Dr. Price carried Oliver toward treatment.
Victoria followed.
Maya stopped her gently.
“Give them two minutes.”
Victoria stared through the glass doors.
Her hands shook.
The phone remained in one of them.
Recording still active.
Maya looked at it.
Victoria followed her gaze.
Her face changed again.
She stopped recording.
For the first time, she seemed ashamed.
“I—”
Maya turned away.
“Not now.”
Victoria closed her mouth.
Richard Sloan stood ten feet away.
Waiting.
Maya looked at him.
“Conference room.”
He nodded.
“Of course.”
“Dr. Price stays with Oliver.”
“Yes.”
“Jordan joins us when coverage arrives.”
Richard hesitated.
“Jordan?”
“She knows more about how this hospital works than either of us apparently does.”
Jordan looked stunned.
Maya continued:
“And find the operations director.”
Richard’s expression tightened.
“Already called.”
“Good.”
Maya turned toward Victoria.
“Your dog comes first.”
“Stay here.”
Victoria nodded.
No argument.
Maya walked down the corridor.
Every employee watched.
She hated that.
Not because she disliked attention.
Because the power reversal was too visible.
Ten minutes earlier, nobody had known whether they were allowed to defend her.
Now everyone knew she could fire half the building.
Respect arrived instantly.
That was precisely the problem.
In the conference room, Richard closed the door.
Maya remained standing.
“Who authorized VIP overrides?”
Richard did not answer immediately.
“Maya—”
“No preamble.”
He exhaled.
“Nolan.”
Nolan Pierce.
Chief operating officer.
Maya stared.
“Corporate?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Approximately eight months.”
“And you knew?”
Richard looked down.
“Yes.”
That hurt more than she expected.
Richard had been with her seven years.
She had promoted him personally.
“Explain.”
He sat.
Maya remained standing.
“Marketing began tracking high-profile clients.”
Richard said.
“They were generating referrals.”
“Social media.”
“Brand partnerships.”
“Nolan believed we needed a white-glove protocol.”
Maya’s voice stayed level.
“I approved concierge coordination.”