A Man with Nerves of Steel (Joseph Hart) novel Chapter 454

Chapter 454

“Why are you telling me all this?” Marla asked, wiping away her tears. Joseph had hit the truth she had been trying to hide. She had approached Natalie as a gamble, hoping to benefit from the latter someday.

“There’s no point in tearing you down. We’re strangers. Besides, I would rather have you remember that I helped you. Maybe then you’ll be willing to give me some clues,” responded Joseph.

Joseph took out his phone and pulled up a picture. He selected the edit button on the picture before handing his phone to Marla. He added, “Rank these eight people from the one most likely to be Natalie’s biological father to the least likely.”

Marla was shocked. “Where did you get this list?”

Joseph replied, “There you go again, asking questions that don’t concern you. If you can’t play the game, stop being curious. Just do your part. Quit digging into things you shouldn’t.

“Otherwise, I can guarantee the next thing that’ll happen is both your hands get broken, and your face gets permanently ruined.”

It was just a bluff, but Marla genuinely believed Joseph. She arranged the eight names in order before asking, ” What are you planning to do? Can you actually find these people?”

Joseph didn’t answer. Instead, he compared Marla’s ranking with the Zahns’ family records. The family records revealed how closely or distantly each person was related to Yara.

Then, Joseph snorted and questioned, “Why didn’t you rank the person most closely related to Yara first?”

Marla asked, “Who?”

Joseph replied, “Skylar Zahn. He’s Yara’s older brother. If Yara has been collecting Natalie and the others’ blood to save someone, using it on him would make perfect sense. You’ve been by Yara’s side for years. Don’t you know this logic?”

“I only knew Skylar was a member of the Zahn family. I had no idea he was Yara’s brother. I’ve never seen the two of them together all these years. Do they not get along?” Marla asked.

“I don’t know. I’m still looking into it. Instead of supporting her brother, Yara keeps backing one of her cousins. It doesn’t make much sense,” said Joseph.

Marla sighed. “You’ve already investigated this far. Why are you even asking me?”

“If you had told me what you knew from the beginning, I would have gotten to the truth faster. You’re an arrogant idiot,” reprimanded Joseph.

Then, he asked, “What else are you hiding from me?”

Marla answered, “Nothing. If you’ve already narrowed it down to these eight people, you know more than I ever did.”

Joseph instructed, “Go home and think harder. If you remember anything useful, tell me. Remember this. I’m not a good person, but Yara and the others are far worse.”

For a moment, Marla couldn’t find the words to argue. Then, she got up to leave. As soon as she was gone, Katie walked in and asked, “What did Marla want this time? She wasn’t here for treatment.”

Joseph shrugged. “She came looking for sympathy. She hates me, so all she can do is vent at me to make herself

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feel better. No need to worry about her.”

After Katie left, Joseph gave Peyton a call, asking, “Are you still keeping tabs on Yara? She has ALS. I should pay her a visit and comfort her.”

Peyton responded, “I’ll check on her situation right away. Give me a little time, and I’ll send you an update.”

“Alright. I’m back at the clinic now. If your father wants to continue his acupuncture treatments, you can schedule them. I’ll be here for the next few days,” stated Joseph.

“I’ll talk to my father right away. Joseph, thank you,” replied Peyton.

Upon hearing that, Joseph ended the call. Then, his thoughts drifted back to the list of eight suspects. If the father weren’t among those eight, he would have to start looking into another family.

That would mean another enormous amount of work or another difficult negotiation. Still, out of everyone on the list, his strongest instinct pointed to Skylar as the prime suspect.

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