In 2017, British model Chloe Ayling hit headline across the globe after being kidnapped during a staged photoshoot in Milan.
Tragically, almost 10 years on from the incident that turned her entire life upside down, and the 28-year-old is still fighting for people to believe her story, insisting there's one aspect to it that seems to put them off.
Ayling was just 20 years old when she was invited to attend the shoot in Italy, with photographers claiming they were impressed by her previous modelling work for Phil Green's Supermodel Agency in London.
The gig, organised by Green, was initially intended to take place in Paris, but the location was changed to Milan at the last minute by 30-year-old Polish creative Łukasz Herba.
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Little did Ayling and her agent know at the time, that Herba was actually a computer programmer, posing as a photographer under the alias 'Andre Lazio'.
What happened to Ayling during the 'shoot'?
After arriving at the location alone, the model was injected with ketamine before being stuffed into a suitcase, missing her flight back to Gatwick Airport the following day.
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Concerned that her daughter hadn't returned home when scheduled, Ayling's mother quickly got in touch with Green, who himself had received an unusual email saying Chloe had been taken.
Herba, while working with several other members of a criminal organisation called The Black Death Group, demanded €300,000 (the equivalent of around £260,000) from Green to ensure Ayling's safety.
The agent was also informed if he didn't abide by the demand, he'd sell the model into sex slavery.
Thankfully, however, six days later, Ayling was released.
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She had no idea at the time, though, that she'd soon be plunged through further hell.
Why didn't people believe her story?
Both Ayling and Green went straight to the police to report the incident, after which Herba was convicted - alongside several other criminals - and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
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Despite this, after going public with their experience, the pair were condemned by the press, with a horde of tabloid reporters accusing Green of staging the incident to sky-rocket Ayling's publicity.
In a brand new documentary, however - titled Chloe Ayling: My Unbelievable Kidnapping - the model reveals why she believes so many spectators are reluctant to believe her experience, claiming it's likely down to her health.
Ayling was recently diagnosed with autism - something she's long been convinced has alienated her from both law enforcers and journalists.
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"I had a lot of difficulties with communicating," she reflects on her childhood in the emotional BBC programme. "I’d react in the wrong way.
"If I was being told off I would smile. I just had the wrong reactions to things.
"My mum would come with me on school trips because I wouldn’t be able to say what I wanted or express how I was feeling.
"For ages I just said I’m not an emotional person, but now I realise that no matter now hard I try, I just can’t [express emotions]."
Ayling believes the flat, emotionless way that she'd recall her experience in interviews prompted listeners to question the authenticity of the incident. Despite this, she claimed she holds no grudges against those who question her tale.
"I can’t really be mad at people for not understanding, when I didn’t really understand it myself," she went on to admit.
In the years since her kidnapping, Ayling has since welcomed a son with her former partner Conor Keyes, appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018, and kickstarted a successful OnlyFans channel.
In 2020, Herba's sentenced was reduced to 12 years and one month.
Rhianna Benson