Victoria hesitated.
Maya noticed.
“How much?”
“Proposed.”
“Not finalized.”
“How much?”
“One percent.”
That was not trivial.
Maya’s face hardened.
“Of Northstar?”
Victoria nodded.
Maya felt anger rise cleanly now.
Not explosive.
Precise.
Nolan had no authority to promise company equity without board approval.
Unless he believed approval was coming.
“Who else knows?”
“Your finance team?”
“I assumed.”
Maya asked:
“Did he tell you I approved?”
“Yes.”
There.
The betrayal.
Victoria looked at her face.
“You didn't.”
“No.”
“I thought—”
“I know.”
Maya took a breath.
“Do you have the agreement?”
“Yes.”
“Send it to me.”
Victoria hesitated.
Then did.
Maya forwarded it to legal.
Another message:
PRESERVE. DO NOT CONTACT NOLAN YET.
The reply came.
UNDERSTOOD.
Victoria looked toward the floor.
“So what happens now?”
“To you?”
“Yes.”
Maya considered.
“You stay with your dog.”
“That’s it?”
“For today.”
“What about contract?”
“Legal will review it.”
Victoria nodded.
“You're not firing me.”
“You don't work for me.”
She almost smiled.
“Fair.”
Maya continued:
“But your agency’s hospital relationship is suspended until review.”
The smile disappeared.
“I understand.”
“Good.”
Victoria looked toward treatment doors.
“Can I ask something?”
“Yes.”
“If you weren't the founder…”
Maya knew the question before she finished.
“Would anything have happened?”
Victoria whispered.
“I don't know.”
Maya looked down the corridor.
At Jordan.
At nurses.
At technicians.
At people who had watched quietly.
“That's what I’m trying to find out.”
By noon, Maya’s unannounced visit had become an internal crisis.
Nolan Pierce called three times.
Maya declined all three.
At 12:17 he texted:
Heard there was an incident with Victoria Hale. We should contain before social media spreads.
Maya read it twice.