Chapter Forty Three

Celeste was never one to simply accept defeat. The moment she learned of Yvette’s capture and failure, her mind began working, gears turning behind her cold eyes. She had always been the architect of her own future, calculating every move with precision. Yvette’s reckless obsession with Diluc had been a weak point she had tolerated for too long. Now that Yvette was in custody, Celeste had no more use for her. But Furina, Diluc, and their sudden defiance—*that* was something she couldn’t let stand.

Celeste paced the opulent halls of her French estate, her high heels clicking against the marble floor with every determined step. The sprawling mansion was a masterpiece of European architecture, all dark wood, and gilded chandeliers, but the beauty around her barely registered as her mind raced. From the outside, she appeared the picture of elegance and control, but internally, she was seething. Furina, the daughter she had discarded, had become a bigger threat than