Kristi, a young flight attendant, had seen her fair share of eccentric and wealthy passengers in business class. But one couple on a recent flight caught her attention. They were elegant, affectionate, and unmistakably well-off. The man, impeccably dressed, surprised the woman—Isabella—with a diamond necklace mid-flight. Kristi offered her congratulations, charmed by their public display of love and luxury.

She thought nothing more of it—until the next day. When Kristi stopped by her mother’s house, she was floored to be introduced to her mom’s new fiancé: Edwin. It was the same man from the plane, only now he acted like he’d never seen Kristi before. He was charming, polished, and had seemingly swept her mother off her feet. A wedding was already in the works.

Kristi didn’t know what to think. Was it all a mix-up? Or was her mother unknowingly being taken advantage of? When she voiced her concerns, her mother grew defensive. “You just don’t want me to be happy,” she said coldly, brushing off Kristi’s warnings.

But Kristi couldn’t ignore the feeling something was wrong. Using airline lost-and-found records, she tracked down Isabella and arranged to meet her at a nearby hotel café. When they sat down, Isabella was stunned to learn Edwin was engaged to someone else—and even more disturbed as she revealed he’d recently asked her for a large sum of money.