A Second Life, A New Power novel Chapter 379

"Ms. Gardner, isn't it a bit inappropriate to ask her that?" Ana blurted out, her voice trembling.

"What are you afraid of, Ana?" Maria shot her a mocking look.

Ana, Daniel, and Thomas repeatedly made Maria uncomfortable throughout this episode.

"Yeah, what's Ana so afraid of?"

"Could it be that the person Demi was talking about, the one scarier than wolves, is Ana?"

"Ana is just reminding Vivian not to ask too personal questions. Let's not jump to conclusions."

"She definitely looks nervous."

"Some personal things really are better left unsaid," Daniel said, looking directly at Demi.

Demi smiled, casting a sarcastic glance at Daniel before saying, "Since you all want to know, I'll tell you, but it's a long story."

"Demi." Daniel frowned, and his voice was tense, almost as if warning her.

"It's fine. We have plenty of patience," the others chimed in.

"We have nothing but time," they added.

"Actually, I grew up in a remote mountain village, in a place just like this one—poor, harsh, and isolated," Demi began, her voice soft but clear.

Ana felt a cold shiver run down her spine, her fists clenched tightly.

Was Demi finally going to reveal the truth after all this time?

Daniel was nervous, too, but he knew he couldn't stop Demi in front of the cameras. Even if he wanted to, he probably couldn't stop her.

He decided to just take it step by step. Maybe Demi wouldn't even say anything.

Thomas felt a little conflicted. He was afraid of what Demi might reveal, but at the same time, he thought maybe it would be better if she did. If she did, he could finally apologize to her on camera without having to swallow his words again.

"No wonder you know everything," Chad and Caitlin said in unison, their eyes sparkling with admiration.

"When I was little, my parents treated me terribly. They would either hit me or scold me. At first, I thought it was just their bad temper, but then they had my little brother, and I saw how well they treated him.

"That's when I realized—it wasn't just that they were unfair. They just didn't like me. They were always harsher on me.

The reason Demi chose to tell this story was to ensure that one day, when she confronted her awful adoptive parents or if they tried to cause trouble again, the public would be on her side.

Not long ago, she had realized that her connection with those terrible adoptive parents wasn't over yet.

"So, is that why you said people are scarier than wolves?" Wendy asked, her eyes reddened from holding back tears.

"No, compared to what happened later, those things weren't even that scary. What really terrified me came after. I overheard a conversation one day, and I found out I wasn't even my parents' real child. They had adopted me from somewhere else.

"After that, I did everything I could to figure out who my real parents were. I thought I'd beg them to take me back if I could find them. I wanted to tell them I could work hard and that I didn't need much to eat. But I never found them."

"Have you never found them?" Caitlin asked, her eyes welling up.

Ana's face grew pale, and her nails dug into the palm of her hand. It drew blood, though she didn't even notice.

She wondered what she could do to stop Demi if she decided to keep going.