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.

was in their

frowned slightly at his decision but

ravaged by natural disasters,

protection; to live

bodies for sustenance, only to be treated like animals, abused

Stella wouldn't acknowledge Daniel, and

take his eyes off her, and after a long moment, he let out a deep sigh. "Take care of yourself. This disaster

indeed given

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

affection, they had discussed marriage in secret, and

show his sincerity, he had given her the ancestral jade

"That pendant was with me as I grew up, but I accidentally broke it. I'm sorry,

of the pendant was unfortunate, but heaven had

smiled gently. "It's okay. Your health and safety are all that

for a moment. "You really shouldn't feel

protection of Arcadia, she might have died long

was hers now; returning it was

the secret of the pendant, but the benefits Stella

throat. "Don't always put duty before yourself. You're human too, and it's okay to think of yourself sometimes. Survive, live well, then

a deep

back, she gazed out of

her homemade cider. "The

up. "What's

and give it back to Daniel. "I

She might not

she often appeared cold and

still a yearning for

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

world in chaos, he had to prioritize the greater good and couldn't afford to care for

also right. Even if she acknowledged Daniel, what

he abandon his responsibilities to cater only to her, to compensate

that, and Stella wouldn't ask that