Chapter 247: Prime Targets

Chapter 247: Chapter 247: Prime Targets

By Tuesday afternoon, the northern line of the private rail corridor was already operational. Heavy freight trains emblazoned with the Meridian industrial seal rolled smoothly past the state inspection depots without slowing, carrying thousands of tons of high-grade steel directly into the Mult airfield perimeter.

At Apex Plaza inside the quiet executive office of Golden Investments, Jake sat at his wide glass desk, scanning a dense breakdown of market valuations on his primary monitor. Beside him, Alice poured a fresh cup of dark roast coffee before placing a polished leather folder on the glass surface.

"The pre-auction catalog from the Meridian Gallery arrived twenty minutes ago," Alice said, opening the folder to reveal high-resolution prints of rare art pieces, vintage timepieces, and blue-chip commercial assets. "The private viewing is set for the weekend after next."

Jake picked up the catalog, flipping through the heavy, glossy pages. "Has the gallery team sent over the final lot authorizations yet?"

"They’re waiting on your signature for the reserve prices on the top three lots," Alice replied, her voice crisp. "As usual, management handles daily operations, but nothing goes under the hammer without your direct sign-off."

Though Golden Investments operated quietly out of the spotlight, it held a massive seventy percent stake in the Meridian Gallery, with the remaining thirty percent held by the Meridian Group. Golden Investments was not a publicly listed company, meaning its valuation sat unbothered by market speculation—a private juggernaut worth nearly three hundred billion marks, held entirely by a single man.

Jake leaned back in his leather chair, running a hand over his chin. "How are our liquid reserves looking after the last transfer to Daniel’s team?"

"We’re sitting on roughly forty billion marks in available liquidity," Alice answered without needing to check her screen.

Jake gave a faint nod. Forty billion in cash was more than enough to handle any immediate plays. Even if a massive target required more, his track record in the international gold markets meant he could pull fresh capital out of the exchange whenever he felt like executing a trade.

A soft chime sounded from the door terminal as Samuel Carter stepped into the office, a thick, tabbed dossier resting under his arm. He dropped it onto the desk with a heavy thud and pulled out a chair.

"I pulled together a preliminary list of three potential acquisition targets for this month," Samuel said, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he sat down. "You mentioned adding a company to the list, so I didn’t restrict it strictly to logistics."

Jake pulled the dossier toward himself, opening the first divider. "Let’s see what we’re looking at."

"First option is Haste Global Freight," Samuel said, pointing to the top page. "Mid-sized distribution network, direct access to three deep-water ports. They’re facing a minor liquidity squeeze because their majority shareholder over-leveraged into commercial real estate. Acquiring them gives us an immediate physical fleet."

Jake turned the page, scanning the financials. "And the second?"

"Binding Tech Solutions," Samuel continued, his eyes bright with interest. "They specialize in custom data encryption and private server infrastructure for financial institutions. They’re currently undervalued due to a messy board dispute. Acquiring a controlling stake would secure our private communication networks permanently."

"And the third?"

"A regional pharmaceutical manufacturing firm—Aegis Bio," Samuel said, tapping the third tab. "They own three major production facilities and hold key government supply contracts. Their founder is looking to retire and wants a private buyer who won’t break up the asset."

Samuel leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees. "Every single one of these companies presents a clean target. Which sector are you leaning toward?"

Jake glanced at the list, his expression unreadable. "The car auction in Geneva comes first this coming weekend. The Meridian Gallery auction is the weekend right after that. Have your team run full background checks and debt structures on all three targets while I’m in Switzerland. I’ll make the final decision when we get back."

Samuel smiled—disappointed he didn’t get an immediate green light, but visibly excited at the sheer scale of their options. "Understood. My team will have the due diligence ready by Thursday."

---

Meanwhile, in a private dining room overlooking the capital’s embassy row, Troy Newman sat across a table laid with untouched food. Sitting opposite him was a sharp-featured man in a tailored Italian suit—Victor Perth, senior partner at Perth & Croft Asset Management, an aggressive foreign activist firm known for hostile corporate raiding.

"So let me get this straight... you’re asking me to short your own family’s equity, Troy?" Victor asked, swirling the red wine in his glass with a slow, deliberate movement. "Or are you asking me to help you oust Richard?"

"I want Rivers out," Troy hissed, leaning across the table, his voice low and dangerous. "He walked into our boardroom yesterday and acted like he owned the place. Richard gave him fifteen percent of our voting block on a silver platter just to protect his own son!"

"You’re out of your mind, Troy," Victor said smoothly, chewing before setting his knife down. "You want my firm to help you launch a hostile short position against Golden Investments? I value my career."

