

I step into the room just as Isolde slams her hand on the desk, frustration radiating off her in waves. The screen in front of her is frozen. How sweet, it's my work. 

I smile.

"Careful," I say lightly. "If you hit it any harder, it might actually cooperate out of pity."

She whirls around and our eyes lock.

Something shifts in her expression. It's not fear, but recognition. The kind people get when they realize they've underestimated the wrong person.

"You're good," she says slowly.

"I know."

I push myself off the doorframe and walk in like I own the room. 

"So you tried to crawl into my system," I continue. "You're clever, but sloppy. You left fingerprints everywhere."

Her jaw tightens. "At least, I broke into your firewall."

"No," I correct. "I let you hit it."

Silence.

That's when I turn to leave. I've made my point and said enough.

"Elara."

I pause.

"I know who you are," Isolde says. "You're a Virelli."

The word lands like a slap. Slowly, I turn back.

I step toward her in one smooth movement. "Say that again."

"I won't," she says lightly. "But I could say it to Lucien."

The thought flashes through me. Quick, violent, terrifyingly easy.

Snap her neck. Push her down the stairs. Make it look like an accident.

My fingers twitch, but then... I stop.

I've been running my whole life. Hiding. Surviving.

I'm tired of being scared.

I cross the room and sit down heavily on the chair opposite her.

"You want the truth?" I ask flatly. "Then listen."

"I was born a mistake," I say flatly. "A maid's child. Illegitimate. Untouchable, but never protected."

I swallow. "They beat me. Starved me. Used me."

She doesn't interrupt but sits. 

"I slept with your brother without knowing who he was. I ran. I survived. I built a life from scraps. Everything I have... I earned it."

When I'm done, my throat burns and I stand.

"Believe me," I say. "Or don't. That's your choice."

I turn to leave, and her hand grabs my wrist.

"I was wrong," Isolde says quietly. "I thought you were a gold digger. Someone trying to trap my brother for his money."

I let out a humorless laugh. "If I wanted his money, I'd have emptied his accounts and disappeared."

"I won't tell anyone," she says. "I swear."

I study her face. 

"Promise," I say. "And in return, I'll teach you things your brother's security team would cry over."

Her eyes light up.

"Deal."

I walk out without looking back. In the hallway, I stop and lift my gaze to the high ceiling.

I have leverage, an ally.

A stronghold inside the Kòrvac household.

I smile to myself.

"I won't back down easily," I whisper. "Lucien Kòrvac."

~ ~

Even with Isolde on my side, I still want to leave, because the mansion suffocates me.

I try everything.

Wigs, glasses, borrowed clothes from the maids. Fake grocery runs. Doctor appointments that don't exist. Even charity visits Lucien's name sponsors...ironic, really. I always lied to Asher that we were going out to have fun or a short trip. But every time, they find us.

I know they do because I always see them. It's a car appearing at the end of the street or a familiar face in a crowd. A quiet reminder that I am never alone.

Lucien's men are good.

Too good. 

It makes my skin crawl.

I hate the way my world has shrunk to corridors and cameras. I hate the way my phone always has a signal, the way my car always starts, the way the gates open only when I'm allowed.

Isolde helps where she can. She reroutes cameras for minutes at a time. Delays reports and deletes small flags. But even she can't blind the whole house.

"It's like you're fighting a hydra," she told me once. "Cut one head, three more watch you."

That doesn't stop me from trying.

Because staying feels like surrender and because every time I see Asher laughing in Lucien's arms, a part of me aches with guilt and another part burns with fear.

What if he grows up thinking cages like this are normal?

What if he learns that love looks like control?

I won't let that happen.

So I plan again.

A smaller bag this time, just essentials, passports, and cash,, and I have a route I've tested twice. An exit window measured down to the second.

This time, I almost made it.

Almost.

It's the middle of the night, and that's when Lucien catches me leaving the front door. I'm dragging Asher's suitcase with him strolling sleepily behind me (I'd told him I was taking him to a surprise party), which I was...all the way in Canada,, and I'm certain they wouldn't catch me because I'd blocked the CCTV cameras from recording. Until...

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

Elara's POV, 

Everyone in the courtyard freeze, but I don't. I grab Asher, throw him over my shoulder, and bolt to the front gate. Asher screams, confused at what's happening, and I don't need to look back to know that Lucien had sent people after me. 

"Get her!"

I'm athletic, so when the men come at me, I hit and kick at them, escaping their hold. 

"You fools! What do I hire you for?"

