The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 552

Chapter 282-Phase II initiated

+25 Poin

Chapter 282: Phase II initiated

Dahlia gave a slow, soleran hod.

“I know it’s risky,” she admitted quietly. “But it’s the only way I can think of to prevent a much bigger problem later. At least this way, we have a little control over how the truth corros out. I have to do something to protect them.”

Alice fell silent, her expression filled with concern.

Deep down, she understood exactly what Dahlia meant.

Maya and Jaime’s identities would not remain hidden forever. It was only a matter of time before the Lockwoods discovered the truth. If that happened on someone else’s terms, the consequences could be far worse.

After a long moment, Alice reached across the space between them and gently took Dahlia’s hand.

“I understand,” she said softly. “And I want you to know that I support your decision.”

She gave Dahlia’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“You can count on me… and on my family. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

Dahlia’s eyes glistened with gratitude.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Alice smiled warmly and gave her hand one last reassuring squeeze.

What followed remained between the two of them.

Alice listened intently without judgment, offering her thoughts whenever appropriate. She also suggested several additional security measures and contingency plans to ensure Maya and Jaime’s safety should th unexpected happen.

By the time their conversation came to an end, the two old friends had carefully prepared for every scenario they could think of, each silently hoping none of those preparations would ever be needed.

Meanwhile, aboard the second aircraft, two hours quietly slipped away.

୮

୮

Time crawled through the cabin, each passing minute tightening the invisible countdown to the next phase of Harper’s operation.

Then, the clock finally reached its mark.

Exactly four hours had passed since the first attack was initiated.

Almost simultaneously, both men’s phones vibrated.

Darnien and Ashcroft lowered their gazes to their phones as a new broadcast message appeared on the

screen.

Phase II initiated. SATCOM call inbound.

Chapter 282-Phase!! initiated

Stand by. Good luck. – K.T.

Neither marr reacted outwardly.

25 Point

Damien locked his screen and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Ashcroft mirrored the motion, thei eyes meeting for only the briefest moment.

Another hour passed in relative silence until the aircraft’s satellite phone finally rang.

One of the flight attendants answered the call, listening quietly for a few moments before replying, ” Understood.”

She ended the call and walked over to the seating area.

“Excuse me, sir. Operations requested that we switch on the live news immediately.”

Damien exchanged a brief glance with Ashcroft before turning his attention back to the attendant.

“Go ahead.”

The flight attendant gave a respectful bow before returning to the galley and switching on the cabin television. The screen flickered to life, immediately cutting to a live breaking news broadcast.

…Breaking news out of Singapore…”

…Ashcroft Pavilion, one of the nation’s leading private medical facilities, is experiencing a widespread system outage…”

“…Multiple critical hospital systems have gone offline, forcing disruptions across several departments…”

“…Hospital officials have not released a formal statement, and the cause of the outage remains under investigation…”

As the live broadcast ended, the flight attendant quietly switched off the television, leaving the cabin in silence.

Damien turned to Monroe.

“Monroe, inform the captain. We’ll reroute to Singapore.”

Monroe gave a curt nod. “Yes, Boss.”

He disappeared into the cockpit and returned several minutes later.

“The pilot requested a diversion, Air Traffic Control has approved the reroute. We’re now on course for Singapore.”

Damien acknowledged him with a single nod.

“Good.”

Monroe walked back to his seat. A few minutes after he settled in, a soft chime echoed throughout the cabin, followed by the captain’s composed voice over the speakers.

“Gentlemen, we’ve completed the reroute. We’re currently over northern Canada and have been cleared

Chapter 282-Phase !! initiated

ento a trans-Pacific routing to Singapore.

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“Based on our current fuel load, we won’t require any additional stops. Estimated flight time from our current position is approximately sixteen hours Weather conditions along our route are favorable, and w expect a smooth flight for the duration. I’ll keep you advised of any significant changes.”

The announcement ended, and the cabin settled into a quiet calm.

Sixteen hours was a long flight.

Everyone eased back into their seats, making themselves comfortable for the journey ahead. Ashcroft motioned to the flight attendant for another pour of whiskey, and Damien silently held out his glass as

well.

As the attendant refilled both glasses, Damien glanced at Nick.

“So… what did you tell your old man?”

Nick lifted his glass and drained the remaining whiskey before setting it down.

“The truth.” He gave a small shrug. “He knows I couldn’t care less about the Pavilion’s affairs, so he’d rather handle them himself.”

A quiet scoff escaped him.

“But you know how he is. I still had to tell him.”

“And he just agreed?” Damien asked.

Nick shook his head.

“Well… as long as no real operation is compromised and he’s not actually losing any money, he’s fine with

it.”

He let out a dry laugh.

“In fact, the old man sounded pleased. He thinks I’m finally ready to willingly take over the business.”

“You know you’ll have to eventually,” Damien said.

r

“Eventually,” Nick echoed with a faint smile. “But not yet. Besides… a lot can happen between now and then. Eventually… it might not even come to that.”

Damien studied him for a moment before taking a slow sip of his whiskey.

“Maybe it’s time you reconsider.”

Ashcroft simply shrugged.

“We’ll see.”

As both aircraft continued across the skies toward their respective destinations, events were already unfolding thousands of miles away on the opposite side of the world.

In Russia, news of the incident at Ashcroft Pavilion Singapore had already reached Volkov.

<Chapter 282-Phase II initiated

+25 Points

Standing before his desk, Igor delivered the latest intelligence. “Our sources confirmed that Blackwood’s aircraft requested a diversion to Singapore shortly after the news broke. It doesn’t appear to be a routine systems outage if Ashcroft deemed it necessary to be there it person.”

Volkov’s expression darkened as a familiar sense of unease settled over him.

He emptied the contents of his glass in a single gulp before hurling the crystal tumbler across the room. It smashed violently against the wall, scattering shards of glass across the floor.

“Suka!” (“Fuck!”) he snarled. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

He slammed both hands onto his desk, his chest rising and falling with each heavy breath as he jabbed a finger toward Igor.

“I want all eyes on them. The ‘moment that aircraft lands in Singapore, I want to know who’s getting off it. I want every single movement tracked from the second they touchdown. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Boss.”

“And tell them to double the security around the area and at all our facilities.”

Igor gave a sharp nod before turning and leaving to carry out the orders.

Volkov turned toward the window, staring into the darkness beyond the glass. His jaw twitched with tension, his fists clenched at his sides.

“What the fuck is going on? This is too much to be a coincidence. Someone is behind all this, and I need to find out who.”

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