Chapter 690

Rachel crouched down and clenched her fists tightly. This time, she didn’t dare to make another reckless guess. She sank back against the floor, forcing herself to think carefully.

“Yale, has Tyler ever hinted at anything? I mean, something we could use to figure out the password from the way he talks?”

That question clearly stumped Yale.

“Ms. Lloyd, Mr. Hunt talks to me about so many things every single day. How am I supposed to remember? You’re putting me in an impossible spot.”

Rachel gave him no room to wiggle out. “We don’t have a choice. If you can’t come up with something, then everything we’ve done so far will be for nothing.”

Yale pursed his lips. He then forced his memory into overdrive, replaying every conversation he’d ever had with Tyler that might have mentioned the safe.

At that moment, Rachel’s phone rang. It was Jerry. She felt a sudden dread in her stomach. She feared he had failed. She steadied herself and answered. “Don’t tell me you couldn’t do it.”

“I pulled it off, but you’d better hurry.”

Rachel frowned, and her heart clenched. “What do you mean?”

“I just got word that Tyler’s on his way back to the office. Probably for work. You two need to move fast.”

Rachel’s expression darkened instantly. “Where is he now?”

“About two miles out.”

Rachel felt like her whole world was caving in. “Got it.”

She hung up and immediately turned to Yale. “Hurry! Jerry says Tyler is only two miles from here.”

Yale broke out in a cold sweat. He frowned hard. “Ms. Lloyd, don’t rush me. I’m thinking as fast as I can."

A moment later, his eyes lit up.

“I remember now! Mr. Hunt once said every password he sets has some kind of personal meaning, like how his apartment code is your birthday. But he wouldn’t use that for everything. He values relationships, but some are simply out of reach. Ms. Lloyd, can you think of anyone? Could it be his mother?”

Rachel shook her head.

“I don’t think so. My mom told me Tyler and his mother had a good relationship. That rules her out. It’s only those relationships that are strained, unresolved—the kind you can’t mend—that truly count as out of reach.”

The answer clicked into place for Yale, though he still found it hard to believe it could be Thomas.

“But can we really assume that? I think not. Mr. Thomas had such a terrible falling-out with Mr. Hunt. Why would he ever use something related to Mr. Thomas for such an important safe?”

Rachel glanced at him. “So you think it would be William instead?”

Yale shook his head.

Rachel looked away. She crouched back down at the safe, ready to punch in Thomas’ birthday.

It wasn’t that she held the Lewis family in such high regard—it was just that Thomas’ birthday was far too easy to remember. It was the twelfth of December.

If Tyler really had used it, that would actually be a mark of brilliance. After all, everyone who knew him was aware of the rift between him and Thomas. No one would ever suspect he’d choose that. Even given ten tries, they’d never guess it.

That thought gave Rachel more confidence—not certainty, but at least enough to try.

With her heart pounding, she entered the numbers.

She and Yale held their breath, and their gazes locked on the safe door.