The Ugly Truth

About the Author L. C. North studied Psychology at university before pursuing a career in Public Relations. Her first book-club thriller – The Ugly Truth – combines her love of psychology and her fascination with celebrities in the public eye. L. C. North is currently working on her second novel, and when she’s not writing she co-hosts the crime-thriller podcast In Suspense. She lives on the Suffolk borders with her family. You can follow her on Twitter @Lauren_C_North and Facebook @LaurenNorthAuthor. L. C. North THE UGLY TRUTH Contents COVER ABOUT THE AUTHOR TITLE PAGE PART I PART II PART III PART IV CREDITS COPYRIGHT 361 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 91 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 227 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 335 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 Cover Frontmatter Contents Begin Reading Part I Melanie Lange video 1/9 Published on Melanie Lange YouTube channel on 2 August 2022 I’m Melanie Lange. Today’s date is the seventeenth of June 2022. I can’t give you any proof because I have no access to the news. The only reason I have a phone is because it was smuggled to me earlier this week. I’m recording this video from the bathroom of the house I’ve been locked in for the last four months. I’ve got the shower running and I’m whispering but I need to be quick. There’s a guard in the next room. No lock. This is the only room in the house with a door. This is the only time I’m ever alone. [Pause] [Crying] I’m a prisoner. I’m not allowed to leave. There is someone watching me every minute of the day. [Gasping] I don’t know where I am but I believe it’s somewhere in England. It’s a private estate with no escape and no other houses anywhere nearby. The house is modern, newly built and on the coast somewhere. There’s a cliff that leads down to a small private beach. I’m trapped. I can’t leave. I’ve not seen or spoken to my … [crying] … my beautiful, precious boys for four months. I miss them so much. All I want is to hold them in my arms. My father, Peter Lange, brought me here on the fourteenth of February. He tricked me into recording a video for my YouTube channel, telling people that I was taking some time away from the public eye. I thought Extract from National Newspaper, 3 August 2022 MELANIE LANGE: MY FATHER IS KEEPING ME PRISONER Former model and businesswoman Melanie Lange (34) has appeared in secret video recordings claiming she is being held prisoner by her father, billionaire business tycoon Sir Peter Lange, in a ‘private estate with no escape’. The two videos, which have now been released, show a distressed Melanie begging for help. ‘I’ve not seen or spoken to my beautiful, precious boys for four months.’ Her two sons, Sebastian (6) and William (5), currently live with their father, entrepreneur Finn Parker. The first video was allegedly recorded on 17 June of this year and sent to close friend and personal assistant Nell Stevens, who kept the videos private following Melanie’s instructions. Posting her own video to Melanie Lange’s YouTube channel, Nell said: ‘Melanie wanted to find a way to free herself that didn’t involve the media. These videos were her safety net should all else fail. She asked me to keep them safe and only publish them if contact between us stopped. And it has. I’m deeply concerned for her safety.’ Melanie has not been seen publicly since her birthday celebrations ended in chaos in February. Sir Peter Lange, who made his money in a global hotel chain (Lange Hotels) in the nineties, was not available for comment. Statement from Sir Peter Lange, 6 August 2022 Read by a spokesperson for Lange Hotels Following a breakdown earlier this year, my daughter, Melanie Lange, is currently being treated at a private mental health facility supported by medical professionals. She