Kayla, grieving the loss of her grandmother, is about to return home after the funeral. But when she boards her flight, she has no idea about the nightmare that awaits her. In a case of mistaken identity, Kayla has no choice but to rely on her wits and quick thinking to get her out of the hot water she has landed in.
After a few long days of grieving, I was ready to collapse into my own bed. I was six months pregnant and emotionally drained from my grandmother’s funeral.
People at a funeral | Source: Pexels
The funeral had been tough, but it was a poignant farewell to a woman who had been my rock throughout my life.
“Are you sure you want to leave today?” my mother asked as I packed my suitcase. “You can wait a few days if you need to just sit with this loss.”
I smiled at her sadly.
A person packing a suitcase | Source: Pexels
“I know,” I said. “But I need to get back to work and back to Colin. You know my husband barely manages without me.”
“I suppose it’s a good idea for you to be in your comfort zone,” she said. “But Dad and I have decided that we’ll stay until the end of the week just to sort Gran’s house out and finalize anything that needs to be done. I know that Dad cannot wait to get home.”
“I just wish that Gran would have been around to see the baby,” I said, rubbing my hand along my belly. “That’s what I’ve wanted all along.”
A woman holding her stomach | Source: Unsplash
“I know, honey,” my mother said. “I wish that you and Gran could have had that moment, but it’s okay, darling. At least you were here in the end when Gran needed you the most.”
Now, I was navigating the long lines at the airport. I had hated flying, but it was much easier to fly home than drive. I couldn’t manage spending twelve hours in a car with my bladder fighting me.
People at an airport | Source: Unsplash
But finally, I made it onto the plane, ready for the journey back home to my husband.
“I’ll take that, ma’am,” a flight attendant told me, reaching out for my bag.
“Thank you,” I said, settling into my seat, my body aching for rest.
A pregnant woman sitting in an airplane | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, I hate flying,” the woman next to me said. “It’s the worst. But I hate driving too. I should have just stayed home.”
I almost laughed because I agreed completely. I hated the turbulence that came with flying. It made me feel uneasy and anxious, as though I was absolutely losing control with each jolt.
But still, as I sat back, ready for the flight to take off and take me home, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was staring at me.
A man sitting in an airplane | Source: Midjourney
Turning around, I noticed a man sitting a few rows behind, intently watching me. His gaze was unsettling, but I dismissed him as one of those people who judged a pregnant woman for traveling.
Soon after, the hum of the engines became a soothing background noise as the plane began its ascent.
“Finally,” the woman beside me said. “Let’s just get home.”
Little did I know that a nightmare was about to unfold.
Ten minutes after we were airborne, a flight attendant approached me, her gaze hard.
“Excuse me, ma’am. Could you please come with me?” she asked, her perfume taking over my nose.
I had no intention of waking up and walking anywhere, but her authoritative tone left no room for argument, and with a deep sigh, I unbuckled my seat and followed her to the clearing just off the bathroom.
Immediately, her demeanor changed.
“You need to get on your knees immediately!” she commanded, nodding to someone that I couldn’t see.
“What? Why? What happened?” I exclaimed, completely shocked.
“Now,” she said simply.
I was shocked and confused, but something in her voice made me comply. As I knelt, I couldn’t understand what was going on. Nothing felt right. I hadn’t done anything wrong.
Just then, the man who had been staring at me earlier entered.
“Where is the golden necklace you stole?” he demanded, his voice threatening.
“What are you talking about?” I asked. “I didn’t steal anything! I am just returning from my grandmother’s funeral!”
He made a clucking sound with his tongue and produced a set of photographs and documents.
“This is you at the museum two days before the exhibit was moved to the hotel. This is you at the hotel foyer where the necklace went missing. We tracked you up to this plane after you ran away from the hotel.”
I looked at the pictures, and they were hazy. But they did bear a striking resemblance to me, though there were clear differences.
“Look,” I said suddenly. “The woman in these photos has a tattoo or scar or something on her wrist. Look! I don’t have anything like that!”
The man examined my wrists, his icy hands pulling roughly.
“See? No tattoos. No scars. Nothing. You have the wrong person!” I insisted. “And I’m pregnant! The woman in the photos is not!”
I felt a sudden wave of fear for my baby. In the heat of the moment, my baby lay there silently.
“But that could be a disguise,” he replied, not entirely convinced.
I thought about whether the police would be waiting for me at the airport. And whether I could get away from this. I just wanted to get home to Colin.
It was as if thinking about my husband had summoned the baby to wake up.
A sudden kick in my stomach made me act impulsively. Without thinking, I took the man’s hand and placed it on my belly.
“No, you can’t fake this,” I said.
He sighed, looking visibly relieved but also very embarrassed.
“I’m so sorry. You look very much like her. I was convinced that we were on the right track. I have to wait until we get back on the ground to actually deal with this.”
“Look, I get it,” I said. “But I’m not her. I’m just trying to get home,” I said, feeling a bit calmer, while I tried to get back onto my feet.
Little did we know that it was time for part two of the nightmare.
Suddenly, the flight attendant pulled out a gun.
“Enough! Both of you, hands behind your backs!”
She reached into her pocket and pulled out zip ties, tying the man’s hands first with her back to me.
“You’re not as foolish as you look,” she said to him. “You were right about tracking me to the plane. But you had the wrong person in mind.”
Another surge of fear for my baby made me act. With her standing with her back to me, I saw an opportunity and kicked her as hard as I could.
