Too Late to Hold Me Back novel Chapter 709

"This is my fault. I spoiled you too much and couldn't bear to see you sweat," Valerie cried softly. "When you were little, your father hired a martial arts instructor, but you complained it was too hard. I couldn't stand seeing you in pain, so I let you quit. I figured we would just hire bodyguards for you, but who could have known... This is my punishment."

"Let's not dwell on the past. You can always start training now," Mira said firmly. "The Ward family is a massive enterprise. There will always be people plotting against you, and being entirely defenseless is practically an invitation."

Even though Celine had missed the optimal age to build a martial foundation, any training was better than none. With consistent effort, she would see real results.

"Is it really not too late?" Celine asked, a spark of hope in her eyes.

"It's not. Even at its most basic level, training is better than doing nothing. At the very least, you'll build your physical resilience."

Seeing that Celine was mentally stable, Mira couldn't hold back her questions anymore. "What exactly happened yesterday?"

"Yesterday afternoon, after classes, I wanted to take a walk outside the campus and grab dinner at the night market," Celine explained. "Sierra, my bodyguard, was right beside me. We were walking along the main avenue. If it were a dark alley, we would have been on high alert, but this was a busy street packed with pedestrians. It's the main route connecting Aethelgard University to the morning market, and it's barely half a mile away. We've walked that path a hundred times."

Celine’s voice trembled with rising agitation, so Mira gently handed her a glass of water.

After taking a few soothing sips, Celine continued.

"I was walking side-by-side with Sierra. A guy brushed past us, but he looked completely normal, so we didn't think anything of it. I was looking down at my phone..."

Out of nowhere, the man snatched the phone right out of Celine's hands and bolted.

"You're entirely right, she was completely unprofessional. Your father fired her the second we realized what happened," Valerie spat bitterly. "A friend recommended her because she had decent fighting skills, but look where that got us..."

"Decent fighting skills don't equal tactical protection training. There is a massive difference between a martial artist and a professional bodyguard. Self-defense and VIP protection require entirely different skill sets."

Celine took a shaky breath. "When I woke up, I was strapped to a chair, my arms and legs screaming in pain. When I saw the men guarding me, I figured out what was happening. I asked them where I was."

"'Shut up. You don't need to know where you are. Just stay quiet and you'll spare yourself the physical pain,' one of them sneered."

"'Are you kidnapping me? Do you realize this is a felony?'"