Chapter 7 - The Boardroom Blitz
Julian found the Brooklyn clinic empty. Confused and enraged, he checked his phone. It was blowing up with frantic texts from the Vanguard hospital administration.
Emergency Board Meeting. East Wing. Mandatory Attendance.
Believing this was about Clara’s disappearance, Julian rushed back to Vanguard Memorial. He burst through the heavy oak doors of the executive boardroom, his scrub top wrinkled, his hair disheveled.
"Who authorized this meeting without my consent?" he roared, slamming his fists on the mahogany table. "My wife has been abducted, and you people are sitting here—"
He stopped.
The entire hospital board of directors was seated in silence. And at the head of the table, in the oversized leather chair traditionally reserved for the Chief Executive, sat me.
I was sipping artisanal matcha from a porcelain cup.
"Hello, Julian," I said smoothly. "Take a seat."
Julian laughed, a harsh, desperate sound. "Eleanor? What is this joke? Security, remove this woman from my hospital."
Nobody moved. The hospital administrator, a nervous man named Higgins, cleared his throat. "Dr. Vance, Mrs. Eleanor... is the majority shareholder of the Vanguard Trust. She owns the hospital."
May you like
Julian’s face went completely slack. The color drained from his cheeks. "That... that's impossible. The trust is blind."
"Blind to you, perhaps," I said, setting my cup down. "But my eyes have been wide open. Sit down, Julian. We have a lot of hospital business to discuss. Namely, your termination."
