The next morning, I made a decision.
I sold everything I had — the improved house, the savings, all of it.
We gathered what we needed.
Then we went together to confront Li Mei.
It wasn’t dramatic.
It wasn’t a confrontation full of shouting.
I simply told her it was over, and showed her the money.
She looked at me.
Then she looked at Marcus.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Finally, she said quietly:
“It’s all over.”
When we walked out, the sun was shining.
My son took a long, deep breath and said:
“I’m finally free.”
Those three words were worth every cent.
We returned home to the States together.
No one believed us when we said we wanted to open a small restaurant.
Nothing fancy — just simple food, a few wooden tables, a handwritten menu, and hot soup every morning.
The first customer said:
“This is delicious.”
And for the first time in ten years, my son’s eyes sparkled.
