“Watch and learn, sweetie,” Sandra whispered, handing her passport to the male clerk behind the counter.
The clerk smiled warmly, scanned their documents, and began typing on his keyboard. But within seconds, his smile completely vanished.

He tapped his screen repeatedly, his brow furrowing into a deep frown as he stared at the system manifest.
“Is there a problem?” Sandra asked, her voice instantly dropping its sweet tone and turning sharp.

The clerk looked up, his expression completely cold and professional. “I’m sorry, ladies, but you are not on the passenger manifest for this vessel. In fact, this specific booking reference was flagged forty-eight hours ago.”
“That’s impossible!” Chloe snapped, slamming her hand on the counter. “Look at the reservation! It’s paid for in full! £19,400!”
“Yes, it was paid for,” the clerk replied calmly, leaning back. “But the original purchaser called two days ago to report the physical booking documents as stolen. The names were never changed. Furthermore, the entire booking was canceled and refunded back to the original payment method, minus a standard cancellation fee.”

Sandra slowly turned to me, the color completely draining from her face. Her jaw dropped, her eyes wide with a mixture of sheer panic and boiling rage. “What did you do?” she hissed, stepping toward me. “Where is our holiday?!”
“I canceled it,” I said, my voice dead calm, echoing clearly across the terminal. “I told you I paid for my grandparents’ cruise. If they aren’t sailing, nobody is. Your flights are non-refundable, your bags are checked to a destination you can’t enter, and you don’t have a room.”

“You little bitch!” Sandra screamed, raising her hand as if she was going to strike me right there in the crowded terminal.
But she never got the chance.

Because I had spent my five-minute phone call two days prior doing more than just canceling a cruise. I had also informed port security that two individuals would be attempting to fraudulently board a vessel using stolen booking references.
Before Sandra’s hand could even drop, two burly Spanish port security officers stepped out from behind the desk. They grabbed her by the arms, pulling her back forcefully. Chloe started screaming, drawing the attention of hundreds of staring tourists, as they were both marched away into a private security holding room for questioning.