Christy finally met his gaze, but her voice was soft. "I thought I saw… someone I used to know. Someone who's… been gone a long time."
His brows drew together. "Gone as in…?"
"Gone," she said simply, leaving no room for clarification. "It doesn't matter. It couldn't have been him."
Kendrick didn't like the way her voice caught at the end, but he didn't press further. He just nodded slowly and said, "Alright. But Mom, if you ever want to talk about it, you know I'm here."
She reached out and patted his hand, managing a small, grateful smile. "I know."
For the rest of the evening, they didn't speak of it again. But the image of Cassius's—Patrick's—face remained with her, no matter how hard she tried to push it away.
And somewhere across the city, in a quiet car heading toward the Varen Enterprises building, Cassius sat with his hands clasped, staring out the window at the passing lights, hearing her voice call that old name again and again in his head.
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