Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 1319

"She was eventually found and taken in by a kind farming couple."

"We only discovered she existed a couple of months before the national exams. We brought her back from a deeply impoverished rural village."

"Before that, she had never even set foot in Melvion City."

"While living in that village, she was an absolute prodigy—a flawless student with impeccable character. She never caused an ounce of trouble."

"The moment she came home, she threw herself into exam prep."

"She was only a sophomore in high school. She skipped her junior and senior years entirely to take the national exams early."

"So tell me, where exactly did your father-in-law and fiancée get the idea that she was some unruly delinquent?"

Owen was rendered speechless. He had never imagined Mira's past was so tragic and extraordinary.

Were all those stories just malicious fabrications? Had his new 'family' been playing him this entire time?

He didn't doubt Ethan for a second. You couldn't fake a background like that; a five-minute background check would verify every word.

Fury began to simmer in Owen's chest. The moment he got home, he was going to demand answers from Sebastian and his daughter.

"This is all on me. I listened to their poison without bothering to verify a damn thing!"

Dominic looked at his longtime friend with pity. "Buddy, you put way too much faith in the Quinns. They sold you out, and you helped them count the cash."

"But Sebastian practically saved my life years ago," Owen muttered, caught in the grip of his own loyalty. If he wasn't someone who valued old debts, he would have crushed Jocelyn Lance and her cronies long ago, rather than holding back for his grandfather's sake.

"Just because he helped you doesn't mean you owe him your entire future," Dominic countered. "Debts can be repaid in other ways. When did you get so damn sentimental?"

Owen fell into a heavy silence.

When he was ten, he had noticed the clues surrounding the truth of his mother's fatal car crash.

"Because of that, her legal name has remained Pearl Finn."

"Add to that the fact that our parents never raised her, and she barely had any ties to the Mercers to begin with. The house was toxic, so we simply walked away."

"As for me, I severed ties because of core corporate interests."

Ethan paused, realizing he needed to clarify their moral standing so no one questioned their integrity.

"But let me be absolutely clear—our decision to leave had nothing to do with a lack of loyalty on our part."

"I'll let you in on a little family secret."

"That pampered, precious 'sister' still living in the Mercer estate? She's actually the daughter of my father's mistress."

Both men stared in utter shock.