At Blood Manor, Catherine Ashbourne has lived like a treasured mistress, cared for by the impeccably devoted Alex Prescott. Then four impish visitors expose a horrifying reality: Alex is not her servant, but the final boss of a deadly Nightmare Trial. To them, Catherine is nothing more than a fragile pet, destined to be discarded once the real heroine comes. Shaken and frightened, she still finds herself drawn to Alex’s tenderness and searches for a way out. Yet every escape only leads her further into the manor’s dark secrets—and into the arms of the monster who may have been loving her all along.