Chapter 4
Ten minutes later, the noise of the charity ball was muffled behind heavy mahogany doors as Arthur led Elena and Clara into his private third-floor office. The room was spacious, dominated by a large mahogany desk, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with medical journals and financial ledgers, and a soft amber desk lamp that cast long shadows across the Persian rug.
Arthur closed the door softly and walked over to a small wet bar in the corner. "Water? Tea? Something stronger, perhaps?" he asked, looking over his shoulder at the two women.
"Just water, thank you, Mr. Sterling," Elena replied, wheeling Clara closer to the seating area by the fireplace. She pulled up a chair and sat down, her posture still rigid, maintaining her professional vigilance even in a private room.
Arthur poured three glasses of water from a crystal pitcher, handing one to Clara and another to Elena before taking a seat in a leather armchair opposite them. He rested his elbows on the arms of the chair, lacing his fingers together. His authoritative demeanor had returned, but this time it was tempered with a heavy dose of gravity.
"Dr. Vance, what you mentioned out in the hallway about Julianna shifting foundation assets—how long have you known about this?" Arthur asked, his voice low and serious.
Clara took a slow sip of water before setting the glass down on the side table. "Long enough to know she’s been treating the pediatric oncology fund as her personal piggy bank. When I was still chief of surgery, I noticed discrepancies in the equipment acquisition reports. Julianna was skimming donations meant for advanced diagnostic machines to fund her lavish lifestyle abroad."
Elena listened intently, a look of profound realization crossing her face. "That explains why the night-shift nurses had to use outdated infusion pumps last month. We filed three separate requisitions, and Julianna personally denied every single one, claiming budget shortfalls."
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Arthur leaned back, a dark shadow passing over his face. He rubbed his temples, the weight of the Sterling family name pressing down on him. "I suspected mismanagement, but I lacked concrete proof. Julianna always kept the internal audits locked behind her personal clearance level as the head of the gala committee."
"She’s reckless, but she’s not stupid," Clara continued, leaning forward in her wheelchair. "If you fired her publicly, Arthur, she’s going to strike back before the night is over. You need to secure the main server room immediately."
