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42Belgian airspace, 6 July 2014
The passport was the same: well-thumbed, permanently curled from being crammed into his pockets. It still identified him as Lucas Gabriel Fortesque, a French national from Trouville, Normandy.
He hadn’t returned home for years. His father and mother were humble and hardworking, desiring the best for their son, directing their savings into a college fund. They believed in him. Young Lucas will shine, they declared with proud conviction. Their aspirations crashed when Fortesque was blacklisted in colleges across the country. The quiet disappointment with which they greeted the news was like a knife in his heart.
Young Lucas will shineLooking back, the rivalry between Fortesque and a classmate over an auburn-haired beauty seemed petty. Fortesque admitted
