A Man with Nerves of Steel (Joseph Hart) novel Chapter 7

Joseph met Bernard's scrutinizing gaze and said, "It's genuine. I didn't believe this was the truth, either, so I did a few more paternity tests with different labs. But the results… they didn't change."

Bernard didn't speak right away. He just stared at Joseph, his eyes sharp and probing.

A bitter, helpless look crossed Joseph's face. "I already showed Cora the results."

"Oh? You told her? And then?" Bernard asked.

"Yeah, I told her, but I don't know what's going through her head. She refuses to accept a scientific conclusion, nor does she admit that she cheated. She won't come clean to me and won't be reasonable. I haven't made this public, Dad. Right now, only the three of us know. I'm hoping we can settle this peacefully."

"This isn't a small matter. You did the right thing by not making a scene. Still, this really came out of nowhere, and I wasn't mentally prepared for it. As her father, I trust Cora's character. She would never…"

Of course. Like father, like daughter. Obviously, they were on the same team.

Joseph felt himself getting anxious. "You don't know what Cora has—"

He wanted to say that Selena and Kimberly weren't his, either, but then a thought flashed through his mind. What if Bernard already knew what Cora had done? What if he was only playing along to keep Joseph from blowing up?

He changed tack. "What's done is done. I just want to know the truth. Who is Natalie's real father? There's no way Cora didn't know she was pregnant with another man's baby, so why didn't she end up with him? Why did she choose me instead? And if she chose me, why did she hide this from me? Do you know anything, Dad?"

"I don't. I'll have her come here to give us an explanation," Bernard said.

As he listened to Joseph, the calm, unshakable look he'd worn slowly faded. Confusion crept into his expression. In the end, he called Cora and told her to come home immediately.

While they waited, he asked Joseph a few technical questions about the paternity test. When he heard the latter answer professionally, he suddenly remembered that Joseph was a doctor with over a decade of experience. If he was putting the paternity test results on the table, that basically confirmed that Natalie wasn't his child.

Bernard also called Helen and told her to hurry home.

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