unclear, but they were married sometime before the 1980s. By all accounts, Lillian was a caring, beautiful and sophisticated person, as well as comments made by Lex and Lionel have indicated that she had a spirited personality, had ambitions of her own and often stood up to Lionel. Eventually, Lillian began to wonder about the special projects that Lionel had. She searched for answers and found something called "Veritas". However, Alexander saw her going through his father's briefcase, so Lillian asked him not to tell anyone. When Lionel found out, he immediately blamed Alexander and forced him to tell the truth. When Alexander did, Lillian insisted Lionel explain what Veritas was, but Lionel knocked her to the floor instead and warned her not to look into his projects again. Lillian felt angered and disgusted by Alexander's betrayal. Sometime later, Lillian became ill with a heart condition that worsened over the rest of her life. Lionel hired a nurse named Rachel Dunleavy to assist her. Rachel and Lionel subsequently had an affair, resulting in the birth of Lionel's illegitimate son, Lucas. It is unclear whether Lillian knew of the affair or the child. Lillian was helped by a nanny, Pamela Jenkins, who Alexander regarded as a second mother. Lionel was often absent from home and Lillian insisted that he take Alexander on one of his business trips to Smallville during the meteor shower of 1989. Lionel's resulting shame and constant critique of Alexander bothered Lillian greatly. Sometime in the early 1990s, Lionel insisted that they have another child, an idea that Lillian was highly opposed to, presumably because of her poor health. However, when Alexander was 11, Lillian became pregnant again. She insisted that Alexander be allowed to come home for school from Excelsior Academy and Lionel complied. Her pregnancy was strenuous and Lillian was bedridden for much of it. On Alexander's disastrous 12th birthday (which no one attended), Lillian gave him a lead box allegedly made from the armor of St. George, which he kept into adulthood and later gave to Clark Kent. After baby Julian's birth, Lillian descended into a deep case of postpartum depression, refusing to hold the child and crying perpetually. One evening, Lionel sent the baby's nanny home and insisted that Lillian bond with the child. Lillian expressed her concern that Lionel would pit the two boys against each other and announced that she wanted a