Douglas Mercer, the chairman of Apex Holdings, orchestrated a staged capture to force his missing eight-year-old biological daughter Sloane to reveal herself. He then brought her back to the estate and announced that she would inherit the controlling stake in seven days. This decision enraged Lacey, a "stand-in heiress" whom Douglas had taken from an orphanage due to her striking resemblance to Sloane. Fearful of losing her status and wealth, Lacey conspired with enforcers like Boone and a bribed doctor to subject Sloane to brutal torture, including finger amputation, scalding wine burns, rose thorn searches, disfigurement threats, fake suicides, and live cremation. Sloane survived these fabricated deaths and tortures by relying on the medical skills and acupuncture techniques taught to her by her mother Christine.
