A Second Life, A New Power novel Chapter 339

"Okay," Daniel said quickly and called the show's production team.

The phone was passed around until it finally landed in Harold's hands.

Daniel immediately handed his phone over to Stephen.

"Hello?" Harold's voice came through, sounding nervous and unsure.

"You little bastard!" Stephen exploded. "Look at what you've done! You've humiliated this entire family! I'm your father, and even I didn't know you were so evil!"

"Dad, come on—you too?" Harold's voice cracked. "You really think I'd try to kill someone? I didn't mean to hurt her!"

"Then why didn't you swear it the first time? And when you finally started swearing—boom! Thunder and lightning on a perfectly clear night! You call that a coincidence?" Stephen roared.

"I was afraid, okay? I thought if I swore and it just happened to thunder, I'd be screwed either way! And that lightning? It was a coincidence!" Harold was now sounding more and more like a desperate man clinging to anything.

"Whether it was or not isn't the point!" Stephen shouted. "Do you have any idea what's happening online? You're trending. And not in a good way. This coming Monday, the company stock's going to crash. We're already hanging by a thread, and now this?"

Harold was silent.

"I sent you on that show to make peace with Demi—not accuse her on a livestream! And now look what you've done. You absolute disaster of a son!" Stephen fumed. "You ruin everything you touch!"

If Harold had been around, Stephen would've laid into him.

"If she had just helped Annie—" Harold started to argue weakly.

"She has every right not to! You know she and Annie have a history. Didn't Annie throw her protective charm in the trash? Where was your righteous fury then? Huh?" Stephen snapped.

But Stephen didn't even have time to think it through. The second he turned his phone on, dozens of calls came pouring in—all from major shareholders demanding answers.

All he could do was grovel, promise, and apologize.

...

Harold didn't sleep a wink. He lay there all night, staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out how to convince the public he hadn't tried to kill Demi—and more importantly, how to convince Demi herself to agree to that ridiculous twin-sister story.

So when he heard movement outside, he shot up and ran out of his tent. Out in the open clearing, Demi was practicing her forms.

When she heard him approach, she paused and glanced over her shoulder at him. Then, she turned back around and kept going.