18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 398

Daniel was back, his face as unreadable as a stone. The more emotionless he looked, the more anxious Lillian felt, but she forced a smile and stood up to greet him. "Welcome home, Dan." He glanced around the house with a nonchalant "Hmm."

Lillian stepped closer, reaching for his briefcase. "You barely come home. What would you like for dinner? I'll make something special."

Ignoring her question, Daniel shifted his gaze to Julia, whose face was bruised and swollen. "Julia, can you give us a moment? I need to talk to your mom."

Julia, nursing her wounds and mulling over a response, found herself tongue-tied under Daniel's stern gaze. His silent authority left her feeling utterly powerless, fear creeping into her very bones. She retreated to her room, closing the door with a sense of dread.

Daniel sat down and motioned for Lillian to do the same. "Sit."

Lillian took a deep breath, trying to maintain her composure. "What's wrong with you? Why the long face after work?"

He remained silent, just staring at her.

It felt as if he was looking through her, seeing someone else a woman who was once lively and passionate, who defied societal norms and promised to marry him no matter what. Thirty years had drastically changed that image.

Lillian hated his scrutinizing gaze; it made her feel like the worst kind of villain.

She had always been the one to make amends during their heated arguments in the past. Back then, a teary-eyed tug on his sleeve would do the trick.

did you do that

expected the confrontation, Lillian

the mall today? That was a misunderstanding. The

cut her off. "Stella is your

the Riley family was killed during a home invasion years ago. I've explained this to

briefcase and tossed two documents in

ran cold as she read the contents. They were paternity test

showed a 99.999% probability that Stella was Daniel's daughter,

the truth. The Kindle Society could make submarines;

you never confronted me about this all these years?" she asked,

had been away on a secret mission for over a year, barely surviving. When he returned to Griffith, eager to talk about marriage with Lillian, he found out she was marrying another man. A lot had happened in Lillian's family during his absence, and his career hadn't allowed him to be there for her. He

went bankrupt, when she was pregnant, when she miscarried, and

when Daniel learned about the child they had

appointment, he realized that her choice was

she had secretly given

not for lack of suitable partners, but because his career didn't leave much room for family life. He didn't want to hold anyone else

never got to meet. If only he hadn't taken that mission, maybe