After leaving the café, Henry decided to make his way to another location, and roughly fifteen minutes later he was pulling into the parking lot outside Daniel's shop. Parking his Honda, he stepped out and carried a large sack inside before dropping it onto Daniel's counter with a heavy metallic clang.
"Mr. Henry, how are you today?"
"Doing great, Daniel," Henry replied as he shook the man's hand.
Daniel's gaze dropped toward the heavy sack Henry had placed on the counter before returning to Henry's face, and judging by the expression that followed, he already had a fairly good idea of what was inside.
"You've brought more coins?" he asked.
"Yes."
Daniel opened the bag, and the moment the familiar golden coins came into view, he picked up a Mora and rolled it between his fingers.
"It's still unbelievable," he muttered.
Calling over several assistants, Daniel instructed them to begin the same procedure as before. The employees immediately got to work analyzing each coin's purity before feeding them through the counting machines, and coin after coin disappeared into the devices until a finalized report was eventually printed and handed over to him.
Daniel studied it briefly before turning it around so Henry could read it himself.
"Five thousand coins," he said while tapping the figure at the bottom of the page. "Twenty-two million, eight hundred thousand dollars."
Even though Henry had already calculated the rough value himself, seeing the number written on paper still felt slightly surreal, and a younger version of himself would probably have suffered a heart attack on the spot.
"Please transfer it to the same offshore account."
Daniel nodded and handled the paperwork, and several minutes later the transfer confirmation arrived without issue. Pulling out his phone, Henry opened his banking application and watched the balance update.
The account had originally contained approximately 4.2 million dollars from his first Mora exchange, though a significant portion of that money had been used to purchase the old café and fund the renovations that followed, while the business itself had generated additional income during the three months he had been absent.
Even so, all of those figures now looked insignificant beside the latest transfer, which pushed his total wealth to approximately $26.1 million.
Daniel extended his hand across the counter.
"Pleasure doing business with you again."
Henry shook it firmly. "The feeling's mutual."
A few minutes later he was walking back toward his car, and although part of him briefly considered all the ridiculous things he could buy with that kind of money, another thought quickly replaced it.
Money sitting in a bank account accomplished very little.
Money invested, however, had the potential to become something far greater.
Henry now drove the offices of Heyl Realty, where a receptionist directed him toward one of the company's senior agents after learning that he was interested in investment properties.
A few moments later a woman with blonde hair, a navy-blue business suit, and the sort of professional smile that probably came from dealing with wealthy clients on a daily basis approached carrying a tablet before extending her hand.
"Good morning. I am Emily Carter."
"Henry Fernandes."
After exchanging greetings, Emily led him into her office and settled behind her desk while Henry took the chair opposite her.
"What type of property are you interested in purchasing?"
"I am interested in an apartment building."
Emily's eyebrows rose slightly at that, though she recovered quickly enough.
"Do you have something specific in mind?"
"I am looking for newer developments with strong occupancy rates, desirable locations, and complete inspection records."
That answer earned him a more attentive look, and after opening several windows on her tablet she transferred the information onto the large monitor mounted behind her desk.
"Do you have a preferred budget?"
"Not yet," Henry replied, his gaze already moving across the first few listings. "I'd rather see the properties first and decide whether they're worth their asking prices."
Rather than pressing the issue, Emily nodded and adjusted a few search filters before the selection narrowed considerably.
The first building she showed him stood beside a lake outside Austin and catered toward higher-income tenants, with modern amenities, private parking, and enough waterfront views to justify its price tag. The second sat closer to one of the city's rapidly expanding technology districts and appeared to be attracting exactly the sort of professionals who paid rent on time and rarely caused trouble, while the third was a five-story mixed-use building whose ground floor contained several retail spaces, with luxury apartments occupying the four floors above.
Most people, Henry suspected, would have spent their time looking at the photographs.
Instead his attention went straight toward the documents.
"What inspection reports are available?"
Emily glanced up from her tablet.
"Inspection reports?"
"Structural, electrical, plumbing, foundation, maintenance history, anything relevant."
That seemed to surprise her more than the request for an apartment building had.
Most likely she was accustomed to clients admiring swimming pools and rooftop lounges rather than asking for engineering documentation.
