FORMERLY

Chapter 8

"What the fuck do you want Hyun." Asher yelled into the phone. "Do you want another deposit? or another million bucks to find a girl that you cannot even find a trace of. Because Hyun, I swear, that girl is driving me crazy. I have not been able to eat or sleep or do anything that a sane person should."

"Mr. Chase. W-" Hyun interrupted.

"I'll give you one last chance. I'll give you another million...no...two million." Asher's voice suddenly turned pleading, surprising Hyun, "Just find the girl for me." He then added softly, "Please."

"Although I would love to take your money, Mr. Chase, the reason that I am calling you right now is because we found her." Hyun replied calmly.

"You... found her?" He stated quietly to himself. Asher sounded unsure of what he had heard. Was he going crazy? Was he staring to imagine things now?

"Yes, Mr. Chase. The reason why it was so hard to find her was because she didn't want to be found. She changed her name and cut off connections with everyone she knew." Hyun said.

"You actually found her." Asher stated again in shock. The phone was now loosely sitting on his hands, and he moved back to stumble onto the chair. His legs were weak and did not support him.

"Yes, Mr. Chase. But I'm not sure if you would still like to connect with her. She...is quite different from when you knew her."

"Why? Is something wrong? How is she? What happened?" Asher paused, worried by Hyun's words. "No. You know what, I'm going to come to you. I'm coming over right now. Where are you?" He said while rushing to get out of his chair to grab his keys.

He quickly walked out of his office towards the basement.

"I'm not in the country, but I could tell you where she is. I'm sure you want to meet her." Hyun said.

He stopped in his steps. "Yes," Asher said. "Yes. Please tell me. I can go right now."

"She lives in lower Manhattan, a small apartment by herself."

"Okay," Asher replied impatiently. Every word that came from Hyun was worth more to Asher than his entire fortune.

"And...uh...she works as an escort now— an adult escort for men."

Asher stood frozen. Even as a teenager, Elle was the most innocent girl he had ever known. She blushed at swear words and the idea of sex. There was no way that she now worked as an escort.

"Elle's not like that. Are you sure you have the right girl?"

"I know that this might be shocking but just listen to me. After the time when you told me you left Portland, Elle also left—very suddenly. She didn't bring anything with her, no money, no belongings, no nothing, and I can't seem to find out why she left for New York. I would assume to either look for you or to just leave home, and was found by some pimps. She must have been caught up in money troubles, but Asher, the girl has really changed. Don't be surprised when you meet her."

"She's still Elle. Just send me the address, I'll head over there now." Asher said blindly. He felt numb at Hyun's revelation.

"Okay. In a minute." Hyun replied before hanging up.

Asher got into his car and simply sat in the leather seat for a few minutes while waiting for the address. His leg bounced up and down, and he kept running his hands through his hair, until he was interrupted by the shrill ping of his phone.

He unlocked the phone, and although his hands were shaking, he started the car and zoomed out of the building.

His car lagged through the road traffic filled Manhattan roads, and Asher slammed on the horn enough times to get dirty looks from the cars nearby. But nothing registered in his brain except that Elle had been living less than a mile away from him, and that he finally found her.

But another thought stuck to his mind, that Elle now worked as a prostitute. It seemed like an impossible career for her. She was sweet and timid, and she was the kind of girl who couldn't even stare at the opposite sex in the eyes for too long. That, and the fact that Elle was smart enough not to get caught up in something like this.

Well, unless she willingly gave into this. No, no, that's not the Elle that Asher knew and he would not be able to accept that.

Finally, Asher drove into the small and cramped neighborhood lit up by flickering street lights. Asher's car stood out like a sore spot against the grimy walls and homeless people. They were squatted on the ground, looking at Asher's car like predators. Whether they were drunk, high, or dead, Asher could not tell. Asher could not even begin to think about the fact that Elle lived in a neighborhood like this.

Asher eventually found himself pulled up to a building that looked like it was on the edge of collapsing. He parked his car in front of the building and walked into the apartment. The walls were peeling and yellowing and there were two homeless men sitting in the lobby. However, Asher didn't pay any attention to them because all he felt was a numb heartache.

Elle had been suffering in this hole for years while he had been living in the greatest luxuries he could find. It wasn't fair that Elle now lived like this. She was the purest person he had ever met.

Asher pushed through the thoughts and got into the elevator and pressed on the faded out button for the third floor. He looked around the elevator trying to absorb the fact that this elevator was the one that Elle used every day, that this awfully scratched up door was one that she stared into every day.

Then, the elevator opened and he stepped out.

307. It was less than a few feet from the elevator and Asher could see it. He walked over, straightened his tie, and knocked hesitantly on the wood door.