Gen 4 Summary - Book 1
Act 1: The Lost Song
TRIGGER WARNING: Murder
The story begins with teenage (17) Calla Ladrón fleeing her home after witnessing something. As she runs, a chilling warning haunts her: “You talk, you bury Atlas too.”
Six years after Calla's disappearance, Atlas Park—now a young adult (23) and heir to his family's industrial manufacturing empire, Park Industrial—is reassigned to Windenburg to lead the company’s new expansion.
Though responsible and committed, Atlas is visibly burned out, craving the simplicity and joy he once found in music.
While packing for his move, he stumbles upon an old music sheet: an unfinished song he had co-written in high school with Calla, the girl who once meant everything to him, and who vanished without a trace.
Seeking a quieter life, Atlas purchases an old home in Old Townsend, a peaceful town just thirty minutes outside Windenburg. Soon after settling in, he is invited to a welcome dinner by his friendly next-door neighbors, Tomas and Rosa Mendoza.
There, he is stunned to discover that their adoptive daughter, Cara, is none other than Calla herself—now a music teacher at the local elementary school.
Calla is initially tense, but Atlas respects her cover and plays along, earning her quiet gratitude. Despite the years and secrecy, their chemistry remains strong. And although Calla tries to keep her distance, the two slowly begin to reconnect, drawn back to the bond they once shared.
Flashbacks: Calla and Atlas’s Love Story
Through layered memories and emotional exchanges, we learn about their history. Calla had been homeschooled all her life by her mother and under the watchful eye of her father, Cassian Ladrón.
After her mother’s death the summer before her senior year, Calla was enrolled at Springview Academy in Alta Springs, a prestigious high school with a music program.
Atlas, whose parents were frequently abroad, had also been enrolled there alongside his younger brother Alaric. Atlas was part of the music program; Alaric was in the sports track.
Struggling to adjust to physical school, Calla was encouraged to volunteer at a children’s music therapy center nearby. There, she met Atlas.
Their bond deepened over time, and they eventually came to a point where they walk home together nearly each day.
But their budding romance drew unwanted attention. One night, as Atlas is walking Calla home, Cassian’s head of security (an unnamed sandy-haired man) warns Atlas: "Eyes are watching you. Beware."
When Calla ran away on December 1, 2018, she found refuge in Old Townsend, where she was quietly adopted by the Mendozas and began a new life under the name Cara.
Alaric and Iñigo's Arcs
Meanwhile, a chain of events begins to unfold in Old Townsend with the unexpected arrival of Alaric Park, Atlas’s younger brother.Alaric (22) is a professional basketball player drafted into the NBA straight out of high school. While his career skyrocketed—branching into international endorsements and movie roles—his personal life has been under constant scrutiny, thanks to a string of tabloid scandals fueled by his wild coping mechanisms.
Burned out and nursing a Grade 2 sprain, Alaric takes a sudden six-week leave and escapes to Old Townsend without telling anyone except through a note left for his parents.
Savannah Lane (22), a struggling journalist barely scraping by, has built her fragile career stability on covering Alaric’s headline-making lifestyle. Desperate to secure a long-term contract at Pop Pulse, a gossip magazine, she tails him to Old Townsend.
Upon arrival, she releases a speculative article suggesting Alaric is romantically involved with a local café owner, Freya Harris (29).
The scandal triggers Iñigo Whitman’s (25) arrival—Alaric and Atlas’s cousin, and the youngest PR executive at their family’s firm, Arendelle Group. Iñigo, already creatively burnt out, is tasked with damage control, though he secretly yearns to return to poetry.
Alaric’s tabloid-fueled appearance inadvertently activates Code Calla Lily, a covert security protocol initiated by Cassian Ladrón. The presence of Cassian's men, however, doesn’t go unnoticed by the Mendozas or Atlas, who sense a growing air of foreboding in town.
As Alaric and Iñigo join the scene, they blend into Calla’s cover story with Atlas’s help.
Investigations and Cold Cases
In the present day, two major investigations are closing in.Inez Whitman, Iñigo’s mother and the editor-in-chief and top journalist of the Center for Investigative Journalism, is working on a comprehensive exposé about a growing smuggling ring spanning Oakwood City, Alta Springs, and Windenburg.
Meanwhile, homicide detective Luka Connor receives a critical lead in Martin Deza’s cold case. Deza’s sister finds an old journal entry detailing a planned meeting with Cassian on December 1, 2018—the same night Calla vanished.
It's revealed that Deza's body is used as a cover for Cassian's fake death.
Flashback: Elena Ladrón's Death
In the Act 1 finale, Calla dreams of the night her mother died. From her perspective, her mother falls down a long flight of stairs after a heated argument with her father. She believes that her father is responsible for her mother's death.Act 2: The Keeper of the Lost Song
Act 3: The Ghosts of the Past
Act 4: Justice Closing In
Act 5: Embers of the Past
Act 6: New Beginnings
[Ongoing story]
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