Without comment she opened the files, and for the next hour the office settled into a steady rhythm as property after property appeared on the screen while Henry reviewed the accompanying reports.
Several were discarded almost immediately. One building looked impressive until its maintenance records revealed a recurring issue that would eventually become expensive, while another occupied an excellent location but had enough upcoming repair work scheduled to make the investment considerably less attractive.
A third nearly survived the process before Henry noticed several details buried inside the inspection summary that suggested future costs would be higher than they first appeared.
By the time he finished reviewing everything, only three properties remained under serious consideration.
Emily noticed the narrowing list and leaned back slightly.
"You know, most investors spend most of their time looking at the photographs."
"The photographs don't tell me whether I'm buying a profitable asset or an expensive future problem."
A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
"Fair point."
Henry spent another few minutes studying the reports before finally looking away from the monitor.
"I'd like to see these in person."
Emily glanced toward the remaining listings and then back toward him.
"All three?"
"If I'm potentially spending so much money, I'd prefer to inspect the properties myself before making a decision."
Emily nodded immediately.
"You absolutely should. You'd be surprised how many buyers make decisions based entirely on brochures and professionally edited photographs."
[She must mean richer buyers than you. HA HA HA. Is she calling you poor? lmao]
Shut up, Orianna, Henry thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes in the middle of the meeting.
Fortunately, Emily remained completely unaware of the argument taking place inside his head as she picked up her tablet and stood.
"In that case, let's start with the lakeside property."
The drive took a little over twenty minutes, and by the time they arrived Henry could immediately understand why the property commanded such a high valuation, because the lake stretched behind the building like a sheet of glass beneath the afternoon sun while walking paths wound through the surrounding area and connected several nearby parks.
Emily spent the first few minutes discussing occupancy statistics, tenant retention, and recent rental history, but Henry's attention remained fixed on the building itself as he examined the exterior closely. The structure appeared remarkably well maintained, with no visible cracking along the walls, no signs of neglected upkeep, and none of the suspicious patchwork repairs that usually suggested somebody had chosen the cheapest solution available.
Inside, the common areas were spotless, the elevators operated smoothly, and even the hallways showed surprisingly little wear despite years of regular use. A maintenance supervisor accompanied them through several sections of the property while answering questions regarding electrical systems, plumbing, water consumption, and long-term maintenance schedules, and by the time the inspection concluded Henry found himself genuinely impressed by what he had seen.
The second property required a longer drive and was located much closer to Austin's expanding technology sector, where software developers, engineers, managers, and other highly paid professionals formed the majority of the tenant base. The apartments were modern, occupancy remained consistently strong, and perhaps most importantly, a large percentage of tenants had renewed their leases multiple times over the years, which told Henry more than any brochure ever could because people rarely continued paying premium rent somewhere they disliked.
By the time they arrived at the third property, Henry already suspected it would be difficult to choose between them. That suspicion only grew stronger once he stepped inside.
Unlike the previous buildings, this development combined commercial and residential income beneath a single roof, with several successful businesses occupying the ground floor while luxury apartments filled the levels above. A café operated from one corner of the building, a pharmacy occupied another section, and several additional retail spaces generated reliable rental income, while the apartments themselves remained almost fully occupied throughout the year.
The arrangement created multiple revenue streams from a single asset, and after spending nearly an hour examining the property, reviewing occupancy data, and speaking with management, Henry found himself increasingly convinced that this was exactly the sort of investment he wanted.
By the time they returned to Hely Realty's offices later that evening, Emily looked visibly curious about his decision.
"So," she asked as they settled back into their seats, "what do you think?"
Henry reviewed the files one final time before closing them.
"I want all three properties."
For several moments Emily simply stared at him, and Henry could almost see the point at which she mentally reviewed every conversation they had shared throughout the day.
"All three?"
"All three."
The surprise on her face was almost worth the purchase by itself.
Recovering quickly, she opened her tablet and began pulling up contact information.
"I'll reach out to the owners immediately and begin arranging negotiations. Assuming we reach agreements on all three properties, the title company can handle the ownership transfers and closing paperwork."
Henry nodded. "Good. Let's get started."
---
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