The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman) novel Chapter 939

Joseph didn’t allow a single thing in the house that had anything to do with Julie.

That one photograph set him off.

“Where did you get this?” Joseph’s voice was sharp, almost a shout. “I told you, you don’t have a mother.”

He snatched the photo and ripped it in half. Daria’s sobs grew louder, full-on wailing now. “I do have a mom! She’s fighting monsters! When she beats them, she’ll come back!”

“Who told you that?” Joseph snapped. “Alan, listen to me—again—you don’t have a mother. Get that into your head.”

Joseph only ever used Daria’s full name when he was furious.

“You’re lying! I have a mom! Everyone does!” Daria’s face was streaked red from crying, stubborn as ever—he was the only one who dared talk back to Joseph.

Their nanny, Caterina, heard the commotion and rushed upstairs, thinking something terrible had happened.

She peeked in, saw Joseph scolding Daria, and immediately turned to leave.

“Caterina!” Joseph’s angry call stopped her in her tracks. “Where did this photo come from?”

Caterina glanced at the torn pieces on the floor and instantly knew who was behind it. But she couldn’t say.

She forced herself to lie. “I don’t know, sir. Maybe Daria found it somewhere? He’s just a kid—please, don’t be so hard on him.”

But Daria kept crying, ignoring Joseph’s questions about the picture. The poor kid looked terrified—he’d never seen his dad like this before.

He ran to Caterina, clinging to her and sobbing. “Caterina, Daddy’s mean! He yelled at me and tore up Mommy’s picture!”

“Daria, don’t say that. Your dad loves you,” Caterina whispered, lifting him in her arms and rocking him gently. She shot a nervous glance at Joseph, trying to gauge his mood.

Joseph’s face was grim, Daria’s crying making him even more irritable, but he kept a lid on his temper. “Take Daria downstairs.”

Caterina was relieved. She was scared Joseph would dig deeper—she’d taken money from Autumn, and if he ever found out, she’d be out on the street.

Her job was easy: just look after Daria. The others cooked and cleaned; Caterina just played with the kid.

Four grand a month, right here in Riverdale—a rare find.

Her son and daughter-in-law were both jobless. Her paycheck kept the whole family going.

Her nerves were shot, but she had no choice but to follow him downstairs.

Joseph was sitting on the sofa, cigarette in hand, face unreadable.

“I’ll give you one minute. Think carefully. Who’s Daria seen lately? Who gave him that photo?”

Joseph wasn’t stupid. Caterina was with Daria all day—she’d know.

Caterina’s hands shook with nerves. She was scared to tell the truth, but with Joseph, lying was even riskier.

After a long pause, she said, “When I took Daria to the park, we ran into Mrs. Walker. She really likes Daria, bought him a bunch of things. Daria likes her, too. She was friends with your wife, so I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

Half-truth, half-lie—she wasn’t about to admit she’d arranged for Daria to meet Autumn.

At the mention of Autumn, Joseph’s face tightened.

So it was Autumn, no doubt about it.

But why was she giving Daria pictures of Julie? What was she after?