beta
Her son is a better person than the mother. He has the maturity to manage the orphanage and hopefully his own personal life. He won't pretend to be a saint and cause so much pain to her own child.
She's dead now, so basically he's gone no contact with her. Her memento just gave him a moment to realize she had never forgotten him. But that's just the author's fallacy, she probably kept many boxes, she even forgot she had this box.