A Second Life, A New Power novel Chapter 342

Harold's heart lurched in his chest. He immediately turned around to see Thomas, whose eyes were red-rimmed. He was staring at Demi in the distance. Clearly, he'd been there a while.

Harold finally let out a breath—thank god it was just Thomas. Things would've been even worse if anyone else had heard that conversation.

He didn't know that Felix had silently listened to the entire exchange in one shadowed corner. And in another spot, someone else had already pulled out their phone and started recording.

Thomas glanced at Harold, then turned away without a word and headed straight for the crew's tent. Harold quickly followed.

Most of the crew was still asleep, but Thomas politely woke one of them and asked for a phone.

"I'll talk to Dad," Harold offered, reaching for the phone.

"I'll do it," Thomas said coldly. "At least I can tell him what happened from a neutral standpoint. He needs to hear what Demi actually said—not some sugarcoated version."

Thomas was determined to make Stephen and Michelle take this seriously. They still acted like Demi was just being difficult and would come around once she cooled off.

Harold looked frustrated but eventually pulled his hand back.

Thomas walked away until he found a quiet, isolated spot, then dialed the number.

...

Stephen had stayed up almost all night and was finally catching a few hours of sleep. But he'd left his phone on, just in case something urgent came up. So when it rang, he jolted awake, as did Michelle beside him.

He stared at the screen for a second, saw it was someone from I Love Nature, then answered quickly.

"Hello? Did Demi agree?" Stephen asked, his voice filled with anticipation.

"It's me, Thomas, Dad," said Thomas.

"Thomas? Where's Harold? Why did you call?" Stephen asked, confused.

"He's right here. But I wanted to tell you about the conversation between him and Demi myself. I think I can explain it more objectively."

So what now?

In the past, they had time—time to ease into things, to slowly persuade her, to wait for Demi to soften up.

But now? If they didn't go public today and announce that Demi was actually the Pitt family's biological daughter, Pitt Group's stock was guaranteed to tank on Monday morning.

Michelle sat silently beside him, barely breathing and not daring to interrupt his thoughts.

After a long pause, Stephen rubbed his forehead, clearly frustrated.

There was no choice but to take it one step at a time. He could only pray the stock wouldn't fall too hard the following day. If the impact was serious, he'd have to speak with Demi himself.

And if she still wouldn't budge, then he'd have no choice but to force it—leak the news that Demi was the Pitts' biological daughter, that she and Ana were twin sisters.

He refused to believe Demi would dare embarrass him in front of everyone like that.