This scene opens with tension already coiled tight, and you build the unease beautifully. Hellen’s calm, almost bored authority contrasts perfectly with James’s confused defiance, making the exchange feel grounded and cinematic. The bunker setting, revealed so casually, adds a chilling layer—like James has been dropped into the middle of someone else’s secret world.
The dialogue is clipped in the right way: it feels like two people trying to maintain control, one through power and one through sarcasm. And the final reveal—the mysterious image he sent to a friend—lands like the start of a much bigger conspiracy. It’s clean, immediate, and hooks the reader instantly.
