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.

fate was in

his

natural disasters, an

were helpless without a man's protection; to live

seen many women, vulnerable and desperate, trading their bodies for sustenance, only to be treated like animals, abused and beaten, until they were discarded like worn-out shoes.

Stella wouldn't acknowledge

moment, he let out a deep sigh. "Take care of yourself. This disaster will pass. Never give up hope." Stella stood up to leave, pausing at the

had indeed given one

family heirloom, and Lillian had clung to him, tears streaming, begging him not to leave on his

of deep affection, they had discussed marriage in secret, and Daniel promised to return from his mission and

his sincerity, he had given her the ancestral

silent for a long while before speaking. "That pendant was with me as I grew up,

pendant was unfortunate, but heaven had given him the best gift of

okay. Your health

thought for a moment. "You really shouldn't feel guilty because you've already given me

the protection of Arcadia,

was hers now; returning it

secret of the pendant, but the benefits Stella

to think of yourself sometimes. Survive, live well, then you can take on greater responsibilities." Was she showing concern for him? A warm current flowed through Daniel's heart.

a deep

out of the car window, lost in

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

up.

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

sharing years of intimacy. She might not

where she often

was still a yearning

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

afford to care for his own. Yet, he did what he could from the

also right. Even if she

cater only to her, to

couldn't do that, and Stella wouldn't ask that