I Thought I Found the Perfect Partner - Until the Scam

I met a really smart woman on a dating site. She claimed to be a single mom running two businesses - constantly busy but totally independent. Exactly the kind of partner I was looking for. She never asked for gifts; she liked me for who I was, not my money.
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We talked for about a month. Both of us were busy, so we scheduled long video calls twice a week - cooking, having dinner together virtually. She never showed me her kids, which made me a bit cautious, but I figured they probably needed time to adjust.
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Then she stopped replying. After a week, she sent a photo from the hospital. She had a tumor and needed surgery, couldn’t chat much. The total cost was around $13,000. She said she had no savings, had invested everything into her business, and had debts. I was shocked. Still, thinking about her kids, her work, and how urgent it was, I decided to help and she promised she’d pay me back. I sent the money. After that, her messages became sparse, and eventually she disappeared completely - no texts, no account, blocked everywhere.

I still can’t fully wrap my head around it. Sending that much money to someone I barely knew… I thought I was doing the right thing at the time, but clearly, I got played.

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