The name Sean flared to life in my mind.

A strange sense of gratitude welled up inside me.

Maverick, of course, was none the wiser. He likely assumed it was one of my father's countless former students who’d come to pay respects. My father had once been revered by many, after all—a man whose teachings had left echoes in countless lives. For someone to visit wasn’t out of the ordinary.

At the gravesite, Maverick knelt first, bowing his head before ...