The station buzzed with post-incident chatter, but beneath the casual jokes and clang of gear, tension simmered—and Celeste felt every bit of it aimed at her.

It started small. A misplaced helmet. A hose reel swapped out for a damaged one. Nothing dangerous, but enough to make her look sloppy during routine checks. And then, the whispers began.

"Vassar only got command at the warehouse because of her name."
"Bet she's still getting special treatment."

Celeste ignored it at first—until Brielle Voss made sure she couldn't.

Brielle strolled into the bay during drill prep, ponytail swinging, voice pitched just loud enough for the room to hear. "Careful out there, Celeste. Wouldn't want another heroic gamble to put the rest of us in danger."

Quinn shot Brielle a glare, but Celeste forced a calm smile. "Thanks for the concern, Brielle. I'll try not to trip over all the compliments."

Brielle's smirk sharpened. "Just saying—maybe some of us earned our place without setting family businesses on fire."

The jab landed harder than Celeste wanted to admit. The bay went quiet, waiting for her to snap back.

Instead, she straightened her gear and addressed the entire team. "We're firefighters, not gossip columnists. If anyone has a problem with how I work, take it to Chief Ramirez. Otherwise, I suggest we all focus on the next call, not the last one."

She walked away, head high, but inside, her chest felt tight. Doubt gnawed at her like flame on dry timber. Was she proving herself—or just proving them right?

Later, in the quiet of the gear room, Rafe found her pacing. "You handled that better than I would've," he said.

Celeste sighed. "It doesn't matter. They don't trust me."

"They will," Rafe said firmly, stepping closer. "Trust is earned, and you're earning it the hard way. That's the only way that sticks."

She met his eyes, frustration softening. "What if Brielle keeps trying to undercut me?"

Rafe's expression hardened. "Then we watch her. Because if she's tied to those fires like you think she is... her mistakes will burn through eventually."

For the first time that day, Celeste allowed herself a real breath. Because she wasn't just fighting rumors anymore—she was hunting the truth, and now she had someone who believed in her, no matter how high the flames rose.