While Julia, her husband, and Elliot were sent home, Celestine remained in the shadows, oblivious to the negotiations that had unfolded. Desperate and isolated, she reached out to her father for sanctuary.
Ferdinand, however, offered nothing but silence. Though he had protected her location from Stefan, he refused to intervene any further. He knew Stefan had drawn a hard line between them, and Ferdinand wasn't willing to gamble on the fragile relationship he had painstakingly built with his only grandchild—the one bridge he couldn't afford to burn.
Celestine's descent continued as she moved from friend to friend, begging for sanctuary, only to find that Stefan's influence cast a long, terrifying shadow. No one was willing to risk his wrath; one by one, they turned a blind eye, closing their doors and leaving her to the cold. She remained a fugitive in her own circles until a chance discovery by one of Elliot's colleagues finally pulled her out of the frantic cycle of hiding.
