My senior business partner told the board he was boarding an eleven-hour flight to Zurich for an emergency investment summit.
After Hallowell and Margaret left, the hospital room felt colder than before. The news of the canceled insurance and the approved payout for Jason churned in my stomach, making the nausea return. I had to understand how my medical history had suddenly become “undisclosed.”
As soon as the nurse brought me a hospital tablet, I logged into my personal medical portal. It was a secure site, requiring two-factor authentication. My mind raced, trying to figure out how anyone could have accessed it.
I navigated to the audit log, a feature I rarely used but knew existed for security purposes. The screen loaded, revealing a timeline of access attempts and successful logins.
My eyes scanned the recent entries. There, three weeks before the compound incident, was an unauthorized download of my entire medical history. The IP address associated with the access was clearly displayed. I copied it quickly.
I then cross-referenced the IP address with a public database. My hands trembled as the results populated the screen. The IP address was registered to an estate in Greenwich, Connecticut. The owner of that estate? Margaret Danforth.
A cold, hard knot formed in my gut. Margaret. She had orchestrated this. She had knowingly leaked my private health information to deny my claim and facilitate Jason’s payout. She wasn’t just complicit; she was an active participant.
I didn’t wait. My IV pole creaking slightly, I walked with deliberate steps to the hospital lobby, spotting Margaret by the large panoramic window, sipping a coffee. Her back was to me.
“You accessed my medical records,” I said, my voice cutting through the lobby’s low murmur.
Margaret turned slowly, her expression unreadable. She raised an eyebrow, a flicker of something calculating in her eyes. “Emily, dear. You’re out of bed. That’s excellent.”
“Don’t play coy,” I pushed, my voice gaining strength. “I saw the audit logs. Your IP address. Three weeks ago, you downloaded my entire medical history.”
Margaret took another sip of her coffee. She wasn’t surprised. Not even a hint of it.
“A prudent measure, given the circumstances,” she finally responded, her voice calm, utterly devoid of guilt. “As a board chair, it’s my responsibility to ensure all liabilities are properly assessed. Especially with a new partner, and a significant investment on the line.”
“Liabilities?” I repeated, incredulous. “You exposed my private health information to an insurance company, knowing they would use it to deny my claim. You did this so Jason could collect on a policy that should never have been activated.”
Margaret’s lips thinned. “Jason’s policy ensures the company’s stability, Emily. Your 25% equity stake, however, is a different matter.”
My stomach dropped. “What about my equity?”
“The compound sustained significant structural damages during your… unfortunate incident,” she stated, waving a dismissive hand. “The power grid, the security system, the plumbing from the frozen pipes. Thousands of dollars in repairs.”
“Those damages were caused by Jason,” I countered, my voice rising. “He deliberately sabotaged the facility!”
Margaret’s gaze hardened. “Your allegations, while certainly colorful, lack any basis in fact. The official report states otherwise.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “The board has decided that your 25% equity stake will be forcibly liquidated to cover the costs of these repairs. Effective immediately.”
My jaw dropped. “You can’t do that!”
“Oh, but we can, Emily,” Margaret said, her voice chillingly soft. “It’s all in the operating agreement you signed. Any partner found to be the cause of significant, uninsured corporate damage. A rather common clause, actually.”
She walked past me, leaving the scent of expensive perfume in her wake. “Consider it a necessary sacrifice for the greater good of Brock Bio-Tech. And your recovery, of course.”
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