18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 395

Stella held the walkie-talkie tight, her sharp, icy stare fixed on Julia and her daughter. "Yeah, we've got a situation here." Daniel was in a good mood. "Go on, I'm listening."

"Your precious Julia paid a homeless guy to kill me. Thought I wouldn't make it, didn't she? Well, surprise, I'm still here. I've got all the proof I need. You better get down here now, or I can't promise your wife and daughter will still be in one piece when you arrive." Daniel was stunned but quickly gathered himself. "Stella, if this is true, I'll make sure justice is done. Don't do anything crazy."

"I'm not interested in justice. I want payback."

Stella switched off the walkie-talkie and marched straight towards Julia.

Julia, realizing she was trapped, grabbed Lillian's hand to make a run for it, but a snarling dog blocked their way.

""Ah!" Julia screamed in terror.

She tripped and nearly fell, but Stella yanked her by the hair and slammed her face into the glass door!

This place used to be a glass factory, and the mall was stocked with valuable goods, so all the glass was shatterproof and bulletproof.

The glass was fine, but Julia's face wasn't. Blood poured from a gash on her head.

Two of her teeth were knocked out, and blood gushed from her nose.

Stella didn't let up, smashing Julia's head into the glass three more times, leaving her face bloodied and her body slumped on the ground like a broken doll, twitching helplessly, unable to even cry for help. Lillian screamed and lunged at Stella.

Stella didn't hold back, slapping her hard across the face.

The force sent Lillian crashing into the glass, seeing stars.

Holding her numb, throbbing cheek, Lillian looked at Stella in shock. "Stella, how could you hit me?"

"And who do you think you are?" Stella shot back coldly. "You knew Julia was out to get me, and you did nothing, even encouraged her. For a shameless beast like you, why wouldn't I hit you?"

Julia was foolish, but Lillian was cunning and ruthless, willing to do anything to survive. Stella didn't believe for a second that Lillian was unaware of Julia's malice; she was all too pleased by it.

Stella was alive, not because of their mercy, but by her own grit and wits.

"Lies!" Lillian quivered with rage. "We don't even know you; why would we want you dead?"

"Don't know me?" Stella laughed. "Yet you screamed my name in panic?"

It was a slip in the heat of the moment that Stella wouldn't let go, but Lillian was quick to retort. "Do you realize the crime of slandering a military family?"

"Military family?" Stella almost burst out laughing. "Did Daniel marry you? Does he acknowledge your child with another man as his own? If so, he's dishonoring his uniform by having an affair; if not, you're the one smearing a soldier's name." Lillian didn't expect Stella to be so tough, ready to go down fighting.

She was willing to bet it all, but Lillian was not.

It was a trap laid by Stella, and Lillian wouldn't fall for it.

Guilty consciences speak volumes, and besides, Daniel was a high-ranking officer. Escalating the situation would do her and her daughter no favors.

Pulling up her bloodied daughter, Lillian wanted to leave quickly. There was no point in a brawl with Stella - they could plan their next move later.

But Cooper, the dog, wasn't having it, and he lunged at them again, blocking their escape.

Military patrol was present in the work center, but by the time they arrived, the scene was already crowded with onlookers.

The soldiers shouted to disperse the crowd and marched into the mall with guns drawn. "What happened here?"

Julia was still reeling from the beating, now finally coming to her senses.

She knew that her attempt at murder was exposed. Even if Stella had no evidence, any inquiry by the military...

The hitmen she hired were useless in the face of an actual investigation.

If Daniel discovered Stella was his biological daughter, Julia's fate would be at his whim.

Faced with Stella's recklessness, Julia was truly frightened. She never should have impulsively sought out thugs to deal with her. Thinking of Daniel's sharp and indifferent gaze sent shivers down her spine.

No, she couldn't give Daniel the chance to favor Stella.

Stella had to die, she must!

In a frenzy, Julia charged at the patrolling soldiers. "Murderer! That crazy woman is killing people!"

Desperate, she smeared the blood all over her face to look more pitiful and reached for the soldier's gun.

If she could just kill Stella, the truth would never come out. Even if Daniel investigated later, it would look like Stella struck first.

Lillian didn't expect her daughter to be so reckless, but she knew the first to act has the advantage. Stella showed no mercy, so why should she care for a daughter she never had?

Lillian joined the fray, pretending to stop Julia but actually helping her grab the gun, using her body to hinder the soldiers, "Julia, calm down, this is all a misunderstanding. The base will give you justice."

Julia cried out desperately, "Mom, she's going to kill me, I'm going to be beaten to death!"

The soldiers, trained and physically fit, held their weapons as if they were their lives.

And they had just arrived, not even clear on the situation yet, so they weren't about to shoot randomly.

At that moment, Julia actually wished Stella would shoot her, to reveal her madness completely.

But as the saying goes, pride comes before the fall. Julia's actions in front of the soldiers only backfired.

They were quick to protect their weapons, even becoming wary of the charging Julia.

Lillian pushed and shouted, while pointing at Stella with feigned sorrow, "Comrade, I am Mrs. Daniel, and Julia is his daughter. This woman attacked us unprovoked, nearly killing my daughter. You must arrest this lunatic immediately." Stella stood her ground, her gaze icy as she observed the deceitful motions of her adversary, her eyes betraying a glacial detachment.

The patrol officer, calm and restrained, issued a verbal warning to Julia and her mother. "Step back, please calm down," he advised with controlled authority.

But Julia, emboldened by her mother's support, felt a surge of malice rise within her. She made another grab for the officer's gun.

In her heart, she seethed with hatred. Stella, that wretched woman, was doing this on purpose!

No matter, she thought, it was time to force Stella's hand.

All it would take was for the officer's gun to accidentally discharge during the scuffle. Jasper and that despicable mutt would surely intervene, and anyone who dared to confront the officer would be signing their own death warrant. Caught in the crossfire, who would be to blame then?