Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 566

Hearing this, Mira put the pieces together instantly. It was exactly as she had planned.

She took a deep breath, fixing Liora with a hard stare. "I thought you and your brother cut ties with Roxanne a long time ago."

Celine leaned in, sensing the tension, eager to hear Mira's take.

"We did... but they used to be in love," Liora stammered. "He just wants to help."

"Then let him help," Mira said coolly. "Everyone chooses their own path."

Mira felt zero remorse. The Syndicate had grabbed Roxanne because Roxanne had hired them to destroy Mira. It was an illegal hit. There was no paper trail, no cameras in that abandoned district, and the Syndicate were ghosts. If Xavier wanted to waste his time chasing phantoms, he was welcome to it. Even if he somehow unearthed the Syndicate, the trail wouldn't lead back to Mira.

"Roxanne has lost everything," Liora sobbed, wiping her face. "Her company is gone, her dad is in jail, her brother is dead. And now she's missing. Who could be so cruel?"

Mira's expression hardened into ice.

"Liora. Did you cry this hard for my family when Roxanne and Shane Porter cannibalized the Mercer Group?"

The hostile corporate takeover had been front-page news in Melvion City. It was impossible to miss.

Liora's head snapped up, staring at Mira in shock. She couldn't understand why her best friend was being so cold.

"But... I thought you cut ties with the Mercers?"

"I did," Mira said sharply. "But when Mara was trying to ruin my life, she was acting on Shane Porter's orders. She was their pawn. You knew that, didn't you?"

It was time to lay all the cards on the table. If she kept Liora in the dark, the naive girl would piece together half-truths and turn against her. A friendship spanning two lifetimes was worth saving, but Mira refused to coddle her.

"It's just business, Liora," Celine interjected, crossing her arms. "Corporate warfare isn't pretty. There are no innocent victims when billions are on the line. The Porters knew exactly what they were doing."

Coming from a wealthy business family, Celine understood the ruthless nature of the game.

"Shane Porter is in prison because he was poisoning Adrian Mercer, and because he took the fall for Roxanne's international drug smuggling."

Liora looked like she had been slapped.

"Tell me, Liora," Mira asked, her voice dangerously quiet. "Why didn't Xavier care that Roxanne was moving narcotics?"

She stared into Liora's eyes. Was Xavier really that blinded by a pretty face? Had his personal feelings completely overridden his duty to the law?

"My brother..." Liora stammered, shrinking back. "He didn't know."

"Exactly," Mira said firmly. "You only see her playing the victim. You don't see the monster she really is."

"I swear, we had no idea," Liora whispered, shaking her head frantically.