Chapter 1

My father was in prison, our family name ruined, every asset seized by Blackwood Holdings.

To stop them from hounding my sick mother to her grave, I agreed to marry Ethan Blackwood.

He was the CEO of Blackwood Holdings, a man whose family, I was told, my father had wronged years ago, leading to their ruin and the death of Ethan' s father.

I didn't know the details then, only that this marriage was the only way to get my family some peace.

Our wedding was a quiet affair, no guests from my side, only Ethan' s cold associates.

That night, in the vast, opulent bedroom of his estate, he didn' t touch me.

He sat in an armchair, watching me, a chilling smile on his lips.

"You look beautiful, Ava," he said, his voice smooth, but his eyes were like ice.

"But don't think this is a marriage of love."

A week later, the phone call came.

My mother' s nurse, her voice trembling, told me my father had died in prison. "Heart failure," the official report would say.

I dropped the phone, a scream caught in my throat.

I ran to find Ethan, finding him in his study, looking over city lights.

"My father," I gasped, tears streaming down my face. "He's dead. Please, Ethan, you have what you wanted. My family is broken. Show some mercy."

Ethan turned slowly, his face unreadable.

Then, he laughed, a dry, harsh sound.

"Mercy?" he said, stepping closer. "You want mercy from me?"

He grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my skin.

"Your father, Arthur Monroe, destroyed my family, Ava. He drove my father to suicide after bankrupting him, shaming him publicly."

His voice was low, venomous.

"He took everything from us. Our name, our honor, our future. He metaphorically castrated my father, and by extension, me, from the life we were supposed to have."

I stared at him, horrified, the pieces clicking into place. The vague stories, the sudden aggression from the Blackwoods.

"I was a boy when it happened," Ethan continued, his eyes burning into mine. "I swore I would make him pay, make all of you pay."

"Marrying you was the first step, Ava. Watching your hope die, that's part of it."

He let go of my arm, and I stumbled back.

"You will live here, in this house, as Mrs. Blackwood. You will want for nothing material. But you will be my prisoner."

He gestured around the lavish room. "This is your gilded cage."

"Every day, you will remember what your father did, and what I am doing to you in return."

His face was a mask of cold triumph. "This is my revenge, Ava. And it has only just begun."

I sank to the floor, the world spinning. My marriage, my father's death, it was all part of his calculated vengeance.

My life, as I knew it, was over.