Artemio intercepted Rocky before he could rejoin the crowd.
"Walk with me."
They slipped away from the music and laughter, cutting across the lawn to a darker corner near the hedges. Out here, the fairy lights didn't quite reach. The party noise dulled to a distant hum.
Artemio stopped and adjusted his cuffs, casual on the surface.
But his eyes were already searching.
They found Lara.
Across the lawn, she stood beside Ares. Close. Too close. Their silhouettes nearly touching under the lights.
Artemio's expression hardened.
"So," he said quietly, "how was it?"
A beat.
"Is she pretending?"
Rocky followed his gaze.
His face stayed unreadable.
"Didn't look like it, Boss," he said. Calm. Certain. "Back then, even if she was calm outwardly, her eyes would show a flicker of fear."
He let out a short breath through his nose.
"Tonight? Nothing. No fear. No recognition. Like I was a stranger."
He picked up a glass from a passing waiter and drained it in one swallow.
