“Are you out of your mind, Mom?!”
Grace sounded a bit hysterical, “Thea’s trying to build a career. Rumors like this will ruin her!”
Thea finally understood why her Mom was so afraid of John, “So that piece of shit is not my dad? Then who is my father?”
Grace looked away, sounding a bit weak, “It doesn’t matter. Thea. I… I made a mistake when I was young, you know. That’s why your dad hates us so much. It’s all my fault. Please stop asking.”
It took Thea a while to digest the truth. Her mother was such a sweet and honest woman. She could never connect her with the word “cheating”.
But whatever she had done 20 years ago, she didn’t deserve to be treated like this.
“I don’t want him to expose those things when you are in the middle of a competition. So I just signed that contract.” Grace bit her bottom lip.
Thea had always been a smart girl. Grace wondered if Thea was gonna believe her lie.
Thea heaved a sigh. As eager as she wanted to solve this problem, she knew her Mom and Granny needed some rest instantly. So she nodded, “Okay. I get it now. I won’t do anything to pressure him.”
Nope, she would squeeze the set out of him once she found the chance, “You both just stay at my place. Stop selling hot dogs on the street, okay? Now, after the exposure, everyone on the internet knows you are my family. They will think I’m a horrible person who wouldn’t help her Granny and Mom if you went out to do that again. It will definitely put me into another problem.”
“But…” Grace hesitated.
“Mom, just listen to me and stay.” Thea reassured her mother, “I will take care of everything. I promise.”
Grace could do nothing but agree.
****
When Thea went to Cody’s office, he yelled at someone on the phone, “Kick them out of the city immediately. Don’t let me see their pity faces again!”
Thea was startled as she pressed down the handle. She had never heard of her boss being this mad.
“Cody.” Thea cleared her throat.
Cody looked up and hung up the phone, “Come in.”
Thea walked into the office, closing the door behind her.
“Sit, Thea,” as mad as Cody was a couple of seconds ago, the way he talked to Thea was extremely gentle.
Thea went to his desk and sat across from him.
“So, Zara had told me everything. Is there something you’d like to add?” Cody asked, “So the PR and Legal could do better.”
Thea took a deep breath and told Cody everything, including the secret behind her birth, the contract, her Mom’s finance, and the threat from John.
Thea likes to keep these things to herself. These things were her privacy, and they sounded like a mess.
But after becoming a celebrity, her secrets would never be her own issues. She needed to share these for the purpose of guarding the company’s benefits. If her enemies found these and her company was not prepared, it could be a big risk for her career and would drag Cody’s company.
Cody was shocked after hearing everything. He didn’t expect Thea to go through so much at such a young age.
“I’m sorry for all the things you went through,” Cody said, his grey eyes dense with emotions.
Thea had never seen this side of him before. She blinked, sounding a bit hesitant, “I… I’m okay.”
“Of course you are,” Cody smiled, “You’re the toughest girl I’ve ever seen.”
Thea smiled back. Cody’s compliment made her very proud, “Thank you.”
“As for those things, you don’t need to worry. The company will cover it up. I will send a lawyer with you later when you go back home. He will check out the contract and figure out a plan if you guys need to go to the court. The cost will be on the company,” Cody leaned back in his seat, “Whatever those people’s intentions are, no one can mess with my artist.”
Thea’s smile widened, “I can’t tell you how thankful I am.”
Thea brought the lawyer with her when she went back to her apartment.
The lawyer checked out Thea’s Mom’s contract with John as her Granny went to the kitchen to cook dinner.
The lawyer, Mr. Evans, was a senior lawyer of Cody’s company that handled all legal matters. He had gone through countless big cases.
A case like this was just a piece of cake for him.
Grace was so excited as Thea told her the company would solve her problem. She poured a cup of coffee for Mr. Evans. Mr. Evans put the contract on the desk and took the cup of coffee into his hand, “I just saw the contract, Mrs. Todd. There are legal loopholes everywhere. It doesn’t stand solidly as a contract. Not to mention that John Gordon actually tricked you into signing it. You don’t need to pay him 5 million. And you don’t need to worry; even Gordon threatened to sue you. This contract is just a big joke.”
After hearing that, Grace let out a long breath, “Thank you, Mr. Evans. I felt relieved after hearing legal advice from you. Thank you so much.”
“It’s okay. I’m just doing my job. Just stay at home and enjoy your dinner. You have a very caring daughter,” Mr. Evans said as he stood up from his chair, smiling.
“You’re not staying for dinner?” Grace asked.
“I’m okay. The company is still a bit busy. I will visit you guys next time,” Mr. Evans said politely before nodding at Thea.
Thea uttered her thanks and slightly bowed down.
After Mr. Evans left, Thea, her Mom, and her Granny ate a big dinner to celebrate.
It’d been a while since the last time Thea ate anything her Granny or Mom cooked. She felt happy and satisfied as she lay on the couch, scrolling down her phone.
Her fans made the photos where she drove that truck into memes. Thea couldn’t stop laughing as she went through those memes individually.
She had the most adorable, supportive, and talented fans ever! She was grateful that they always came forward to defend her when she was getting framed.