#2 Kampung Bongkaran
"Aunt Jenny canceled your party, Cherry," Jennifer said.
Cherry's aunt now stood in the doorway. She was forty-three this year, but looked like a girl in her twenties who had just graduated from college. Sometimes it was downright ridiculous because Jennifer was often mistaken for her husband's side piece—or, in today's slang, an ani-ani (which actually means a tool used to harvest rice). Jennifer's husband, Hendrik, was still quite attractive too. It was just that a powerful aura of a wealthy older man radiated from Cherry's uncle, making him look like a sugar daddy to his own wife.
"I told all the invited guests that we wouldn't be holding your seventeenth birthday party after all and apologized. Everyone understands and knows what we're going through right now," Jennifer said again.
Jennifer stepped into the bedroom, which was as spacious as a cluster-home lot—eight by twelve meters. Cherry was sitting at her vanity, looking at herself in the mirror. She was already dressed neatly in an above-the-knee A-line skirt and a broken-white top. Her long, brownish hair fell to the middle of her back and had been styled in waves. Instead of leaving it loose, however, Cherry had tied it into a ponytail. Jennifer now stood beside where Cherry was sitting.
"Are you going out?" Jennifer asked.
"Yes, Aunt Jenny," Cherry said.
"If you don't mind my asking, where are you going?" Jennifer asked. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry, but this family has just lost your father and mother. Of course we're more worried about you than ever, Cherry."
"Sorry for making you worry, Aunt Jenny," Cherry said. "I just want to go to the former settlement site that's now Biru Langit Technology Group property."
Jennifer furrowed her brow. "What do you need to go there for?" she asked.
"I just want to look around, Aunt Jenny," Cherry said. "I'm going to check on one of the properties I'll inherit tomorrow."
"Ah, yes," Jennifer said. "Tomorrow is the reading of your parents' will. I knew this would happen eventually. But who could have imagined it would happen so soon? You'll receive your inheritance and be declared an orphan at the same time, on your seventeenth birthday."
Silence fell for a moment.
"This inheritance will be the biggest and most heartbreaking gift I've ever received, Aunt Jenny," Cherry said. "I don't know whether I should be happy or sad to receive it."
"I understand what you mean. Right now, you and our family are going through something much harder than simply announcing that your birthday party has been canceled," Jennifer said. "Are you sure you want to leave the house right now, Cherry? You're going by car with a driver, right? You're not going alone in a helicopter?"
"Yes, Aunt Jenny, I'm going by car," Cherry said. "Now isn't a good time to travel by helicopter, is it?"
Jennifer kissed Cherry's forehead as the girl said goodbye. Although Jennifer could often be annoying, Cherry had to admit that she could rely on her aunt and her extended family at certain times. But Cherry also knew she couldn't completely trust her relatives. That was the real reason she was leaving the house while they were all grieving. She was going to meet someone she trusted completely there.
Before long, Cherry was sitting in the back seat of the latest-model dark-gray luxury sedan, which cost more than 1.8 billion rupiah. Her private driver was named Angga. He was happy to be assigned to drive their young mistress this time. Usually, he was assigned to drive Yuyun Yunengsih, the head of household staff at Wastu Kadita. At least this time, he could sneak a few glances at their beautiful young mistress. Cherry's smooth skin, full lips, firm breasts—everything about her was as tempting as an alluring red cherry.
Unfortunately, Angga also knew that he could only enjoy Cherry's beauty by looking at her. He couldn't do anything else. Not only was it impossible for a driver like him to be with a girl as beautiful and wealthy as Cherry, he also knew that his young mistress had a temperament that made her seem a little crazy. Cherry was famous for beating people up the moment she decided she didn't like them. The people who worked at Wastu Kadita knew this. There was even a rumor circulating among them that Cherry had done something very bad when she was little. Angga himself didn't know whether the story was true. He had only worked there for two years, while some of the other employees had been working there since Wastu Kadita was built twenty years ago and first occupied two years later.
Wastu Kadita was located on the western side of Leuweung Dayeuh, while the property they were heading toward was in the center of the city. The site was commonly known as Kampung Bongkaran. It was the former site of a densely populated slum that had been purchased by Biru Langit Technology Group, the conglomerate owned by Liv Cinta Wiradana, Cherry's mother.
The property was not far from the shared land belonging to Biru Langit Technology Group and Bumi Hijau Mineral Group. By shared land, this meant the two plots belonging to the two conglomerates that lay directly beside each other. The plots had been combined into a single shared area. That area contained twin forty-story buildings, each serving as the headquarters of one of the conglomerates.
Liv had originally bought the settlement property Cherry was now going to visit to make it the center of all Biru Langit Technology Group's operations. But with the situation having changed, Cherry now had to think about what she would do with this former village site.
At present, the property was surrounded by a wire fence to keep people from taking it over. There were two gates for vehicles to enter and leave and for movement throughout the area. A squad of security guards who looked more like mercenaries guarded the property twenty-four hours a day. In other words, they never left the site. They took turns standing watch there. Cherry would also have to think about what to do with her mother's force once all of her parents' assets fell into her hands.
All the buildings on the former settlement site had been demolished except for a few houses used for various purposes. One house appeared to have been the home of the wealthiest person in the settlement. Liv still used it and paid its electricity bills. She had even furnished the house with all kinds of furniture. It served as a place for Liv to rest when inspecting the property, as well as a place for meetings and conferences.
Meanwhile, several other houses were used as resting quarters for employees. It was the large house Cherry was heading toward now. When the gate guard realized Cherry had arrived, he allowed the car carrying her to enter the property. Normally, vehicles brought by visitors had to be parked in the parking area near each guard post.