The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 389

Chapter 175: Control Is Overrated-1

He sat alone in his office.

The floor-to-ceiling windows were darkened, the city beyond them muted and distant. The only sounds were the soft tap of keys, the quiet scratch of pen against paper, the steady rhythm of his breathing as documents passed beneath his hands.

Sign. Turn. Review. Sign again.

Each

page was handled with controlled precision, as if routine alone could keep the day

contained.

None of it pleased him.

It wasn’t the numbers. The projections were solid. The acquisitions had closed without resistance. Every strategic move had landed exactly where it was meant to.

None of it mattered.

What gnawed at him had nothing to do with business.

She hadn’t answered.

Every update he’d received-every “sighting,” every trail that dissolved just before he reached it-had sharpened his mood further. By midday, even Dominic had stopped offering commentary, recognizing the particular edge in his son that meant reason would not land.

While Maya spent the afternoon wrapped in quiet clarity-learning, breathing, finding a stillness she hadn’t known she needed-Damien was having the opposite kind of day.

A day shaped by pressure, impatience, and restraint stretched thin.

That morning, the plan had been simple.

Clear his calendar.

Everything was stripped away except a single meeting-one that mattered just enough to be useful. Damien and Ashcroft were scheduled to meet the French investors before noon. Old money. Generational wealth. Men who mistook predictability for power and appetite for leverage.

They would leave satisfied.

On paper, it was a legitimate acquisition discussion-cross-border holdings, future expansions, polite negotiations wrapped in polished smiles. In reality, it was a front. A

Chapter 175 Control Is Overrated-1

carefully staged diversion meant to occupy attention, generate noise, and sell the illusion

that Damien Blackwood’s focus had shifted elsewhere.

Volkov was watching.

And Volkov needed to believe Damien’s hands were full-too full to be orchestrating anything beyond stock markets, boardrooms, and balance sheets. Too occupied to have had any involvement in what had happened to him. An “accident,” as it had been reported. An unfortunate chain of events no one could trace back to Blackwood.

The deal would also justify travel. Business travel. The kind that left paper trails and public appearances. A clean excuse for Damien and Nicholas to move across borders without raising suspicion-Japan included.

Every detail had been calculated.

All other meetings were canceled. No calls. No interruptions. Once the French delegation departed, Damien intended to head straight to the firing range-to Maya and his mother.

That had been the plan.

Then something shifted.

One moment, the day was contained-structured, obedient. The next, it tilted on its axis, as if an unseen hand had reached in and turned everything sideways.

Damien felt it before he could name it.

The tight coil in his chest.

The sense that something had slipped just beyond his grasp.

The firing range was forgotten.

The calendar no longer mattered.

Damien lifted his wrist and checked his watch.

7:28 p.m.

Still nothing.

No updates. No sightings. No trace of where they’d gone-or how long they intended to stay

gone.

He lowered his arm slowly, jaw tightening.

773

Chapter 175 Control Is Overrated-1

+25 Points

His father had told him to let it be. To wait. To trust that his mother would resurface on her own terms. Damien had dismissed it outright-pride, ego, certainty all conspiring in his favor He had been confident he’d find them. Confident that resources, reach, and persistence would close the gap.

He had deployed everything.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify