The Thorns are a prominent, elite family in the Western art world. Their legitimate daughter, Leola, is a prodigious, natural-born artistic genius—the family’s great hope for the future. However, the family harbors a closely guarded, hereditary secret: a genetic mutation that triggers a "beast transformation" whenever an individual experiences intense emotional fluctuations or a rapid heartbeat. Each generation manifests a different form—the grandfather transforms into a giant wolf, the father into a mysterious black fox, and Leola into a massive, snow-white cat with striking blue eyes. Isolde, the matriarch of the Thorn family, once had an affair, resulting in an illegitimate daughter named Verena, whom she passed off as an adopted orphan. Seeking to usurp Leola’s life, Isolde and Verena—in collusion with Leola’s former fiancé, Samuel—conspired to frame her. During a confrontation, a terrified Leola pushed Verena down a flight of stairs; Isolde seized this moment to falsely claim that Leola had lost her sanity, having her confined to a private, corruptly-run sanitarium. Meanwhile, Verena stole all of Leola’s sketches and creative notes, mimicking her artistic style to establish herself as a celebrated genius painter within high society. Years earlier, Leola’s grandfather had been attacked during an expedition. He transformed into a giant wolf to drive off the beasts, but was left severely wounded and unconscious—only to be rescued by a destitute young man (the grandfather of Kaelen). In gratitude, a multi-generational marriage pact was established. No one could have foreseen that the young man would go on to build a vast, multinational business empire—while the Thorn family remained under the mistaken impression that the family bound by the pact were merely ordinary people. As the wedding date approached, Verena—disdainful of the suitor’s perceived humble background—refused to marry him. The Thorn family, desperate, brought Leola out of confinement and forced her to take Verena’s place. Everyone looked down upon the union, unaware that the man who arrived for the wedding—disguised as a common bodyguard—was, in fact, the sole heir to a top-tier financial conglomerate. After the marriage, Leola found herself repeatedly on the verge of revealing her secret transformation whenever she felt a surge of excitement or nervousness. Kaelen, sensing that something was amiss, began a covert investigation into the injustice she had suffered. Ultimately, at an international art auction gala, Leora publicly exposed the truth: Verena had plagiarized and usurped another’s work, while her mother had engaged in an affair to seize everything. Severing all ties with her original family, Leora—now joined by Kaelen, who had revealed his true identity—set off together toward a new life.
