Dr. Harrison: Mrs. Vance, we need a decision immediately regarding the experimental brain treatment.
Evelyn: How much will the experimental procedure cost out-of-pocket?
Dr. Harrison: The specialist team from Boston requires a deposit of eighty-five thousand dollars before they fly in.
Evelyn: Eighty-five thousand?! Can't you bill his corporate insurance account?
Dr. Harrison: His corporate policy was terminated yesterday due to non-payment of premiums by his firm.
Evelyn sat at the long glass conference table, clutching her leather purse to her lap like a shield. Across from her sat three hospital administrators and two legal reps.
Evelyn: Where is Maya? Why isn't she at this meeting?!
Hospital Lawyer: Mrs. Maya Vance submitted official court documents this morning waiving all marital estate duties.
Evelyn: She is his wife! She is legally obligated to protect his life!
Hospital Lawyer: The probate judge granted her an emergency separation order based on evidence of financial dissipation and marital fraud.
Evelyn: Fraud?! She lied to the judge!
Hospital Lawyer: She provided bank statements showing you withdrew over sixty thousand dollars from David's joint business accounts over the last six months.
Evelyn: That money was for corporate development!
Hospital Lawyer: The receipts show hotel bookings, luxury jewelry purchases, and rent payments for an apartment leased under the name of Chloe Miller.
Evelyn squeezed her eyes shut as the cold fluorescent lights reflected off the glass table.
Dr. Harrison: Mrs. Vance, if the deposit is not made by five o'clock today, we will have to transfer David to the county hospice facility.
Evelyn: The county hospice?! That place is a dump! He won't get specialized care there!
Dr. Harrison: We are a private hospital, ma'am. We cannot maintain a long-term ICU bed without verified payment guarantees.
Evelyn: I'll sell my lake house! I'll put it on the market tomorrow!
Hospital Lawyer: Your lake house currently has a mechanics lien filed against it by the contractor who built the guest cottage. You cannot sell it until that lien is cleared.
Evelyn: Who filed a mechanics lien against my property?!
Hospital Lawyer: The general contractor, Mr. Thomas Sterling. On behalf of Maya Vance's estate trust.
Evelyn let out a ragged, choked cry, sinking lower into her chair as the heavy reality crushed down upon her shoulders.
Evelyn: She took everything... she took every single escape route I had.
Dr. Harrison: Do we have your authorization to begin the transfer paperwork to county hospice, Mrs. Vance?
Evelyn: ...Yes. Do whatever you have to do.