Silence.
Then the faint rustle of sheets.
His eyes snapped down. Her hand curled into a fist.
Her eyes opened—clear, focused.
“I’ve heard everything,” she rasped.
“Victoria—don’t—”
She tore the ventilator tube free, gasping as pain ripped through her chest.
“Wheelchair,” she demanded. “Now.”
Minutes later, Thomas stood at the boardroom table.
“A painful but necessary decision,” he began smoothly. “For the good of the company—”
The doors slammed open.
Every head turned.
Victoria Hale sat in a hospital wheelchair, pale but blazing with fury.
“Please,” she said coolly. “Continue. I’m curious what I ‘would have wanted.’”
No one spoke.
“I’ve been awake for nine days,” she continued. “I heard the lies. The threats. Especially toward the one man in this building with integrity.”
She fixed her gaze on Thomas.
“You’re terminated. Effective immediately. Security will escort you out. If you contact a client, my attorneys will make your life very uncomfortable.”
Silence followed as he left.
“Meeting adjourned,” she said faintly. “We’ll discuss restructuring tomorrow.”
In the elevator, she looked at Daniel differently now.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I was doing my job.”
“No. You went beyond it.”
When the doors opened, she added, “Starting tomorrow, you’re no longer my assistant.”
His face fell. “You’re letting me go?”
She managed a small smile.
“I’m promoting you. Chief Operating Officer. I need someone I trust. That’s you.”
He stared at her, stunned.
“And bring Lily by sometime,” she added. “I’d like to meet the young woman who raised such a decent man.”
Sunlight touched her face as they rolled toward the exit.
The accident was meant to destroy Victoria Hale.
Instead, it exposed what mattered.
