My best friend, Chloe, had always been obsessed with romantic dramas, convinced she’d marry a handsome, rich man one day. To my surprise, she actually hooked up with a billionaire. Their whirlwind romance led to a quick wedding. She called me after the wedding: “I’m all alone in this mansion, it’s so boring. Come live with me!” Her husband, Alex, also chimed in: “I’m too busy with work to keep Chloe company. Please, come stay with her.” I agreed. Excitedly, I dragged my suitcase to their mansion, a wide smile on my face as I addressed the butler: “I’m Chloe, your lady’s best friend! She invited me to move in!” The butler, Mr. Hayes, looked bewildered. “Chloe? Who’s that? Mr. Vance has always been single.” 1 My smile froze solid, shattering into a million pieces. “You’re very funny,” I forced a laugh. “Chloe! Alex Vance’s wife!” “I even shared a toast with you at their wedding. Don’t tell me you’re playing games.” Mr. Hayes stared at me, his face devoid of emotion. “I have no time for games. There’s no Chloe here. Only Mr. Vance and I live in this house. If you keep causing trouble, I’ll call the police.” With that, he moved to close the gate. “Hey! Don’t!” Panic flared in my chest. I grabbed the iron gate, fumbling for my phone with my free hand. “I have proof! How can you forget such a huge wedding? Are you losing your memory?” I quickly opened Ins, scrolling through my saved posts for the wedding live stream replay. I remembered taking screenshots and sending them to Chloe, tears of envy streaming down my face. But the moment I clicked the link, a pop-up appeared: [This content has been deleted or does not exist.] A frantic buzz filled my head. No way. I clicked on several news articles from my browser bookmarks, refusing to believe it. “Billionaire Spends a Billion to Marry a Cinderella”, “Chloe: The Girl Kissed by God.” Every single link, the moment I clicked it, was dead! “How… how could this be? It worked last night…” Mr. Hayes watched my every move with cold eyes. “Miss Miller, it’s illegal to spread fake news or manipulate photos. Are you that desperate to snag a rich guy?” “I’m not making it up!” I roared, my fingers trembling as I switched to SnapChat. “I have chat logs! Look! She just messaged me a minute ago!” On the screen, Chloe’s selfie avatar and our conversation box were crystal clear. [Babe, I just put on my face mask… Mr. Hayes will let you in…] “You wait! I’m calling her right now!” My voice cracked, almost a shriek. “When she comes down to get me, you’ll be out of a job tomorrow!” The next second, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in my ear: “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and dial again…” I froze. Not in service? I glanced at my SnapChat screen again. She was just talking to me a second ago! A chilling dread slithered up my spine, coiling around my heart. SnapChat instant replies, but a dead phone line? What kind of messed-up situation was this? Mr. Hayes’s gaze was unwavering, without a hint of surprise. He looked at me with utter contempt, as if I were garbage. “Get lost. If you don’t leave now, I’ll have security throw you down the hill.” Bang! The courtyard gate slammed shut with a heavy thud. I stood under the scorching sun, but my entire body felt like it had plunged into an ice bath. What in the world was going on? Chloe was clearly in there, so why was Mr. Hayes denying it? Why had all the news articles vanished from the internet? Could it be… something happened to Chloe? The world of the super-rich is a deep, dark place. Was Alex keeping Chloe under house arrest, pretending to be single, and erasing every trace of her existence? A shiver ran down my spine at the thought, a tidal wave of fear and righteous fury crashing over me. No, I couldn’t leave! If I left, she’d truly be alone and helpless! I gritted my teeth until my jaw ached, then dragged my suitcase and sat right in the middle of the iron gate. I refused to believe Alex wouldn’t come out! Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, a black Maybach slowly approached. I recognized it – it was the very car Alex had driven to pick Chloe up for their wedding. A surge of reckless impulse coursed through me. I lunged forward, spreading my arms wide, blocking the front of the car! “Alex! Get out here! Where have you hidden Chloe?!” The driver’s face went white with shock. He was about to get out and yell at me. But the rear window slowly rolled down. It was none other than my best friend’s newlywed husband, Alex. I rushed to his window, shouting furiously. “Mr. Vance! Mr. Hayes says you’re single, and that there’s no such person as Chloe!” “We even FaceTimed when you and Chloe were vacationing in Hawaii half a month ago! What’s going on?!” Alex’s brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. “Chloe? Hawaii?” I saw him about to play innocent and was ready to explode. But the next second, he gestured to Mr. Hayes to open the grand gate. “Since you’re here, come in and explain yourself. I, too, am quite curious to know… where exactly this ‘Mrs. Vance’ you speak of is.” 2 The moment the gate opened, I didn’t even wait for Alex to get out of the car. I dragged my suitcase and charged straight into the mansion. Mr. Hayes tried to block my path, but I shoved him aside with a force I didn’t know I possessed. “Don’t touch me!” I navigated through the living room like I owned the place, heading straight for the second floor. I knew the layout of this mansion intimately! On their wedding day, I’d been with Chloe in the master bedroom on the second floor. “Chloe! Come out!” I kicked the door open. I