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