In New York's Upper East Side, rivalries run deep between the Reed family and the Sterling conglomerate. Aurora, daughter of the fallen Foster family, endures ten years of cruel humiliation in a nominal marriage to Damian Reed. On their tenth anniversary, Damian degrades her publicly before power brokers, deadbolts her inside during a blizzard while her mother dies in a pileup, and lets his mistress Brandi desecrate the ashes. Even after Aurora suffers forced blood draws and kneeling to save her comatose father, Brandi unplugs the life support before Damian's eyes. Devastated, Aurora accepts Felix's offer for an irreversible memory wipe, erasing Damian entirely to reemerge as Felix's fiancée. A panicked Damian begs on his knees with the ruined ashes, but Aurora treats him as a raving stranger. Ultimately, the Reed empire falls, leaving Damian an indicted, crippled beggar watching Aurora shine in Times Square.
