Millionaire Girlfriend

Chapter 18: Chapter 18 - Years later

Four years later...

"How are you feeling today?" the woman in her forties asked in a calm voice.

Her expression remained unreadable behind her thin-framed glasses as she wrote a few notes in the notebook resting on her knees.

Lying on the couch across from her, a young blonde woman wore a gray hoodie, the hood hiding part of her face. Her tired, red-rimmed eyes remained fixed on the ceiling, as if even looking at the psychologist was something she couldn’t bear.

A heavy silence filled the room.

"Fine..." the young woman finally answered in a weak voice.

No one in the room believed that for a second.

"Fine enough to finally talk about it?" the psychologist asked, waiting for the young woman’s reaction.

The psychologist wasn’t surprised when the young woman immediately turned her eyes toward her.

"Clara... you need to accept my help. Otherwise, we’re never going to make any progress," the psychologist said to Clara Turner, who was now attending her sixth session and still refusing to open up.

Her patient still seemed unwilling to talk about what was truly troubling her.

"And how exactly can you help me?!" Clara snapped.

"You really think talking about it will answer all the questions I’ve been asking myself for almost two years about why Ashley disappeared?" Clara continued, clearly frustrated by her therapist’s persistence.

"I don’t know," the psychologist admitted. "But let’s start there. Why do you still believe she disappeared instead of simply leaving?"

The question struck a nerve, one Clara had avoided discussing all this time.

"The police investigation found no evidence suggesting she was kidnapped or anything like that," the woman continued.

"However, there is evidence proving she left voluntarily. Ten million dollars were transferred from your account to several accounts linked to offshore companies in the Cayman Islands, and she is the main suspect."

"She also packed her belongings and took all of your jewelry. You even received a photo of her staying at a luxury hotel in Las Vegas."

Hearing arguments that were almost impossible to refute, Clara shut herself off again.

It had now been almost two years since Ashley disappeared without leaving a single trace.

Clara didn’t even know whether Ashley was already dead or somewhere out there, living her best life with her ten million dollars.

What hurt Clara the most wasn’t the possibility that Ashley had taken the money and left.

No.

She would have given Ashley the money, and even more, without hesitation if she had simply asked.

What hurt the most was not knowing the truth.

She couldn’t move on without knowing what had really happened.

Why had Ashley disappeared so suddenly when they were still together and seemed happy on the very day she vanished?

Why hadn’t Clara noticed if something was wrong?

And above all...

Why had Ashley accepted her marriage proposal if she was only going to leave two weeks later?

"Your mother told me you’re planning to return to your position next month. Do you feel ready?" the psychologist asked, changing the subject after seeing Clara shut down once again.

------

Back at the enormous mansion where she had returned to live after Ashley’s disappearance, Clara went to her room and locked the door behind her, just like she always did.

She immediately noticed that someone had entered her room to clean it, even though she always made sure to lock it so no one could enter her personal space.

She noticed that all the papers scattered across her bed had been neatly placed inside a large cardboard box.

She was furious.

But she didn’t want to yell at the employee, who had only followed her mother’s orders.

And she certainly didn’t want to argue with her own mother.

Clara overturned the box, spreading all the papers across her bed again.

Among them were all the investigation documents regarding Ashley Gresham’s disappearance.

There were pieces of evidence, witness statements, missing person posters, and photographs.

Clara picked up one of the pictures and carefully examined every detail that could suggest Ashley had been kidnapped rather than leaving willingly.

But she found nothing.

Ashley was wearing a beautiful pink dress, smiling brightly in front of a large crowd.

It was extremely unlikely that someone had been threatening her when she had countless opportunities to ask for help.

Clara stared at the picture for several more seconds before throwing it back into the box.

Then she gathered all the documents, placed them inside, and carried the box outside.

Her mother, who was sitting in the grand living room reading a magazine, noticed her.

She stood up and looked through a small window overlooking the garden.

There, she saw Clara.

Clara placed the box in the middle of the garden and poured gasoline over it.

For a brief moment, she hesitated.

Then she struck a match and dropped it inside.

"Ah... my beautiful lawn," Regina Turner complained.

But despite her words, she was genuinely happy.

Happy to see that her daughter was finally trying to move forward.

Clara watched as the documents and Ashley’s photograph were slowly consumed by the flames.

She had made her decision.

She would finally face reality, no matter how painful it was.

She would accept that Ashley had deceived her and abandoned her.

---

One year later...

Ashley stared at the stacks of money in front of her in disbelief.

"This is all mine?" she asked, still unable to process what she was seeing.

"Yes. Exactly five thousand dollars," a man wearing sunglasses replied.

"So... you’re just letting me leave with five thousand dollars?" she asked the man who had held her captive for more than two years inside a mansion on a private property where it seemed like no one else lived nearby.

"Yes. Why? Do you want to stay?" the man asked.

"No," Ashley answered.

She still had no idea what was happening.

Her captor had never mistreated her.

Not even once.

Even during her many escape attempts.

He had fed her delicious meals three times a day, bought her expensive clothes, and had even hired a makeup artist to do her makeup almost every day.

At first, Ashley thought it was Clara’s family who had made her disappear because they didn’t want them to get married.

But after some time, she began to suspect that a dangerous man had fallen in love with her and kidnapped her.

Yet as the months passed, the man never made a single advance toward her.

And now, he was simply telling her to leave.

She had countless questions.

But she wasn’t stupid enough to ask them when she was finally about to be free.

"Listen carefully," the man said.

"Forget my face. I don’t care if you tell everyone that you were kidnapped. But if I ever find out that the police are looking for me..."

"You’re dead."

Suddenly, a bag was placed over Ashley’s head.

Someone grabbed her arm and forced her into a car.

The vehicle started moving.

Ashley had no idea where they were going or where she was being taken.

But she remained calm.

After several hours, the car finally stopped.

Someone removed the bag from her head, opened the door, and helped her step out.

She was given a suitcase and a handbag before the car immediately drove away.

Ashley looked around.

She was standing in front of a motel.

It was already late at night, and there was no one around.

She entered the motel to get a room and find out where she was.

But when the receptionist told her the name of the city, Ashley froze.

All this time, she had believed she was somewhere on the other side of the country.

She was still in the same city where she had lived.

But that didn’t matter right now.

The only thing that mattered was contacting Clara.

After years of separation, they could finally be together again.

She took out a small notebook containing the phone numbers she had memorized.

There were only a few names written inside.

Clara’s name was at the very top.

Ashley felt nervous.

Her hand trembled as she dialed the number on the motel’s landline.

What had Clara become during those years?

What had Ashley become in Clara’s eyes and in the eyes of the world?

Had she been declared dead?

Were people still searching for her?

She just hoped there wasn’t an empty grave somewhere with her name on it.

"Hello? Who is this?" a woman answered in a sleepy voice.

Ashley couldn’t speak for several seconds.

Then...

"Clara? Clara, babe... it’s me."

Tears of joy filled her eyes.

After all these years, she could finally hear Clara’s voice again.

The other end of the line remained silent.

Then...

The call ended.

Ashley stared at the phone, checking if something was wrong with the device.

But everything seemed normal.

She called again.

The phone rang several times before Clara finally answered.

"Clara, it’s me. Ashley. I’m back," Ashley shouted, afraid Clara would think she was just someone calling the wrong number.

Once again, silence.

But this time, it lasted much longer.

"Ashley Gresham?" Clara finally asked from the other end of the line.

"Yes!" Ashley replied happily, relieved that Clara finally knew who was calling her.

"Never call me again. Do you hear me?"

Clara’s voice was filled with anger.

Then she hung up.

For the second time.

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