Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 421

Roxanne wiped away her tears. For the first time in years, she felt completely powerless. Was it Ethan Mercer? Or someone working for him? Did he really have someone this capable on his payroll?

She had always believed she was the one pulling the strings, but now her fate rested entirely in someone else's hands. She thought she was invincible, only to be utterly crushed by her opponent.

Meanwhile, at the Mercer estate, Ethan was unleashing his fury on Mara.

"Framed? You think someone is framing you?" Ethan roared. "No matter what, there's no way she could steal from her own family and hand it to an outsider!"

Lacey held Mara close, gently pressing a warm towel against the stark, red finger marks on the girl's face. "How could you hit her this hard? You wouldn't even strike an enemy with this much force. Mara calls you her brother every single day, and you still laid your hands on her?"

Ethan didn't even bother to respond. Damon scoffed, "If you ask me, Ethan went too easy on her. A fatal punch would have been the only way to satisfy me."

"What are you saying? Is that how a brother should speak?" Lacey snapped.

"I'm just saying, Mom, when Dad beat Mira half to death, I didn't hear a peep out of you. Anyone who didn't know better would think Mara was your illegitimate daughter."

"Damon, get the hell out of here," Adrian Mercer finally barked. He couldn't listen to it anymore—perhaps a specific word had struck a nerve. The truth was, he was also furious at Mara for leaking company secrets, which was why he had stayed quiet until now. He didn't mind Mara being taught a lesson, but he absolutely refused to let her be trampled into the dirt.

But by the very next day, they could no longer protect her.

When the first rays of morning light hit Melvion City, the scandal surrounding Mara was already the hottest topic among the older women out for their morning walks.

"Did you hear the news? Mara is making headlines again. Julian Mercer's near-fatal crash wasn't an accident—it was orchestrated by his own sister."

"The world is going crazy. If you ask me, this Mara girl was born specifically to destroy the Mercer family."

"Exactly! First, she drove Mira out of the house, and now she went after Julian. Who knows who her next target will be?"

"I bet it'll be Ethan. He holds the most power in the family, and they've already had a massive falling out."

"See for yourself. This is the bad seed you raised," Adrian slammed his phone down in front of her, clearly misplacing his anger. For all his wife's foolishness, he didn't worry that she mistreated Mara; he worried that she spoiled her rotten.

His bloodshot eyes locked onto Mara. "Stop eating. Stand up right now!"

It was the first time Adrian had ever yelled at Mara. In truth, he had wanted to teach his illegitimate daughter a lesson the previous day. But considering she was the child of the woman he truly loved, Fiona, who had sacrificed so much for him, he had always offered Mara boundless tolerance. He could spoil her, give her the finest things, and even drive away his other daughter just to favor her.

But he absolutely could not tolerate Mara harming his son, colluding with outsiders, and destroying the family's assets.

Mara looked up in sheer disbelief. Her father had just been smiling at her moments ago...

"I said get out of your chair! Did you hear me?"

"W-why?"