Chapter 16 - Shadows of the BoardroomThe hospital administrative wing had returned to a semblance of calm, but corporate politics are a relentless machine. Three months after the takedown of the Vance family syndicate, the St. Catherine’s Hospital Board of Trustees called an emergency session.
I sat at the head of the polished oak boardroom table, my administrative files neatly organized before me. Across from me sat Arthur Sterling, the senior board chairman—a man whose silver hair and tailored bespoke suits masked a chilling, calculating ambition.
“Dr. Vance,” Sterling began, steepling his fingers together. “While the hospital applauds your clinical leadership during the recent... media scandal involving your ex-husband, the board has some concerns regarding your recent allocation of emergency funds.”
“Concerns?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. “Every dollar redirected from the canceled development fund went straight into expanding our pediatric trauma and child advocacy center.”
“Which is precisely the problem,” another board member chimed in, a wealthy pharmaceutical lobbyist named Richard Vance—no relation to Daniel, but cut from the exact same corporate cloth. “St. Catherine’s is a multi-million-dollar medical institution, Dr. Vance, not a charity shelter. The board has received a lucrative acquisition offer from a private healthcare conglomerate in New York looking to buy out our pediatric wing.”
My blood ran cold. They were trying to resurrect Daniel’s original real estate land grab under a different corporate mask.
“You want to sell out our children’s ward to private investors?” I asked, my voice rising in quiet fury as I slammed my palms flat on the table. “That wing saved Sophie’s life! It saves dozens of abused children every single month!”
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Sterling gave a cold, dismissive smile. “Business is business, Doctor. You have twenty-four hours to sign the restructuring agreement, or the board will initiate proceedings to strip you of your Chief Medical Officer title.”
They thought they could bully me into submission. They forgot that I didn't care about titles. I cared about the children.
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