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.

make amends during their heated arguments in the past. Back

did you do that

she expected the confrontation,

you talking about what happened at the mall today? That was a misunderstanding. The person has held a grudge against Julia for a long

off. "Stella is your daughter too.

Riley family was killed during a home invasion years ago. I've explained this to you. You might be

and tossed two

They were paternity test reports.

daughter, while Julia had no blood relation to

she realized the truth. The Kindle Society could make submarines; of course, they could conduct

about this all these

with Lillian, he found out she was

bankrupt, when she was pregnant, when she miscarried, and now, as she was marrying another man, she hoped

about the child

him hard. He hadn't wanted to believe it, but after seeing hospital documents and witnessing Lillian's fiancé at a prenatal appointment, he realized that her choice was right. He couldn't offer her

later, Lillian would call to say the child was alive-that she had secretly given birth and that the Riley family had raised

but because his career didn't leave much room for family life. He didn't want

got to meet. If only he hadn't taken that mission, maybe their child would have been born safely, and he would have had the chance