At St. Augustine’s Academy, privilege and power run through every marble hallway. For some, this final year means freedom. For others, it’s the stepping stone to even greater influence. But for a few, it will become a life-altering secret they can never escape.

Isabella Marquez has her future mapped out; graduate top of her class, enter the most prestigious university, and one day take control of her father’s empire. Nothing and no one will stop her.

Especially not Alexander Hawthorne with his smirk and blue eyes, the Duke’s reckless second son. To Isabella, he’s nothing more than a chain-smoking, party-throwing menace who will likely end up in jail before graduation.

But when a classmate turns up dead in Isabella’s dorm room, Alexander becomes the only person who can help her prove her innocence. Forced into an uneasy alliance, Isabella discovers that behind his arrogant smirk and scandalous reputation lies someone far more complicated than she ever imagined.

And in a world where secrets are currency and friends can become enemies and enemies can become something dangerously more, Isabella may find herself risking more than just her future, she may risk her heart.



Dive in to explore Isabella's life as it either takes a turn for the best or the worse.


This book is participating in the cupids quill contest and your votes and support will be highly appreciated.

Mornings in this place were always the same. Stale bread rolls, watery eggs, and the endless hum of gossip slithering through the dining hall like smoke. The tables groaned with students pretending to be half-asleep, half-alive, while the real ones...the sharp-eyed, sharp-tongued bastards...were already awake, already watching.


I never liked mornings. I liked them even less when the sun managed to filter through those high, grimy windows, painting everything in a light too clean for a place so dirty underneath. But today wasn't about me.


I spotted her easily. Isabella, tucked between Yvette and Clara, her shoulders tense even as she pretended to focus on her plate. She wasn't eating. Not really. Just moving food around like it might eventually disappear if she stabbed it enough times.


Chapter 41 - A Name Too Long