Chapter 96: Chapter 096 The Original Story
The evening sun streamed through the glass windows into the café.
Roger sat at the table, staring at the haggard woman across from him.
He had seen her information in the files, but in person, she looked much older than in the photographs.
“Tell me, what exactly happened back then?”
Although the weather was indeed hot, the woman felt cold.
“That was the height of White Apricot Tree Camp’s glory. We kept expanding our operations, but still couldn’t satisfy the exploding number of people each year.”
“Among all the children attending the camp, only a tiny fraction were from Swamp Town, the majority were from the surrounding cities and Bordeaux Downtown.”
“Amelie was one of them.”
“She was a shy girl, her family was fairly well-off; her mother was a nurse and her father probably worked in a bank. They sent her here, just wanting to strengthen her social skills.”
Ashley wrapped her hands around the coffee cup.
“Do you have a photo of her?” asked Roger.
Ashley hesitated for a moment but eventually took a photo out of her handbag.
Initially, Roger hadn’t expected to meet Ashley so soon, but after meeting her, he learned that Ashley’s family had run into some problems.
Due to bankruptcy, she had accumulated a lot of debt, and had no choice but to flee from Bordeaux to the small town below.
It was Rivervalley Town, not far from here.
After some negotiation, they agreed to meet in a coffee shop in Swamp Town.
“You still have her photo.”
Ashley covered her face with her hands.
“I don’t know what happened. Maybe it was fate. I found it by chance when I was organizing files.”
The girl in the photo had a dim gaze and slightly yellow hair, a frail figure.
She seemed to reject being photographed, her eyes instinctively avoiding the camera.
Roger examined the photo carefully several times. This girl was completely different from Danielle in facial features.
It really wasn’t her… The last glimmer of hope in his heart dissipated.
“There were four boys involved in this incident, with Judd leading them. He was tall and handsome, always the star personality in school.”
“The other three he met at the camp.”
“Indeed, it was our management’s negligence. We had too few staff members, and then the accident happened.”
Roger let out a cold laugh.
“But you didn’t report the incident afterward. Instead, you chose silence.”
Ashley had nothing to say.
“For the camp’s expansion, I borrowed a large sum from the bank. If word got out, what I’d lose was the future of White Apricot Tree Camp.”
“What parent would feel safe sending their child here the next year?”
Her voice grew urgent as if convincing herself.
“If it were you, what would you have done?”
“What happened to the girl afterward?” Roger placed Amelie’s photo on the table.
“Not long after the incident, we notified her parents to come and pick her up from White Apricot Tree Camp.”
“You know the road conditions around Swamp Town. That day there was a downpour, and her father’s car had a blowout, crashing into the nearby swamp.”
“By the time we found the car, it was already two days later.”
A chill suddenly rose in Roger’s heart.
He found it hard to imagine the expression on the face of the girl who had suffered the greatest agony when she saw her parents’ bodies.
Her parents were her only recourse for justice.
But now, all was gone.
Ashley shakily drank the rest of her coffee.
“Without a guardian, it was much easier to handle, and I secretly offered her a large sum of money, but she didn’t take it.”
“I’m not sure what happened after that.”
“Without a guardian, she was still a minor at the time, she might have been taken in by relatives or sent to some Federal Government welfare agency.”
“I never saw her again after that.”
Roger suddenly remembered what Henrik had once said, “What’s more terrifying than Evil Spirits is the human heart.”
The woman before him looked down and out now, but three years ago, she was so full of pride and ambition.
She might not have been the abuser, but her way of handling the situation and her deeds were even worse than those of Judd and his gang.
“That’s what happened.”
She looked up at Roger, “How did you find out about this after so long? Did Amelie go to the police on her own?”
Roger shook his head.
“Judd was the ringleader back in the day, with the other three being Travis, Allen, and Jonathan, right?”
“Drowned at Crystal Lake.”
“And it all happened within this month.”
Ashley’s face instantly turned pale.
“It’s true, all of it’s true!”
“It must be her parents’ spirits come back!”
Seeing Ashley’s expression, Roger instantly understood something.
“Have you encountered something recently?”
Ashley, in agony, clutched her head, “I thought it was just guilt causing hallucinations, but now it seems certain — it’s her parents’ spirits!”
She stood up in a panic.
“No, I can’t stay here any longer, I need to leave, get far away from Swamp Town!”
Roger grabbed the woman’s arm.
“Calm down, tell me everything you know, I might be able to help you!”
It took a great effort to calm the dazed Ashley down.
In Ashley’s account, Roger finally understood why this woman would so easily reveal everything about the past.
Lately, she had been waking up from nightmares every day, a familiar female voice echoing in her ears. She didn’t care at first, but gradually, the impact grew greater and greater.
It had tormented her to the brink of collapse, and the call from Roger became an emotional outlet for Ashley.
“A psychic attack by an Evil Spirit?”
Ashley’s experiences seemed like the simplest of paranormal events, where the Spiritual Body was not of high rank, barely able to affect her sanity, disturbing her mind through nightmares.
It even seemed incapable of creating illusions.
But then Roger frowned.
“This incident doesn’t seem to have much to do with the deaths of the other four people, does it?”
“There’s no reason for the avenger to be so cruel to the other four and yet so light-handed with her, because, in Roger’s view, the sins committed by this Ashley were by no means lighter than those of the other four!”
“Take me to where you’re staying!”
Roger made a snap decision.
But just then, the person he’d sent from the police station to tail her called him to report — Danielle had been spotted!