“Those are my earrings! How could they end up on eBay?”
Emma noticed things disappearing from her own apartment. At first, she thought she might be imagining it. Perhaps she had just misplaced them and forgotten. Now, she simply couldn’t find them anywhere.
Emma slowly realized something strange was going on. The most baffling thing was that hardly anyone visited them—a friend and her mother-in-law were the only exceptions.
Her friend, Anna, definitely wouldn’t take anything. They had been friends since childhood. And her mother-in-law? How could anyone suspect their husband’s mother? She seemed like such a respectable and educated lady.
“John, have you seen my earrings?” Emma asked her husband one morning while he was getting ready for work.
“You think I’m wearing them?” he replied, surprised.
“No, it’s just that I haven’t been able to find them for days.”
“You probably tucked them away somewhere. Now they’re like a needle in a haystack,” he grumbled.
“But I’ve really looked everywhere, and they mean a lot to me, especially with those sapphires.”
John just shrugged and advised Emma to be more careful next time.
She began thinking over who had recently visited them. Again, it pointed to her friend and her mother-in-law. There was also the postman, but he never came inside.
A few days later, her friend Anna called Emma with a rather unusual question.
“Emma, are you selling your earrings?”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember those sapphire ones? You had them custom-made.”
“I remember. Why do you think I’m selling them?” Emma was puzzled.
“Well, I just saw them on eBay.”
“That can’t be! They must just look similar.”
“No, I’m sure they’re yours. I can send you the link.”
“Yes, please,” Emma said, now feeling nervous because she genuinely didn’t understand how this was possible.
She wouldn’t have sold them, but she also couldn’t find hers anywhere.
“This can’t be! They are definitely mine!”
“As I said, would I lie to you?” Anna replied, a bit hurt.
“No, it’s not that. I just can’t figure out how they ended up there.”
Emma explained her predicament to her friend.
“Unbelievable. Then there’s only one option.”
“You’re suggesting it’s my mother-in-law? But the seller’s name isn’t listed.”
“It’s easy to find out.”
The friends decided to meet at a café, and Anna decided to call the number from the ad. Surprisingly, the number didn’t belong to the mother-in-law—Emma would have recognized it immediately.
“It’s not her number.”
“Wait, we’ll find out who it is,” Anna interrupted and dialed the number.
A young woman answered. The voice seemed familiar, but Emma couldn’t place it right away.
“Give me the address, and I’ll come by to pick them up soon,” Anna stated.
Anna’s assertiveness was no surprise; she was always determined and resourceful.
“Recognize the voice?”
“It sounds familiar, but I can’t recall who it is.”
“We’re about to find out.”
The friends called a taxi and headed to the address they were given.
“Wait, I know this area. This is near where my husband’s sister lives. Yes, in this building!”
When they reached the floor, Emma immediately recognized Karen’s apartment.
“Ma’am, haggling won’t work,” she said, opening the door.
Emma hid around the corner, waiting to see what would happen next.
“I wasn’t planning on negotiating. Can we at least see the earrings?”
As Karen unveiled them, Emma stepped out from around the corner.
“Emma, what are you doing here?” Karen stammered.
“I came to see how you and your mother plan to sell my belongings.”
Karen was caught off guard, clearly not expecting this.
“Those aren’t yours. They were given to me as a gift!” she claimed.
“Really? And who gives you such expensive gifts?”
Karen, who was raising two kids alone, had no husband.
“That’s none of your business.”
“The police will decide what’s whose business. I have everything recorded, and I have snapshots of the ad. Plus, I have photos of these earrings in my records.”
With that, Emma and Anna left, while Karen went pale.
“Mum, can you believe it? She said she’d report it to the police. What now?” Karen cried over the phone.
Her mother-in-law realized she had to handle things herself.
“You fool. Who posts these things on eBay immediately?”
“I needed the money. How was I to know her friend would show up?”
“You need to use your head! What am I going to tell them now?”
Pauline Hodgson was a surprising woman. Her biggest concern was that Emma wouldn’t report them. That she took something without permission didn’t seem to bother her at all.
“Are you really going to report my sister?” John was stunned when he heard the full story.
“Yes, and your mother too.”
“Emma, stop! This has to be a mistake. This can’t be true!”
At that moment, the doorbell rang, and Pauline Hodgson stood on the doorstep. As she entered the flat, she immediately handed back the earrings to Emma.
“Here, take your earrings. No need for any report.”
“Mum, what’s all this?”
Pauline confessed that she had her eyes on those earrings for a while and felt that, for someone like Emma, they seemed too extravagant.
And how could they live in luxury when there were family members who needed help? Karen was raising two kids alone after her husband had left, refusing to help. So, she intended to help her daughter at someone else’s expense, so to speak.
“Do you seriously think it’s okay to take someone else’s things? Especially something precious to me?”
Pauline pursed her lips before responding.
“I just wanted to help my daughter, but I realized I was wrong and decided to return them.”
Emma, however, was not as naive as they thought. If Anna hadn’t stumbled upon the listing, they might have sold the earrings without hesitation. And who’s to say the mother-in-law wasn’t in on it?
“Yes, Mum, I’m disappointed in you. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to see you in our home anymore,” John firmly stated and asked his mother to leave.
Emma clutched her head, still unable to believe her husband’s relatives were capable of such deceit. She had considered them family, but they turned out worse than enemies. Nonetheless, it was a lesson for the future.
John made one request—not to report them. Eventually, karma would catch up with everyone. Emma agreed, not wanting to strain her marriage and was determined to keep her family intact.
