Elena pulled Leo onto her lap and held him as he cried.
The quiet room felt bigger and colder than it had before.
She wiped the small scrape on Leo's knee with her white dress.
Elena: It's okay, my brave little boy.
Leo: Did I do something wrong, Mom?
Elena: You did nothing wrong, my sweet angel.
Elena looked over at the trash can near the mahogany desk.
The crumpled birth certificate lay inside among dusty paper cups.
She stood up slowly and walked over to retrieve the document.
She unrolled the paper and carefully flattened it against her knee.
David's full legal name was clearly printed on the father's line.
A official state stamp proved the validity of the legal record.
A young female assistant walked into the room carrying a clipboard.
Her name tag read Sarah, and her face looked full of sympathy.
Sarah: I watched what happened on the security monitor.
Elena: He acted like we do not even exist.
Sarah: He does that to anyone who threatens his political campaign.
Sarah looked around the hallway to make sure nobody was listening.
She leaned in close to Elena and spoke in a low whisper.
Sarah: David signed a trust fund agreement six years ago.
Elena: A trust fund?
Sarah: He set aside money so you would never talk to reporters.
Elena shook her head in utter disbelief and growing anger.
Elena: I never took a single penny from that man!
Sarah: I know, because his campaign manager kept the money himself.
The news hit Elena like a heavy physical blow to her chest.
David's team had lied to him, making him think she was paid off.
And David had treated her like a greedy stranger as a result.
Sarah: The lawyer who managed that account is still in the building.
Elena: Take me to see him right now.
Leo held his mother's hand as they followed Sarah down the corridor.
They walked past tall oil paintings of former state leaders.
Every picture made Elena feel small inside the giant building.
But she knew she had to stay strong for her child's future.
Sarah stopped in front of a door marked Legal Counsel Department.
She knocked three times on the glass panel and opened it slow.
An older man with gray hair looked up from a pile of files.
Sweat appeared on his forehead the moment he recognized Elena's face.