Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 488

"Don't open your mouth if you haven't read the reports properly! Norman, you're becoming more useless by the day. One more mistake like this, and you can pack your bags and get the hell out!"

"Understood, Boss. It won't happen again."

Internally, Norman scoffed. Pack my bags? You think anyone actually wants to stay in this sinking ship? It was about time he packed up and formally joined his real boss anyway.

Naturally, Lenny Forbes had already relayed the situation to Mira. However, she had zero intention of stepping in.

"Let the Porters swallow it," she said casually.

It was the perfect way to force Adrian to choke on the consequences of his own actions. Once the Mercer empire fully passed into the Porters' hands, Mira would step in and crush them both.

Right now, she was entirely focused on scrolling through her friends' college admission results. She knew the outcomes might be a bit rough; otherwise, Liora would have called her the second the results dropped.

This year, the science cutoff score for Aethelgard University in Melvion City was set at an intimidating 680.

She checked the system. Both Elara Finn and Harvey Rivers had successfully been accepted into Aethelgard University.

Just as Mira was about to look up Liora's results, her phone rang. It was Liora, sobbing uncontrollably. "Mira... I didn't get into Aethelgard University... Celine Ward didn't make it either..."

"Liora, don't cry. With your score, you're definitely getting into a fantastic college. No matter where you go, as long as you apply yourself, you're going to be incredibly successful."

"But... but I won't get to be with you anymore."

"It's fine, Liora. Whenever we have breaks, we can still hang out."

Hearing Mira's calm reassurance finally stopped Liora's tears.

"Between teaching my regular classes, I only have the mental bandwidth for one side gig—editing short-form scripts. Adding anything else would break me," he explained.

He found script editing perfectly suited his lifestyle. He could utilize tiny pockets of free time throughout the day, and it paid significantly better than his day job. More importantly, he deeply loved literature, so it felt like a passion project. Online courses required strict scheduling, lesson prep, and mandatory live sessions, which would constantly clash with his actual teaching job.

Mira knew that with the explosion of smartphones and high-speed internet, online education was going to be a massive gold rush. Unfortunately, she simply didn't have the time to spearhead it herself. She already managed hyper-profitable gaming companies, a massive internet finance firm, and a developing mobile OS, not to mention her rigorous martial arts and medicinal training with Master Ellis.

...

Back in the corporate warzone, the Mercer Group's stock had entirely buckled under the relentless bombardment from Shane and Roxanne Porter. They had held out for barely a week.

But forcing Adrian to declare bankruptcy and destroy a century-old family legacy? He absolutely refused to go down without a fight.