Red of Berlin

Chapter Twenty-Five: Swedish Power

One Year Later...
July of 1944

June sixth of that year, D-Day arrives, which is the allied landings in Normandy on the coast of France.

Auschwitz-Birkenau is at a record high of Jews being gassed daily, coming to about nine thousand. Six huge pits are made for burning bodies, as the crematoriums cannot fit the amount of people being murdered.

Adèle's point of view:

Business was coming to a swift skyrocket since we unleashed business. It had been a little more than a year, and Michael and I had more money than we would ever need. This caused us to purchase more and more employees to fit the bill of such a wide production order. We expanded our business so we could fit more jobs for more people. We added two more categories to our list: metalwork and engraving. We had departments with numbers of employees female and male doing the work. Altogether, we had one thousand employees under our care by the summer of 1944. We had filled our entire building in less than two years, and we were impressed.

Michael and I received calls as well for the assistance of expansion, which we were thinking of doing in the next year or so when we had a little more money to fund another factory. Then, I had a call from someone I hadn't expected to ever hear from. Never had it even been able to cross my mind. Then, when my new secretary, Anna, came in saying I had a phone call, my life had changed for the better.

"Hello, this is Fleur Armbrüster," I said. I used my fake name when it came to business calls. It had been a long time since I had went by Adèle. Although I always heard it at home when Michael used it on me. The servants at our home used my real name as well.

"Yes, hello. This is Raoul Wallenberg calling," he said. I had no idea who this man was. Why was he calling me and how had he heard of Michael and I? It was strange, he must've had some sort of business proposition.

"May I ask why you are calling?" I said to him curiously.

"I was wondering if you wanted to talk a little business, of the charitable sort, that is," he replied. Was he asking me for money? One thing Michael and I did not do was lend people money, especially when we didn't know them. If anyone I was close with needed some money, then I would gladly lend it. But we did not negotiate finances with other businesses unless they offered us a joint amount.

"If it is money you are looking for to evoke some sort of obscure program then I am not the woman you should be dealing with," I replied. Raoul let out a laugh and I could practically hear him shaking his head from across the line.

"This isn't what I mean. How about we meet? I reside in Budapest at the very moment. If you would be willing, then I should speak with you and your husband about some business that I've come to want to deal with you. If you would be so kind, Mrs. Armbrüster," he explained to her. I was reluctant seeing as I didn't know who he was, but with Michael I would feel safer. He would know what to do if something went wrong. Michael dealt with the aspects of our business that failed or went a bit haywire.

"I suppose a meeting could be arranged Mr. Wallenberg. When would you like this to be scheduled?" I asked him.

"How about next week Wednesday?" He suggested. That was only five days away, Michael and I didn't have a lot of time if that was when the meeting was happening. But I supposed that it was better than any sooner.

"That sounds fine, Mr. Wallenberg. I'll let my secretary cover the details of our plans. You may talk to her," I said.

"Wonderful. Take care, Mrs. Armbrüster," he wished. I said goodbye and gave Anna the phone back so she could plan out the details with him. I went to Michael to discuss the idea with him. I found him in his office, the separate one he had from mine. I loved having an office, it made me feel so important! Nevertheless, he was in his office, sitting with Cedric and Erik on the floor. They had just turned one and they were growing so fast I didn't even know what to think. There was almost no aspect of time when it came to the growth of my babies. Cedric started talking recently, and Erik began to walk as well.