Too Late to Hold Me Back Chapter 269 has quickly become a popular search among readers who enjoy emotional romance stories filled with suspense, heartbreak, and dramatic twists.
Chapter 269
Hearing Allen’s report, Shane sneered. “I knew the Mercers were up to no good. Tell Mara to keep monitoring him. And tell her to pass her intel to Norman from now on. Don’t call this line directly p>
Allen quickly dialed Mara back and relayed the new protocol.
On the other end of the line, Mara was seething. She just handed them gold-tier intel, and instead of a thank you, she got told to report to a glorified butler?
Who did Norman think he was to give her orders?
Allen covered the receiver. “Boss, she says she’ll fully cooperate, but when the Mercer Group falls, she wants a sixty percent controlling stake. Otherwise, she walks p>
“She’s completely incompetent, but her arrogance is staggering,” Shane mocked, a cruel smirk playing on his lips.
“Agree to her terms. I’d love to see her try and pry a single dollar from my hands when this is over p>
Meanwhile, on the balcony of the Mercer Group’s executive tower, Mara hung up the phone and glared at the screen with absolute contempt.
She sneered silently. They actually thought they could use her? Once the Mercer empire was hers, she would have to be braindead to share it with Porter.
“Mara, what are you doing out here?” Fiona called out.
It was lunch hour, and Fiona had gone to the President’s office to find Mara, only to see her standing on the balcony, staring at her phone with a deeply unsettling, calculating expression.
“Oh! I… I Mara jumped, her words stumbling over each other in panic.
But when she realized it was just Fiona, she exhaled a sharp breath of relief. “Godmother, what are you doing here p>
“I was heading to the cafeteria and came to get you. What were you just doing? You looked miles away p>
Fiona couldn’t shake the feeling that the girl was scheming. The child had been deeply warped by her upbringing, and Fiona knew she had to guide her carefully.
There was a right way to seize power, and a wrong way. Ruthless ambition was fine -stealing, manipulating, and waiting for the perfect strike were all valid tactics in the corporate world. But acting recklessly out of blind greed would only get her destroyed.
“Nothing,” Mara lied smoothly. “Just catching up with a friend p>
Even though Fiona was an ally, Mara wasn’t going to share her master plan.
“Mara, whatever you’re dealing with, you can tell me,” Fiona pressed gently. “I will always be in your corner p>
Fiona obviously didn’t believe her, but if Mara refused to talk, she couldn’t force it. These things took time.
“I know you are, Godmother p>
When they arrived at the executive dining room, Adrian, Ethan, and
Damon were already seated in their private suite. The
Inner Circle Chairman and his
had their meals specially prepared away from the general staff.
Mara immediately walked toward their table. Fiona, adhering to strict corporate hierarchy, wouldn’t dare invite herself into the Chairman’s private dining area. She only ate with Mara when the men were out of the office.
“Why don’t you invite your Godmother to join us?” Adrian offered.
“No, Chairman, that would be inappropriate. I’ll eat in the main hall,” Fiona declined gracefully. She survived in the corporate crossfire by never overstepping her bounds.
But Mara marched back, grabbed Fiona’s arm, and dragged her to the table, forcing her into a chair.
“Ethan,” Mara started brightly, “I saw you aggressively trading stocks these past few days. Will you teach me p>
If she learned his strategies, she could siphon even more critical data to Porter.
Ethan’s fork paused. His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Who told you I was trading stocks p>
“I… I saw your monitors p>
“What exactly did you see? If you
don’t understand what you’re
looking at, keep your mouth shut. You’re
a high school student. This level of finance is none of your business p>
Tears instantly welled up in Mara’s eyes, spilling perfectly down her cheeks.
“Is that how you speak to your sister?” Adrian demanded, slamming his glass down.
“She wants to learn about high finance. What’s wrong with that p>
“Yeah, Ethan. Just show her the ropes. It’s not a big deal,” Damon added, thinking his older brother was being unnecessarily hostile.
“If you want her taught, you do it,” Ethan snapped. “I don’t have the time or the patience p>