Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 293: The Acquisition

Barry stayed focused as he checked the buckles, his profile sharp under the visor.

At such a close distance, Nancy could catch his clean, distinct scent. She could even count his lashes as he looked down. Her heart gave a traitorous little skip.

"All set." After confirming Nancy’s safety gear, Barry turned to adjust the custom pet helmets for the Tabby King and Star with practiced ease.

The pilots watched in silence, stunned. Was this really their CEO? It was the first time they had seen Barry personally handle pre-flight checks for passengers; let alone animals.

The Tabby King was already rocking his mini noise-canceling helmet. As the rotors began to churn, the wind ruffled the fur at his neck. The little guy stood tall, his eyes sharp.

"From this day forward, you may address me as the Flying Tabby King!"

Behind him, Star sat stoically in his oversized helmet. The tag team of a cat and a dog; one agile, one powerful. Under the roar of the blades, they looked like a world-class flight crew.

The helicopter lifted off smoothly, banking away and streaking toward Townsville.

…

The next day, the zoo expansion officially kicked off. The designer, Quinny, arrived on time with the construction crew.

Nancy was in high spirits as she handed out red envelopes to mark the start of the project. Amid the celebration, the first shovel hit the ground.

With Mr. Callum’s five-million-dollar reward in the bank, Nancy didn't have to hold back. She spent her days bouncing between the zoo and the Townsville University lab, throwing herself into the development of the new vaccine.

The fire damage at the back gate had been repaired, with the bill sent directly to the man responsible, Chandler. Nancy had asked Barry to find her the most aggressive lawyer available. She wanted to strip Chandler of every cent he had left.

Summers Corp was currently drowning in scandals and the failure of their vaccine. Nancy wasn't about to play nice. If they were going down, she was happy to give them a final push for trying to touch her zoo.

During lunch one day, Nancy sat in the lab breakroom eating a meal sent over from the Goodman Corp kitchen while the news played in the background.

"It has been two weeks since the arrest of Chandler, Chairman of Summers Corp," the anchor reported. "The company remains in a freefall as stock prices continue to plummet. In a breaking update, Neo Summers Corp has announced the successful acquisition of Summers Corp’s core assets, gaining a controlling interest."

"The company’s primary brand, a national chain of pet hospitals, will be fully integrated into Neo Summers Corp’s system and restructured. This move has temporarily stabilized the collapsing firm. The Chairwoman of Neo Summers Corp, Ms. Yvonne Summers, attended the restructuring meeting today..."

The screen cut to Yvonne, Chandler’s sister. She looked elegant and well-preserved, smiling warmly at the cameras.

Nancy’s fork paused mid-air.

Yvonne was the woman she used to call family. She was based in Bellwood and only came to Townsville occasionally for business. In Nancy’s memory, Yvonne was the one who gently taught her how to care for sick hamsters and explained veterinary basics. She was one of the few bright spots in a dark childhood.

But now, every word in the news report felt like a calculated move.

With Summers Corp's stock tanking, Neo Summers Corp had swooped in at the bottom, snatching the core pet hospital business for a fraction of its value. On the surface, it looked like a rescue. In reality, it was a hostile takeover of a brand Chandler had spent decades building.

The gentle elder from Nancy's past was clearly more formidable than she had realized.

As Nancy stared at Yvonne’s face, a thought flashed through her mind. She thought back to the photo Simon had shown her of her mother, Tammy. There was a subtle, haunting similarity in the eyes.

Nancy froze, rattled by her own intuition. Is it a coincidence? After all, she was the fake daughter of the Summers family, not biologically related to Chandler or his wife, Cindy. Ginnie was the real one.

Her phone buzzed on the table, breaking her trance. It was Simon.

"What is it?" Nancy answered immediately. "Don't tell me there's another case."

Simon, usually the calmest man she knew, sounded tense. "Nancy, do you remember Randall? Chandler’s right-hand man, the arsonist who nearly got silenced in the fire?"

"I remember," Nancy said, her pulse quickening. "What about him?"

"I found something new," Simon said.