At the same time that the Aurelia Capitals board meeting was taking place, another high-stakes meeting was taking place at the Meridian Tower.
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The boardroom on the 51st floor of Meridian Tower felt more like a tomb than the nerve center of a multi-billion mark empire. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the morning fog clung to the spire, but it couldn't hide the flickering red lights of the news tickers on the buildings across the street. Every headline was a variation of the same theme: Rivers Family Scandal Deepens and Meridian Group Stocks Plunge.
Darius Rivers sat at the head of the long mahogany table, his hands folded neatly in front of him. To any outsider, he looked like a statue of stoic resilience, but internally, his chest felt like it was being constricted by a lead band. He could feel the eyes of the board members—men he had known for decades—drilling into him with a mixture of fear and opportunistic hunger.
