“I’m fine,” I said, pulling my collar back up. “But Michael and Daniel just left my office.”

“What do they want?”

“They want me to drop the charges,” I said. “Patricia filed a counter-report claiming I attacked her.”

Mara shook her head in disbelief. “That is insane. She came to your home.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “Michael has connections. He’s trying to frame this as a mutual domestic dispute.”

“And the hospital?” Mara asked.

“I have a meeting with the CEO at nine,” I said.

Mara gripped my arm, her fingers pressing into my white sleeve.

“Be careful, Elizabeth,” she said. “The board has been looking for any excuse to tighten their control over the budget. If they think you’re a liability…”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but she didn’t need to.

“I know,” I said.

I left the emergency department and walked back up to the administrative wing.

The carpeted hallways here were quiet, insulated from the chaos of the clinical floors below.

The clock on the wall read 8:55 AM.

I stood outside the double doors of the executive suite, taking a deep breath to steady my breathing.