I turn, still running, and stick my tongue out at him. He looks lethal but he isn't even chasing me, and I find out why soon enough. 

I pass the gates successfully and tuck Asher in; he grabs my hand before I can move. "Mum, what are you doing? Why are we leaving Daddy?"

I bite my lip and yank my hand gently from his. I promise myself I'll explain as soon as we get to the airport. "I'm so sorry, Asher."

I get in, start the car, and press the accelerator to move, but... it doesn't. I ignite again and again and again and...

"No!!! No, you fucker Lucien!"

I bang my head on the steering wheel and panic when I see his men had surrounded the car. I flex my fingers, ready to do whatever it took to leave with my son. I dip my hand into my bag, hands wrapped around the hilt of the dagger when...

"Daddy!" I whip my head to see that Asher had somehow gotten past his buckles and run to Lucien. My eyes widen, and I hurriedly get out of the car, chasing after him. Lucien lifts Asher up and Asher points back at me. "Mummy wants to take me away without you. Don't let her, Daddy."

In that instant, I have flashbacks of when Asher and I stayed cuddled up in the bed, and he'd ask me about his father. 

"Mum, other kids have fathers. Where's mine?" He'd ask, curling his chubby hand around my finger. I'd smile and kiss his head.

"I'm your father and mother. You're special. A special kid that has both his mother and father in one." I'd tickle him and he'd laugh, then hug me tight.

"I love you, mummy. I don't need a father." I knew he was too young to understand and that as he grows, he'd learn that having a father is criteria. But it wasn't necessary. And that's all that mattered. 

Now, looking at him hugging Lucien tight and Lucien whispering sweet nonsense in his ears, I can't help but feel contempt. My eyes darken and my fists folds. 

"Did you seriously think I wouldn't know what happening in my home?" Lucien asked, his voice as icy as the Atlantic ocean itself. I grit my teeth and force a smile.

"I don't know. I don't seem to see you these days . I had thought you'd forgotten all about us already." I say and Lucien's eyes darken. He gives Asher to the head house keeper and takes an angry step towards me. 

"Thought?" His voice gets dangerously lower. "Or hoped?"

I fold my arms. "Can't it be both?"

He raises a brow and gestures to one of his men. Before I could react, two of them had grabbed my arm.

"Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I jerk my body but he'd already started to walk off. I kick the air as they pull me inside the compound.

"Hey! Hey!! I'm talking to you, dickhead!" I manage to kick a stone at his head and he stopped in his tracks, then turned to me with a fire buring in his eyes.

"You're starting to annoy me, Solis. You wouldn't want to do that."

"You're in my fucking way..."

"Of what? Of running away with my child?"

"He's my child too. I'm saving him from the likes of you! You don't deserve to be his father."

His pupils dilate and he takes long strides till he is up in my face. "What the fuck is your problem? I've done literally nothing to you..."

"You kidnapped me."

"....I've given you a job, a home, a high standing in society. All I ask is that my son lives with me. Why is that so hard for you?"

"You're hindering me from my freedom. I don't want a job, luxury cars, a mansion. I want freedom."

"And what about what he wants?" The housekeeper had taken Asher back inside but I remembered the way he clung to Lucien earlier. 

"Asher was happy before you came along! How?! Why did you even find him? Our lives were perfect!"

"I want to give Asher what he deserves! A father!"

"A father is overrated! I'm everything he needs!"

"No! No you're not. You're a screwed-up woman who runs away with her tail between her legs the moment she senses danger. You're a coward woman that slept with me, had a child and couldn't look for his father. You're not fit to be a mother..." 

I didn't let him finish. I heead butted him so hard that everyone froze. I spat on the ground and held back my tears. "How dare you..."

He held my jaw tight and I swallowed at the dangerous look in his eyes. 

"Listen and listen closely, Elara Solis. I've tolerated that bullshit for too long. The nexxt time you lay even a finger on me. The next day, you're going shopping with a few of my men and on the road back, a truck driver would crash into you and you'd die. Or so, I'd tell Asher."

He pushed me back forcefully and snapped at his men, "Take her to her room. Bolt the door. Reinforce the windows with bars. One of you stay outside her room and bring me her laptop."

My eyes widen. No. No no no no no no no! He can't...He just can't!! He turned on his back and started walking back inside. 

"Lucien!!! Come back, you asshole! You can't do this! I'm not a fucking prisoner! Stop! Let me go!" I buck and kick at the men but they were unfazed. Lucien didn't turn back.

"Lucien!"