Cruel By Design
Isabel Mays has spent her whole life being the daughter nobody mentioned, the girl they hid behind closed doors while her sister wore the gold and her mother wore the smiles. She survived by being brilliant in silence, building a cure for epilepsy inside a hospital that felt more like home than anywhere her family ever lived.
Then Aiden Black walked into her lab at two in the morning and changed everything. He his
Cold, commanding, and dangerous in the way only a man with nothing left to lose can be. He didn't ask for her help, he told her she was going to give it. His brother was dying, and Isabel was the only person alive who could save him. She said yes for all the wrong reasons and climbed into his car before she could talk herself out of it.
She had no idea she had just walked into the middle of a war, because Aiden Black didn't just want her cure. He wanted to destroy her biological father, the same man whose blood runs through her veins, the same man whose secrets buried her mother, silenced her past and put a target on her back long before she ever knew his name, and the worst part? Aiden knew exactly who she was before he ever set foot in that lab.
Two people with one revenge, and a love neither of them planned for, built on top of the most beautiful lies either of them has ever told.
The question is not whether they will fall. The question is what will be left standing when the truth finally hits the ground.
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Chapter: The wake signalISABEL MAYSThe room didn’t settle.Even after Marcus spoke… after Aiden gave his orders… after the door closed again…Something stayed.Tight.Like the air had shifted and refused to go back.I didn’t say anything.I just watched him.Aiden.He hadn’t moved much since Marcus finished talking. But it wasn’t the stillness that caught my attention.It was what sat behind it.Not confusion.Not a shock.Something sharper.Controlled.Calculating.I looked away first.Back to the patient.Because that was easier.Safer.He hadn’t changed.Same position. Same steady breathing. Same quiet rhythm on the monitor.Like nothing had just been uncovered.Like someone hadn’t been standing in this exact room, touching things they shouldn’t.Watching.Waiting.My fingers moved to the console again.Slower this time.More deliberate.Think.Not react.I glanced instinctively at my hand.Empty.No phone.No screen lighting up. No missed calls. No time.Just silence.For a second, irritation flickered.
Last Updated: 2026-04-18
Chapter: Inside my wallsAIDEN BLACKNo one spoke after that.“…someone doesn’t want him to wake up.”Her words stayed in the room.Heavy, uncomfortable and true. I didn’t react immediately. Didn’t move. Didn’t speak neither.I just looked at my brother.Same position. Same stillness. The same quiet that had haunted me for three years.Nothing had changed, except now.There was a reason.I exhaled slowly, dragging my gaze away from him.“Say it again,” I said.Isabel didn’t hesitate. “Someone altered his records.”Her voice was steady. No fear and doubt.Just certainty.I turned to her.“You’re sure?”“Yes.”No pause.No second-guessing.Something about that… settled something in me.Not comfort.Clarity.I nodded once.Then turned.“Marcus.”He stepped forward immediately. “Sir.”“Who has access to his medical records?”“Authorized personnel only,” he replied.“That’s not what I asked.”A brief pause.Then…“Myself. The medical team. And… internal clearance.”Internal.“List them,” I said.Marcus hesitated
Last Updated: 2026-04-18
Chapter: Perfect LiesISABEL MAYSAiden was saying something. I heard his voice, low, controlled, answering the question I had asked but I wasn’t really listening anymore. My eyes were on the monitor steadily.The rhythm didn’t change. Not even slightly. No fluctuation. No reaction. Nothing.That wasn’t normal. Not for someone in his condition or someone who had been like this for the past three years.“…and after that, the seizures stopped,” Aiden finished.I barely nodded.“What triggered it?”A pause.“We don’t know.”I glanced at him briefly. “You don’t know, or no one told you?”His jaw tightened. “We don’t know.”I looked back at the screen.“First symptoms?”“Seizures. Then weakness. Then he collapsed.”“How long between the seizures and the collapse?”“A few weeks.”“And the doctors?”“They tried everything.”I exhaled slowly. “Clearly not everything.”His gaze snapped to me. “What is that supposed to mean?”I didn’t answer.Because something wasn’t right.And the more I looked… the clearer it beca
Last Updated: 2026-04-16
