A Man with Nerves of Steel (Joseph Hart) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Cora hadn’t expected Bernard to threaten Joseph. She was… speechless. Then, with a sharp rip, she tore the divorce papers clean in half, then folded and ripped them again into four pieces. She didn’t want a divorce.

“My dad didn’t really mean what he said to you. But if we’re being honest, this is kind of your fault, too. You told Nat about all this nonsense, so she went and exaggerated it to my parents. She’s been crying her eyes out the last couple of days, which is why my dad got so angry and came after you.

“Joe, you used to dote on Nat so much that you wouldn’t let anything hurt a hair on her head. Yet now, you’re using her as a weapon. You’ve become so cold, calculating, and vicious. What caused this change?”

“I’m not taking the blame for that. Natalie isn’t my daughter. She’s the bastard you had with some other man. You and your parents can keep lying to yourselves all you want, but that’s on you.”

Joseph was getting impatient. He genuinely didn’t understand why Cora insisted on deceiving herself. If she’d cheated, then she’d cheated. She could just come clean about it.

With her wealth and status, she had every right to pick whatever man she wanted. She could swap them out every few days, and no one would dare say a word. Most people would still look at her with envy and admiration.

“You’re such an asshole, Joseph. Nat is your daughter, and I never betrayed you!” Cora snapped.

“We’re just going in circles. You say your piece, and I say mine. Neither of us is going to convince the other, so let’s just settle this in court.” Joseph kicked Cora out.

Cora went to see Fiona, who handed her a stack of legal documents. It turned out Bernard was serious about suing Joseph for extortion. The thought alone gave her a headache.

“My dad is completely out of control. Never mind that the lawsuit won’t hold up-this is exactly what Joseph wants. He would love nothing more than to drag this into court. God, my dad is just adding fuel to the fire.”

“What, you suspect I cheated on him, too? Joseph is the only man I’ve ever slept with. You tell me whose child Nat could be, if not his!” There was displeasure in Cora’s voice.

“I have to plan for the worst. Think carefully-was there ever a situation where you got drunk and…”

“That’s absolutely impossible.” Cora was very sure of herself. She could really hold her liquor. She’d never once been drunk. One of the reasons she’d been able to take over the company smoothly and then grow it even bigger was that she handled business dinners and drinking games with total ease.

“Then I’ll go to Joseph tomorrow and see if I can get a read on what he’s thinking.” Since there was no breakthrough with Cora, Fiona decided to try her luck with Joseph.

“It’d be ideal if you could persuade him to withdraw the lawsuit.” Cora did have another option up her sleeve, but it wasn’t something that would be considered socially acceptable. Unless she was truly backed into a corner, she didn’t want to use it… especially not on Joseph.