burst in, my gaze frantically sweeping the room. Nothing. No Chloe. Not even… a single trace of a woman living here. “How could this be…” Refusing to believe it, I tore open the walk-in closet door, almost ripping it off its hinges. “The closet! Yes! The walk-in closet!” I remembered it clearly! On their wedding day, behind this door were two entire walls filled with Hermes bags! I even remembered screaming with delight while holding a Himalayan Birkin, and Chloe had laughed, offering to get me one. Whoosh— The closet door swung open violently. My hand froze, suspended in the barren air. Empty. Only a few dark, custom-made suits hung there, stark and alone. No Hermes. No Chanel. “Impossible… This is impossible…” I sank to the floor, my hands frantically searching the wooden planks at the bottom of the closet, desperately trying to find even a single long strand of hair, or an earring. But there was nothing. The place was as clean as a display home. Alex leaned against the doorframe, his voice flat. “Had enough, Miss Miller?” I sat slumped on the floor, my mind a churning vortex of disbelief and terror. Was this really some kind of elaborate scam? Was the Alex that Chloe met a fake? But… this mansion was real! Could a con artist be that resourceful, renting a billionaire’s mansion just to put on a show? And if it was a scam, why was the real Alex still living here now that Chloe was gone? “I don’t believe it!” I scrambled to my feet, pointing at Alex. “You’re the imposter! You’ve hidden everything, haven’t you?” “I’m calling the police! I have video proof! You two were on your honeymoon in Hawaii just half a month ago!” Alex looked at me as if I were a wild animal, utterly beyond reason. He pulled out his phone and dialed 91
“Hello, police department? This is Alex.” “Someone has trespassed onto my private property. Please send someone over.” Ten minutes later, the police arrived. “Officers! I want to report a missing person! Chloe is gone! He definitely did something to her!” “I have proof! They were on their honeymoon in Hawaii just half a month ago!” The officers looked at me, then at Alex. Alex wore an expression of weary resignation. “Officer, I’ve been in the country for the past half-month, dealing with a corporate merger. I haven’t been to Hawaii at all.” “If you don’t believe me, you can check my travel records.” The officers immediately ran a check on their terminal. Two minutes later, an officer showed me the terminal screen. “Miss Miller, the system shows that Mr. Vance has no overseas travel records in the past three months.” Boom! A thunderclap ripped through my skull, shattering whatever remained of my sanity. No travel records? “That’s impossible! I clearly saw it… the waves, the beach…” The officer put away his terminal, his expression serious. “Miss Miller, filing a false police report is a crime. Considering you were genuinely desperate to help someone and perhaps misled, this will be a verbal warning.” “Please leave immediately, or we’ll have to charge you with disturbing the peace.” I stood frozen, my hands and feet icy cold. A monstrous wave of sheer terror engulfed me, stealing my breath. Alex stood nearby, his gaze as cold and detached as if he were looking at a bag of trash. “Mr. Hayes, escort our guest out.” “If she ever dares to step foot in the Vance mansion again, call the police immediately and have her arrested.” Mr. Hayes immediately stepped forward, roughly pushing my suitcase towards the door. “Miss Miller, if you please.” I gritted my teeth, shaking with fury. I refused to accept this! Everything was clearly real, so why was it suddenly me who was going crazy? I dragged my heavy suitcase, looking back every few steps. As I passed the trash can next to a grand decorative vase in the entryway, my suitcase wheel accidentally bumped the side of the bin. Clang. The trash can toppled over. A pile of crumpled paper balls rolled out. Mr. Hayes immediately frowned, scolding me. “Stop messing around! Just leave!” Just then, a crumpled, wrinkled receipt caught my eye. One look, and all the blood in my body instantly froze. It was a convenience store receipt. Item: Orange burst cigarettes. Time: Yesterday, 2:30 PM. Those were Chloe’s favorite cigarettes! 3 I discreetly hid the receipt and walked out of the mansion, trying to appear nonchalant. As soon as dawn broke, I called Ava, Chloe’s former colleague. “Ava, it’s Mia! Where’s Chloe? Did she contact you guys after the wedding?” There was a pause on the other end, then Ava’s voice rose in volume. “Mia, are you sick? Chloe doesn’t even have a boyfriend, what wedding are you talking about?” A cold dread seized my heart. “You didn’t see the wedding streamed live across social media last month? Alex!” “Are you delusional?” Ava impatiently cut me off. “She quit her job last month and moved back home to clear her head!” Before I could react, the call was disconnected. My hands trembling, I dialed my mom. “Mom! Something’s happened to Chloe! Alex is denying everything, saying he never got married! You have to come!” My mom was silent for five seconds. “Mia… what nonsense are you talking about?” “When did Chloe get married?” I was stunned. “Didn’t they send you the wedding money? Eight million dollars!” “What wedding money? Are you running a fever, child?” My mom’s voice was urgent. “Chloe told me last month she was going back home to unwind, and she sent me pictures! Where would she get a boyfriend?” “Don’t talk nonsense and ruin Chloe’s reputation!” Click. The phone was hung up again. I was completely flummoxed. Had they bought off my own mom too? I refused to believe