Grounded indefinitely.

It didn't just mean I'd be pulled from flight duty. Worse, the penalty would go into my lifetime safety record.

My career would carry this stain forever.

Even so, Xavier didn't think it was enough.

"That's it?" he sneered. "Looks like your company means to protect this murderer to the end! Fine!"

His gaze swept the crowd.

"Friends who were on that flight, last night's delay is proof enough. This airport isn't fit for landings at all."

"And to make sure my son couldn't be saved, Amelia Vance was willing to gamble the lives of every passenger on board."

"Keeping a cancer like Amelia Vance in the aviation world puts all of us at risk! So I'm calling on all of you to speak up with me!"

"Get Amelia Vance the punishment she deserves, and I'll cover every ticket for everyone here!"

The moment he finished, the place erupted.

The Chief Pilot rushed to intervene. "Everyone, please, stay calm! For the delay caused by the severe weather, I apologize on behalf of the company. But that doesn't mean Captain Vance was unprofessional!"

"Just the opposite. We've reviewed the flight. There was sudden violent turbulence mid-route, and panic all through the cabin. It was Captain Vance who kept her head, brought everyone through that turbulence with precise control, and landed safely."

"You can hear the cheers and applause from the cabin on the cockpit recording. Have you all forgotten already?"

Hands froze halfway to phones. Doubt crossed their faces.

"The Chief Pilot really knows how to turn black into white!"

Xavier's whole face twisted with mockery.

"If Amelia Vance hadn't deliberately diverted to this dump of an airport, why would we have gone through any of that?"

"She put a whole plane of people in danger for her own ends, and now we're supposed to thank her?"

Every eye turned back to me, loathing in them again.

They stopped hesitating and raced to post their lies and attacks about me online.

In no time the outcry was everywhere.

The company's complaint lines were jammed, the stock crashing.

Just then, a soft, delicate voice came from beyond the crowd.

"What are you all doing?"

"Dora!" Xavier's face went grave. He shoved out through the crowd and pulled Dora into his arms.

"You're still sick. Why did you come?"

Dora was pale, her brow faintly knit, the kind of look that made people want to pity her.

Her eyes settled on me, disapproving. "How could you do this to Captain Vance?"

"She only made me kneel and kicked me a few times, that's all. As long as she lets Felix go, I'll take it gladly!"

Hearing that, the crowd grew even more furious.

"Using a child to threaten Mrs. Sawyer, Amelia Vance is despicable!"

"Mrs. Sawyer is just too kind!"

"Hold her down! Make her kneel and kowtow an apology to Mrs. Sawyer!"

The Chief Pilot startled, moving in with security to stop it, but they couldn't push through at all.

They forced me down onto my knees in front of Xavier and Dora.

Countless lenses were shoved almost against my face, capturing every bit of my humiliation.

My head was pinned down and struck hard against the floor.

Once, twice...

By the ninety-ninth time, the Chief Pilot's phone rang.

Only then did Xavier curl his lips in satisfaction and signal for them to let go of me.

After that call, the Chief Pilot could no longer hold out against the pressure.

He bowed deeply to the media.

"On behalf of the company, I announce that Amelia Vance's captain qualifications are revoked and her pilot's license is suspended."

"Amelia Vance will never be hired anywhere in this industry again!"

I had barely struggled to my feet when everything surged up inside my chest and I coughed out a mouthful of blood.

Xavier came over wearing a smug smile, leaning close to my ear, his voice low.

"See? I can make you a captain and send you soaring into the sky."

"And I can send you to rock bottom, where you'll never get up again."

I listened to all of it blankly, then let out a soft laugh.

The sound was very faint against all that chaos.

Yet it made Xavier instinctively want to step back.

I caught him by the collar, my own voice just as low.

"Has it never occurred to you? That child has the same illness you do, so why didn't the same treatment work on him?"

"What are you saying?"

I ignored his question and shoved him away.

Wiping the blood from my eyes, I said, "Kneeling, kowtowing, punishment..."

"I've accepted all of it."

I took the divorce papers out of my bag and held them up for everyone to see.

"Now it's my turn to finish what I didn't get to say earlier."