—Yes. You. Not Kang. Not me. You.
Maria Luisa opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Teresa took one step closer.
—I’ve spent my whole life making decisions out of fear. Fear of not having money. Fear of losing you. Fear of what people will say.
Her voice began to break.
—I don’t want to decide today because of fear. But I can’t decide for you either.
Maria Luisa trembled. Those words left her more exposed than any accusation.
Kang sighed.
—Very nice. But useless.
He took out his phone.
—In 5 minutes, the complaint will be filed against her. Then we’ll see how much a mother’s love is worth in a courtroom.
Teresa didn’t know Korean law. She didn’t understand the stamps. She didn’t know who to call.
But he could read faces. And Kang wasn’t calm. He was in a hurry.
That meant that red memory mattered.
Maria Luisa looked towards the stairs.
Kang followed his gaze.
—No.
It was just one word, but everyone moved.
Maria Luisa ran towards the stairs. The young man tried to stop her. Teresa stepped in front of him without thinking.
The shove sent her crashing against the wall. Her shoulder hurt, but she didn’t fall.
-Mother!
—¡Corre!
Maria Luisa went upstairs. Kang shouted something in Korean. The women backed away in fear.
The man in the suit grabbed Teresa by the arm, not with brutal force, but with customary authority.
—Madam, don’t complicate this.
Teresa looked directly at him.
—You don’t know how much a mother can complicate things.
She stepped on his foot with all her might. The man cursed and left her.
Upstairs, boxes were heard falling. Papers. A bang against a door.
Kang went up two steps, but stopped when Teresa stood in front of him.
It was ridiculous. There she was, a 63-year-old woman, facing a powerful man in a foreign country.
But he didn’t move.
“I want to separate.
—No.
Kang watched her with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.
—Your daughter will go to prison.
Teresa felt that word open her chest.
-Maybe.
The answer surprised everyone.
Teresa took a deep breath.
—But if he has to pay for something, let him pay with the whole truth, not by taking on your burdens.
Kang finally lost his smile.
Maria Luisa went downstairs with a shoebox clutched to her chest.
Her face had changed. She was still scared, but she no longer looked asleep.
“I have copies in the cloud,” he said. “If they touch me, they’re gone.”
Kang looked at her the way one looks at someone who has just broken a sacred agreement.
—You have no courage.
Maria Luisa went down the last step.
—I didn’t have it.
He looked at Teresa.
-Now yes.
For a moment, mother and daughter recognized each other after 12 years apart.
Not as innocents. Not as saviors. Just as two women tired of pretending.
Kang extended his hand.
—Give it to me and I can still fix this.
Maria Luisa hugged the box tighter.
—That’s what you told me the first time.
Teresa felt the hidden story opening up like an old wound.
Maria Luisa spoke without taking her eyes off Kang.
—You told me it was just a signature. That it helped move legal money. That I would pay off Mom’s debt later.
Her voice trembled, but it didn’t break.
—Then it was another signature. Then an account. Then a trip. Then a lie for immigration.
Kang pressed his lips together.
