18 Floors Above the Apocalypse

Chapter 401

Daniel looked at Stella Larson with a blend of hope and hesitation. "The best I can do is get you a spot in Project Phoenix," he said. "I hope you'll consider it."

Stella's response was polite but firm. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't need it."

She didn't even glance at the assessment report he offered; she knew Daniel wouldn't be wrong about something like this.

Family ties? They were absent when she needed them most. Now, they were just an unnecessary addition.

"There's no need for guilt or apologies," Stella said calmly. "You didn't raise me, but you didn't harm me either. So, I don't hold anything against you. In fact, as an outsider, I respect the contributions you've made to the base over the years."

"As for blood relations, they've lost their importance to me long ago. I won't carry that burden, and I don't want you to be shackled by it either. Let's just live our lives without interfering with each other."

Her words were cold and devoid of any resentment or self-pity.

Only when one is truly strong can they be independent of others.

Daniel felt a bittersweet pride. She had his blood in her veins, yet she was as good as a stranger.

But he didn't push the issue. As long as Stella was doing well, that was enough for him.

The conversation shifted to the matter of Lillian and her daughter. Daniel didn't consult Stella; instead, he made a unilateral decision.

Regardless of whether Stella acknowledged it, Lillian was her biological mother, the woman who gave her life.

Lillian's transgressions were unforgivable, but Daniel knew Stella's character well; she wouldn't let this mother-daughter pair off easily.

Simply exiling them from the base would only provoke Stella to seek a more permanent solution out of impulse.

It might seem like a release of anger, but in reality, it would be a lifelong chain to bear.

He didn't want Stella to bear the sin of matricide, so he had Lillian transferred to Goldbridge base overnight.

The official base would process the crimes committed by the women in Kindle Society following the standard procedure.

in

at his decision but

world ravaged by natural disasters, an instant

and Julia were helpless without a man's protection; to live was the greatest punishment for

like animals, abused and beaten, until they were discarded like worn-out shoes. So, this outcome was

understanding of unspoken truths, Stella

sigh. "Take care of yourself. This disaster will pass. Never give up hope." Stella stood up to leave, pausing at the door. "Did you ever give Lillian

indeed given

Lillian had clung to him, tears streaming, begging him not to leave

marriage in secret,

show his sincerity, he had given her the ancestral

a long while before speaking. "That pendant was with me as I grew up, but I accidentally broke

pendant was unfortunate, but heaven had

smiled gently. "It's okay. Your health and

shouldn't feel guilty because you've already given me the

protection of Arcadia, she might have died long

returning it was out of

know the secret of the

human too, and it's okay to think of yourself sometimes. Survive, live well, then you can take on greater responsibilities."

a deep breath and

back, she gazed out of

cider. "The pendant was a Larson family heirloom. Daniel doesn't know it contained

up.

Stella have? She couldn't just extract Arcadia and give it back to Daniel. "I feel a bit

her well after sharing years of intimacy. She might not verbally acknowledge Daniel, but

the post-disaster world, where she often appeared cold and ruthless, who could

still a yearning for family

was selfish, but Daniel was different. He hadn't known about

greater good and couldn't afford to care for his

right. Even if she

his responsibilities to cater only to her, to compensate for lost

do that, and Stella wouldn't ask that