Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 441

Mara needed to figure out a way to deal with Ethan. Under normal circumstances, she would have argued and refused the task, but lately, Ethan had been treating her like dirt. Her resentment had reached a boiling point, so she agreed without hesitation. The sooner she got rid of him, the sooner she could seize control of the family and stop living in constant fear.

But she was frustrated. She couldn't overpower him physically, and she didn't have any loyal henchmen at her disposal. How was she, a helpless woman, supposed to take him out?

The next day after school, Mara was shopping at the mall when she overheard a hushed conversation between two Sidewalk Sharks lingering by the curb.

"Cut me a deal. I'll buy two boxes," one of them muttered.

"No way. This is a Cardiac Trigger sourced through an exclusive underground channel. Once it does the job, it leaves zero trace in the bloodstream. Ten grand a box is already a steal."

That phrase—leaves zero trace—embedded itself deeply into Mara's mind. She couldn't shake it.

She stopped in her tracks and glanced around. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she turned to her bodyguard. "I need to handle something. Don't follow me."

Pretending to be engrossed in her phone, she walked right past the thugs and intentionally bumped into one of them.

"Watch where you're going!" the thug snapped, instantly playing the part. "You messed up my arm. Pay up. You're not leaving without handing over ten grand."

He put on a furious display, secretly shooting his partner a knowing look. They had a mark.

"What's going on here?" Mara's bodyguard rushed over, seeing the commotion.

"She ran into me and busted my arm!"

Meanwhile, Mira was entirely unaware of the brewing conspiracy. She was focused on the upcoming National Academic Decathlon results. She felt confident she had performed at her peak, though she wasn't entirely sure she'd take the championship. The country was full of brilliant minds, and absolute perfection was the only way to secure the top spot.

Before class started, Mr. Harth pulled her aside. "How are you feeling about your scores?"

"I think my overall score will be highly competitive," Mira replied thoughtfully. "For the individual subjects... well, with your guidance in language arts, I might crack the top three. I missed one listening question in English. As for the STEM subjects, I'll be happy if I get perfect scores in two out of the three."

"If you're right, you're definitely breaking into the top ten nationally," Mr. Harth said, beaming. "That guarantees college credits and gives our school endless bragging rights."

"Fingers crossed."

It wasn't the final college entrance exam, so hitting the top three would be a massive confidence boost. Even if she didn't, it would give her a clear picture of exactly where she stood on a national level.