Chapter 453
Ethan nodded once more.
“I just wonder what will happen to Mom and Dad when the dust settles p>
“Mr. Mercer, compassion has no place on a battlefield, and morality has no place in a corporate war.
In the end, Shane and Roxanne are going down, and Mara is going down,” Mira said coldly, ticking them off on her fingers.
“As for Adrian, it’s best if his own hubris destroys him, saving me the trouble of being labeled a parricide p>
Ethan fell silent. The family had pushed her to such unfathomable depths of hatred for her to make a decision this absolute.
“As for Lacey, when she’s finally backed into a corner and forced to choke on the consequences of her own actions, you can toss her some living expenses if you want to play the dutiful son.
But I won’t lift a finger to help her p>
Listening to Mira, Ethan had a clear roadmap for his next moves. He stood up to leave, just as his phone buzzed with a notification.
He glanced at the screen, and his eyes widened in shock. “Mira… Mara isn’t Mom’s biological daughter. She’s Dad’s illegitimate child with another woman. No wonder p>
Displayed on his screen was a DNA paternity test result, sent over by Lucas.
Ethan looked up, expecting Mira to be stunned, but she didn’t even blink.
His sister had only been out of the house for half a year, yet she had become unfathomably deep, as if she held the strings to the entire world.
“You already knew, didn’t you?” Ethan asked softly.
“Yes, I knew. It just wasn’t the right time to drop the bomb p>
“I have to go back and tell Mom. I can’t let her stay in the dark p>
“It’s useless. She won’t believe you even if you show her the proof.
Someone already tried to warn her years ago, but she refused to accept it p>
“Who? Who told her p>
“Our grandmother p>
“What? How could Grandmother have known p>
“Years ago, I was the one who was supposed to be disposed of. They shoved me in
a trash bag and tossed me directly into the hospital’s dumpster.
Fortunately, fate had other plans. Sebastian found me and made the switch.
But he wasn’t as malicious as they were. He just left Mara next to the dumpster where she would easily be found.
And that’s why we’re dealing with this mess today.
When I was little, Grandmother told
Lacey the truth, but Lacey
stubbornly refused to beffeve bbornly
it o
it She
even cut ties with her side of the
family over the argument p>
“Foolish… so incredibly foolish,” Ethan muttered, dragging a hand down his face.
“Then who is Mara’s real mother p>
“Fiona Quinn p>
“How could it be Fiona? Wasn’t she Mom’s best friend?
Oh… no wonder she never got married p>
Mira gave Ethan a pointed look. “I strongly advise you to keep this a secret for now,
and tell Lucas to keep his mouth shut too.
Otherwise, not only will Lacey refuse
to believe it making the whole reveal pointless, but exposing Adrian’s laundry right now will only
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accelerate his plans to kick you out of the company. That runs our timeline.
Once a man’s heart turns rotten, he is no longer your father. Or rather, the moment he sat down at that table with Shane Porter, he stopped being your father.
In this game, whoever goes soft, whoever clings to family sentiment, loses.
If you back him into a corner now, he will scorch the earth and do whatever it takes
to ally with Shane and throw you out before you’ve had time to prepare p>
“I understand what I need to do,” Ethan said, his voice hardening with resolve. “You really are incredible, Mira p>
After Ethan left, it was late, but Mira fired up her laptop and hacked directly into both Shane and Adrian’s mobile operating systems.
Sure enough, they had struck a deal. Shane would help Adrian seize back full control of the Mercer Group. In exchange once the dust settled Adrian would transfer thirty percent of the company’s equity to Porter Entertainment.
The truth was, even if Adrian didn’t offer a single dime, Shane would have gladly
helped him get rid of Ethan. Ethan was the only competent hurdle left.
Without Ethan, the Mercer Group would be a defenseless buffet.
Mira downloaded the digital footprint of their agreement and forwarded it to Ethan, adding a brief message telling him to speed up his asset liquidation.