CHAPTER 3
1240 Words
Gregor's POV
The consistent whirring of machines woke me up.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I wondered whether it was but a dream. Then the pain came--stinging, solid, actual. My head was aching, and my body was stiff as though I had been struck by a truck.
I opened my eyes.
White ceiling. Soft lights. A private room.
Hospital.
I frowned. "What happened?"
The nurse came nearer and said calmly, "You were in a car accident, Mr Ludwig. "You're awake now. That's what matters."
"A car accident?" I repeated.
Yeah, last night you were brought in.
I tried to remember the rain. The road. A blur of headlights.
Nothing else.
The nurse handed me a tablet. "Your security approved this. Since last night, you are the trending one."
The term trending gave me a strange appearance.
I picked up the pill and cracked it open.
A video filled the screen.
Rain poured heavily. My car, which was a black one, was hit by a lamp post. People screamed. Phones were raised.
Then I saw her.
One girl ran on, and the rest of them held back. She didn't hesitate. She was not looking around to find assistance. She went straight to the car.
I observed her as she had difficulties opening the door. I watched her pull me out.
She was small. Thin. Soaked from the rain. She trembled with her hands, but did not stop.
She pressed a scarf to my head.
In the video, she said: Stay with me, her voice broke.
There was a tight feeling in my chest.
I replayed it.
Again.
"Who is she?" I asked quietly.
The nurse replying said, The woman who saved you.
The title that attracted me under the video was its headline.
Gregor Ludwig is rescued by the unknown woman.
Unknown.
I should have been more bothered by that word than I was.
She did not appear to be a person who is on the hunt to get fame. She was not smiling at the camera. She didn't wait for praise.
She saved me... and disappeared.
I locked the screen.
"Has she spoken to the press?" I asked.
"No," the nurse said. She left in time before the press came.
Interesting.
Most people wouldn't.
I sat up against the pillows and looked at the wall.
Whatever she was, she had just set foot into my world.
And nothing there was usually easy.
The building was different by the time I got back to Ludwig Industries.
The air was tense. Too quiet.
Each stride I made reverberated along the marble passage. Assistants avoided my eyes. People had nothing to say to me.
They smelled blood.
Good to see you alive, stated Marcus Steiner as I entered the boardroom, with a habitually cordial smile on his face.
I had no intention of dying, I told him.
I sat down at the upper end of the table.
Niklas Hahn cleared his throat. We are happy that you came out okay.
"Get to the point," I said.
Claudia Ludwig crossed her legs slowly. The meeting of stockholders is within four months.
"I'm aware," I said flatly.
The company rules, she went on, have not changed.
She placed a piece of paper on the table.
I didn't touch it.
You have to be married and then the meeting, said Niklas. "Or you step down."
Silence followed.
Once I laughed, and I was cold and humourless. "That rule is outdated."
Your father wrote it, it was written, said Marcus calmly. And the shareholders love tradition.
I stood up slowly. "This company is profitable. Strong. Stable."
"For now," Niklas replied. "But scandals are dangerous. Particularly when you have been unlucky in your accident.
Claudia smiled faintly. People are keeping a greater eye on you than ever.
I clenched my jaw.
They did not care about the company.
They were even waiting to see me fail.
"This meeting is over," I said.
You do not get to make decisions by yourself, Niklas. Snap on.
I bent over, my hands on the table. "I own this room. I own this company. And any boardroom of mine will not threaten me.
No one spoke.
I turned and walked out.
I poured a drink and looked out at Berlin from my office.
Power. Control. Wealth.
And one foolish rule might take it all.
My phone buzzed.
A message from my legal team.
The accident victim woman is becoming famous.
I stared at the screen.
The girl who ran away into the storm.
She was not a miracle any more.
She was a liability.
And I never ignored those.
I didn't waste time.
Get my legal team here. Now.
Three individuals were standing in front of my desk, tablets in hand, within minutes, with all eyes on me.
The girl of the accident, I said. I want everything.
One of them hesitated. The society regards her as a hero, sir.
That is precisely the issue, I answered.
Heroes are unpredictable. They talk when they shouldn’t. They trust the wrong people. And worse, they draw attention which I cannot control.
My lawyer said she has not spoken with the press. She disappeared right after.
Somebody will speak on her behalf, I said. And twist the story.
I strolled to the window and saw cars going down below like ants.
My enemies are already watching, I thought. They will make use of her, in case they discover her first.
Marcus. Claudia. Niklas.
She might be turned into a weapon by any of them.
Find her, I ordered. Quietly.
To reward her? Asked another lawyer.
I turned slowly. “No.”
They went silent.
This abrupt popularity is a drawback to Ludwig Industries, I said coldly. And liabilities are handled.
One of them nodded. “We’ll start right away.”
Good, I said. No media. No leaks. I want a full report.
My phone buzzed once again as they drove away.
Another notification. Another headline.
Who is the girl who saved Gregor Ludwig?
I clenched my fist.
She believed that her life would be normal once again.
That is not the case with people like me.
And now, neither does she.
That evening, the file was placed on my desk.
I opened it slowly.
Name: Hilda Karl
Age: 24
Location: Berlin, apartment in the basement, dwelling.
Employment: There are three part-time positions.
I frowned.
I kept reading.
Mother: Hospitalised. Critical condition.
Medical debt: Massive.
Financial status: Desperate.
My hands clenched on the folder.
So this was her life.
Poor. Overworked. Invisible.
And yet, she ran out into a storm to rescue a stranger.
I sat back in my chair and stared at the ceiling.
Kind people are rare.
People with nothing to lose are threats.
A knock came at the door. “Sir?”
Leave it, I said.
My mind was already racing.
She needed money.
I needed protection.
The rule. The board. The deadline.
The whole fell into place.
I picked up my phone.
Get my apartment ready, I thought to myself. And get my lawyers to speak to her.
There was a pause. “For what reason, sir?”
I got one last time upon her file.
Business, I replied.
I terminated the phone call and shut the folder.
Hilda Karl was somewhere in Berlin; she believed that the storm had ended.
She was wrong.
Given that tomorrow, I will offer her a proposal that would transform the lives of the two of us permanently.
- Writer
