And Faisal remained standing beside the window, staring at the reflection of a man who'd nearly allowed arrogance and family loyalty to override his own judgment.
The next crisis came from Meridian.
A week after Nabil's removal, the company's leadership announced that delays in the proposed sale could require immediate cost reductions.
Internal communications discussed suspending certain operations, reducing shifts, and postponing maintenance investments.
Workers became frightened.
Some believed the acquisition was the only way to save the terminal.
Others suspected management was using the uncertainty to pressure the community trust into abandoning its rights.
Amara understood why both views existed.
Meridian genuinely faced financing challenges.
But the company's leadership had also withheld information and presented disputed authorization documents.
The situation couldn't be reduced to good workers on one side and bad executives on the other.
Real people were trapped between financial uncertainty and legal misconduct.
One afternoon, Marcus Bell arrived at the community center carrying a notice from Meridian.
He looked exhausted.
"My shift might be cut."
Amara looked up.
"I'm sorry."
Marcus placed the paper on the table.
"My mortgage doesn't care whether page seven is correct."
The words struck her.
For a moment, she felt defensive.
Then she remembered the discussion at the trust meeting.
He wasn't rejecting the truth.
He was frightened about feeding his children.
Amara took a slow breath.
"You're right."
Marcus stared.
She continued.
"We can't protect the trust by pretending workers don't need paychecks."
He sat down.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Marcus asked whether Crescent Horizon was willing to negotiate.
Amara nodded.
"Potentially."
He looked toward the notice.
"Then we need to make sure the deal doesn't collapse while everyone argues about who's right."
Amara considered that.
Then said something that surprised him.
"We may need a way to stabilize operations before the final transaction is resolved."
Marcus looked up.
For the first time that day, hope appeared in his eyes.
Evelyn raised the idea with Mariam.
A short-term stabilization arrangement might support essential operations while the legal and financial questions were examined. Any funding would need careful safeguards so it couldn't become an improper inducement for the trust to surrender its rights.
Mariam understood.
Crescent Horizon wasn't willing to invest blindly in Meridian while fraud concerns remained unresolved.
But it also didn't want employees and local families to suffer unnecessarily from a delay the parties could manage responsibly.
The investment group's advisers began reviewing possible structures for limited emergency financing, independent operational monitoring, and the preservation of essential maintenance.