Chapter: 923

"Two billion dollars at least. And that’s a conservative estimation." Dustin dropped a bombshell.

"Two billion?" Dahlia’s eyes went as wide as saucers. It was bewildering to think that a piece of land could go from absolutely worthless to worth two billion dollars overnight. She had toiled hard for years on end, and in the end, she had not even made as much as Dustin did in a single day. His uncanny luck was infuriating, to say the least.

All of a sudden, Dustin’s phone rang. He pulled it out to see that the call was from Florence. He paused and gave it some thought before answering the call and putting it on speaker mode.

"Hey Dustin, where are you? There’s something I’d like to talk to you about." An unbelievably kind and gentle voice came through the speakers. Dahlia felt her skin crawl at how cloyingly sweet her mother sounded. When has she ever been so soft–spoken?

"We’re on the way back to the office, Florence. Is anything the matter? You can just tell me through the phone," Dustin said.

Clearing her throat, Florence asked awkwardly, "Well, here’s the thing. I’d like to buy back the abandoned construction site. Would that be possible?"

"Why would you want to spend your money on something so worthless? You’ll clearly be making a loss. A hint of humor could be heard in Dustin’s tone.

"So be it. As your ex–mother–in–law, I cannot watch you suffer the loss and do nothing about it.

Better me than you to take the loss."

"It’s not a big deal for me. I’ve still got some disposable income. I’ll survive."

"That wouldn’t do! I’m a person who stands firm in and upholds my moral values! I’ve been losing sleep over selling it to you at a high price. I feel like I’ve cheated you out of your money. I feel so bad for that, so I have a mind to buy it back to atone for my mistake."

"That really won’t be necessary. After all, you mortgaged your house to get the money. If you lose that, you won’t even have a roof over your head! That’d be terrible!"

"That’s alright, I can move into a smaller house. You, youngsters, are way too stressed out these days. As an elder, it’s only right for me to help you out however I can."

"I’m not stressed out. Life is as breezy as it can get for me."

Dustin and Florence bantered back and forth through the phone, neither of them coming clean with the truth. Since Florence took him as an idiot, Dustin gladly went along with the act and pretended to not know any better.

It was Dahlia, however, who found the conversation unbearable. She now fully believed what Dustin had told her. Her mother would not be so nice to Dustin otherwise. What she said about atoning for her wrongdoings and relieving Dustin of his burdens was all bullshit!

Florence had been grinning from ear to ear when she managed to scam Dustin into buying that piece of land! Now that she knew she had made a loss by selling it, she chose to put on a righteous and upright facade to buy it back instead of being honest with Dustin. She was despicable and greedy!

"Hey! Why are you so stubborn? I’m only doing this for your good, so hurry up and sell me that piece of land!" As the conversation progressed, Florence began to lose her patience. Had it not been for the money, she would never have wasted so much effort coaxing him gently, and would immediately start shouting and cursing at him instead.

"Florence, why are you in such a hurry to purchase the abandoned construction site?" Dustin pressed. This was Florence’s last chance to come clean. If she told him the truth, he would willingly let her have a share of the profit.

"Have I not made myself clear yet? I can’t bear to see you lose money! I’d rather bear the burden myself!" Florence stubbornly refused to spill the truth.

"That’s enough, Mom!" Dahlia finally could take it no more.

"Are you still going to keep on cheating people out of their money?"