chapter 5

"Take the second parking lot", Max said when they arrived at the hospital. The lady was still unconscious, but her breathing was normal. He had checked it twice already. Gerald kept staring at her through the rearview mirror trying to see if she was still breathing. "She isn't dead", Max said when he saw Gerald staring once again through the rearview mirror.

"Has Scott gotten back to you?" Max added.

"Yes, sir, he sent me a message. He is going to handle the press. He said he will meet us here as soon as he is done. The doctor is waiting already," Max let out a sigh, his eyes travelling back to her.

Max was the first one to exit the car before Gerald. He was fast and didn't waste time picking her up; he walked quickly towards the elevator. Gerald followed behind him, his eyes filled with fear and worry.

A doctor and two nurses were already on standby when they walked into the emergency room. Max dropped her carefully on the examination bed and took a step back to give the doctors space to do their work. He let out a deep sigh and turned to look at Gerald who looked beyond pale. "Gerald" Max called his name. Snapping him out of whatever reverie he was trapped in.

"Yes, sir, " he answered, his attention finally travelling back to his boss. "Your phone, " he said, and Gerald immediately took his phone that had been ringing since they stepped into the emergency room.

"It's from Scott, sir, " he informed and handed the phone to Max. Max took it from him and answered the call immediately.

"Have you taken care of the press?" He asked immediately.

"Yes, sir, all of that has been taken care of, I have the situation under control. How are things over there, sir?" Scott replied.

"She is being checked on right now, but I don't think it's anything serious"

Scott sighed in relief at the other end of the line. He had been completely shocked when Gerald told him about what happened. That wasn't the turn he was expecting the day to suddenly take.

"When you are done I need you to find out who she is and what happened. This doesn't seem random"

"On it already, sir, I will get back to you soon", Scott replied and ended the call after Max gave him a few more instructions.

Max handed Gerald back his phone and walked to take a seat. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, thinking back to what had happened.

_______________

When she woke, the first thing she noticed was how dim and quiet the room was. The sheets were clean and a faint scent of antiseptic lingered in the air. There was also a soft beeping somewhere near her head.

Then shr heard a voice, it was calm and deep.

“You’re awake.”

Mia turned her head slowly, her brain was still trying hard to process everything that had happened. Max Hult sat in the chair beside her bed, his hands clasped and his eyes fixed on her.

She swallowed hard when their eyes met, she finally met him. "Where am I?”

“You are at the hospital,” he said simply. “You nearly got yourself killed.”

The memories of what had happened immediately flashed through her mind again and the beeping of the machine increased when she thought about how things could have gone horribly wrong.

“I’m sorry,” She managed to say in a low voice, her eyes immediately became filled with guilt.

He didn’t respond. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Max's eyes remained on her, like he was studying her.

Then he stood. “Rest. My driver will take you home in the morning.” He said simply, ready to leave.

As he turned to leave, she found her voice again. “Why did you help me. You could have called the police because of what I did. I caused you trouble"

He paused at the door, glanced back, and said quietly,

“That would only escalate things" Mia watched as he walked out of the room and then he was gone. She finally let out the deepest breath of relief.

All she could do was lie there staring at the ceiling, her heart pounding. She’d done it. She had his attention.

But she also knew, deep down, that she’d just stepped into a game she couldn’t control. She would have preferred it if things hadn't gone as planned. If his car had somehow driven past her without her getting in the way. If he had never noticed she didn't exist, things wouldn't have felt as real as they do now. Now that they had talked, even though it was just a few exchanged words, it was clear to her that she was already in this. And the more things escalated the more she would not be able to back out.

She face-palmed herself and let out a shaky breath. What if he investigated and found out she did it on purpose to gain his attention? What would happen then? No there was no way he could know. He probably just thought she was a crazy person who had stepped into the road without looking. Mia tried to convince herself.

She got up in a sitting position and let out another sigh. Her eyes scanned the room for her purse, but it was nowhere to be found. Did he have it? What if Jessa called, and he answered the call?

No Jessa wouldn't be so careless. She had put in a lot of work to make this happen. All Mia could do was hope that things wouldn't get worse for her. She truly hoped that.

Now that she had gotten his attention, what was the next move? What next would Jessa have her do? She ran her hand through her hair and tugged on it a bit as she thought back to the time his car was coming straight towards her. Had someone definitely shoved her? Was this Jessa’s doing? Mia knew already that she was in trouble.