Chapter 5 — Trust is not for others to take advantage of

"You called just now, I heard it."

The corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"You heard wrong."

I nodded.

"Looks like I heard wrong."

I went downstairs. No more arguing. The moment the elevator door closed, I looked at the red patch still stuck in the door crack. I said to myself. From now on... I won't talk reason with them anymore. Paper evidence is more valuable than my feelings. I didn't go back to the hotel. I sat in the coffee shop under the apartment complex, plugged in my phone charger, and began sorting through each item of evidence. Key holder authorization agreement. Lock management permission change history. Two screenshots indicating incorrect password entry. Photo taken of the management team present at the scene. A scene report was prepared by the police last night. Link to information posted on the house rental platform. WeChat post by Trieu Khai Thanh. Co Man's post Tieu Hong Thu. Call recording with Ha Minh today. Hua Lam sent me a list.

"First, send a written notice to Trieu Khai Thanh, Ha Minh and the headquarters of Hang Thanh Real Estate, clearly stating the deadline to leave the apartment and not to arbitrarily handle property in the house."

"Second, download the entire original file of the surveillance camera, don't just save the screenshot."

"Third, create evidence for the information posted on the house rental platform, it is best to have it notarized."

"Fourth, if they had collected rent or forged the owner's authorization letter, the nature of the case would be different."

"Can it be turned into a criminal case?"

She replied:

"You still have to look at the amount of money, look at the evidence and look at the element of intention. Just stay calm."

I texted back:

"I'm calm."

I'm not calm at all. I want to rush up and knock on the door. I want to rip out the wedding photo hanging on the wall. I want to ask them... On what basis do they dare to do so? But those thoughts have no effect. They dared to do it... Just because they believed I couldn't do anything. At half past one in the afternoon, I received an automatic notification from the rental platform. Before that, I used a secondary account to message Trieu Khai Thanh. He replied:

"This apartment belongs to my relatives, all documents are complete. You can sign the contract today, rent for the whole year for 178,000 yuan, deposit 30,000 yuan. If you want, hurry up, there are two more groups of guests this afternoon."

I stared at the words "the landlord is my relative", coldly smiling. Relatives. Since when did I have another relative with such thick skin? I asked Hua Lam to contact the notary office to notarize evidence online. At the same time, ask her to invite lawyer Tran, who specializes in criminal matters, to come later. It wasn't yet three o'clock in the afternoon when I returned to the apartment complex. I didn't go to the twenty-eighth floor. From the stairs on the twenty-seventh floor, I walked up, stopping at the landing between the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth floors. The fire door is not closed tightly. It's very noisy inside. The wedding host is practicing his narration.

"Invite the groom to give the wedding bouquet to the bride."

Someone clapped. After a while, the noise subsided. Trieu Khai Thanh's voice came out.

"Mr. Ha, the tenant will arrive at six o'clock. Tell them to sign the contract downstairs, don't let Tham Tri Nghi see him."

Ha Minh says:

"I've already sent you the contract form. Don't use the company's system. You collect the money yourself, if something happens, don't get involved. to the company."

Trieu Khai Thanh laughed.

"Don't worry. I use my cousin's account. She can't find out."

Co Man asked:

"What about the power of attorney?"

Ha Minh replied:

"Use a photo of her pink book and a copy of her ID as one copy. Last time when you did the key authorization procedure, you took a photo of the documents, right?"

Trieu Khai Thanh replied:

"Taken. Saved in old phone."

The red dot of the recording function on my phone is always on. Co Man's mother interjected:

"Did that homeowner really call the police?"

Trieu Khai Thanh snorted and sneered.

"She reported it yesterday, the police can't do anything to us. Service disputes and house rental disputes, which have lasted half a year, are still not over. She's just a girl who travels all day working on projects, so where does she have the time to mess with us?"

Ha Minh says:

"Just finish the wedding today. The house should stay first. Once you get the rent money, find another place to hide for a while. If she wants to sue, let her sue. Don't touch the cabinet in her office, in case there are valuables inside."

Co Man said:

"I looked at that cabinet, it was locked. There's definitely something inside. Last night, as soon as she entered the office, she immediately touched that cabinet."

Trieu Khai Thanh smiled faintly.

"When she gets upset, we just say there's nothing inside."

Ha Minh lowered his voice.

"Don't make a big deal out of it. If you really have to handle it, find someone you know to buy it, don't leave a transaction history on the platform."