The press conference room at the Grand Meridian pulsed with anticipation, a sea of well-worn faces and fresh, nervous ones scattered among the rows. Veteran journalists leaned back, already trading gossip in low voices, their newbie protégés taking notes—half on the event, half on the unspoken rules. On one side of the room, a pair of reporters from a major tabloid compared tip-offs about Hanzenith Capital's simultaneous presser across town. On the other, a blogger scrolled frantically, hungry for anything that could turn into a viral headline.
