Dr. Nylah Rae Mercer took an oath to heal minds, not fall into them. She built her career inside locked wards and white halls, treating patients the world had already given up on. Distance was her armor. Control was her gift. Until she opened a file stamped with one number that changed everything. 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 doesn't scream. He doesn't beg. He doesn't act insane the way they expect him to. Kai Beton is quiet, observant, dangerous in a way no diagnosis can explain. A hood nigga with violence in his history and intelligence they keep underestimating. Everyone sees a monster. Nylah sees a man who learned how to survive cages long before this one. Their sessions become the only place he softens. The only place she feels seen. Boundaries blur. Warnings get ignored. And the deeper she goes into his mind, the more she realizes the truth no one wants to admit-Kai isn't broken. He was buried. When the institution tightens its grip and Kai's life is quietly placed on the chopping block, Nylah is forced to choose between her oath and her heart. Between safety and truth. Between the life she built and the man who feels like home. 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧. 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲. Cover @trenchlordtales <3

Katherine possesses a gift, or rather, she was meticulously designed to become the perfect soldier that Reginald had always dreamed of. She stands as the most formidable among them all. From the moment Reginald laid eyes on her, he knew the extent of her abilities. However, this revelation marked the loss of her childhood, as she was swiftly molded into a weapon. Her world now revolves around the confines of a crimson room, with only basic necessities like food and sleep, draining away her common sense. Secluded from the world, hidden in secrecy even among the Umbrella Academy siblings, she became an envious figure in a painted portrait - "the girl on the portrait." Her loyalty to Reginald knows no bounds, obeying his every command like a willing genie. Yet, behind her outward compliance lies a shadowy cloak of mystery, an aura of intrigue that hints at concealed secrets buried deep within her soul. Whispers in the shadows claim that her abilities defy imagination, veiled in uncertainty. Is she a prodigy of Reginald's brilliance, or an unearthly entity drawn to this world by inexplicable forces? Within the enigmatic walls of the Umbrella Academy, the truth of her existence remains a puzzle yearning to be solved. _____________________ "I can slice that throat of yours if I want to," Master Five murmured, his voice laced with a hint of danger. A daring smirk curved on Katherine's lips, as she coolly retorted, "Well, lucky me, 'cause you can't do shit with that chain tied around your pretty little neck." 𝙁𝙄𝙑𝙀 𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙂𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙎 𝙓 𝙊𝘾 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿𝙀𝙍 (𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙇𝙀𝙏𝙀𝘿)