What's Elias true identity?

**Ivery Clark POV** 

I stood frozen, silk and lace clutched in my hands like they were something filthy. Like I was something filthy.

My throat burned. My stomach twisted in tight, shameful knots. No, I can't be reduced to this. 

“You’re not taking back my brother’s freedom,” I said, quietly but fiercely, teeth clenched against the rising burn in my chest.

Alrigo’s smirk returned, slow and victorious. “Then do what I said. Show me how well you can obey. Show me your worth.”

“I agreed to obey to help you,” I snapped. “Not to be paraded around like a toy.”

“No,” he murmured, “you agreed to be mine. My asset. My liability. My pet, if I feel like calling you that. And as your owner, I’ll dress you as I please. Feed you, shelter you, protect you... punish you.”

“Now, are you going to do it or not.”

I clenched my fist. I had given up my freedom. Given him the right to own me, touch me, command me—all of it—just to get my brother treated like a human again. And now, I was paying the price. Here. Now. In front of strangers.

I wasn’t a woman in his eyes. Not in this moment. I was a possession. A thing he could dress up. Command. Break.

And the worst part? I had agreed to this. I signed for this. In exchange for Rowan’s dignity, I had bartered away my own.

My cheeks were on fire, a flush that burned not from desire—but from pure humiliation. The staff stood in perfect posture, pretending not to listen, but their eyes lingered with curiosity, pity, or something worse—judgment.

I wasn’t a client to them.

I was a kept woman.

A pet.

And Alrigo made sure to remind me of it.

My pride wanted to scream.

But my fear… my reality… held its tongue.

I grabbed the hanger, the fabric now feeling like a brand against my skin, and turned toward the changing room.

But then—

“Alrigo Valerie King! Come out you bastard!” The voice cracked like thunder. The entire boutique fell into stillness, the air itself halting.

My head snapped up, heart leaping into my throat. 

There, standing at the entrance in sharp heels and sharper authority, was a woman I’d never met—but somehow instantly recognized.

Poised. Powerful. Disapproving.

Who was she? There were others along with her too. There was an elegant woman in her 20's. And another was Elias, Alrigo’s cousin, the one I met at VIP auction room. 

My blood ran cold. What is he doing here? 

“Mother?” Alrigo’s tone was flat but taut, surprised by her sudden visit. “What bring you here?” 

Mother..!? She is Alrigo’s mother!?

But she didn’t even glance at him at first. Her attention remained pinned on me like a hawk spotting a mouse.

“Is she the one?” she asked, voice laced with disdain and disbelief. “So is she the one Madam Morelli and Elias were talking about?”

Alrigo’s jaw tightened, and his eyes were cold when it landed on Elias.

“I couldn’t believe it when Elias told me,” she went on, voice rising, incredulous. “But Madam Morelli too? So the rumors were true.” She turned fully to face him now, “You really picked up a young girl for yourself?”

Alrigo stepped forward, jaw tight heaving a frustrated sigh. “Mother. This isn't the place—let’s go home and talk.”

But she wasn’t finished. Her scorn cracked like a whip. “You lied to me, Alrigo. Elias said it, and I didn’t believe him. Then Madam Morelli calls, she confirms it? You paraded some little mistress to a business titan’s meeting?”

Mistress.

The word punched through me like fire through flesh.

“What is she, Alrigo? A fling? A toy? And to think—this is who you bring around when you already have a fiancée!”

My breath left my lungs.

Fiancée?
The word thundered through my chest, louder than the elegant boutique’s silence, louder than her screeching tone. My gaze whipped toward him—Alrigo. Stone-faced. Unflinching.

“What..?” The word barely left my lips, a cracked whisper.

He didn’t even look at me. His jaw locked, teeth grinding before he turned sharply toward his mother.
“Fiancée..?” he said, voice cold with warning, “You mean the engagement you forced upon me. I told you, I’m not marrying her or anyone. Call it off.”

“What? You’re not marrying Julia?” his mother snapped, heels clicking as she stalked toward him. “You’re thirty-four years old, Alrigo. You’re not a boy anymore! That girl—” she jabbed a manicured finger at me like I was a stain on her designer world, “is not someone you throw your legacy away for.”

“She’s not your concern,” Alrigo said tightly.

“No? And what is she then? A passing obsession?” Her eyes flicked to me again, mouth curling. “Do you even know what people are saying? Elias warned me—”

“Of course he did,” Alrigo growled. “Elias lives to stick his nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Oh, I only warned her because I care about this family,” Elias said smoothly from the background, arms folded. “Unlike someone here playing house with his little… what should I call her? Pet?”

I flinched.

Alrigo’s hand twitched at his side, his body humming with fury.
But it didn’t matter anymore.

Not when I stood there like a fool, a secret. Not when another woman stood just feet away, icy and silent—Julia, the fiancée I didn’t know existed.

I didn’t belong here. I never had.

And for the first time in weeks, my shame burned hotter than my fear.

I stepped back, the cold tiles underfoot grounding me in the middle of a scene I never asked to be part of. My eyes stung, but I refused to let the tears win. Not here. Not in front of them.

I turned, walking fast—out of the boutique, past the dazed staff who had gone still as statues—and I didn’t stop until the golden doors behind me shut like a guillotine.

The air outside was sharp, biting against my flushed skin.

“Running already?” The voice curled around my spine like a serpent. Smooth. Lazy. Poisonous.

I froze.

Elias leaned against the wall near the boutique’s entrance, his posture relaxed but eyes far too interested. Amused. Dangerous.

“That look on your face,” he said with a smile, “I’ve seen it before. It's the look of someone who thought she mattered… only to realize she’s just a disposable secret.”

I didn't answer. My fingers clenched by my sides.

He stepped closer, lowering his voice.

“Don’t take it personally. Alrigo’s always had a thing for collecting broken things. You’re just… the latest addition to his shelf.”

“You don’t know anything about me.” I sneered at him. “And for God sake, leave me alone.”

I turned to walk away but then his hand shot out, grabbing my wrist.

“Don’t be so quick to walk away, Ivery,” Elias said, his smile thin and gleaming like a knife’s edge. “You might want to hear what I have to offer.”

I snapped my arm away. “I don’t need anything from you.”

“Oh you might. Let’s go somewhere. Just you and me.”

"I’m going nowhere with you."

But then he stepped closer, lips curved like a serpent, voice low and smug. “Not when I say, I'm part of the Surñios. The gang your brother serves?”

My blood froze. A dangerous chill ripped through my spine, fear creeping in. What!?