GOLDEN HEART

Even though Gerald was escorted cuff - free to the station, looks of disgust, disappointment and even few hateful glares were thrown his way all the way there.

Gone was the admiration glint that glimmered in his admirers’ orbs, and gone was the rush of people trying to catch his hands whenever he walked to his car form or to his office.

Gone was what he spent all his life building.

Somehow even he knew that nothing can redeem this even if the news turned out to be fake and just few accusations.

Nothing can bring his lost glory back.

However something kept telling him that there’s something more to this than what meets the eye, that all these people won’t start hating him suddenly just because of a mere video that nobody knows whether it’s true or someone trying to frame him even if it was from a famous model.

The whole scene still lacks something. Something that he’s yet to find out.

He doesn’t know why but “Patrick’s” image keeps popping in his mind.

When he arrived at the station he was immediately escorted - more like dragged to the interrogation room where he was forced to sit down on one of the chairs and wait for one of the officers to come.

Few minutes later the door to the room was opened and both the officer and the lawyer entered.

He was surprised that a lawyer came in without him requesting, but Gerald was even more surprised when he recognised him.

It wasn’t just any lawyer, it was the highest paid lawyer out there.

What the fuck is this chick trying to do? Why frame him and cause him to sit in an interrogation room only to hire the best lawyer in the whole damn country!

That’s just so fucked up! He thought.

‘My client will plea guilty to all the charges.’ The lawyer said before the officer even spoke, shocking Gerald.

The fucking best lawyer around the country - continent even just forsook another opportunity to shine without even trying.

‘But we haven’t even started, Sir?’

It was supposed to come out as an obvious statement rather than a question.

The lawyer looked at the puzzled officer for a while before speaking. ‘Oh, Really? Why Don’t we start then?’ The lawyer suggested with an amount of care freeness that wasn’t suitable for the situation they were in.

‘There are multiple lawsuits against your client, Mr Gerald Fischer. The most prominent one of them was the one that went viral on the internet, I’m sure the officers that brought him in filled him on it. The next one, however is the odd one -’ The officer stopped for a while as if contemplating on how to describe the second complaint before passing a bunch of pictures to the gentlemen opposite from him.

Gerald was baffled, words flew right out of his mind.

How the fuck did they get a hold of these pictures! He was sure his office contained no cameras, not even one. He never put any inside it because it was where all his dirty deeds are done.

Right in front of him were some pictures with him beating his secretary, Patrick to a pulp on multiple occasions and some of his bruises. The officer, then showed him few papers that can not only wipe the remnants of his destroyed reputation from existence but also send him to jail for a few years.

It was Patrick’s medical records. Where it’s clearly stated that he has multiple fractures, broken ribs, bones and the list goes on.

‘You mean that fucker actually dared to file a suit against me!’

Gritted Gerald, eyes blazing while looking at the papers before him.

Probably not the best thing he could’ve uttered in his situation.

‘Annalise Wright, actually.’ The officer said while looking at some papers in front of him.

‘WHAT?’ Gerald asked, not understanding what the officer meant.

‘It was an Annalise Wright that provided us with these papers, she also filled the suit.’ The officer clarified.

‘Who the fuck is this Annalise Wright chick now?’ Gerald thought out loud.

‘Now, moving on to the next one.’ The officer said, ignoring Gerald’s question. ‘We received these pictures of you taking and giving bribes to governmental officials over the years and some of the transaction records were that were done through the orphanage you’re sponsoring.’ The officer did the same as earlier, he handed him the pictures and papers related to this.

‘Can I ask who sent these?’ Asked Gerald after examining the papers in front of him.

‘It was sent anonymously.’ The officer responded.

This kept on for few hours, the officer would tell him what are the charges against him and he would be dumbfounded at how she could dig up what he thought was deeply buried out so effortlessly. As if mocking his efforts of hiding all of his dirty laundry, as if he wasn’t hiding them at all instead was just placing the evidences against him in the open.

Every time a new charge or suit is brought up a new person would pop up.

There were even times where he was framed with something he wasn’t even a part of like the child - trafficking one. He may have done a lot of bad things but harming children and women was never one of those things. He tried to explain but nobody listened.

All the evidences pointed at him and his so - called lawyer never uttered a peep.

He was hopeless and with this much crimes he was accused of he would be lucky if his head kept intact with the rest of his body.

Then a picture of a young man who did everything he could to impress him, sitting in the same seat as him now, looking and feeling the same as he did now.

He thought of Jürgen whom he abandoned when he needed him the most.

“That’s all for now.’ The officer said closing the file in front of him, snapping Gerald out of his wandering thoughts.

‘My client is still pleading guilty.’ The lawyer said to the officer, not even sparing Gerald a glance.

‘Very well.’ The officer said standing up. ’These gentlemen will escort you to your cell.’ He said after opening the door to two other police officers.

Gerald stood up from his seat forwarding his hands to the officers who advanced towards him with handcuffs.

Just when they were about to cuff him, the phone of the officer who did the interrogating rang. He took it and his stance completely changed after he said hello. Then only ’yes, sir’, ’understood, sir.’ Were heard.

After a while a very puzzled and intimated looking officer stopped the officers who were about to put the cuffs around Gerald’s hands. ’Orders from the higher ups to release him.’ He said in a tone that indicated he was lost.

And why wouldn’t he be, the poor officer is unaware of the power game going on around him.

The lawyer’s phone rang shortly after. ’Yes, ma’am.’ He said apparently answering the person on the other side of the room.

‘Right away, ma’am.’ He then passed the phone to Gerald who took it hesitantly, almost shaking.

‘You have 24 hours to save yourself. Get the help of whomever you want, but if you fail all of your assets are mine along with your family’s heads.’ A now very familiar venomously sweet voice rang in his ears before hanging up.

Gerald just understood why this whole scene is familiar now.

It was the same thing he did to Jürgen few years ago, except for the opportunity she just gave him.

The setting and everything else is exactly like before, just how he played everyone from behind the curtains to have Jürgen’s head until Justine miraculously appeared and saved him.

What Gerald didn’t understand is why she’s giving him this opportunity since there’s no way she hasn’t calculated everything first and how this would turn out to be which means that even though it appears as an opportunity it, in fact is not. He is merely playing her game according to her conditions.

However that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t take this last chance given to him to redeem all this mess.

What this A.L Doesn’t know is that he knows people in high places, higher than the President himself that can’t say no to him. Gerald dumbly thought.