Grace could see Thea’s awkwardness, so she turned to Mr. Weston, “Mr. Weston, it’s pretty freezing out here. It will only get colder at night. You need to go back, or you will catch a cold.”
Grace said this out of pure kindness. Mr. Weston knew this woman was all about good intentions.
Besides, he also didn’t want to interrupt Thea’s job. So he smiled and nodded, “Of course. It’s time for me to go back. Thea, you did a really good job today. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Weston,” Thea smiled politely.
Mr. Weston had left. Yet Drew and Fritzi stayed. Thea shot the scene all night, and they didn’t even leave for a minute.
Thea was still a bit of a weird thought that creeped out when she went back to her hotel. She couldn’t explain why Mr. Weston and Mrs. Weston suddenly became so fond of her.
It was weird.
She decided to tell Cody about it.
Cody was already awake when she called.
“What? Uncle Drew brought his whole family to your shooting site?” Cody sounded quite shocked on the other side of the phone.
“Yeah.” Thea confirmed, “And they stayed all day and night. Actually, Mr. Weston started to send me food and drinks a couple of days ago. But I didn’t pay much attention to that because I thought he was still feeling bad about Mia. But today…. they all just came to the site as if I was some zoo animal. It doesn’t feel right. Do you know why they came here, Boss?”
Cody let out a breath, “I don’t have a damn clue. But you don’t need to worry. Uncle Drew is a great person. He won’t harm you.”
Thea laughed, “I know. I’m just a bit embarrassed seeing them… I mean… They just stood there when the shooting was ongoing. That’s a bit weird.”
“Wait… Did they ask you to shoot in the middle of the night again?” Cody suddenly asked.
“Yeah.” Thea yawned, “And I really need to get some sleep now. My brain is shrinking after spending the whole night jumping up and down in wires. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Cody smiled, “Of course. Sweet dream.”
Cody jumped off his bed after hanging up the phone. He went to take a shower and immediately summoned Matt, “Go find out where Dad and Uncle Drew went last time. They said there was a business trip. I need to know every location they stopped by.”
“You got it, boss.”
Cody sat in his chair and spun it back and forth as he thought about the whole thing. Soon, he made up his mind.
Waiting for the result of the investigation was too long. He needed to see Drew immediately. Uncle Drew was always honest with him.
All he needed to do was ask.
****
Cody extended an invitation to Drew to meet him in the local café. Cody sat there and waited after placing his order for two cups of black coffee.
While he presented an image of composure, his heart was pounding quite rapidly against his chest.
He had no idea why, but something in him told him that the mystery that his Uncle Drew was about to divulge was highly significant. He just had a gut feeling about it.
Drew came only a few minutes later.
The look of happiness radiating off the man’s face was infectious.
Cody watched in awe as Drew sat across him. His Uncle Drew looked like he was at least six years younger.
The guy greeted Cody with a grin and said, “Good morning, Cody.”
Cody greeted his Uncle Drew with a scowl and said, “Good morning to you.” He then said, “I heard you went to my artist’s working site and remained there the entire day with your family?”
The grin that was already there on Drew’s face widened even more. The guy gave a little shake of the head before looking at Cody and said, “Cody, there’s something extremely essential I need to tell you. Nonetheless, you must assure me you won’t lose your cool.”
Cody leaned back in his seat and nodded slowly.
About 50 minutes later…
The cup in Cody’s hand fell off, making a huge smashing sound. The waiter hurried over to clean the mess.
“I’m sorry.” Cody’s face was still pale, “I’m so sorry.”
Cody looked down at his hands. His hands were still shaking. He couldn’t decipher the feelings churning in his chest right now.
It was a shock, or it was a joy. He really couldn’t tell.
“So,” Cody breathed, “They don’t know yet?”
Drew nodded, “Apart from my family and your Dad… Yes, other people still don’t know.”
God… How were they even gonna tell Thea about this? No… Demi.
A smile slowly appeared on Cody’s lips as his eyes grew softer.
Thea Todd was Demi.
When Thea woke up, Grace and Granny were already sitting in her parlor.
Thea yawned and padded to the bathroom. When she came back, however, she finally noticed that both her Mom’s and Granny’s eyes were red.
They looked like they had just cried.
What the heck just happened?
“Mom… Granny? Are you guys okay? What happened?” Thea asked, “Come on! I won’t go to work unless you guys tell me the truth. Did anyone bully you?”
Grace looked up, her voice husky, “Thea, my baby. We shouldn’t drag you down.”
“What… what are you talking about, Mom?” Thea sat down, asking anxiously, “How could you drag me down? Was it John Gordon? Did he come to threaten you again?”
“Yes… It’s all that bastard’s fault.” Grace took the random excuse.
“He’s such a piece of human garbage!” Thea hissed as she shot up from her seat, “I’m gonna punch his face up to his head!”
“Wait! Thea!” Grace pulled her daughter’s hand, “Come on, sweetie. Just go finish your job first. We can go find him together after you finish today’s work.” Grace cooed.
Granny said nothing because she deeply regretted showing Mr. Weston those photos.
She shouldn’t be such a show-off. So now Thea’s family came to take their precious Thea away.
What was she gonna do?