“Mr. Liam, the ICU requires a one-hundred-million-rupiah deposit tonight.”
The hospital administrator’s voice sounded cold.
“Otherwise, we’ll be forced to remove your father’s breathing machine.”
The words echoed through the hospital hallway. The walls were cold. The sharp smell of disinfectant stung his nose. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered gloomily. Liam Adiprana stood frozen. His throat felt raw. His chest tightened. His hands trembled as he squeezed the itemized medical bill he had been clutching all this time.
“One hundred million?”
Liam’s voice came out hoarse.
“Nurse, please give me until tomorrow morning.”
He swallowed.
“I’m trying to get it. My mother’s also out looking for a loan.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Liam.”
The woman cut him off.
Her expression remained blank.
“This is hospital policy.”
She pointed at the computer screen on the administration desk.
“Midnight is the deadline. If the deposit hasn’t been paid, we’ll have no choice but to move Mr. Budi to the regular ward.”
The administrator paused briefly, then continued in a quieter voice.
“And we’ll remove the ventilator.”
Liam’s world seemed to stop. One hundred million. He didn’t even have ten million. Let alone one hundred million. Liam took a step back. His back hit the wall. His body seemed to lose all its strength.
His father. Budi Adiprana. An old man who had worked as a construction laborer his entire life. A man who lifted heavy loads every day until his spine curved beneath the strain. Now he lay dying behind the glass of the ICU. His lungs had failed. His heart was weakening. And the life of the man he loved most now seemed to be worth one hundred million rupiah.
Tonight. Not tomorrow. Tonight. His salary as an administrative clerk at a mid-sized logistics company wasn’t even enough to cover his mother’s loan-shark debt payment.
His mother, Mrs. Sari, might even be knocking on the doors of relatives’ houses one by one. Asking for help. Begging for mercy. Only to be turned away again.
Liam’s vision began to blur. Cold sweat dampened his temples. His breathing grew shorter.
The faint sound of a stretcher rolling past reached him. The ticking of the wall clock seemed to grow louder. The air conditioner’s hum mingled with the footsteps of the nurses.
Everything spun inside his head. The despair was so thick. So heavy. It felt as if it were pressing against his bones.
‘Oh, God.’
Liam closed his eyes. ‘Where else am I supposed to find that much money this late at night?’
The ringing in his ears grew louder. His field of vision narrowed.
Black.
His knees gave out. His tall body finally collapsed.
Crash!
Liam sprawled across the hospital floor. Right beside a row of empty waiting-room chairs. After that, everything went dark.
The pungent scent of eucalyptus oil stung his nose. Liam frowned. His eyelids moved slowly. They felt heavy. Extremely heavy. He opened his eyes bit by bit.
A white ceiling greeted his gaze. Liam tried to move. Only then did he realize it. He was no longer in the hospital hallway. His body was lying on a soft leather sofa.
The room was spacious. Quiet. Cool. It was completely different from the hospital hallway that had made him collapse earlier.
“Are you awake, son?”
A gentle voice came from beside him.
Liam turned. “Mom.”
Mrs. Sari sat beside the sofa. Her eyes were swollen. Her face was filled with worry. Her rough, callused hand clutched Liam’s fingers tightly. Liam immediately remembered his father. He tried to sit up.
“How’s Dad, Mom?!”
His breathing came fast.
“What about the deposit—”
“Easy, Liam.”
Mrs. Sari quickly held him back.
“Don’t rush, son.”
But Mrs. Sari’s own body was trembling. Liam stared at his mother. Something was strange.
Very strange.
Only then did he realize they weren’t alone in the room.
An older man sat across from them. He looked to be in his late fifties.
A black suit fit his body perfectly. His hair was neatly styled. His posture was straight. His movements were calm.
Yet there was something about him that made the air in the room feel different. Dominant. Powerful. His gaze was sharp as an eagle’s—a look that made anyone feel judged by a single glance.
A solidly built man stood behind him. A bodyguard. He held a medium-sized black leather briefcase.
Liam frowned. Who were they?
The older man finally spoke.
“Mr. Budi is safe now, Mr. Liam.”
His tone was flat.
Calm.
Yet every word carried authority.
“I’ve ordered my secretary to cover your father’s ICU deposit for tonight. The ventilator stays on.”
Liam fell silent.
His eyes widened.
“What?”