Chapter 1

I watched the security officer’s lips move, but I couldn’t make sense of his words.

What did he mean there was no student named Ivy Young taking the college entrance exam at this school?

I had personally dropped my daughter off at those gates two and a half hours ago.

I could still picture her smiling and waving at me before she disappeared through the entrance.

I even had a screenshot of her registration details on my phone. Her name, date of birth, test date, and test center were all clearly listed.

Under the officer’s suspicious stare, I patiently explained.

“Sir, look. My daughter’s registration clearly says she’s taking the college entrance exam here. Why would I fake something like this?”

His expression darkened further.

“So you’re admitting this registration is fake? You came here to mess with me?”

He tapped his phone awake and thrust it in front of me.

“I checked every room roster,” he said. “There’s no Ivy Young registered at this test center.”

I stared at the two photos, unable to believe what I was seeing.

How was that possible?

My daughter had always been sweet and well-behaved. She would never pull a prank like this.

Wait.

I suddenly looked up at the security camera above the guard booth.

Its blinking red light calmed me down.

The camera was working. It had to have recorded Ivy entering the school.

And if she wasn’t registered to take the college entrance exam there, her admission ticket and ID wouldn’t have matched the roster. They wouldn’t have let her into a testing room.

The officer had to be mistaken.

I pointed excitedly at the camera.

“My daughter went in at 8:41. Check the footage and you’ll see her.”

The officer looked me up and down, growing even more irritated.

“You think you can make up a name and demand access to security footage? Another testing session starts in three hours. If you keep causing trouble, I’ll have you removed.”

He rested a hand on the baton at his waist, clearly convinced I was some dangerous troublemaker.

Several parents noticed our argument and gathered around.

“My daughter tested here this morning. They checked everyone’s admission ticket and ID before letting them into a room.”

“That’s right. My son said the same thing. There’s no way an unregistered student could’ve taken the test.”

“Could this guy be some psycho trying to disrupt the college entrance exam or hurt someone?”

Whispers crowded in from every direction.

My finger froze just before I could dial 911.

For a moment, my mind went completely blank.

Why was everyone saying the same thing as the security officer?

Why had my daughter given me false registration information?

And where was she now?

Through my confusion, a voice came from behind me.

“What’s going on?”

Relief flooded me.

Of course.

How had I forgotten about him?