Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 388

"Eventually, Lacey broke down and begged Adrian. 'Let it go,' she pleaded.

"Adrian reluctantly agreed to return to the boardroom but promised to keep private investigators on the case indefinitely."

"Do you think he was actually looking for her, or was it entirely a performance for Lacey?" Mira asked. "Did they even realize which baby went missing? Did they think the baby they took home was Mara, and I was the one who vanished?"

"Based on everything that happened later, yes," Sebastian confirmed. "Shortly after I returned to the capital, my security detail overheard Adrian talking to a woman—Fiona. He told her, 'Don't worry, the missing one is never coming back. Our daughter will be the sole Mercer heiress. I'll give her the world.'

"But Lacey violently refused to hear a single bad word against Adrian.

"The reality is, Adrian went straight back to work the day after you were born. He barely visited the hospital. Newborns change every day, and honestly, you and Mara share a faint resemblance.

"I am entirely convinced Adrian didn't pay enough attention to tell you two apart. He spent years treating you like a princess because he thought you were Mara.

"When I got back to the capital, I told my mother—your grandmother—everything. Once Lacey stabilized, your grandmother tried to intervene. But Lacey fought her, defending Adrian like a zealot.

"It fractured the family. Your mother cut ties with us. My mother was so disgusted she refused to take Lacey's calls.

"But then we saw you growing up safe and happy in that house. Since there were no more assassination attempts, we decided to step back and let sleeping dogs lie.

"It wasn't until last year that my mother finally accepted a call from Lacey. That's when we found out Mara had been 'found' and they had thrown you out into the streets. Your grandmother nearly had a stroke from the sheer rage..."

"Thank you for telling me all this," Mira said quietly. "And thank you for saving my life."

Though she couldn't independently verify Sebastian's story, her intuition told her every word was the agonizing truth.

"Mira..." Sebastian's voice cracked. "Will you finally acknowledge me as family?"

Mira sighed softly. "I haven't had much luck with family."

"Whenever you're ready to strike, just call this number."

If Seraphina had been in the room, she would have accused her father of blatant favoritism. Sebastian never offered a blank check of power to his own children.

"It's getting late, and I have school tomorrow. Goodnight, Sebastian."

"Goodnight."

Mira had sworn off finding her biological relatives, but she couldn't ignore the man who had pulled her from a dumpster. The Quinn family had never wronged her. Having a few powerful allies in the capital couldn't hurt.

Meanwhile, Sebastian slammed his study door and sprinted down the hallway like a madman, bursting into the matriarch's bedroom.

"Mom! Mira accepted us! She finally acknowledged me!"