"A company that supports clinical work cannot treat patient safety as a public-relations problem," Mariah said. "If our capital comes in, the first priority is continuity, testing, and independent clinical oversight. The rest of the turnaround has to be built around that." Susan Martinez, who had previously worked in hospital administration, nodded emphatically. Elliot leaned back as though the conversation had become unnecessarily technical. To him, the software failures were unfortunate news that could be overcome with better messaging and a successful financing announcement.
Mariah presented her proposed investment structure. Bellamy Equity and its institutional partners would make available a total of $340 million, with an initial portion reserved for critical operations, technical remediation, and lender stabilization, and later funding released after financial and operational milestones were verified. The proposal provided the investors with a significant equity position, protective governance rights, and a mechanism to prevent money intended for hospitals and employees from disappearing into unrelated expenses. It was not a gift, and Mariah said so plainly. The capital came with obligations to pension beneficiaries, fund participants, and the public institutions whose resources her firm helped manage.
Vivian examined the outline carefully. The financial terms were demanding but potentially survivable, which was more than she could say for several alternatives Graham had shown her. She asked when the first tranche could be available. Mariah replied that it depended on the quality of the company's records and on the board's willingness to authorize an independent review. Elliot's posture changed at the words independent review, his right hand tightening around his pen.
"We already have auditors," he said. "What exactly are you suggesting?"
"Seventy-two hours of focused independent examination," Mariah answered. "Cash movements, material contracts, cybersecurity and clinical remediation commitments, employee retaliation complaints, and executive conduct relevant to our investment. I want preservation orders for the existing records and direct access for a team jointly authorized by the board and my firm." She let the sentence settle before adding that the inquiry was not designed to make every organizational problem vanish in three days. It was designed to determine whether the people asking for $340 million were telling the truth about the company they ran.
Elliot described the proposal as a fishing expedition. He said that opening internal personnel matters to investors would demoralize staff and distract management from the rescue effort. Vivian suggested a smaller process led by the company's compliance department, but Mariah pointed out that any review reporting through the executives under examination could not be considered independent. Graham, visibly tense, supported Mariah's position. He said lenders might accept a signed conditional financing agreement if the board demonstrated a credible pathway to closing, giving them a narrow opportunity to satisfy Friday's requirements without disguising the state of the company.
"You are asking us to place our future in your hands," Elliot said, leaning toward Mariah. "That isn't partnership. That's interrogation."