They spoke on video only once. Mary Lou looked the same, but something in her expression had changed—she seemed busy, distracted, far away. When asked why she didn’t visit, she simply said, “I’m very busy.”
Despite the financial comfort the money provided, Theresa lived in quiet loneliness. Each Christmas, she prepared her daughter’s favorite meal and set a place at the table that remained empty.
After twelve years, she made a decision. Without telling her daughter, and despite never traveling abroad before, Theresa bought a ticket to South Korea—determined to see for herself what “doing well” truly meant.
