“You did not,” Luke argued.

“I did in my head.”

They married the following spring in Cassandra’s parents’ backyard. No magazine photographers, no celebrity guests, no corporate announcements. Luke carried the rings in the pocket of his small blue suit.

Violet scattered flower petals while Eleanor wore a ribbon around her neck. Damon’s vow was simple: “I will never ask you to compete with my ambition again.”

Cassandra’s answer was simpler still: “I will never let fear speak for me when love needs the truth.”

Five years after the Christmas Eve flight, Damon no longer served as the daily chief executive of Prescott Technologies. He remained chairman, but the company was run by leaders he trusted, and it became more profitable than ever.