The midday sun blazed overhead. The black asphalt of the main road was crowded with motorists. Each one hurried along so they wouldn't be late reaching their destination. In particular, working hours for office employees would be ending soon. Naturally, the roads were bound to get even more congested.
Naro Adiputra was no exception. The handsome man in a white shirt and tie looked busy inside his car. He had to focus on driving while watching the road ahead and taking a call from Naiva, his girlfriend and new business partner. They were discussing the startup capital, which still wasn't enough if they wanted to begin operations this month.
“What if we find a third party to lend us the capital? I can talk it over with Dad. That much money won't mean anything to him. Besides, we can pay him back once our business is stable. It's just our parents, after all. What do you think?” Naiva suggested. Her voice sounded enthusiastic as she put forward the idea.
“Don't, Nai. I feel kind of weird borrowing money from my parents. I'm afraid things will get awkward if something goes wrong with our business down the road.” Naro didn't agree.
“Why would it be awkward? It's not like we're asking for it. We're borrowing it, aren't we?” Naiva tried to defend her opinion.
“Yeah, I know. But we also have to think about what could go wrong in the future. Three hundred million rupiah may not be much, but the issue of trust—especially when it comes to our parents—still can't be ignored, Nai.”
“Oh my God. Your life is so complicated, Naro. If you want to succeed, you have to take risks. We can't keep doing this. We've been preparing this plan for three months already, you know. Do you even realize that?” Naiva sounded annoyed. He could even hear her snort through the phone.
“Okay, okay. We'll talk about it tonight. We'll meet at our usual place in two hours, okay?”
They agreed. Naro quickly ended the phone call on the dashboard. But the moment his eyes fell on the flat screen, a motorcycle suddenly appeared directly in front of his car. Startled by how close it was, he immediately swerved to the right. He thought it would keep the collision from affecting the other vehicles crowding the road. Instead, it caused the victim's injuries to become even worse.
Realizing that he had just hit someone, Naro quickly got out of the car and went to help the victim. From her appearance, she seemed to be an office employee on her way home from work. Several other motorists also got out and came over to see what had happened.
“Oh my God, the motorcycle's completely wrecked.”
“Her leg ….”
“Quick, quick, get her to the hospital.”
“That’s what happens when you don't drive properly, sir! You ran the red light and still kept going! Are you blind or something?”
The last person's words made Naro look around. Once again, he realized that he really was at fault. He hadn't noticed that the traffic light had turned red.
“Damn!” he cursed inwardly.
Not wanting the traffic to become even more chaotic, Naro acted quickly. With help from concerned bystanders, he lifted the unconscious victim into his car. He then drove to the nearest hospital. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a company logo on the right collar of the victim's clothing—one he knew very well.
“Adiputra Group?”
Yes, it was his father's company and also the place where he worked. Naro grew even more frustrated when he realized he had hit one of his own employees. On the other hand, he was somewhat relieved because there probably wouldn't be any serious legal demands. Naro knew he was at fault and had to take responsibility. But since the victim was his employee, the matter could usually be settled between the families. There would be no need to involve the authorities.
“Please, nurse. There's a crash victim in my car. She's unconscious, and her legs are severely injured,” Naro said quickly to the nurses who were also busy in the emergency department as soon as he arrived at the hospital. He stopped his car in the drop-off area, right in front of the department.
“Oh, all right, sir. We'll be right there,” replied a female nurse, immediately moving to bring a metal stretcher with a male nurse.
Naro opened the car, picked up the victim, and carefully laid her on the stretcher. Her nearly mangled, blood-soaked legs were immediately covered.
“Is this the victim of the accident, sir?” one of the nurses asked.
“Y-yes,” Naro stammered.
“Were you the one who hit her? Or are you just bringing her in? We have to document it and report it to the authorities.”
What?! Naro flinched, startled and panicked.
“Wait, miss. Please don't report it yet. I'm Naro from Adiputra Group. I'll settle this with the victim's family. We know each other because she's my employee.”
Naro was forced to lie a little. In reality, he and the girl he'd hit didn't know each other at all. He had only just learned that she was his employee when he saw the company logo on her work clothes.
“Damn it! What am I supposed to do now?” he grumbled as he got back into the car and parked it not far from the side of the building.
When he was about to get out, he happened to notice the victim's bag and jacket on the back seat. He quickly grabbed them and opened the bag.
“Sofia Hermawan. Twenty-two years old, working in the general affairs division of Building I, Adiputra Group.”
Naro read the information on his victim's employee ID badge. His mind immediately went into overdrive as he contacted the head of the general affairs division at his office. In less than five minutes, he had obtained complete information about the girl, including the address and phone number of her closest family member. Their employee database was extremely thorough and detailed. It recorded not only the phone numbers of employees' closest family members, but even their shoe sizes, clothing sizes, and medical records. This information was intended for the creative team responsible for employee rewards and birthday gifts.
“Okay. First, contact her parents,” Naro said to himself. His fingers quickly pressed the numbers listed in the records.
Naro furrowed his brow when he heard a woman answer the call. But when the woman said she was Sofia's mother, Naro understood. The young man immediately explained how the accident had happened and said that he would take responsibility. He also apologized at the end of his explanation.
The woman, who introduced herself as Sarah, let out a piercing cry. Then she began sobbing as she called out her daughter's name. Her words instantly turned angry when Naro apologized.
“Don't just say you're sorry! You have to take responsibility for my daughter! Don't you dare run away! I'm coming to the hospital right now!” she snapped angrily before hanging up. Naro could only sit in silence and let out a long breath.
“This is going to be long and complicated,” he sighed in resignation.
Meanwhile, at the Adiputra Group building, a man with an angry expression strode toward a room. Both his hands were clenched tightly, as though he were about to punch anything in his path. Two tall, broad-shouldered men in black suits followed close behind.
“Do something, now! I don't want that news spreading any further. Get rid of it and silence whoever spread it. This is absolutely humiliating!” shouted the man, who was none other than Edwin, Naro's father, once he entered the room.
“Yes, sir. We'll take care of it immediately,” replied one of the men in black suits. He promptly left the room and called someone.
Edwin was still seething with anger and looked impatient. He snorted several times before loosening the tie around his neck.
“That boy …. He'll pay for this dearly,” he muttered, his voice heavy with emphasis.