My dad hung his head low. Since he returned yesterday, his spirits seemed deflated, and he appeared burdened with heavy thoughts. It made me feel very uneasy.

I understood his emotions. After all, this was connected to everything from his past. Most importantly, it revealed the fact that they weren't my biological parents. I knew they wouldn't want to lose me, their only daughter.

I was their everything.

At this moment, I fully understood why my mom had sighed when they sold the house in the small town. She must have been worried they would be left with nothing and felt a sense of insecurity.

But I never expected this to happen so quickly.

When Atlas saw how depressed my dad was, he calmly reassured him. "Don’t worry too much about it, Dad. Letting him go back was part of my strategy to buy time. Many clues are connected to him. We let him go as part of the long game."

My dad remained silent. The notebook seemed to be the key to unlocking this conversation.

We waited for what se