In a world filled with grief and suffering, Alice Lockwood knew none of that. She lived a life of ease, pampered and protected by her father—until one day, everything fell apart. A tragic accident lands her father in a coma, and suddenly, the people she once called family turn into strangers. Her stepmother and stepsister make life unbearable, treating her like a stranger in her own home. But Alice refuses to break. Instead, she plots her revenge and vows to take back what was rightfully hers. When Cole Lancaster—the heir to the powerful Lancaster Holdings—returns to New York, he seems like the perfect tool for her plan.Handsome, wealthy, and unexpectedly interested in her, Cole offers her a way out: a contract marriage with rules, boundaries, and no strings attached. Or so he claims. But as secrets begin to unravel, Alice realizes that not everything is as it seems. Her father’s accident may not have been an accident. And the Lancaster heir? He may not be the savior she thought he was. Was this all just fate… or a carefully planned betrayal?