Königsberg, Greater Germany
In her sleep, Linda felt as if she was being shaken by an earthquake. She was being shaken awake and saw Polish Maid looking down at her with a serious look on her face, "Linda, Linda, wake up."
Linda woke up with a start and asked in surprise, "What's wrong, Joanna? Is it dawn?"
Joanna replied, "There's something wrong, Your dad asks you to get up."
"My dad?" Linda yawned, stretched her body and looked out the window, it was still dark, and it wasn't dawn.
Joanna whispered, "Hurry up, put your shoes on and come down to see. Your dad wants to leave now. Something is wrong in your hometown. There are too many rumors, too many."
When Linda came to the living room in her pink nightgown, she saw the hostess sitting on a chair by the fireplace with a worried expression on her face and her chin in one hand. Her father was on the phone, looking serious. Her half-sister was having her breakfast. Joanna pushed Linda to the dining table, where a plate of toast and bacon were laid out, a glass of orange juice was ready and a glass of warm milk was steaming. "Eat quickly, then get changed quickly," Joanna whispered.
"Crazy." Father Edward held the phone and put it down. "Fuhrer Göring was assassinated by gendarmes at Hitler's funeral."
Everyone was shocked at his words.
"The whole country was on alert." Edward frowned, took a piece of toast and bit into it.
Linda's mind suddenly turned blank, "Who? Who killed Führer?"
"A gendarmerie squad. No one knows how they did it, but the SS was called to the scene right away and no one knew what was going on." Edward rubbed his eyes and began to think. "Bormann or Himmler?"
Linda turned around to see Joanna pouring tea for her. "Is this the beginning of the revolution?" she asked her half-sister.
Her half-sister replied in a calm voice, "No, they just want to take advantage of the situation, nothing more."
The hostess Marianne, wearing a black dress and a silver shawl, glared at Linda fiercely. "There is a limit to what you can do and you don't know what you should know, Linda. Just don't speak if you don't know anything."
Linda turned pale in shock, she then sat down at the dining table, took a glass of milk and began to eat, while the room fell into a deathly silence. Marianne was fifteen years older than Edward, but perhaps her family's history and assets were ten times greater than Edward's. The hostess had an authoritarian look, her gray hair tied in a bun. The house is spacious and full of warm light and fire in winter. Linda ate slowly, her hands and feet were trembling.
He put down the phone, looked serious, and said solemnly: "The Königsberg branch of the German Industrialists Association is calling all members."
Marianne put down the tea cup and asked Edward: "When?"
"Right away," Edward answered.
Linda looked up, put her cup on the table, and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Diana and I need to go to school."
"You two will stay here until further notice," Marianne said coldly. "There is too much commotion. I'll hire a teacher here, and your schooling won't be delayed."
Edward took his coat off the hanger. "The Association is going to discuss what to do, so I have to go. I don't know when I'll be back."
The hostess took her tea cup and stood up, looking at her husband, "Edward, do you think we'll have a war?"
"Civil war? Probably not." Edward looked at Marianne with a calm face and continued, "This is not a civil war. I don't believe that any one party can be strong enough to stand alone and fight."
Marianne was a bit relieved: "You have a point. Come back soon, don't expect me to take care of your fool."
"You are too strict on Linda," Edward said in a stern voice.
The hostess looked at Linda's expression, as if she had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and she said indifferently, "That girl is very rebellious. I am just disciplining, you don't care."
Edward glanced at Linda, frowned, and looked back at the hostess. "The child's character is not bad, I don't want anything to happen to you."
"Edward, you have to be on your guard in Königsberg, it is getting more chaotic," Marianne said seriously, her gaze shifting to her step-daughter Diana.
Linda's body stiffened as she put the cup in her hands onto the table. "When will this madness end?"
"This madness has always been," her half-sister replied. ten year old diana took a few steps towards her.
Marianne stared at her step-daughter Linda coldly. "That is the rule. Those who violate the rule must be punished. The same thing will happen again in Königsberg."
