After the board meeting, Ethan met with Dr. Patricia Morrison in a conference room on the forty-fifth floor. The healthcare foundation director looked tired, stress evident in the lines around her eyes.
"Lord Blackwood, thank you for seeing me on short notice," she began. "The situation with the clinics is worse than I initially reported."
"How much worse?"
"The fines are just the beginning. The health department is threatening to suspend our operating licenses if we don't remediate all cited violations within thirty days. Some of the required changes are reasonable. Others are impossible. They're demanding equipment upgrades that would cost millions and take months to implement."
She pulled out a thick folder of documents.
"Here's an example. They're requiring us to replace all exam
