The air conditioning in the Knox County courthouse always smelled like old paper and damp floor wax.

I sat at the defense table, my fingers dug into the cracked vinyl of my purse.

Outside, the Knoxville summer was thick and humid, but inside this room, my skin was covered in goosebumps.

Beside me, my eight-year-old son, Nolan, stared down at his scuffed sneakers.

He wore his favorite blue shirt, the one with the faded solar system print on the chest.

It was thin at the elbows, washed so many times the fabric felt like tissue paper.

Across the aisle, my ex-husband, Grant, sat next to his attorney, Preston Carroway.

Grant wore a tailored gray suit that probably cost more than my monthly rent at the apartment.

His dark hair was perfectly parted, his gold watch catching the harsh fluorescent light above us.

Preston Carroway stood up, slowly buttoning his jacket as he approached the bench.

He walked toward the center of the well, holding a thick manila folder in his manicured hand.

“Your Honor, if we look at the physical evidence, the mother’s financial instability is clear,” Carroway said.

His deep voice carried easily through the silent, cold courtroom.

Judge Harlan leaned forward on the bench, his gray eyebrows knitting together under his glasses.

“Go on, Mr. Carroway,” the judge said, his voice flat.

Carroway turned around and pointed a finger directly at Nolan.

“Look at the child, Your Honor,” Carroway said.

“He is wearing a shirt that is threadbare, faded, and clearly too small for his frame.”

Grant shook his head, looking down at his lap with a practiced expression of deep sorrow.

“Mrs. Bellamy cannot even afford basic, decent clothing for her own son,” Carroway continued.

“She works forty hours a week at the diner, yet she sends this boy to school in rags.”

“That is not true,” I whispered, but my own attorney tapped my arm to quiet me.

My chest tightened so hard I could barely draw a full breath.

I had bought that shirt for Nolan last year, and he had refused to wear anything else because he loved astronomy so much.