Michael’s chest rose. His body jerked slightly. He was breathing.
Katherina froze, tears streaming down her cheeks. The room erupted. Paramedics rushed in. Executives shouted over one another. But the whispers had already begun.
“A cleaner kissing the boss? How desperate.”
“Maybe she planned it.”
“Maybe she wanted attention.”
By the time the sirens faded and Michael was carried out on a stretcher, the verdict was clear: Katherina was fired for “inappropriate conduct.”
That night, she sat alone in her tiny apartment, staring at her cracked phone screen. Her mother called to ask how work had gone.
“Everything’s fine,” she lied.
But her voice trembled. She had saved a man’s life—and lost everything for it.