She stumbled and fell, dropping the gun. She had been distracted talking to him that she didn’t finish zip tying the man’s hands yet, so he tackled her.
As he did, we caught a glimpse of the gold necklace hanging around her neck.
“She’s the real thief,” he said, securing her. “She’s been posing as different people to avoid capture. I have no idea how she managed to board this flight as an attendant.”
“You are so brave for doing what you did. Thank you for getting to her before she tied me,” he said.
“I was just afraid for my baby,” I said, sighing. “I acted on instinct.”
The rest of the flight was a blur of apologies from the man and explanations to the crew and authorities.
“I’m Detective Connor,” he said, shaking my hand after.
The woman was arrested upon landing, with about fifteen police officers standing at the gate, just waiting.
“I am truly sorry for what you’ve been through,” Connor said.
“Just explain to me what happened,” I replied, needing closure before heading out to find my husband.
“We’ve been tracking this woman for months. She’s been stealing valuable items and using various disguises to evade capture. I received a tip that she would be on this flight. When I saw you, and your hair, I just thought…” he trailed off, clearly remorseful.
“You thought I was her,” I finished for him. “Well, I’m not. And now you know.”
“Yes, and I’m very sorry for the mistake, Kayla. I hope you can forgive me.”
Despite the ordeal, I felt a strange sense of relief.
As I walked through the doors and saw my husband standing there with yellow tulips and a wide smile on his face, I instantly felt at peace.
“Welcome home,” he said, pulling me into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
We drove home in silence, just enjoying being in each other’s presence again. But when we got home, I sat down with Colin and told him everything that had happened on the flight.
“Are you okay?” he asked me, his eyes wide. “Are you shaken? Should we take you to a doctor to make sure everything is okay?”
“No,” I replied. “I’m absolutely fine, I just wanted to come back home to you.”
My husband put his hands on my stomach and smiled at me.
“I’m glad you’re home,” he said again, kissing my stomach.
“I Would Try for My Girl,” Rihanna Shares She’s Ready to Have More Kids With ASAP Rocky
After dedicating herself to a career to shape her life and business empire, Rihanna is now embracing a more laid-back approach to the future. Currently, a mother to two sons, RZA and Riot, expressed her desire to expand her family.
Rihanna reflects on growing her family and rapidly deepening her bond with Rocky.
Rihanna talked about her expanding family in a recent interview. The singer mentioned her openness to having more children, saying, “I will have as many kids as God wants me to have.” She also expressed her desire for a daughter, “I don’t know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl. But of course, if it’s another boy, it’s another boy.”
Reflecting on their relationship’s beginning, Rihanna described their cautious approach, allowing things to unfold naturally, “I just let whatever was supposed to happen, happen. It was just, This is a flower. It’s either going to die or blossom. But I’m going to let it decide itself.”
She acknowledged that the lockdown in 2021 accelerated their relationship, leading them to start a family sooner than planned. Despite the unexpected timing, Rihanna emphasized how becoming a family was the best thing for them.
Their partnership, she explained, thrives on mutual trust and acceptance rather than striving for perfection. Rihanna expressed gratitude for Rocky’s belief in her and his vision of her as a great mother. Likewise, she believed in him as a great father. She’s happy with how everything turned out, stating, “I let God lead and just let go. Because in previous relationships, I tried and tried and tried my best, and you still feel like it’s not enough. So when someone sees you and believes in you, and thinks you’re worthy of being the mother of their kids, it’s a great feeling. I felt the same about him. I knew he would be a great dad.”
Her life has been more colorful since becoming a mother.
The Barbadian singer also opened up about what it’s like to be a parent and how that affected her. “I’m living for my son,” Rihanna said. “Everything matters now. You really start to take a lot into account.”
The 34-year-old also explained that her life took a turn for the better after giving birth and that she thinks twice before taking unnecessary risks. “Skydiving?! You think about stuff like that — it’s not worth it,” she continued. “Everything is different, life before my son seems very obscure. It’s very small and cloudy, it just got better with him.”
And this isn’t the first time Rihanna has gushed about the joys of motherhood and how much she’s enjoying her new role. In a previous interview, she lit up when asked what her favorite thing about being a mom was.
“Oh my god, the mornings, like, seeing his morning face! Seeing a baby with, like, little bags and waking up, and they’re just, like, startled. They’re trying to figure out where they’re at. It’s the cutest, it’s my favorite part of the day,” she replied.
How motherhood changed her perspective on work.
On 12 February 2023, Rihanna stepped on stage to perform a selection of her hits after being away from music for almost a decade. The stage was none other than the halftime show at the Super Bowl, which has a long tradition of featuring iconic acts from a variety of music’s biggest names. When asked, during the podcast recording, about how she reacted when she got the invitation for it, the singer admitted that she was fearful of how it would go.
“It was so scary because it was kind of unexpected to come back from zero to Super Bowl. That’s kind of nuts,” Rihanna replied. She also wanted to make sure the show would be good enough to warrant the time spent away from her son. “Getting back to anything right now has to feel worth it. Nothing is worthy of your time away from your kid,” she added.
But what took the world by surprise during her Super Bowl Halftime Show was the announcement that she is pregnant with her second child, with the performance beginning with the singer rubbing her baby bump at the start of the first song. RiRi created a new pop culture moment, and since then, fans can’t wait to see how her motherhood story continues to unfold and blossom!
We compared 18 star couples’ photos when they were early in the relationship and right before they broke up. Click here to see photos.
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