By the time she arrived in the boardroom for the meeting five hours later Carlos had confirmed her worst fears. The scalpel had severed her cutaneous nerve and she would never regain full movement of her hand. As she said herself in one of her particularly low spells, no one wants a one armed surgeon. The damage that had been inflicted had ensured her surgical career was over – now all she had to look forward to was working as a physician and she knew that it wouldn't give her the same buzz. Surgery was a part of who she was and without it her life was unthinkable. Now as she slumped into the chair behind her shiny black nameplate she had to contemplate that in the next half an hour there was every chance that the last vestige of her old life would be ripped from her by the other eight people in the room.

'Ladies and Gentlemen' Michael stood and addressed the meeting as the last board member – Zubin being characteristically late – took his place 'I'm sure you all know that we are here to discuss the tragic events of two weeks ago' he surmised as she sipped her cup of water and eyed the other board members nervously, trying to second guess the way each of them would vote. Zubin, Peter and Alexander would certainly go against her, Jeremy, Joanna and Jan would probably be in her favour. The casting vote lay with Michael and this state of affairs left her uneasy.

'It seems to me that a catalogue of errors were made that resulted in Mr Griffin's death' Zubin pronounced, shooting Connie a look so full of loathing that she knew he blamed her. He was the one person who she didn't care about – Zubin blamed her for everything from the sour milk in the fridge in the staff room to global warming so the fact that he blamed her for Ric's death was no great surprise. Also, the way in which Zubin had rebuffed Ric's friendship on so many occasions and treated Jess had done nothing to endear him to her. On balance she preferred to be hated by people like Zubin.

'Yes, several people made grievous errors that day' Michael conceded 'from his admission in the Emergency Department mistakes were made. We are at this moment setting new protocols in place to ensure that this does not happen again'

'I believe the greatest mistake occurred on Darwin' Zubin continued 'where a highly trained cardiothorasic surgeon missed the signs of heroin withdrawal and instead diagnosed him with a heart condition. Apart from anything else, such a misdiagnoses could have had catastrophic consequences for the patient'

'Several people misdiagnosed Mr Lister's illness' Michael reiterated but Zubin appeared to have the bit between his teeth and Connie sank lower in her chair, a horrible sense of impending doom coming over her. She wasn't going to come out of this with her reputation in tact – she'd be lucky to avoid getting struck off unless Zubin's tongue seriously malfunctioned in the near future.

'Mrs Beauchamp then failed to handle the developing situation with Mr Lister until it had reached a critical state. If she had been doing either of her jobs properly, this tragedy could have been avoided'

'Now that's unfair' Michael drawled, clearly going through the motions for her benefit. He knew as well as she did that he was flogging a dead horse 'The blame for this tragedy cannot be laid at Mrs Beauchamp's door, in fact she too sustained serious injury in the incident…' he attempted lamely and she groaned silently. He couldn't even be bothered to think up a decent defence for her – he just looked bored.

'This is another salient point' Zubin leapt on it and her heart dropped even further. She had an unpleasant suspicion that he had obtained her prognosis and knew as well as she did that she wouldn't operate again. It was highly irregular for the Medical Director of the hospital not to be a practicing surgeon. She didn't think she was likely to be first of this kind.

'What?' Michael sighed, sitting back in his chair and weaving his fingers together, his brow knitted with a poor impression of concentration.

'Mrs Beauchamp is, I believe, no longer able to practice as a surgeon' a malicious smile played across Zubin's lips as he continued to kick her while she was well and truly down 'it is assumed that the hospital Medical Director is a practicing surgeon. As such it would be… inappropriate, for her to continue in her current position'

'You make a fair point' Michael sighed and Connie felt her eyes bulge with rage – he had given up and was apparently going to sell her down the river. If it hadn't been for her distinguished audience and the small amount of self respect that she still possessed she would have throttled him then and there 'might I speak to Mrs Beauchamp outside for a moment' he added, flicking his eyes nervously as her face set in a stony mask and she stood up, knowing now that she no longer had the support of her husband or anyone else in the meeting.

'No need' her voice came out in a hoarse whisper as she pushed back her chair 'you'll have my resignation by close of play. Thank you for your time Ladies and Gentlemen'

'Thank you Mrs Beauchamp' Michael stated, unable to keep the element of surprise out of his voice 'you will of course receive a generous pay out'

'Whatever' she retorted as she stormed from the boardroom and walked for the last time to her office.