I rummaged through his pen holder, but there was nothing. He couldn't possibly carry all the keys from this room with him. My gaze swept to the safe in the corner, and I remembered its key. I spun around and rushed to the life-sized, gilded horse statue by the door. I pressed hard on a cleverly hidden decorative piece on its base, and a panel sprang open. I quickly reached inside, my fingers closing around a set of keys. I froze for a moment. He hadn't moved it. For a fleeting second, a question flashed through my mind: if he locked the study, who was he trying to keep out? After all, I was the one who had suggested this hiding spot. The secret compartment was brilliant, nearly impossible to find. He had readily agreed when I'd first mentioned it, and only Deng Jiazhe and I knew about it. It seemed he figured I was sleeping day and night, lost to the world, so there was no need to change it. Then who was he hiding from? Shaking off the thought, I hurried back to the desk with the keys and used the smallest one on the drawer. The lock clicked open. Just as I'd thought, inside the second drawer on the right, I found my phone and my tablet. I snatched them out. The phone was off. My hand trembled as I pressed and held the power button. While it booted up, I turned to Deng Jiazhe's computer, hoping to check the security camera footage. I typed in the familiar password for the home page, but it flashed an error. He'd changed the password. I tried several more times, but each attempt failed. I couldn't get into his computer. Damn him. That bastard. Furious, I slammed my hand on his laptop. The loud crack startled even me. I picked up my phone, only to be met with the same "incorrect password" message. He had even changed the password on my phone. Luckily, I had set up fingerprint recognition when I first got this phone. I pressed my thumb to the sensor, and it unlocked. I checked the battery—it was critically low. The most recent entry in my call log was a missed call from my mom. Tears instantly blurred my vision. How I longed to call her. But I couldn't, not yet. For one, I knew I was too emotional and would only make her worry. For another, I was afraid the battery wouldn't last. The most urgent thing right now was to contact Zhou Haizhen. With no time to waste, I scrolled through the long list of missed calls and tapped on Zhou Haizhen's name. But the moment I did, I immediately hit the end call button. No. To be safe, I couldn't make a regular call; it would be too easy to trace. I quickly opened WeChat. I didn't have to search for Haizhen's profile; it was right at the top, a notification showing she had sent me countless messages. I didn't have time to read them. I just hit the voice call button. It rang for a long time before she picked up. Zhou Haizhen's furious voice erupted from the speaker. “Lu Danni, so you finally decided to remember I exist? I thought you were on your deathbed! Any longer and I would've started shopping for funeral wreaths…” I cut her off before she could finish. “Haizhen, listen to me…” The words came out as a choked sob. “…I… I need your help!” “Danni? What's going on? Don't cry, what's wrong? Say something! God, you're killing me!” I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “Haizhen, don't ask. It's a long story. You have to help me. I can't explain over the phone, just listen…” I was rambling, not even sure what I was saying myself. Zhou Haizhen, completely lost, cut me off, her voice filled with urgency. “Danni, are you in some kind of trouble?” “Yes, I'm in trouble…” At this point, I didn't hide anything. I quickly and concisely explained my current situation and what I needed her to do, right before the phone let out a final beep and died. I stared blankly for a moment. There was still so much I hadn't explained. My hand dropped, a wave of helplessness washing over me. Reluctantly, I placed the phone back in the drawer. I couldn't risk tipping him off before I had proof. I had wanted to see what else he was hiding in his drawers, what was so important that he had to lock them even at home. But just then, the lights flickered once before the room was plunged back into darkness. Oh no. The power was coming back.