After the divorce, I had no one left to lean on. Because of the child growing inside me, I swallowed my pride and did every j0b I could find. On the day I went into lab0r, I drove myself to the hospital, trembling through every red light.

The lie spread quickly.

People stopped calling.

Friends who had once celebrated our wedding suddenly avoided eye contact when they saw me in public.

So I worked.

At night, I cleaned office buildings.

Before sunrise, I edited legal transcripts online.

Some afternoons, I folded linens at a hotel laundry until my feet were swollen.

Every dollar went toward rent, medical appointments, and basic expenses for the baby.

But I was also building something else.

A file.