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 their

at his

natural disasters,

man's protection; to

seen many women, vulnerable and desperate, trading their bodies for sustenance, only to be treated like animals,

understanding of unspoken truths, Stella wouldn't acknowledge Daniel, and he accepted

"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

had indeed given one to

tears streaming, begging him not to leave

discussed marriage in secret, and Daniel promised to return from his

show his sincerity, he had given her the ancestral

me as I grew up, but

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

Your health and safety

moment. "You really shouldn't feel guilty

protection of Arcadia, she might

now; returning it was out of the

the secret of the pendant, but the benefits

yourself. You're human too, and it's okay to think of yourself sometimes. Survive, live well, then you can

deep breath and

way back, she gazed out of the car window,

cider. "The pendant was a

spoke up.

and give it

knew her well after sharing years of intimacy. She might not verbally

of the post-disaster world, where she often

still a

reality was harsh, and Lillian was selfish, but Daniel was different. He hadn't

to care for his own.

choice was also right. Even if she acknowledged

cater only

Stella wouldn't ask that of