Linda and her sister, Diana, lived in the suburbs of the city of Königsberg with their father for most of the year, while staying at their grandparents' house for the summer holidays. Linda took Diana's hand and the two of them followed Edward into his car. Edward said nothing and did not look back at them.
Edward guided the Maybach through the city streets, its sleek form gliding past the imposing Valkyrie statue that stood sentinel in the central square. SS troops and gendarmes maintained a watchful presence nearby, while the square itself buzzed with the fervor of gathered civilians, their voices rising in protest. Edward's gaze darted in all directions, but he maintained his focus and did not say anything until the car passed through the city gates and began heading toward the country roads.
"Dad." Linda sat on the back seat, "Will there be a war?"
"No, it's just some students and young people protesting."
After a while, Diana spoke up, "Dad, do you have time for my piano performance next month? The school is very important."
"Dad will definitely make it, he is busy now." Linda answered for Edward. "There will definitely be a way."
Edward drove the Maybach all the way to the countryside before turning to the two children and said, "Go home now. Ask Marianne to ask for leave for you later."
Edward looked out of the window at the dense forest of pine and spruce, where the wind made a constant rustling noise. The forests were part of the vast woodlands that made up much of eastern Prussia.
"We will," Linda answered and hugged her sister, Diana. The two children climbed out of the back seat, but their feet hadn't touched the ground yet when they saw Edward starting to back away, driving quickly out of sight, his tires spitting up a cloud of dust.
——
But Edward didn't steer toward the heart of the city. Instead, he veered off, winding through the labyrinthine streets until he reached a suburb nestled four kilometers beyond the city limits. Here, the landscape shifted—factories and workshops dominated the horizon, their chimneys belching smoke into the sky. Houses were scarce, replaced by sprawling mansions that housed the city's industrial elite.
The courtyard of the Association Branch was a hive of activity. Cars lined up like soldiers, their engines humming impatiently.
The sun had just risen, bathing the sky in shades of amber. It would be another half-hour before the morning light revealed the details of their destination: an imposing stone mansion surrounded by lush green grass, a wrought iron fence standing as the sole barrier to the building's grand entrance.
They passed through the front doors to find themselves in an ornately decorated hallway. To their right, a gilt mirror reflected the faces of the room's occupants, who gathered in clusters of three and four, their expressions betraying an unease. In front of them lay a wide staircase, leading up to the first floor where more guests congregated.
The Four people of industrialists, dressed in dark suits with sober ties, An imposing mahogany desk stood at the end of a corridor. Sitting in the center was an elderly man with short gray hair. "Müller, how are you?"
Müller's voice was hoarse. "It's been a long time since you came, Edward. Are you well?"
"Not bad," Edward nodded. "How's your business?"
"Good, but it's not good to talk about business right now. Please be seated. Everyone's already here," Müller said. "They are discussing whether to send a representative to the new government or not. Of course, there are also those who want to send their people to the military. It seems that Himmler's attitude towards industrialists is now much better than Bormann."
Edward sat in the right seat furthest away from Müller. Edward nodded to the others, but none of them paid him any attention. Most of those present had their eyes fixed on Müller, who stood with a frown and coughed softly, before clearing his throat.
Müller said slowly: "Today is a critical day for us, we need to discuss this problem. It's best to stay neutral right now. Don't forget, Bormann still controls most of the economy. He will definitely be able to buy out those who follow the new government."
Edward's seat was the worst, but he also knew that these people were all Junker nobles and old party members. If he hadn't married Marianne, Müller's daughter, who was fifteen years older than him, he wouldn't even have this seat. None.
The people in the room knew this too. Edward's eyes drifted to the other eight people sitting. Except for retired Müller, They were all people from the Hitler Youth generation, all of whom were born after 1910, and now all of them were in their 30s to 50s.
The oldest, Franz Müller, was sixty-four, but he had already had a heart attack and was now an old man with white hair. Only he was able to stay seated and his body was not good enough to move around.
"Do we know which government we should join? I think we should be more specific, at least a general outline," asked a man sitting opposite Müller.
"Bormann's attitude to industrialists has been good since the war began," Müller answered slowly, as if trying to think of a good answer. He didn't dare to tell them about his meeting with Himmler before. The first rule in politics is that if you are not sure if the person you are talking to is an enemy or not, it is better to lie.
