The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 372

Chapter 169: A Shift in Power-1

The room held its breath, suspended in sunlight and quiet anticipation.

Sunlight filtered through the tall windows, catching dust in slow, drifting patterns, as if time itself had decided to linger. Something unspoken settled gently between them-not heavy,

not urgent, but waiting.

Dahlia’s fingers rested lightly on the table as she looked at Maya, memory softening her gaze -and then she spoke.

“Yes.” Dahlia smiled, her gaze drifting briefly down memory’s quieter corridors.

“You know, we used to go to the range together-regularly.”

She leaned back slightly, fingers folding with practiced ease.

“Being born into the family we were born into comes with privileges-luxury, elegance, influence.” Her lips curved faintly. “But it also comes with responsibilities. With duties. With enemies you don’t always see coming.”

Her gaze found Maya again, steady and unflinching.

“Preparation is part of that life,” she continued calmly. “Not paranoia. Just awareness. So while other teenagers were off at summer camps or planning spring breaks…” She gave a soft, knowing smile. “Ours looked a little different.”

She gestured lightly toward the box.

“Firearms. Self-defense. Strategy. Control.”

Dahlia exhaled softly, the words sounding almost ceremonial.

“Extracurriculars with consequences.”

She glanced at the quiet estate beyond the window.

“That was the world we were raised in,” she continued evenly. “Privilege and elegance on the surface… responsibility and danger underneath.” A faint, wry smile touched her lips.” Preparedness wasn’t optional. It was expected.”

Her eyes returned to Maya.

“And it’s exactly the life your mother didn’t want for you and Jaime.”

She let the sentence settle between them.

Chapter 169 A Shift in Power-1

Then her expression softened, fondness threading gently into her voice.

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“Your mother was a daredevil,” Dahlia added, a quiet chuckle escaping her. “A thrill-seeker, through and through.” She shook her head gently. “But never careless. She was disciplined.

Precise.”

Her smile warmed.

“She bought one for me, too,” Dahlia continued. “Gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday.”

Maya blinked. “Sixteen?”

Dahlia laughed, the sound light but unmistakably fond. “Can you imagine? Most girls our age were trading clothes, makeup, perfume, handbags…” She shook her head, amusement softening her smile. “Your mother handed me a firearm and said, ‘Now you’ll never feel helpless.”

Her gaze grew distant for a moment, then returned to Maya.

“She believed in being prepared,” Dahlia said softly. “Not paranoid. Not afraid. Just… ready.”

She paused, fingertips resting lightly against the edge of the box.

“This,” she continued, “is the one thing she chose not to leave behind.” Her gaze lowered to the gun. “It was the first firearm she ever bought for herself. Not from the family’s collection. She selected it personally. Had it engraved.” A quiet breath followed. “It was the only one she ever used after that.”

Dahlia looked back at Maya, her expression steady but gentle.

“When she left, she left everything that tied her to that life.” A beat. “Everything-except this.”

Her voice softened further. “She asked me to keep it. Said that one day… she wanted to hand it down to her daughter.”

Maya lowered her eyes to the gun again, her fingers brushing the engraved letter.

It wasn’t just a weapon-it was trust. Legacy. Protection, passed from mother to daughter.

And for the first time that morning, something settled firmly in Maya’s chest.

Not fear.

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