Chapter: Something is wrongISABEL MAYSThe silence stretched, it lingered after Aiden’s answer and stayed there longer than it should have, thick and uncomfortable, pressing against my skin. The woman’s eyes were still on me. Like I had stepped into a place I wasn’t meant to be. She was in a luxury mini gown with a shining red lipgloss which made her look like someone who was possessed. Aiden didn’t say anything else. He just turned and walked inside as if that would settle everything. I hesitated just for a second. But it was enough to feel her gaze burn into me. Then I followed. The moment I stepped in, something felt off. Not the luxury, I already expected that.It was so quiet. Everything was too controlled. Too still. Like even the air had rules. Aiden didn’t slow down. Didn’t check if I was behind him. He just walked, long strides and straight ahead. I had to increase my steps to keep up with him. “Are you going to tell me anything?” I asked, slightly out of breath.“No.”I blinked. “No?”“You’ll s
Last Updated: 2026-04-16
Chapter: The Woman at the DoorISABEL MAYSThe car felt too quiet, not a peaceful one but a heavy kind. The kind that sat on your chest and made it hard to breathe.I stared out the window, watching the city lights blur past. My hands were folded tightly on my lap, but I could still feel the tension crawling through me.“You could at least say something,” I muttered.Aiden didn’t look at me. His hands stayed firm on the steering wheel. “I don’t see the need.”I scoffed. “Of course you don’t. You never see the need to explain anything, do you?”Still nothing.I turned to him, irritation rising. “You dragged me out of my workplace like I didn’t have a choice. The least you can do is tell me where we’re going.”“My house,” he said simply.“That’s not an explanation.”“It’s enough.”I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. “You’re unbelievable.”“And you talk too much.”I froze for a second, then turned fully toward him. “Excuse me?”“You heard me,” he said calmly. “If you spent less time arguing and more time focusi
Last Updated: 2026-04-11
Chapter: He doesn’t ask; He takesISABEL MAYSI didn’t notice the time passing. The lab was quiet, machines humming softly, monitors blinking in rhythm with my heartbeat. I adjusted the sample under the microscope, careful not to disturb anything. Three years of work had led me here, to the point where I finally felt I could make a difference.“Isabel, you’ve got a visitor,” one of the lab assistants said, peeking in. “Someone… important. He says it’s urgent.”I frowned. “Important how? Is it a donor? A collaborator? What kind of visitor would come by at 2am?”The assistant hesitated. “He…he didn’t give a name. Just said it’s about your research. He seemed..very serious.” Serious was an understatement. I had learned over the years that “serious” usually meant trouble. But I shrugged it off. “Fine. Send him in.” The door opened and he stepped in. He was tall, dark, broad shouldered. Everything about him screamed power. His eyes, a sharp gray, scanned the room, landing on me with the weight of someone used to gettin
Last Updated: 2026-04-11
Chapter: CHAPTER 60VANESSAThe explosion shook the dungeon walls hard enough to send dust raining from the ceiling. I smiled.The guards outside my cell cursed and stumbled as another tremor rippled through the stone floor. Somewhere above us, people were screaming.Running.Panicking.Exactly as they should.I leaned back against the cold wall and closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the sound of chaos.For weeks, everything had gone wrong. Evelyn had survived. Keiran had survived.The white wolf had revealed itself and somehow turned half the kingdom against itself instead of against her.But now?Now Gareth was finally moving. The explosion wasn’t meant to destroy the palace.It was a message.A reminder.A warning.And warnings always came before wars. One of the guards rushed past my cell.Another followed.“Get to the west wing!”“The fire is spreading!”“Where’s Commander Arlo?”“I don’t know!”I almost laughed.Nothing unraveled faster than a kingdom that thought it was safe. Minutes passed. Th
Last Updated: 2026-05-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 59KEIRANI didn’t ask her if she wanted to leave. I took her hand immediately and I walked her out of that chamber before the doors had fully closed behind us, before the elders could call for anything else, before Gareth’s allies could regroup and find their footing again.She didn’t resist. That alone..that quiet trust in my grip nearly broke something open in my chest.I led her down through the oldest corridor in the palace, past the servants’ stairs, past the sealed rooms nobody entered anymore, down into the lower level where the stone grew warm underfoot and the air thickened with heat and minerals and something ancient. The private hot spring under the east wing. A room I had never shown another person.The torchlight caught the surface of the water as we entered, amber and wavering, steam curling upward in slow, ghostlike ribbons.I locked the door behind us. Evelyn stood at the edge of the pool, taking it in. The tension across her shoulders hadn’t fully dissolved yet. Her c
