After leaving Surya's house, Renzo didn't say much. Throughout the journey, his mind was filled with everything he'd just learned.
Adrian wasn't a stranger.
Adrian had once been part of his life.
In fact, that man had even looked after him when he was little.
But why had all those memories disappeared?
Why had no one ever told him about Adrian?
Renzo sat in the passenger seat, looking out at the scenery through the car window. The streets that usually seemed so ordinary now felt different.
"Renzo."
Rian's voice made him turn.
"What?"
"You've been quiet this whole time."
"I'm thinking."
"I know."
Rian looked ahead.
"But don't let yourself get too lost in all this."
Renzo gave a faint smile.
"How am I supposed to relax when it turns out there's a part of my own life that I don't even know about?"
Rian didn't answer right away.
He understood how Renzo felt.
Sometimes the most shocking thing isn't finding something new, but learning that something important had once been hidden from us.
When they got home, Renzo went straight to his room. He placed everything connected to Adrian on the desk.
The first letter.
The old photograph.
Adrian's notebook.
Everything was arranged neatly.
Renzo opened the notebook again.
He read several pages he hadn't had time to look at before.
There were many small stories about his childhood.
About how Adrian often brought him storybooks.
About how Adrian always told Renzo that he had to be brave enough to look for answers.
Renzo stopped when he found a page that looked different.
The writing there was shorter.
"Today I met Renzo's family. They asked me to stop coming by."
Renzo immediately focused on reading.
"I understand their decision. They want to protect Renzo from something he's not ready to know yet."
Renzo turned to the next page.
But that page was blank.
There was only one sentence at the bottom.
"If Renzo ever finds all of this, it means I failed to keep my promise."
Renzo stared at the sentence for a long time.
"What does he mean, he failed to keep his promise?"
He was beginning to feel that something far bigger was happening than he'd imagined.
His phone suddenly beeped.
Another message from an unknown number came in.
Renzo opened it.
"You've met Surya."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
Renzo typed quickly.
"Who are you?"
A few seconds later, a reply came in.
"Someone else who's looking for Adrian."
Renzo frowned.
"Looking for Adrian? Didn't Adrian leave a long time ago?"
The answer appeared.
"Leaving doesn't mean disappearing."
Renzo read the sentence over and over.
He wanted to ask more, but the number sent another message.
"Don't trust every note you find."
Renzo fell silent.
He looked at Adrian's notebook on the desk.
Why did this person keep warning him?
What was really going on?
The next day, Renzo and Rian went to look for the address Maya had given Surya.
The address led them to a small house on the outskirts of the city.
The house looked modest, with a yard full of plants.
Renzo knocked on the door.
A few moments later, a woman opened it.
She looked older than Alena.
She stared at Renzo in surprise.
"You're Renzo?"
The question immediately felt familiar to Renzo.
"Yeah. How do you know?"
The woman was silent.
Then she slowly opened the door wider.
"Come in."
Renzo and Rian glanced at each other.
Then they stepped inside.
There were many old photographs in the living room.
Renzo immediately spotted one that made him stop.
Adrian.
But this time, Adrian was with a young woman.
The same woman now standing in front of them.
"You're Maya?" Renzo asked.
The woman nodded.
"Yes."
Renzo sat down.
"I came because Surya told me to meet you."
Maya gave him a small smile.
"I figured you'd come someday."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Maya looked at Renzo.
"Because Adrian prepared everything."
Renzo was starting to feel tired of hearing that sentence.
"Why did Adrian do all this?"
Maya fell silent.
"Because he knew that someday you'd look for the truth."
"Why?"
Maya took a small box from the cabinet.
She placed it on the table.
"Because there's something you need to know about Adrian's last night with your family."
Renzo slowly opened the box.
Inside was a small key.
A photograph.
And a letter.
Renzo immediately picked up the letter.
The writing on the front startled him.
"For Renzo, when you're ready."
His hand stopped.
"This is from Adrian?"
Maya nodded.
"Yes."
Renzo opened the letter.
Unlike the first letter, this one felt more personal.
"Renzo, if you're reading this letter, it means I can no longer explain everything to you in person."
Renzo drew a breath.
"I want you to know one thing. I never left you because I wanted to."
Renzo stopped reading.
The sentence made his chest feel heavy.
He continued.
"There's a reason I had to leave. Someone is trying to take something that should never have been touched."
Renzo frowned.
Something?
What did he mean?
At the end of the letter, Adrian had written a sentence that left Renzo speechless.
"Don't look for who made me leave. Look for what I was protecting."
Renzo slowly lowered the letter.
"What was he protecting?"
Maya looked at Renzo.
"That's the question I've been trying to answer all this time, too."
"So you don't know?"
Maya shook her head.
"I know part of it."
"Part of it?"
"Yes. But the final piece can only be found by you."
Renzo looked at the small key inside the box.
"What is this key for?"
Maya looked at the object.
"The last place Adrian ever visited."
"Where?"
Maya was silent for a few moments.
Then she answered.
"Your family's old house."
Renzo was startled.
"That house?"
"Yes."
"But I've already searched there."
Maya shook her head.
"You searched as someone who wanted to find a letter."
She looked at Renzo.
"Now you have to go back as someone who wants to find the truth."
Renzo closed his hand around the key.
He was beginning to realize that this journey was far from over.
The first letter led him to Adrian.
Adrian led him to the past.
And now the past was leading him back to where it had all begun.
The family's old house.
The place where all the secrets might have first been hidden.
And without Renzo realizing it, the biggest answers might already be waiting for him there.