Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 391

Ethan Mercer gave Leo Gable his final instructions. "If he refuses to listen, tell him... tell him our dad is in critical condition."

"Understood."

As an assistant, Leo knew better than to pry into the eldest Mercer son's motives. Ethan was always level-headed; he wouldn't make up such a drastic lie without a damn good reason.

Julian Mercer was doing his pre-race warm-up. The moment he pulled his race car to a stop after a test lap, Leo sprinted toward him.

But before he could take more than a few steps, Mara Mercer grabbed his arm.

"Leo, what are you doing?" she demanded.

"I have to stop Julian from racing."

"Why would you do that when everything is perfectly fine?"

"Your dad is in critical condition."

"What? No way, Ethan is lying to you. Look, you really shouldn't tell Julian this and mess with his headspace right before the race. Think about it—even if Dad were really dying, Lucas is a doctor and he's right there. Julian isn't a doctor. Going back wouldn't change anything. It’s much better for him to focus on the race and go back afterward to spend time with Dad."

"That makes sense, but if Ethan wants to stop him, he must have his reasons."

With that, Leo pulled away and sprinted toward Julian.

"What a thick-headed idiot," Mara muttered, her face twisting in annoyance before she chased after him.

Leo followed Ethan's instructions perfectly, telling Julian the lie. To his shock, Julian echoed Mara's exact logic. "Lucas is there to handle Dad's condition. Don't worry, it won't be anything serious."

Mara jogged up right on cue. "Julian is absolutely right. That's exactly what I said."

Leo tried to press the issue, but the siblings were presenting a united front. Neither of them was willing to listen to reason.

...

By the time Ethan finished handling his corporate emergencies and rushed to the track, Julian was already in his car, idling at the starting line.

"Julian! Get out of there! There's something wrong with your car!" Ethan screamed at the top of his lungs.

But Julian was utterly consumed by the need to win. He didn't even flinch.

Ethan slowly turned his head to glare at Mara. She stared at her shoes. "I... I..."

Smack!

Ethan raised his hand and struck her hard across the face. "What did I tell you? Not only did you fail to persuade him, but you actively sabotaged the intervention! What the hell is wrong with you?"

If she simply couldn't convince Julian, that would be forgivable. But the fact that she had actively argued against Leo and encouraged Julian to race was utterly despicable.

Mara wiped her tears, looking at him with wide, pitiful eyes. "Ethan, how could you hit me?"

Ethan didn't have the patience to coddle her. He pressed his palms together, his eyes locked onto the blue sports car tearing down the track.

Please let that nightmare just be a bad dream.

It didn't take long for Julian's car to take the absolute lead.

Julian was a top-tier racer who had won the championship three times in a row. His driving skills were legendary, a force on the track that struck fear into the hearts of his international competitors.