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 rxed 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.


    At first, Mandy was annoyed by her daughter''s remarks, but as Summer spoke, she couldn''t help but be surprised. For an eighteen-year-old high schooler to offer such insightful opinions was pretty impressive, unless someone had been coaching her.


    "Who taught you to say stuff like that?" Mandy asked, almost in disbelief that her daughter could understand these things.


    Summer pressed her lips together, her voice light, "No one taught me. I just keep up with current events and make my own observations."


    Mandy''s eyes narrowed. Maybe her daughter wasn''t as clueless as she''d thought. The tension in her face eased, and she dropped the subject of the bid.


    They moved on to other topics, chatting for a while before Mandy, as if it had just urred to her, said, "The Davis family seems to be doing quite well."


    Summer felt a sharp pang in her heart at the mention of the Davis family. In her past life, she''d gone back to the Gilberts, thinking they were richer than the Davises, only to find outter that the Davises were the truly wealthy ones, just very low-key about it.


    Given a second chance at life, she''d hoped to use her past knowledge to at least y her cards better, if not hit the jackpot.


    But fate had a twisted sense of humor, bringing her back right after she had already returned to the Gilberts.


    Swallowing the bitterness, Summer tried to keep her tone casual as she replied vaguely, "I''m not too sure about the Davises, but my brothers seem to be doing well."


    She wasn''t sure why her mother was bringing up the Davises, but she knew better than to spill the beans about their wealth—especially not from her own lips.


    Mandy scrutinized her daughter closely, looking for any signs of deception but found none. "I remember you used to be close to Emmitt Davis, right?"


    Summer''s fingers tightened ever so slightly. "We were close, but we''ve lost touch now."