Chapter 325 The Code to His Heart
As Samantha stepped off the elevator, she nearly collided with Owen, who was striding briskly down the executive hallway with a tablet tucked under one arm.
He stopped when he saw her.
"Ms. Hill."
He offered a polite smile.
"What brings you to Kingswell today?"
Samantha quickly smoothed over her expression.
"I came to see Ryan. Is he still busy?"
Owen nodded apologetically.
"Mr. Knight’s still tied up in a board meeting. It’s been nonstop for him lately."
He gestured toward the corner office.
"If you don’t mind waiting, you’re welcome to sit in his office."
A wave of relief washed over Samantha.
So nothing had changed.
Ryan was simply busy.
Owen still treated her with the same courtesy as before.
No one questioned why she was there.
No one stopped her from entering Ryan’s private office.
That alone eased much of the anxiety she’d been carrying.
"Thank you."
She walked toward the office while Owen instructed an assistant to bring her a fresh cup of coffee before hurrying off to his next meeting.
The office was exactly as she remembered.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Midtown Manhattan.
Minimalist décor.
Dark walnut furniture.
Everything immaculate.
She had spent time here countless times before.
Back then, she’d enjoyed the quiet privilege of being the only woman everyone allowed inside without an appointment.
She had believed she was special.
Now...
She had come for a very different reason.
Ethan’s threat echoed relentlessly in her mind.
She knew exactly what he was asking her to do.
This wasn’t simply stealing a document.
It meant inserting herself into a power struggle inside one of America’s largest corporations.
The Knight family’s internal battle for control.
She wanted no part of it.
But if she refused...
Everything she’d planned would collapse.
Slowly, Samantha approached Ryan’s desk.
Several folders still awaited his signature.
She carefully flipped through them one after another.
Quarterly reports.
Legal agreements.
Investment summaries.
None of them were the confidential AI expansion proposal Ethan wanted.
She frowned.
Her eyes drifted toward the credenza behind the desk.
Beneath it sat a built-in electronic safe.
Important contracts.
Confidential files.
That had to be where Ryan kept them.
She crouched beside it.
Her fingers hovered over the keypad.
She entered Ryan’s birthday.
Access Denied.
She tried her own birthday.
Another sharp beep.
Denied again.
Her lips tightened.
He hadn’t even used her birthday.
For some reason...
That stung.
Then another date suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Her breathing slowed.
Almost unconsciously, she entered four digits.
03-13.
A soft click echoed through the office.
The safe unlocked.
Samantha froze.
For several long seconds, she simply stared.
March 13.
Rose Bennett’s birthday.
Her entire body went rigid.
"No..."
The word escaped almost soundlessly.
How could that be?
Why would Ryan use Rose’s birthday to lock away his most confidential secrets?
Was it pure coincidence?
Or...
Had Rose always occupied a place in his heart that Samantha had never been able to replace?
The possibility hit her like a punch to the chest.
It felt as though something inside her had shattered.
"No..."
She clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.
"That’s impossible."
Ryan and Rose had been separated for months.
He couldn’t still care about her.
He couldn’t.
Forcing herself to stop thinking about it, Samantha opened the safe.
Several thick confidential binders rested neatly inside.
She quickly flipped through them.
Within moments...
She found it.
Kingswell Group
Strategic Expansion Proposal
Artificial Intelligence & Clean Energy Division
Exactly what Ethan wanted.
Samantha hesitated.
She truly didn’t want to hurt Ryan.
For a brief moment, she even considered photographing altered pages instead of the real proposal.
Something that would satisfy Ethan without causing real damage.
Then...
Her eyes drifted back to the glowing keypad.
03-13.
Rose’s birthday.
The numbers burned into her vision.
Her humiliation returned all at once.
She felt as though she’d been slapped across the face.
Whatever hesitation remained disappeared.
Taking out her phone, she carefully photographed every page.
One after another.
When she finished, she returned the binder to its exact position inside the safe.
She closed the door.
The electronic lock engaged with a soft click.
At that precise moment—
Footsteps approached outside.
Samantha’s heart nearly stopped.
She hurriedly stood, smoothed her clothes, and crossed back toward the seating area just as the office door opened.
Ryan walked inside.
He loosened his tie as he entered.
His expression remained calm and unreadable.
"You’ve been waiting long?"
Samantha’s pulse was still racing.
Looking at him now...
The urge to confess everything almost overwhelmed her.
She wanted to ask him directly.
Why Rose’s birthday?
Why?
Instead, she forced herself to smile.
"Not at all."
She paused.
"Am I interrupting your day?"
"No."
Ryan removed his suit jacket and draped it neatly over the back of his chair.
As he walked behind his desk, his eyes briefly swept toward the safe beneath the credenza.
Only for an instant.
Then his gaze returned to Samantha as though nothing had happened.
"What did you want to talk about?"
She searched his face.
Nothing.
No suspicion.
No hint that he’d noticed anything.
"I wanted to ask if we could have dinner tonight."
She smiled gently.
"I called earlier, but you never answered."
Ryan sat down.
"My phone was on silent during the meeting."
The simple explanation eased some of her nerves.
She walked around the desk until she stood behind his chair.
Resting one hand lightly on the backrest, she leaned closer.
"I thought maybe you were avoiding me."
She laughed softly.
"You’ve been so busy lately."
"It made me feel a little insecure."
Her fingers lightly brushed his shoulder.
She subtly shifted closer, intending to settle onto the arm of his chair—or perhaps even his lap, as she had done before.
Ryan reached for the office phone.
"Could someone bring in two sparkling waters?"
The interruption forced Samantha to stop.
She remained standing beside him instead.
Her eyes wandered toward the safe once more.
Trying to sound casual, she asked, "That’s an interesting safe."
Ryan glanced in its direction.
"My grandmother gave it to me a few years ago."
"It was custom-built."
The answer eased some of the turmoil inside her.
If Margaret had commissioned it...
Perhaps she’d chosen the security code herself.
The older woman had always hoped Ryan and Rose would reconcile.
Maybe the birthday wasn’t Ryan’s decision at all.
That explanation soothed her—
At least a little.
Still...
She hadn’t come here to think about Rose.
She slowly knelt beside Ryan’s chair.
Her hand rested gently on his thigh.
"Ryan..."
"I actually came to tell you some wonderful news."
Ryan lowered his eyes.
His gaze settled briefly on her hand before returning to her face.
"What is it?"
Joy spread across Samantha’s features.
"I’m pregnant."
Her smile widened.
"We’re going to have a baby."
"I found out today."
"I wanted to surprise you later..."
"But I couldn’t wait."
She looked into his eyes with unmistakable anticipation.
"This baby is yours."
"Our family is finally growing."
She took a slow breath before continuing.
"When our child is born, he or she deserves to have both parents together."
Her voice softened into almost a whisper.
"I don’t need a big wedding."
"We can skip all of that."
"Ryan..."
"Let’s just go to City Hall and get married."
"Please."
Silence settled over the office.
Ryan’s expression never changed.
His eyes slowly lowered to her abdomen.
Then he looked back at her.
"My child?"
His calm voice revealed nothing.
Samantha forced herself to hold his gaze despite the fear pounding inside her chest.
"Yes."
She smiled without wavering.
"We’re going to be parents."