The Report

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I said a few minutes later as we were sneaking into the room where the safe is. I looked around carefully before entering just to make sure that no one is around to witness or break in. Or rather, mine.

But after closing the door I forgot about this for a minute to stop and admire the good taste with which the room was furnished. Even the draperies of the curtains matched the color of the furniture and the carpet. Everything must be made out of the finest materials here, just like everywhere else in the house. There was even a fireplace somewhere in the middle of the room which obviously wasn't only for decoration but for use.

Mr. Liu's desk is neatly organized as expected. Well, probably not anymore if Jack keeps rummaging through it.

"What are you doing?" I asked after waiting for a few minutes for him to stop.

"I figured I might as well look through his drawers," he replied without even raising his head.

 Since it's already sunset, a shadow is cast over his face which makes him look even more irresistible than before.

"Ahem," I cleared my throat to make me focus. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Not yet. There isn't really anything useful here but I thought it's worth a try."

"Weird."

"What?" he asked while closing the drawer he finished looking through and opening another one.

"I would've thought a man like him would make sure to lock his drawers so that no one can look into them."

"It's more like he is certain no one has the nerve to do that," he said grinning.

"Except you," I pointed out.

"I can't help it, since I take after him," he said which completely took me aback.

"Really...?"

"Well, he knows how to get what he wants and I know, too," and with that, he closed the last drawer and looked at me. This somehow made me uneasy and I became nervous all of a sudden.

"So, where is it?" I asked after a while and broke eye contact.

"There," Jack replied and pointed at the other end of the room.

I walked in the direction he showed me and stopped at a painting of a beautiful, probably Chinese woman. She was wearing a purple dress and her smile was just as captivating as Jack's. I turned my head and saw that Jack wasn't that far behind me and after a few seconds, he was already standing next to me. I almost made a joke about how cliché it is to hide a safe behind a painting but as I looked back at the woman I couldn't help but notice the similarities between her and him. I guess it's not that cliché after all but rather sentimental and utterly romantic.

"She is beautiful," I said as Jack move the picture over as if it was a door to a room itself.

"Yeah. And she was kind, too. Well, as much as I can remember."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need for you to be sorry. It's not your fault she died," he replied sternly which made me realize it was better if I just drop the topic before I anger him. I watched him enter the code instead but after each beeping sound, he became more and more agitated.

"What's the problem?" I asked though I already knew what his response will be.

"The password is incorrect. It must be something else," he said and started pacing up and down while frowning.

"It would've been too easy if the safe has the same password as his computer, and you know it."

"Whatever. I'm not leaving until I find out what he is hiding there," he said continued walking back and forth.

"Maybe it's just money and some jewelry."

"I'll believe it when I see it." His decision seemed resolute and unwavering, so I decided to help him think of a solution.

"In most cases, passwords are something that is easy to remember. Something the person likes or cherishes the most." Hearing this, Jack snorted.

"There's nothing my father really likes besides me," he said but after a few seconds, he stopped in his tracks and looked behind me.

"You have an idea?" I asked as I watched him suddenly rush back to the safe with newly found vigor. He didn't say a thing just entered some numbers and then the door of the safe opened with a click.

"What was it?" I became really curious as to how he figured out the right code himself.

"My mother's birthday," he replied which made me see his father in a new light. It seems he, too, does have a soft spot in his heart just like any of us. It's kind of admirable actually that he loved her so much.

At this moment Jack opened the door of the safe and as I expected, there was a lot of jewelry in it which probably belonged to Jack's mother since they looked like the ones a woman would wear. But there were also some documents in it as well, some in folders, some without it which Jack took out and gave me some of it.

As it turned out, most of them were different kinds of contracts and agreements, some dated way back, while some were recent. And they were absolutely useless. At least for us, so we put them all back one after another until I found a document that had my photo on it. My first thought was that I aged well since I don't look that older now even though this was clearly taken of my younger self. But when I realized this shouldn't even be here, I panicked. As I leafed through those pages, it seemed like a report about me. It included my date of birth, where I live and with whom, which university I went to, which volleyball team's member I was, everything.

Jack looked at me questioningly but with concern in his eyes, probably because he saw me getting terrified.

"Your father knows more than he is letting on. Or he just wanted to know more about the person, who works for you and your father. Because he investigated after me," I told him seriously and showed him the first page of the report.

At this moment, we heard Mr. Liu's voice which was getting nearer by every second, so we panicked. I quickly threw the papers back in the safe and closed it. I was in the middle of moving back the painting when the old man's voice was almost at the door. As he was pushing down the door handle, I was already getting prepared for finding an excuse for my presence in his room, when Jack suddenly grabbed my arm, gave me a pull, and swept me off my feet. Again.