Until she was eight, Nancy was a doted-on little princess, but on her birthday, a car accident took her parents’ lives. She was adopted by the Sullivan family, who then stripped her of her inheritance and seized her family’s assets, leaving her with only an inheritance left by her mother, which was held in trust in an overseas bank. Moreover, Judith tricked her into handing over the key to the bank safe deposit box. To serve the Sullivan family’s interests, Henry arranged for Nancy to marry into the Hale family. Everyone assumed that Richard was taking a young wife, but in reality, Richard was seeking a marriage partner for William.