it! I hailed a cab directly back to my mom’s house. The moment I walked in, I grabbed her. “Mom! Something’s happened to Chloe! Everyone in the world is lying to me!” I spilled everything that had happened in the past two days. My mom listened, then looked at me, her expression bewildered, and touched my forehead. “Mia, when did Chloe get married? How come I don’t know anything about it?” My brain imploded, a chaotic symphony of alarm bells. “Mom! Don’t joke with me!” “We watched the live stream together last month! You even praised Alex for being handsome!” My mom frowned. “Last month you were working late, and I was watching TV. When did we ever watch a live stream?” “No, I’m not wrong!” I pulled out my phone and shoved it in front of her. “Look! This is proof!” “Chloe shows off her life as a billionaire’s wife to me every day! Yesterday she even told me to hurry inside!” My mom glanced at the screen and sighed. “Mia, these are just those rich-guy fantasies you two used to play when you were little.” “Stop playing, you’ll really blow things out of proportion.” Make-believe? I stared intently at the screen. A tsunami of unanswered questions threatened to drag me under. If it was just make-believe, what about that wedding? If I was dreaming, how did I know the layout of Alex’s mansion’s bedrooms? What’s more, if Chloe and Alex hadn’t gotten together, I wouldn’t even know who he was! And most importantly, where was Chloe now? Suddenly, something clicked. There was one more place that could prove it! I rushed out, hailing a cab. “To the city’s financial district! ‘Everlasting Love’ Wedding Planners!” 4 Chloe’s wedding had been handled by Everlasting Love, the biggest wedding planning company in the city. I refused to believe such a huge company could just vanish into thin air! Ten minutes later, I stared blankly at the sealed door in front of me. [Everlasting Love Wedding Planners: Temporarily closed due to operational difficulties.] The date on the seal was exactly half a month ago. The day after Chloe’s wedding ended! I peered through the glass door. Inside, it was a mess, chairs overturned, documents scattered everywhere. Did they just skip town? The biggest wedding company in the city, which had just secured a billion-dollar deal from one of the country’s wealthiest men, went bankrupt and fled the very next day? I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I had for the owner. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service…” Another disconnected number! An icy tendril of dread snaked up my spine, gripping my very soul. Everyone and everything related to that wedding was slowly disappearing. This only proved that something was terribly wrong. I wouldn’t give up! There had to be something that hadn’t been cleaned up yet! “The spa! Yes! The spa!” I remembered! Just a week before the wedding, Chloe had taken me to a high-end spa for a facial and massage. To show off, she’d directly charged a half-million dollar VIP membership card for me! “Mia, here, take this card. Come whenever you want, it’s on Alex’s secondary card anyway!” I immediately hailed a cab and rushed to that spa. “Can you check the balance on my membership card?” The receptionist typed a few keys on her computer. “Miss Miller, your VIP card balance is still four hundred ninety-eight thousand dollars.” A wild, desperate hope surged through me! Four hundred ninety-eight thousand! Where would I, an average office drone earning three thousand dollars a month, get half a million dollars to put on a card? “Quick! Pull up the top-up history for me! Who charged it?” The receptionist turned the screen towards me. “It says you charged it yourself.” I was stunned. “What do you mean I charged it myself? Chloe swiped that card! Alex’s secondary card!” The receptionist looked utterly bewildered. “Chloe? We don’t have a member named Chloe here.” “Impossible!” I shouted. “Check the surveillance footage! Chloe and I came here together that day!” The receptionist was startled by my outburst and quickly called the manager. The manager frowned, an impatient look on her face. “I apologize, Miss Miller, but surveillance footage involves the privacy of other clients and cannot be arbitrarily accessed.” “You won’t check it, huh?” I scoffed, pulling out my phone. “Then I’ll call the police! Suspicious financial activity involving a huge sum of money – surely the police have the right to check?” Twenty minutes later. The police arrived. And following behind them, was Alex. He still wore that same look of weary resignation. “Miss Miller, how much longer are you going to keep this up?” “Stop wasting time! Check the footage!” At the police’s request, the manager reluctantly pulled up the recording from that day. Everyone stared at the screen. On the screen, I walked in. Beside me… was no one. I pulled out a black card and handed it to the receptionist, saying something. But beside me, from beginning to end, there was no one. The entire surveillance room was eerily silent. The officers’ gazes at me changed, filled with both sympathy and wariness. Alex sighed, walking over as if to put a hand on my shoulder. “Miss Miller, you should go to the hospital. I’ll cover the costs.” I stood frozen, my entire body trembling. Was I really alone? Had I truly gone insane? Was all of this just my imagination? Just as the police were about to take me away. Something suddenly clicked in my mind. So that’s it! That’s how this all works! I snapped my head up, staring intently at Alex. “Alex, you can stop pretending. I know where Chloe is.”
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