Chapter 171 The locked safe

Chapter 171 The locked safe
Rowan's POV 
Sitting on the edge of my bed with my phone in my hand, I stared at the name on the screen. 

Valeria.

My thumb hovered over her name.

I was fucking tempted to call her. I wanted to know how she was doing. I wanted to know if she was fine, if she was coping well with the breakup.

Ever since I'd seen her at school that morning, I couldn't get the image of her out of my head. Her swollen eyes. Her dull face. The way she had not even tried to convince me she was okay. 

She needed someone. And, for some reason, I wanted to be that someone. Even though I knew Tessa would be there for her.

I tapped her name, and the call screen appeared. I stared at it for a few seconds before locking my phone again.

What the hell was I doing? 

I unlocked the phone again. My thumb hovered over the call button, then stilled.

I shouldn't do this. It would look like I'd been waiting for the perfect opportunity to swoop in, especially now that Zayne was out of the picture.

That wasn't what I wanted.

I dropped the phone onto the bed and dragged both hands over my face.

I couldn't even tell what the hell I was feeling anymore. I just knew I needed to get her out of my head.

Maybe a walk would help.

I stood up abruptly and left the room. As I made my way downstairs, I passed my mother's study. The door was slightly open. I barely paid attention to it until her voice filtered through. 

I slowed down.

She was on the phone, talking to someone.

Ever since that night, since that heated argument between my parents, my mom had been so secluded. And whenever she wanted to be alone that badly, there was obviously something wrong with the situation. 

"I know," she said, sounding exhausted. "I know what I have to do."

I stopped. Through the narrow opening, I could see her standing beside the large wooden cabinet at the far end of the room.

Then I noticed what she was doing. 

She was locking a safe. Her fingers moved quickly over the keypad as she entered a code. The safe opened briefly, then she shoved something inside, and closed it again.

"I'm gonna need you to handle it," she continued into the phone. Then her expression hardened. "No. Absolutely not. I'll tell you exactly what to do, so you won't make any mistakes." 

I took another step closer to the door. 

Her voice dropped lower. "I told you, this is between us. Your boss shouldn't hear about it." She paused. "I'll pay you."

My brows pulled together.

Was that a business client? I doubted it because her actions felt too awkward.

My mother glanced toward the door. I immediately stepped back, pressing myself against the wall before she could see me.

For a few seconds, there was silence before she sighed heavily. "I'll call you back."

She ended the call.

I stayed where I was, still wondering what the call was all about.

After everything Dad had said that night, exposing that she wasn't exactly innocent, I was already beginning to question my mother's movements. I'd seen enough of her behavior to know she was capable of things I didn't even want to think about.

She had always been secretive, but she'd never been this... anxious. 

And now I was beginning to get curious. Especially about that locked safe.

I quickly walked away before she could see me, already making up my mind that I would uncover whatever secret plot she was hiding.

Curiosity got the better of me.

I grabbed my laptop from my room and headed downstairs. Settling on the couch with it balanced on my thighs, I opened one of the projects I'd been working on and tried to focus on the screen.

My eyes kept drifting toward the hallway leading to Mom's study.

I wasn't sure what I was waiting for. Maybe the perfect time to sneak into that study. Whatever was going on with my mother, I badly wanted to know. 

So I continued waiting.  

Minutes passed. Then finally, I heard the sound of her bedroom door opening.

I looked up.

Mom walked downstairs, dressed like she was heading somewhere important, her hair perfectly styled.

She smiled when she saw me. 

"Rowan." Her voice was too chirpy in strange way. There was also a suspicious brightness in her expression.

That smile hid a lot of things. Her pain most importantly, then her plans, and whatever was going on in her mind, which I didn't trust at all.

"I'm going shopping," she announced, already at the foot of the stairs. 

I stared at her for a moment. "Okay."

She hung her handbag over her shoulder. "I'll probably be back late."

"Sure," I said, watching her carefully. "But..."

She looked at me. 

"Are you sure you're okay, Mom?"

She smiled widely. "There's no need to worry about me. I'm okay." She twirled. "Can't you see that?"

I nodded slowly. 

She gave me another wide smile before walking toward the door.

My gaze stayed fixed on her until she walked out.

That smile was just too much and quite scary.

After everything that had happened between her and Dad, I couldn't understand how she could suddenly look so relaxed.

A few seconds later, I heard the sound of her car starting. 

I remained on the couch, listening as the engine roared before fading into the distance.

Finally, I closed my laptop.

Time to find out what the hell was going on.

I stood and headed straight for her study. The door was slightly ajar, so I pushed it open and stepped inside.

There was no time to even shift my attention elsewhere as my eyes immediately went to the safe.

I walked toward it and crouched in front of the metal door. I glanced at the study door. I didn't think there would be anyone coming in.  

Now came the hard part—the password. 

I stared at the keypad, wondering what she would use as the password.

With a small sigh,  I decided to try her favorite numbers first, the way she always arranged them. But after inputting them, nothing happened..

Then I tried her birth date. 

Nothing.

This was the really the hard part.

I tried a few other combinations I thought she might use, but none of them worked.

Hope I didn't just break into this study for nothing.

Then I decided to try my birthday, and fortunately, the keypad beeped and the lock clicked.

"You've got to be kidding me," I mumbled. 

I slowly opened the safe. Inside were several documents, a few envelopes, and some other things stack of papers. 

I lowered myself to the floor, sitting comfortably. Pulling out the stack of papers, I began scanning them one by one. 

They all read like journals. And I had no fucking time for that. They didn't seem like anything that could cause an alarm.

I rummaged through the safe for anything else that could be useful in quenching my curiosity. 

Beneath the envelopes, I spotted a small black object. Quickly, I lifted the envelopes. 

And right underneath was a small black flash drive.