Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 247

"Mira? What are you doing out this late?"

Seeing his sister out past curfew had probably triggered an instinctive, big-brother need to intervene.

"I have my own business to attend to. Worry about yourself," Mira replied coldly.

Ethan took a deep breath, nodded slowly, and surprisingly didn't push the issue.

He turned to walk away, then paused, pivoting back to slide into the booth directly across from Mira.

"I heard EcoRide isn't taking any outside equity investments," Ethan said,

shifting his gaze to Owen.

"That's correct," Owen replied smoothly.

"Not even for the right price?"

"We made a single exception today for the Rivers family in exchange for Rivers Plaza. Other than that, the door is closed."

That kind of massive corporate maneuvering was impossible to hide. The elite circles of Melvion City were incredibly well-connected; the moment Mr. Rivers and Harvey walked out of the building, the rumors had already started flying.

Ethan nodded. "You're Mira's mentor's student. She's young. Look out for her, please.

If she ever needs the backing of the Mercer family, you can come to me."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary.

I'll protect my junior, but not because of you, and certainly not because of the Mercers."

Ethan gave a tight nod before retreating to his own table.

The waiter arrived with their appetizers, and Mira's team began their dinner in comfortable silence.

At school the following day, Elara pulled Mira aside. "My dad went back."

"Back where?"

"Back to our old place in the country."

It made sense that he'd want to check on their property, but leaving Elara completely unguarded in Melvion City while her mother and step-father were actively hunting her seemed insanely reckless.

Pushing the issue to the back of her mind for now, Mira turned her focus back to their intense exam prep.

At lunch, Harvey Rivers approached Mira's table, delivered a single sentence, and walked away.

"You're a genius. I definitely don't deserve you right now, but I'm going to learn from you and do everything I can to catch up."

Mira found his blunt honesty refreshing. The Rivers family had raised an incredibly level-headed heir.

Over the next few weeks, Owen was preparing to lead his management teams in a brutal final push to conquer the remaining major cities in Mavaria.

Mira had drafted the overarching strategic blueprint, but the grueling execution, logistics, and personnel deployments fell entirely on Owen's shoulders.

Every region had its own unique political climate and consumer habits. The regional managers were going to face a gauntlet of hostile local competitors and bureaucratic red tape.

But with Mira's visionary business models and Owen's flawless operational management, they were well-equipped for the war ahead.

Backed by the massive influx of user deposits, Mira's personal capital reserves, and Master Ellis's lethal intelligence and security network, the expansion was moving at a terrifying pace.

If it weren't for Owen and Master Ellis, Mira could never have built this empire alone, let alone delegate the day-to-day operations. The three of them were an unstoppable triad.