"The problem is not so simple. I heard that Himmler was behind Göring's murder." Ostland Enterpriser Höver leaned back on his chair and looked at the men in suits standing behind him. After a while, he looked at Müller and said calmly, "We need to know whether this is true. More importantly, the people from Himmler have established a special investigation team in Danzig. These individuals were drawn from various regions and are not the SS police officers we have bribed in Danzig."
There were several sighs and a murmur from the audience. Müller waved his hands, but his gaze fell on Edward, who remained silent and listened closely. Müller's face was gloomy as he spoke in a heavy tone: "Bormann also knows this and He has videos of those scandalous things you people did. I hope that you won't be involved in the wrong thing."
Höver frowned and replied, "Those are just videos, and Bormann and Himmler are the same thing." Edward, who was listening to Müller, raised his eyebrows.
Edward stood up and said, "Mr. Höver, you must not think that this is all Bormann's work. Himmler also has an army."
Höver smiled bitterly and said, "Edward, do you want to leave the industrialists association because of your marriage?"
Müller glanced at Edward. Edward, who stood up, looked around. He sat down. His expression was calm as he listened to the people around him continue to discuss the issue. The next question asked by Müller: "We need to know more about this new government in the Reichstag. This is related to our future destiny. We should not place any bets until who wins between Bowman and Himmler."
Höver's body suddenly stiffened and he asked in surprise, "Does this mean we can't do business with the SS, too? Bormann and Himmler will work together, no?"
"There is a high possibility of that," Müller answered. The whole room suddenly became silent. Everyone was staring at the old man. The air seemed to be sucked away from the room and they couldn't breathe.
East Prussian industrialist Köhler immediately asked. "Are we sure that Bormann can unite with the SS? That's just not possible."
Müller sighed, shook his head, and said with a calm expression: "If he doesn't join them, the SS will go on a rampage in Danzig. Let's wait and see what happens."
"The SS killed Schallert under the banner of anti-corruption. We can't have nothing at all."
Müller took a deep breath and looked at everyone and said, "Let's stop talking about the new government."
Everyone was silent. Köhler asked: "Müller, you said that you have information about Danzig. I want to hear it, too."
Müller's face changed slightly, he paused for a long time. "This information was sent by a friend, and it has already been confirmed by a few people, I hope that I can share this news with all of you, to make your judgments, whether this news is true or not. Bormann was proposing a nationalization plan to the Reichstag."
Everyone was shocked by Müller's words and some people started shouting, "He is mad! Does he think we will submit?"
Müller frowned and shouted loudly: "Stop shouting!" Everyone's body shook and everyone fell silent again, staring at Müller. Müller said calmly, "This is not a problem that can be solved by shouting."
Köhler raised his voice and said, "Müller, we should discuss this again, this time we can't stay on the sidelines anymore. We have to show them that we have to stand up, even if we can't do it well."
Müller replied: "Yes, but the new government may not be good for us. Whether it's Bormann or Himmler, we have to put some pressure on them."
There was a momentary silence in the room. "This time it's too difficult to guess," said an East Prussian industrialist in a gloomy tone. "How to apply pressure?"
"We can do a lot of things. First, we will not take any orders from anyone until the situation is stable." Müller stood up and walked back and forth in front of everyone, looking serious, and said, "In addition, wasn't the great counteroffensive launched by the Soviets on the Eastern Front very successful? Didn't the deaths of Hitler and Goering make some foreign workers feel happy? It would trigger a slave revolution and then interrupt the production of materials, especially military supplies."
"In addition, wasn't the great counteroffensive launched by the Soviets on the Eastern Front very successful? Didn't the deaths of Hitler and Goering make some foreign workers feel happy? It would trigger a slave revolution and then interrupt the production of materials, especially military supplies."
There was another moment of silence. Finally, Edward said, "Mr. Müller, what about the situation of the Reichstag? Bormann will announce it today. We can only hope for the best. We can't sit here and do nothing," Müller said loudly. "Try to put pressure on them through labor unrest."