Last Updated: 2026-05-31
Chapter: CHAPTER 58EVELYNThe elder chamber felt colder now. Not because of the weather. Because everybody inside it was waiting for blood.I stood beside Keiran while whispers rolled across the hall like poison drifting through water. Some nobles stared openly at the white strands hidden between the darker parts of my hair. Others avoided my eyes completely.At the center of the room, Vanessa stood chained beside two guards while Mike remained several feet away from her looking like a man slowly drowning in his own mistakes.Let him drown.The silence after his hesitation still lingered heavily through the chamber.Even Gareth looked irritated now.He sat rigidly beside the council table, fingers drumming once against the armrest before stopping the moment he noticed me watching him.Keiran’s hand brushed lightly against my lower back.Steadying.Grounding.His touch always seemed to calm the storm clawing beneath my skin now.The white wolf stirred softly inside me. Not violent this time.Watchful.T
Last Updated: 2026-05-30
Chapter: CHAPTER 57VANESSAThe chains around my wrists clinked softly as I lifted my chin and stared directly at the elders.Let them look. Let them whisper.Fear worked best when people could see confidence standing in front of it.The elder chamber buzzed with tension, nobles leaning toward one another while guards lined every wall like statues waiting for bloodshed.At the center of it all stood Evelyn. White streaked through her hair now.Not hidden anymore. Not deniable. And somehow, even after everything, she still looked calm.I hated her for that.I hated the way Keiran stood beside her like she was sacred.Like she was chosen. That should have been me.Not her.Never her.The head elder struck the floor once with his staff.“You claimed to possess proof of a conspiracy against the crown.”“I do,” I answered smoothly.Keiran’s eyes darkened instantly.Murderous.Beautifully furious.If circumstances were different, I might’ve enjoyed provoking him more.But today wasn’t about pleasure.Today was
Last Updated: 2026-05-30
Chapter: CHAPTER 56KEIRANI barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Evelyn collapsing in my arms again while white spread through her hair like moonlight swallowing darkness.Even now, standing near the bed at dawn, I couldn’t stop watching her. She was finally asleep. Peacefully this time.Soft breaths parted her lips while silver still faintly lingered beneath her closed eyes. White streaked through her dark hair now permanently, curling against the pillow like living proof of everything the kingdom feared.And somehow… She looked even more beautiful.Dangerous thoughts.Especially now.Outside the chamber windows, the palace had already awakened into chaos. Guards moved constantly through the corridors while nobles whispered behind closed doors about prophecies, curses, and whether their king had finally lost his mind completely.Maybe I had.Because if the entire realm turned against Evelyn today, I already knew whose side I would choose.Her.Always her.The mattress shifted slightly.I
Last Updated: 2026-05-30
Chapter: CHAPTER 55MIKEI couldn’t stop thinking about her eyes.Silver, not human or normal but somehow. It was still beautiful.I dragged a hand through my hair and paced the length of the guest quarters again, the same restless movement I’d been doing for what felt like hours.The room suddenly felt too small.Too quiet and suffocating. Outside the chamber door, two royal guards stood watch, their shadows visible beneath the crack of the door whenever they shifted positions.Detained.Not officially imprisoned. But not trusted enough to leave freely either. I laughed bitterly under my breath.After the arena disaster, I was lucky Keiran hadn’t ripped my throat out himself. Especially after Vanessa’s stunt.My chest tightened at the memory. The entire arena descending into chaos.Evelyn stood there with white spreading through her hair while nobles stared at her like she was either a miracle or a monster.I could still see her. The way she looked standing beside Keiran. Stronger than I remembered. No
Last Updated: 2026-05-29
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