I need help

I don't know if I can help, but in the future, make a backup of your save, Tray, and Mods folder (if you use mods) before you update. This will save you the grief you're going through now.  Also, did you create Sims in CAS that you were busy playing? If so, every time you click the check mark upon leaving CAS, it makes a copy into your My Library Gallery.  You should be able to find these Sims there. The only words I have for you is you're going to have to restart your game from scratch.

The first of the recent patches threw me for quite a loop, too. I had made a backup of the entire Sims4 folder, but when I powered up my game after the patch, I was confronted with the New Game thing, too. It is jarring even for an old-timer like me.