SPOILER ALERT: This post contains details about the most recent episode of When Calls the Heart.

When Calls the Heart returned to Hallmark Channel on Sunday night without Lori Loughlin. It was the first episode to air since Loughlin was fired following her arrest in the nationwide college bribery scandal.

There was much speculation as to how Loughlin’s Abigail character would be written off the show. In last night’s episode, the first part of a two-night special, Erin Krakow’s character Elizabeth Thatcher revealed in a letter that Abigail had traveled “back east” to take care of her ailing mother.

“It’s been a week since Abigail got word that her mother had taken ill back east. True to her nature, Abigail wasted no time in rushing off to care for her,’ Elizabeth (Krakow) explained. “Abigail is much more than a friend, she’s family. I will miss her and Cody deeply — we all will, but we must get by as best we can. In her absence, we must soldier on and we will. We are a community, we are strong, we are Hope Valley.”

Full House alum Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli were charged in March with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, as well as money laundering, in the college admissions scandal. Both have pleaded not guilty.

In addition to When Calls the Heart, Loughlin was also terminated from the recently canceled Garage Sale Mysteries telefilm series.