A Man with Nerves of Steel (Joseph Hart) novel Chapter 117

Chapter 117

The next day, Cora headed to Lowell Group. After a meeting, she was informed that Joseph had gone to visit her parents. She muttered, “What is Joe up to now?”

Cora was suspicious. Since Joseph had looked for Marla and the latter had run away, he had gained nothing. There was no way he would just let it go. She was worried that he might do something impulsive to her parents.

“Mom, Joe didn’t cause any trouble, did he?” Cora asked.

“Didn’t I tell you already? Kim caught a cold. Joseph came over to treat her,” answered Helen.

“I see! If anything else happens, let me know,” said Cora before ending the call. She felt a pang of guilt.

The day before, Cora received a call from Kimberly’s teacher. The teacher mentioned that Kimberly was sneezing and had a runny nose. The teacher also advised Cora to pay more attention to Kimberly.

Normally, Joseph would have handled such matters effortlessly, so Cora hadn’t thought much of it. However, since he was in a bad mood recently, she had left Kimberly with her parents and stopped paying attention. Now, the cold had worsened.

“Joseph, I can’t lose you!” Cora shouted. Tightening the grip on her phone, she glanced at her schedule and canceled her lunch appointment. She planned to go back to confront Joseph.

Meanwhile, Joseph had just finished giving Kimberly acupuncture therapy. Her stuffy nose had already eased considerably. He told her to play with Helen, while he went to the study to have a chat with Bernard.

Seeing that Bernard was playing a game of chess against himself, Joseph sat down across from him. After studying the board for a moment, he made a move while saying, “I’ll make Kim some soup later. She should recover faster after drinking it.”

“Don’t just move a random piece…” Just as Bernard wanted to criticize Joseph, he noticed that the latter actually had a strategy. In fact, it instantly changed the entire board. He picked up a piece and didn’t know where to place it. His train of thought had completely stalled.

Just then, Joseph picked up Bernard’s piece and played a move on his behalf, opening up an entirely new line of attack. The game suddenly became much clearer.

“Not long after Cora transferred Natalie to Jenton Girls’ School, Marla went looking for Natalie. The things Marla told Natalie were detailed and specific. They didn’t sound made up.

“Besides, Marla works for Sharon and Lowell Group. So, she knows perfectly well what happens to people who deceive or manipulate the Lowell family. Yet, she still did it. If she weren’t absolutely confident in something, would you believe she would take that risk?”

Bernard fell silent.

Joseph continued, “My goal has never changed. I want to find Natalie’s biological father and have them reunite as a family. Once that happens, my marriage with Cora will end. I’ll be helping everyone get what they want, and I get my freedom. You won’t have to look at me with disgust anymore.”

“I’ll look into Marla and Sharon. Go and make the soup for Kim,” Bernard said at last before making Joseph leave.

After Joseph left the study, he decided to use Cora’s beloved pet, the small golden turtle, for the soup.