The Inheritance Contract

Scarlett Hayes, from a once-prominent Southern family now teetering on ruin, smoothed the borrowed silk of her blue dress, clinging to hope at the exclusive Kentucky Derby Charity Gala.

Her anxious father whispered about the powerful Blackwood family, the "association" that could save them all, as Charles "Charlie" Blackwood Jr. had promised to look for her.

But the night quickly turned into a gruesome spectacle as Charlie' s brothers, arrogant and entitled, began a cruel "auction," mockingly bidding for a dance with her.

When Charlie Jr. stepped forward, declaring $5,000 and hinting at "more than just a dance," a wave of relief washed over Scarlett; she chose him, believing he saw her differently.

Yet, just a week later, at a private Blackwood party, her hopes were brutally crushed as Charlie Jr., champagne in hand, announced his engagement to her stepsister, Brittany.

Brittany's triumphant smirk and the Blackwood brothers' sneering faces confirmed it: "It was all a game," a meticulously crafted setup to publicly humiliate her and "put her in her place."