That would take time.
It was then that she remembered an important detail from the day she saw Edwin… and Isabella.
Christy stood outside the airline office, gathering her courage before entering. At the check-in counter, she was greeted by a cheerful representative. ‘Good morning! How can I help you today?’
‘I need to see the passenger list from my last flight. It’s important,’ Christie said, stumbling over her words.
‘That’s confidential. May I ask why you need it?’ the representative asked, frowning.
Christie tried to hide her nervousness: ‘One passenger left something valuable behind. I want to help return it.’
‘Well, I can’t show you the list, but I can help if you tell me the details,’ said the representative and led Christie into a separate office.
Sitting down in a chair, Christie explained that a passenger named Isabella had lost a piece of jewellery and had mentioned it when they were disembarking from the plane.
The representative confirmed that the lost and found department had received a report about Isabella’s loss and that the jewellery had indeed been found.
‘Can I return it to her myself? It might mean more if it’s given to her by someone who was on the flight,’ Christie asked.
After signing a release form, Christie received Isabella’s jewellery and her contact details. She called the stranger and arranged to meet her the next day in the hotel lobby.
Christie approached Isabella, the very woman Edwin had been affectionate with during her last flight, in the hotel’s beautiful café and recognised her immediately.
‘You were the flight attendant on my last trip, weren’t you?’ Isabella asked in surprise.
‘Yes, that was me. It’s a small world.’
Christie immediately got down to business, telling her about Edwin, her suspicions, and everything else she knew. The young woman frowned, upset.
“I knew something was wrong. Edwin asked me for a large sum of money for urgent needs. I trusted him, and I was supposed to meet him soon to give him the money,” Isabella said, leaning back in her chair and folding her arms.
Christie told her that this was their chance to expose him. ‘We can devise a plan to catch him. We’ll record everything. I’ll disguise myself so he won’t recognise me,’ she planned.
Isabella agreed, and they spent the next hour devising a strategy, paying attention to every detail and Edwin’s possible reactions.
Leaving the coffee shop, Christie was nervous but determined. The plan was in place, and together they were going to save her mother.
In the dimly lit, upscale restaurant where Isabella had arranged to meet Edwin and give him the money he had requested, the young woman waited, twirling a glass of wine in her hands.
Meanwhile, Christy, disguised as a waitress, watched from the other end of the room as Edwin confidently entered and greeted Isabella.
‘Isabella, dear, I’m sorry to keep you waiting,’ he said as he sat down.
Christie approached their table to take their order, and Isabella played along perfectly, suggesting they celebrate with red wine.
‘Excellent choice,’ Edwin agreed, never taking his eyes off Isabella. Christie quickly brought the wine, her heart pounding with every step.
‘That’s all, thank you,’ said Edwin, glancing briefly at Christie. It wasn’t enough for him to understand who she was. His attention quickly returned to his companion.
As they sipped their wine, Isabella suggested that instead of giving him money, she should give him a gift, something more tangible, such as jewellery, since he had been so generous with her diamonds. Gift baskets
While they sipped wine, Isabella suggested that instead of giving him money, she should give him a gift, something more tangible, such as jewellery, since he had been so generous in giving her diamonds. Gift baskets
Intrigued, Edwin took out his phone to show her a few options, from Cartier and Rolex watches to designer clothes.
As soon as his phone was on the table, Christie saw her chance. She pretended to fill their glasses with wine and accidentally spilled some on Edwin’s shirt.
‘Damn it! My shirt!’ he exclaimed, jumping to his feet in irritation.
‘It was just an accident, Edwin. Let’s not make a scene,’ Isabella reassured him, nodding discreetly to Christie.
Christie apologised and then hurried away, saying she needed to fetch soda and napkins.
During the commotion, she replaced Edwin’s unlocked phone with a temporary decoy and hurried to the bathroom to check the real phone.
After searching for a few minutes, Christie discovered Edwin’s active profile on a dating site and flirtatious messages similar to those he had sent her mother.
It wasn’t the irrefutable proof she had hoped for, but it was still disturbing. So Christie began typing a message, trying with all her might to lure Edwin into a trap.
Suddenly there was a knock. ‘I know you’re in there with my phone! Come out now!’ Edwin shouted from outside.