Part 4: The Final Signal
Min-ji reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small, sealed silver envelope bearing my name in Mary Lou’s familiar, elegant handwriting.
“She knew that one day you might come looking for her,” Min-ji said, placing the envelope in my hands. “She made me promise that if you ever found this house, I would give you this.”
With tears dripping onto the paper, I broke the wax seal and unfolded the letter.
Mom,
If you are reading this, it means you brought your brave, stubborn heart all the way across the world to find me. I am so sorry for the twelve years of silence. I am so sorry for every empty chair at the Christmas table.
I wanted to come home every single day. But I knew that if I came back, I would bring the darkness with me. The money wasn’t meant to replace me; it was meant to give you the life Dad always wanted for you—a life where you never had to worry, work until your hands bled, or suffer alone.
