A Man with Nerves of Steel (Joseph Hart) novel Chapter 287

Chapter 287

Joseph politely declined Mavis’ offer. Even if he was in danger, he had no intention of fleeing Jenton. Besides, he wanted to see whatever grim fate awaited Cora and her daughters.

It was clear that Barry had held a highly influential position within the Zahn family. If a powerhouse like that failed to respond ruthlessly to the murder of their own, they would bleed vulnerability. After all, in a world governed by the law of the jungle, the strong always tore into the weak.

Still, the Zahn family was mythical-tier. Even someone like Mavis regarded them with caution. It wouldn’t be easy for any family from outside Jenton to swallow them whole.

Right now, all Joseph cared about was finding out who Cora cheated on him with–the one who had fathered her three daughters. He would make sure that he found that bastard and made the man pay. Joseph didn’t care what family the man was from.

For now, that was all that mattered. He just needed to bide his time and watch the pieces fall into place.

After work, instead of visiting Lacey, he went to the laboratory in the Crest District.

Over the weekend, he didn’t take a single day off. He remained at the hospital on duty and worked overtime. He didn’t bother returning home to see Cora, nor did he visit Lacey or Rosalie.

When the new week began, Joseph met Belinda again. She brought him the information he’d requested about the Zahn family. What surprised him most was that the Zahns had a one-hundred-and-twenty-year-old patriarch who remained completely lucid and was very much alive.

He was the family’s greatest source of confidence. After all, experience was the greatest treasure.

A man who had lived for 120 years had witnessed a century of Jenton’s rise and fall firsthand. Naturally, he knew every hidden secret beneath the surface. It could be said that he transcended even Jenton itself. It was no surprise that the Zahns were a mythical-tier family.

It looked like his plan to lure wolves into Jenton may have failed.

Joseph frowned. He never expected such an old monster to exist within the Zahn family. As long as that patriarch remained alive, every major power would show the family at least some measure of respect.

Belinda also brought details surrounding Barry’s death. Officially, he’d died during an episode of excessively vigorous sex. The excitement had triggered an acute loss of blood supply to his heart, resulting in a fatal heart attack.

Even though he hadn’t technically died mid-act, it was still a deeply humiliating way for a prominent Zahn heir to perish. It explained perfectly why the family had clamped down with a total media blackout.

Meanwhile, Wallace’s attempt to shift suspicion toward Jenton University Hospital and Joseph had simply been a way to divert everyone’s attention.

Joseph fed every page of the documents into the shredder. Watching the paper, Belinda felt a surge of trust toward Joseph. Obtaining those documents had been risky enough. Keeping copies would have been even more dangerous.

Looking at her, Joseph asked calmly, “We’re alone here. Could you tell me why you hate Barry so much? Did love turn into hatred? Or was it simply because of what happened that night?”

Belinda said, “It’s both. I’ve been with him for a long time. I gave him everything, from my first kiss, my first love, to my first time. He promised me he’d marry me, but eventually I realized that I was just an insignificant fish in his huge sea of women.

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“Expecting him to marry me was nothing but a fantasy. Little by little, I realized that he was a pervert as well. That night was simply the worst he’d ever been.

“I decided I wanted him dead, and I hired people to kill him. They all failed, and one time, he even found out. He’d locked me up for an entire month for that.”

As Belinda spoke, she lit a cigarette and smoked. Her cigarette looked almost delicate between her fingers.

Joseph watched her expression closely and could tell that she was lying or hiding something.

Of course, he only asked because he wanted one more reason to convince himself that he’d been justified in killing Barry.

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