Julian led his mother down the big stone steps away from the church.
Victoria shouted loud threats after them as her wealthy parents tried stopping her.
Photographers flashed bright cameras as Julian walked straight to his sports car.
He opened the passenger door gently for his mother to sit down.
She looked nervously at the clean leather seats inside the luxury vehicle.
Mother: I do not want to make your fancy car dirty, my son.
Julian: You could never ruin anything of mine, please sit inside warmly.
She sat down carefully as Julian closed the car door with a soft thud.
He walked around to the driver's side and got inside the vehicle.
He turned on the engine and drove far away from the chaotic scene.
For the first ten minutes, neither of them spoke a single word.
The quiet hum of the car filled the space between them peacefully.
Julian glanced over at his mother's weathered hands resting in her lap.
He noticed small scars from long years of working hard manual labor jobs.
Julian: Where have you been living all these long difficult years, Mom?
Mother: In a small tiny apartment on the east side of town.
She told him how she worked as a seamstress for small local shops.
She saved every spare penny just in case she ever found him again.
She wanted to have something small to offer him when they met.
Julian felt a heavy lump form in his tight throat once again.
While he lived in extreme luxury, his real mother survived in deep poverty.
He pulled the car up to a quiet local diner on the edge of town.
He parked the car and unbuckled his seatbelt with steady hands.
Julian: Let us go inside and get something hot to eat together.
They walked into the cozy diner and sat down in a quiet booth.
The waitress brought two big glasses of fresh water to their table.
Julian looked straight into his mother's soft green eyes across the table.
Julian: I am so deeply sorry for how I spoke to you outside.
Mother: You did not know the truth, my darling boy, I forgive you.
Julian took her hand across the Formica table and held it tightly.
Julian: I am going to hire the best lawyer in the entire state tomorrow.
Mother: What are you planning to do with a lawyer, my dear?
Julian: I am going to expose what my adoptive father did to us.
He wanted justice for the stolen years they could never get back.
He wanted the entire world to know the real truth of his past.
Mother: I do not care about revenge, I only wanted my son back.
Julian: You have me back, Mom, and nobody will ever separate us again.