The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 409

Chapter 182: Unseen Layers-1

The room remained suspended in the aftermath of Harper’s final words, as if sound itself needed permission to return. Screens hummed softly. Status lights blinked. Somewhere in the room, a clock ticked-steady, indifferent.

Twelve hours.

It wasn’t the number that unsettled them. It was what could happen inside it.

Damien finally exhaled, dragging a hand down his face. His gaze lingered on the darkened map, invisible lines of pursuit already drawn in his mind.

His jaw tightened as he looked around the room-at the people who mattered. The only ones that

did.

Damien straightened.

His gaze moved through the men positioned along the room’s edge. Monroe, James, Lee-and then Max. Men who’d bled with him. Men who would take a bullet without hesitation, not out of

duty, but loyalty earned the hard way.

Finally, his eyes settled on Ashcroft. They were closer than blood, bound by the kind of history that makes dialogue redundant; they’d already traded enough life and limb to be more than kin.

No words were required. In that silence lived a tacit understanding between two men who knew exactly how ugly this game could get-and exactly what it would cost to win.

“If it comes to it,” Damien said, his voice a low, unyielding blade of cold, “we can handle Volkov’s

men.”

He shifted his focus to the screen-back to Harper.

“But if we’re not traveling together, I need to know they won’t run into problems. No delays. No surprises. They get in, they move, and they’re safe.”

His gaze finally broke from the screen, seeking out the one person who anchored him.

Maya sat at his side, her composure a mask-but the moment their eyes met, the air between them tautened like a wire. All the unspoken fears and promises passed in a single, shared breath.

Damien didn’t flinch. He didn’t waver. He just looked at her, his voice dropping to a register that finally betrayed the weight of the fear looming inside him.

“That’s the only part I care about.”WWThe silence that followed was heavy, a private world built between them in the middle of a war room.MMIt was Alice who eventually cut through it. She spoke

SAT

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Chapter 182 Unseen Layers 1

+25 Points

up smoothly, already prepared. “The flight manifests are done. I’ll be returning home with my antiques, as usual.” She gave a faint, knowing smile. “Two shipping crates are… modified. That’s where everyone will stay until loading is complete.”

She met Harper’s eye through the screen, a silent command passing between them. With a single keystroke, the screen changed again-schematics this time.

“The crates are chipped,” Alice continued calmly. “When scanned, they’ll register as standard cargo. Antiques only. No anomalies. Once inside the aircraft, they’ll exit the crates. To the world, nothing changes.”

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