Chapter 2310

Cecilia stood up and walked out.

Stella watched her back.

Then, suddenly, she stood. “Cecilia!”

Cecilia stopped.

She turned back.

At some point, Stella’s eyes had reddened.

“Cecilia… I think… I think I was wrong!”

For more than ten years, Stella had been having the same kind of dream.

Over and over, she dreamed of the past.

The clearest part was always the beginning.

Back then, Regas had only just started helping her.

She hadn’t been weighed down by schemes yet.

She had just met Cecilia—and in her eyes, Cecilia had been good in every way.

Cecilia let her wear pretty clothes.

Saved the best food for her.

Even shared her allowance.

Maybe it was because she was getting old.

Those earliest memories had begun returning more vividly, and with them, a growing sense of longing.

When Cecilia heard her say she had been wrong, something complicated flickered across her face.

“It’s all in the past.”

That was all she said.

A simple sentence—with no forgiveness in it.

Stella stood there, watching her leave, her gaze lingering for a long, long time.

For some reason, one thought surfaced in her mind—

We could’ve been good sisters from the start.

Cecilia knew that had been the last time she would ever visit Stella.

From this moment on, there would be nothing left between them.

And after death, she hoped they would never meet again.

Just then, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen. An unknown number.

After a brief hesitation, she answered. “Hello? Who is this?”

“It’s Cassandra.”

Cecilia’s chest tightened.

“You got out?”

Cassandra had kept her head down, worked to reform herself, and after more than ten years, she had been released.

Earlier than expected—but time had caught up with her too.

“Yeah, I’m out,” Cassandra said, then paused. “Cecilia, I want to see my daughter.”

After leaving prison, Cassandra learned that her father had already passed away.

The only family she had left in this world was Magnus—and her daughter, Dahlia.

The moment Cecilia heard that, her eyes sharpened.

“I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

Back when Dahlia had been sick and hospitalized, Cassandra hadn’t cared at all.

She had abandoned her without hesitation.

And now she wanted to see her, just like that—as if nothing had happened.

“Why can’t I see her? Dahlia is my daughter! Meredith—that bitch—hid my daughter from me and won’t let me see her. And now you’re doing the same. How can you all be this vicious?”

The word vicious almost made Cecilia laugh.

“Vicious? When you abandoned Dahlia back then, did it ever cross your mind that you were being vicious?”

A cold, mocking smile touched her lips.

“You think Meredith is the one keeping you from Dahlia—but did it ever occur to you that Dahlia simply doesn’t want to see you?”

After all these years, Dahlia had grown up.

She wasn’t a child anymore.

She knew exactly who she was—and where she came from.

She had once told Meredith, “You’re my only mother.”

Cassandra exploded.

“That’s ridiculous! I gave birth to her—I gave her life! I’m her mother! Why would she refuse to see me?”

Those words sounded eerily familiar.

Just like what Paula had said back then.

Something heavy settled in Cecilia’s chest.

Her thoughts went straight to Dahlia.

She didn’t say another word.

She hung up.

Then she immediately called Meredith.

“Meredith, do you know Cassandra’s been released?”

“I know. She already came to me, demanding to see Dahlia. I threw her out. What—has she contacted you too?”

Cecilia exhaled. “Not exactly. She called me for the same reason. She wants to see Dahlia. I’m worried she might do something reckless. For the next few days, stay close to Dahlia.”

“Got it. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Meredith hung up and walked out of her office.

She headed straight for Dahlia’s school.