Even though Mandy had let her down countless times, Summer still couldn't shake the fact that she was her mother. She took a seat on the couch, fixing her gaze on Mandy, and asked calmly, "Mom, what's going on?"
Mandy leaned back into the sofa, staying silent for a long time.
Summer didn't push. She just sat there, casually twirling her phone between her fingers, giving off an air of relaxed indifference.
Deep down, she had a pretty good idea of what was up—probably something about the old neighborhood getting rezoned.
After what felt like ages, Mandy finally seemed to snap out of it. She looked at her daughter, her expression a mix of bitterness and resignation. "The city council's bidding... looks like we're out of luck, the Gilbert family didn't make the cut."
Summer wasn't shocked at all. She'd been through this in her previous life; the project had fallen through back then too.
"Honestly, not winning this bid might be a blessing in disguise," Summer said, crossing her legs elegantly and speaking slowly.
Mandy frowned. This was the second time she'd heard something like this from her daughter. Summer had already suggested they drop the bid once before.
"The Gilbert Corporation doesn't have to hinge on redeveloping the old district to move forward in real estate," Summer continued after a pause. "We could look into expanding out of state. The local market's nearly saturated. A major shift would take a serious economic shake-up."
Even though her previous life had been a blur, Summer still remembered some of the business intricacies.
She didn't exactly love her biological parents, the Gilberts, but she didn't see any reason to watch them fail either.
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