"It’s not a short position against Golden Investments directly!" Troy snapped, his voice harsh as he leaned further over the table. "It’s a squeeze on Rivers’ positions! The kid is overextended! He loaned Aurelia Capitals nearly one hundred billion marks, including that massive ten-billion-mark injection for the Mult airport! He’s tied up! His liquidity has to be at its absolute limit!"

Victor let out a soft, amused breath, shaking his head as he wiped his mouth with a linen napkin.

’This idiot has no idea who he’s dealing with,’ Victor thought, looking at the vein bulging on Troy’s forehead. ’He thinks because he’s older, he understands capital better than the man who broke two ministry portfolios in a single afternoon.’

"Troy, listen to yourself," Victor said, his tone dropping into a cold, flat register. "If a man is capable of casually lending Aurelia Capitals nearly one hundred billion marks without batting an eye, what makes you think he doesn’t have another hundred billion sitting in a holding account? Do you have any idea how much capital he moves?"

Troy gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning pale. "He’s twenty-three years old, Victor! A twenty-three-year-old fresh graduate! Are you honestly telling me that Perth & Croft Asset Management is terrified of a child who hasn’t even been in business for three years?!"

Victor’s eyes narrowed, all warmth vanishing from his face. "That twenty-three-year-old is the youngest multi-billionaire in this country’s history. He holds a perfect, unbroken trading record on the gold market. If Jake Rivers decides he needs five billion marks tomorrow morning, he opens a position on the exchange, milks the market, and has the cash in his account by noon. You cannot win a cash war against someone who can print liquidity at will."

"Everyone can be taken down!" Troy snarled, his voice rising in the quiet room. "No one is untouchable!"

"Let’s play out your delusion," Victor said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. "Say by some absolute miracle, you actually manage to trap his capital. What then? Do you think Jake Rivers stands alone?"

Troy slammed his hand against the wood. "What are you talking about?!"

"What about the Meridian Group?" Victor asked, watching Troy’s reaction closely. "The Meridian Group is run directly by his family. They control the largest steel refinery in the country and they have deep institutional roots in every major sector."

Troy opened his mouth to interrupt, but Victor raised a hand, shutting him down.

"And what about Aurelia Capitals?" Victor continued coldly. "It houses scions from the five major conglomerates in the country—Sheele, Rivers, Vance, Sterling, and Montgomery. If you attack Jake Rivers, you are effectively declaring war on all five families simultaneously. They will crush you, Troy. They won’t just take your seat; they’ll erase the Newman name from the corporate registry."

Troy sat frozen, his breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps.

Victor picked up his glass of wine, taking a small sip. "Give it up, Troy. Accept the fact that he sits on your board. Because if Jake Rivers finds out you’re running around town trying to build a coalition against him, he won’t just come back to observe. He won’t settle for fifteen percent. He’ll buy up your family’s personal debt and take the entire company out from under you."

The silence in the room became suffocating.

Troy stared at Victor, realizing with sickening clarity that the man was not going to budge. Perth & Croft Asset Management was not going to throw its balance sheet into a fire just to help him satisfy a personal grudge.

"We’re done here," Victor said calmly, signaling the waiter for the bill. "Lunch is on me."

---

Twenty minutes later, Troy walked out of the restaurant into the bright afternoon sunlight. The noise of the city’s financial district buzzed around him, but inside his head, everything was a chaotic, burning roar.

He stood by his private car, his hand resting on the warm roof as he stared blindly at the pavement.

’Victor is a coward,’ Troy thought, his teeth grinding together so hard his jaw ached. ’They’re all cowards. They hear his name and they fold like paper.’

His mind raced, discarding bankers, traditional investment firms, and institutional lenders one by one. Victor was right about one thing—the mainstream financial sector was too terrified of the Meridian Group and Aurelia Capitals to take the risk. Traditional institutions operated on rules, risk metrics, and legal safety nets.

’If financial firms won’t touch him...’ Troy thought, his eyes narrowing as a dark, desperate realization took root in his mind, ’...then I need to find people who don’t care about market rules.’

He got into the back seat of his car, pulling his private phone out of his inner pocket. There were always people in the shadows—disgraced corporate rivals, ruined investors, and bitter political figures who had lost everything because of Jake Rivers or Aurelia Capitals. People who didn’t care about liquidity ratios or trading records, but simply wanted to watch the young tycoon bleed.

Troy tapped his phone screen, scrolling past his business contacts until he reached a private, unlisted section of his address book.

’He thinks he’s untouchable,’ Troy thought, his breathing slowing down as a cold, sinister focus replaced his anger. ’Let’s see how comfortable that seat stays when the people who hate him start working together.’