While the family focused on the medical crisis, Seraphina Rivers saw an opening. The “Survivor” knew her time as the public face of Croft Enterprises was ending. She slipped into the unattended waiting room where Malcolm’s personal effects had been bagged.
She rummaged through his coat and found his private tablet. Unlocking it with the passcode she had observed him type days ago, she accessed his cloud files.
There it was: *Medical Report – Stage 5 Renal Necrosis. Prognosis: Terminal.*
Seraphina smiled. She screenshot the file and walked out to the nurse’s station, cornering Victoria and Isabella.
“Ladies,” Seraphina chirped, holding up the tablet. “The board thinks the CEO has the flu. Imagine what happens to the stock price if they find out he’s dying and his unstable brother is the surgeon’s only hope.”
Victoria stepped forward, her “Matriarch” gaze icy. “What do you want, Seraphina?”
“I want a severance package,” Seraphina hissed, her desperation showing. “Ten million. Wired to an offshore account by morning. or I leak this to the *Wall Street Journal* before the first incision is made.”