The IVF Secret That Shook a Dynasty novel Chapter 55

Joseph didn’t respond to Harvey's explanation. His mind was still a chaotic whirl of thoughts. This feeling of losing control, of profound uncertainty, was something he had never experienced in his entire illustrious legal career.

Harvey, unable to contain his curiosity any longer, cautiously asked, “Do you have a picture of him? I want to see how much he looks like Lennon. No wonder you kept thinking my investigation was flawed.”

Joseph just gave him a cold, dismissive look.

“You have some nerve,” he said, the anger returning to his voice. “Betraying me like that. And I considered you my best friend.”

Harvey knew what he was referring to and had the grace to look sheepish. “Look, you had already gone through the whole donation process, and your sample quality was exceptional. It seemed like a total waste to destroy it. Genes that perfect should be passed on! You should be populating the earth, contributing to the betterment of the human species.”

Joseph didn’t buy a word of that pretentious nonsense. “If my genes are so perfect,” he sneered, “then why does the boy have leukemia?”

“A child’s illness can be caused by countless factors. It’s not necessarily genetic,” Harvey countered, still a firm believer in the superiority of his friend’s DNA.

Silence settled between them again.

Joseph glanced at his watch and prepared to leave.

“You still haven’t answered me,” Harvey pressed, getting to his feet. “What’s your plan? Are you going to tell the kid’s parents?”

“That’s none of your business,” Joseph said curtly, still holding a grudge.

Joseph didn’t sleep that night. Logically, he knew he had no real connection to the boy. But emotionally, logic had already left the building. He closed his eyes, and the child’s face swam in his memory, along with the nickname he’d been given: “Mr. Meanie.”

Being called that by his own biological son wasn’t a good look. What if, by some twist of fate, their relationship was ever revealed? How would he ever redeem his paternal image?

Then his thoughts turned to Vivica and her marriage. That scumbag husband of hers clearly wanted nothing to do with a sick child. If they were really getting divorced, maybe he could tell Vivica the truth.

But what would she think? Would she expect him to step up and take responsibility as a father? And what about his parents? If they found out, would they pressure him to marry Vivica, just to give the child a “complete family”?

These questions tormented him all night. Finally, as the first light of dawn painted the sky, he came to a resolution. He accepted the fact that he had a son. And he had formulated a plan—a well-thought-out plan that could, he hoped, take care of the boy, support Vivica, and pull his parents out of their grief, giving them a new reason to hope.