Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 419

Three days later, Ethan Mercer's bid for the contract failed spectacularly. To his absolute horror, he realized that Porter Entertainment's winning proposal was virtually identical to the one his team had spent months agonizing over.

No wonder Roxanne had been so eager to present her architectural blueprints first.

In high-stakes bidding, companies usually fought to present last, allowing them to adjust on the fly after seeing their competitors' hands.

But if two proposals were identical, whoever presented first was hailed as the visionary. Whoever went second was immediately branded a plagiarist.

Ethan wasn't an idiot. The pieces clicked together instantly.

Someone in his inner circle had leaked the files.

But his core team was comprised of loyal veterans who had bled for the company for years. None of them had any motive to betray him.

Losing a multi-billion dollar project like this was a catastrophic blow. Ethan was seething.

He had driven his team to the brink of exhaustion preparing for this.

If he had lost to a superior strategy, he could have swallowed his pride. But having his intellectual property stolen and paraded in front of his face?

It was the most humiliating defeat since he took over as CEO. He would never forget the smug, predatory smirk Roxanne flashed him after securing the bid.

"I'm going to find the rat, or this company is finished," Ethan growled.

Just as a furious Ethan stormed out of the convention center, his executive secretary stepped up and whispered something in his ear.

"Let's go," Ethan ordered, his eyes turning cold.

Inside an upscale private room at a nearby café, Roxanne sat across from Mara.

"Spit it out. What did you get this time?"

Roxanne demanded, radiating the arrogant impatience of a billionaire heiress.

If Mara hadn't promised she had incredibly sensitive intel to hand over, Roxanne would never have shown up in person.

Meeting a pawn face-to-face was a rookie mistake that left a paper trail.

Mara blinked, looking completely bewildered.

"What are you talking about? You texted me to come here. You said you had something urgent to discuss."

A chill ran down Roxanne's spine. She realized instantly what was happening.

"Mara and I are just friends catching up over coffee. You are being completely hysterical."

Roxanne masked her panic instantly.

But her smooth deflection felt paper-thin against the overwhelming visual evidence.

Surrounded by aggressive reporters shouting questions, a furious Roxanne was forced to rely on her bodyguards to forcefully shove a path through the café.

Humiliated, she scrambled into her waiting SUV and sped away from the ambush.

They were fierce corporate rivals. That morning, they had submitted identical blueprints. That afternoon, the heiress of Porter Entertainment was caught secretly meeting with the Mercer CEO's sister.

Combined with the recent destruction of her public image...

The optics were damning. Anyone with half a brain could connect the dots.

Within hours, the headline exploded across every major network: *Heiress Roxanne Porter Caught Bribing Mercer Sister for Corporate Secrets.*

It dominated the internet, dragging Roxanne straight back into the crosshairs of public outrage.