Chapter 1: The Betrayal in Manhattan

Natalie Quinn stood in the rain outside the Quinn family estate in the Upper East Side, clutching a pregnancy test. Positive.

She should have been happy. She was engaged to Braden Thorne, the heir to the Thorne Empire. But when she walked inside, she found her luggage thrown in the foyer.

“Get out,” her mother, Brenda Quinn, sneered. “You’re an embarrassment. Pregnant before the wedding? And we know it’s not Braden’s.”

“It has to be!” Natalie cried. “I’ve only been with…”

“Stop lying!” Her sister, Tiffany—the golden child the Quinns had adopted and favored over Natalie—walked down the stairs, linking arms with Braden.

“Natalie,” Braden said coldly, fixing his cufflinks. “I’m calling off the engagement. I can’t marry damaged goods. Tiffany is the one I love. She’s pure, unlike you.”

Natalie felt like she had been punched. “Braden? But… that night at the masquerade ball…”

“That wasn’t me,” Braden scoffed. “I was in London that night. You slept with some random stranger and now you’re trying to pin it on me.”

“Mom, Dad, please,” Natalie turned to her parents.

“We have a solution,” her father grunted. “Mr. Henderson, the oil tycoon from Texas, needs a new wife. He’s 70, but he’s willing to pay $500,000 for you. The car is waiting to take you to the countryside.”

Chapter 2: The Rescue

Natalie was dragged into a black van and driven to a remote cabin in upstate New York. Mr. Henderson, a man with yellow teeth and a lecherous grin, was waiting.

“You’re a pretty one,” Henderson laughed, reaching for her. “Don’t worry about the baby. I’ll get rid of it.”

“No!” Natalie screamed, backing away. “Please!”

Suddenly, the cabin door was kicked open.

A tall man in a bespoke Italian suit stepped in, his presence filling the room with terrifying authority. It was Sebastian Thorne. The “King of Wall Street.” The ruthless CEO of Thorne Enterprises.

And… Braden’s uncle.

“Who are you?” Henderson shouted.

“The father of the child she carries,” Sebastian said, his voice like ice.

Behind him, a dozen bodyguards swarmed the room. Sebastian walked over to Natalie, took off his coat, and wrapped it around her trembling shoulders.

“I’m late,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

Natalie looked up at him, shocked. She recognized his scent—sandalwood and expensive scotch. It was the man from the masquerade ball. The man she had mistaken for Braden in the dark.

“Sebastian Thorne?” Henderson stammered, turning pale. “Sir, I didn’t know…”

“You touched what is mine,” Sebastian said calmly. “Bankrupt him.”

Chapter 3: The Contract

In the back of his limousine, Sebastian handed Natalie a document.

“Marry me,” he said.

“What?” Natalie blinked. “Is this because of the baby?”

“The Thorne family bylaws state I must name an heir by my 30th birthday, or the company goes to my nephew, Braden,” Sebastian explained. “I despise Braden. He is incompetent. This child… our child… is the heir I need.”

“So it’s a deal?” Natalie asked, feeling a pang of disappointment.

“It’s a partnership,” Sebastian corrected. “I protect you. You give me an heir. And you get revenge on those who hurt you.”

Natalie looked at her stomach. She had no money, no home. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

When they arrived at the Thorne Manor in the Hamptons, Natalie expected a cruel mother-in-law. Instead, Grandma Rose Thorne hugged her.

“Finally!” Grandma Rose cheered. “My stubborn son found a wife! And a baby on the way? Oh, look at you, you’re too skinny. We need to feed you!”

Natalie teared up. It was the first time she had felt welcomed in years.

Chapter 4: The Transformation

A week later, Sebastian took Natalie to the most exclusive boutique on Fifth Avenue. Natalie, still wearing her old clothes, was stopped by a salesgirl.

“Deliveries are in the back,” the girl sneered.

“I’m here to shop,” Natalie said.

“We don’t sell to people like you,” the girl laughed.

Suddenly, Tiffany and Braden walked in.

“Oh look, it’s the reject,” Tiffany giggled. “Shopping with your imaginary money?”

“She’s ruining the ambiance,” Braden complained to the manager. “Kick her out.”

Before the manager could touch her, Sebastian stepped out of the VIP room. “Who are you kicking out?”

“U-Uncle Sebastian?” Braden froze. “We… we were just handling a beggar.”

Sebastian walked to Natalie and put a protective arm around her waist. “This ‘beggar’ holds the supreme Black Card of the Thorne family. She can buy this entire building if she wants.”

He turned to the manager. “Pack everything in the store. In her size. And ban these two from ever stepping foot in here again.”

Chapter 5: The Engagement Party

The climax came at Braden and Tiffany’s engagement party at the Plaza Hotel. The entire New York elite was there.

Tiffany was showing off her ring. “I’m going to be the next Mrs. Thorne,” she bragged.

Natalie walked in, wearing a stunning red gown that hid her baby bump but accentuated her beauty.

“Security!” Tiffany shrieked. “Get her out! She’s here to steal food!”

“I’m here,” Natalie said calmly, “because I am family.”

“You wish!” Braden laughed. “You’re nothing.”

Suddenly, the DJ stopped the music. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the CEO of Thorne Enterprises, Mr. Sebastian Thorne… and his wife, Mrs. Natalie Thorne.”

Sebastian walked down the grand staircase and took Natalie’s hand. The room gasped.

Braden dropped his champagne glass. “Uncle… you married her?”

“Yes,” Sebastian smiled coldly. “Which means, Braden, Tiffany… come say hello to your Aunt Natalie.”

Tiffany turned purple. She had bullied Natalie her whole life, and now she had to bow to her?

“I… I can’t…” Tiffany stammered.

“Do it,” Sebastian commanded, “or I cut Braden out of the will completely.”

“Hello… Aunt Natalie,” Braden and Tiffany whispered, heads bowed in humiliation.

Chapter 6: The Auction

Later that night, there was a charity auction. A rare pink diamond ring, “The Star of the East,” was up for bidding.

“I want that ring!” Tiffany demanded. “Braden, get it for me!”

“I bid $1 million!” Braden shouted, trying to save face.

“Five million,” Sebastian said lazily from the front row, holding Natalie’s hand.

“$5.5 million!” Braden sweated. That was his limit.

“Ten million,” Sebastian countered.

“Uncle, please!” Braden begged. “That’s my inheritance!”

“Twenty million,” Sebastian said. “And I’m buying every other item in the catalog for my wife. Because she deserves the world, and you deserve nothing.”

He won the ring and placed it on Natalie’s finger in front of everyone. “I love you, Natalie. Not because of the contract. But because you are the only one who ever made me feel alive.”

Chapter 7: Happy Ending

Months later, Natalie went into labor.

“It hurts!” she cried in the delivery room.

“I’m here, I’m here,” Sebastian, the man who made Wall Street tremble, was pale and panicking. “Breathe, honey! If you hurt, squeeze my hand! Break it if you have to!”

“Congratulations,” the doctor smiled. “It’s a healthy baby boy.”

Sebastian held his son, tears streaming down his face. “Thank you, Natalie. You gave me a family.”

“We gave each other a family,” Natalie smiled, kissing him.

Outside the hospital room, Braden and Tiffany were arguing in the rain, their credit cards declined, while Natalie and Sebastian watched the snow fall over New York City, safe, loved, and victorious.

THE END