The Trillionaire’s Rise: Powered by a System Ring

CHAPTER 9 The Office on Westbrook Street

Rendi walked out of the coffee shop with the brown folder under his arm. Mr. Darto was still sitting inside, making a phone call in a low voice.

The bus stop was across from the station. Rendi crossed the street and waited for a downtown-bound bus.

His phone vibrated as the bus arrived. There was a text message from Mr. Darto.

"I have contacted the lawyer. Her name is Dinda Prameswari. She will meet you in front of Graham's office at one in the afternoon. Do not do anything before she arrives."

Rendi read the message twice, then boarded the half-full bus.

Westbrook Street was a row of old three-story office buildings. Notary Graham's office was in a cream-colored building with a brass nameplate beside its door.

A large security guard stood in front of the glass door. Every guest who entered had to show an appointment letter.

Rendi sat on the bus stop bench across from the building. The clock on his phone showed ten minutes past twelve.

'There is still time. Let's take a look first.'

Rendi focused his gaze on the second-floor window. His eyes grew hot, then the cream wall faded.

Behind the wall was a room filled with tall shelves. The shelves were packed with folders and archive boxes stacked tightly from floor to ceiling.

In the corner of the room stood a safe as tall as an adult. Rendi focused his gaze on the safe, and its steel door faded.

Inside was a pile of folders, stacked dozens of layers deep. Rendi could see the papers, but the letters on each page overlapped with the pages beneath them.

Rendi forced his eyes harder. A throb at his temples immediately appeared, stronger than usual.

Rendi blinked, and his vision returned to normal. He massaged his temples.

'Too far. Too many layers. I have to look at that document alone, up close.'

"Are you Rendi Martin?"

Rendi turned around. A woman stood beside the bus stop, holding a black leather briefcase.

She was in her late twenties. She wore a gray blazer, her hair was tied neatly, and her gaze immediately evaluated Rendi from head to toe.

"Yes," Rendi answered. "Are you Dinda?"

"Dinda Prameswari. Lawyer." Dinda did not offer her hand. "Mr. Darto said you wanted to see the original deed of grant. What is your plan? Sitting at a bus stop glaring at someone's building?"

Rendi almost laughed. That sentence was too close to reality.

"I'm just taking a look first."

"Looking at what? That is a notary office, not a clothing store." Dinda sat at the edge of the bench, as far away from Rendi as possible. "Listen carefully. You don't have any rights over that document. Everything you signed is legally valid."

"But my mother's signature..."

"That is the difference." Dinda opened her bag and took out a notebook. "If your mother's signature on page nine is forged, the transfer of the house is legally flawed. Your mother is still the legal owner of half of that house."

Rendi straightened his back. "Does that mean my mother can request the original document to be examined?"

"Your mother can. Through her legal counsel." Dinda pointed at herself with the tip of her pen. "Me."

A blue screen appeared next to Dinda's head.

[Target Profile] [Name: Dinda Prameswari] [Age: 28] [Profession: Lawyer] [Interest: 3/100] [Status: Stranger]

Rendi held his breath and hurriedly looked away from Dinda. He didn't want his eyes to light up accidentally, just like the incident at the hospital.

Dinda narrowed her eyes. "Why won't you look at me when I'm talking?"

"The sun is blinding."

"We are sitting under the bus stop roof."

Rendi did not answer. Dinda snorted and returned to her notebook.

"There is one condition," Dinda said. "I need a power of attorney signed by your mother. Original, not a photocopy."

"My mother lives on the outskirts of the city. I can go there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is too long for a notary like Graham. But we have no choice." Dinda took out her phone. "I will call his office now, so they know we are serious."

"What is your f*e?"

Dinda raised an eyebrow. It was the first time she looked slightly surprised.

"Mr. Darto already paid the down payment. The remaining is five hundred dollars if this case goes to court."

Rendi took out his wallet and counted five one-hundred-dollar bills. He handed the money to Dinda.

"I'll pay now."

Dinda stared at the money for quite a while. "People who just went bankrupt usually ask for a discount."

"I have been used by people for five years. I don't want to be someone who uses others."

Dinda accepted the money and put it into an envelope. She did not smile, but her voice softened a little.

"I'll send the receipt later."

[Target Profile updated.] [Dinda's Interest: 3/100 → 8/100.]

"Mr. Darto said you used to work at a large law firm," Rendi said.

"Two years." Dinda closed her bag. "I quit because the firm was busy defending people like Alex Wijaya."

"Why do you want to defend someone like me now?"

Dinda stared at the cream building across the street. "Because people like you usually lose not because you're wrong, but because you don't have a lawyer willing to bother."

Dinda dialed Graham's office number and turned on the speakerphone. A receptionist answered, then connected the call to the notary's room.

"Graham," said a man's voice, sounding busy.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Graham. I am Dinda Prameswari, legal counsel for Mrs. Martin." Dinda spoke in a calm and firm tone. "My client wishes to examine the original deed of grant for the Martin Family Estate. Page nine."

Graham fell silent for a moment. "That document is already valid and registered. There is nothing to examine."

"My client states that she never signed that page."

"That is your client's business, not mine."

"If you refuse, I will ask the court to order an examination." Dinda did not raise her voice. "I will bring the power of attorney tomorrow. I hope your schedule is open."

"I am busy this week." The phone was hung up immediately.

Dinda put her phone into her bag. "That's a good sign. A notary who isn't hiding anything doesn't hang up that fast."

Rendi was not listening to Dinda's last sentence. His eyes were fixed on the second-floor window.

Rendi focused his gaze again, fighting the throb at his temples. The cream wall faded.

In his office, a plump man in a white shirt stood in front of the desk. That man must be Graham.

Graham picked up the phone again and dialed a number. His mouth moved rapidly, and his free hand pointed toward the archive room.

After hanging up, Graham walked to the archive room and opened the safe. The notary took a blue folder from the very top of the pile.

Graham put the blue folder into his briefcase, then locked the bag.

Rendi blinked. His head throbbed hard, but he didn't care.

"Dinda," Rendi said quietly. "That document is being moved."

Dinda looked at him in surprise. "How do you know?"

The glass door of Graham's office opened. Graham came out with a briefcase in hand, walking quickly toward a black sedan waiting in front of the building.

The back door of the car opened from the inside. Rendi saw someone sitting in the back seat.

Alex Wijaya.