Atlas was probably surprised by my emotional outburst. He nodded and said, "Yes, that ‘Rory,’ who died in the plane crash with my parents, also had a snake tattoo."

The news sent a shiver down my spine. "So you mean, the one who died in the crash wasn't Rory? Then who was he?"

I couldn't explain why I was so intrigued by Rory. Whenever his name came up, I felt an urge to dig deeper.

It was similar to the first time Grayson mentioned Lucille's name, and I felt a sense of déjà vu.

"This is the part I've always hesitated to make sense of, but one thing is certain. Rory didn't have that tattoo!" Atlas said, "Later, I managed to obtain the evidence from the investigation report."

"Is this what made you suspect that your parents' crash wasn't just an accident?" I looked at Atlas. The awkwardness between us from earlier had dissipated, and I straightened up.

Atlas brushed aside the stray strands of hair caught in the breeze. His eyes were deep, and his voice was low. "I spent a whole de