Twelve Hours

Lillian rushed through the corridor of the hospital, her heart racing fast. Terrible images of her father's injured state were flashing in her mind and she was trying to fight off the tears. Her eyes and nose were red because she was crying all the way to the hospital. She ran up the stairs to the fourth floor, not having the patience to use the elevator.

Huffing and puffing, she scanned the room numbers until she spotted her father in one of the wards. He was surrounded by Lillian's mother and Jonathan, both of them looking grim.

"Dad!" She cried and approached the bed where her father lay. He was hooked to an IV and his heart rates on the monitor were slow but stable.

As soon as Natasha saw her daughter, she hugged her.

"Lillian!" she exclaimed, feeling relieved. "Where were you? I've been trying your phone for hours! Jonathan came by the house and told me that your father was in the hospital. I panicked and-"

She was speaking so fast that she ran out of breath.

"Calm down, mom," Lillian said. "How's dad? What did the doctor say?"

Howard was still lying on the bed, unconscious. His face was swollen and his hand was in a sling. The men who kidnapped him beat him up very badly and seeing his state was scaring Lillian.

"The doctors said that he has sustained really bad injuries," Jonathan said in a grim tone. "Thankfully, he was brought here on time otherwise it could've been worse."

"Who brought him here?" Lillian asked.

"I got a call from the hospital," Jonathan lied. "Apparently someone found him on the side of the road."

His voice was shaking a little. For some reason, Lucas Hao had threatened him not to tell the truth to her. The mafia lord had instructed him to lie to Lillian that it was indeed Lucas who was responsible for Howard's state. Jonathan was not sure why Lucas was making him lie but he obliged out of fear.

Lillian was too worried for her father to care about anything else. She held Howard's hand and sat next to him. Natasha patted her daughter, both of them on a silent vigil. Jonathan left the room to give them some privacy.

"How did this happen?" Natasha whispered. "Whoever hit him with the car-"

"Car?" Lillian echoed.

"Jonathan told me that Howard was hit by a car," Natasha replied. "Even the doctors said so."

It took several seconds to realize that Natash did not know about the loan and the mafia. Her father was entangled in a serious mess and Jonathan must have lied to Natasha to protect her from the truth. As for the doctors, Lillian had a hunch that the Lucas' men must have threatened them to lie. After all, who would want to go against the dreaded criminals?

"D-did they catch the driver?" Lillian asked, deciding to go with the lie.

"No," Natasha sighed. "They didn't catch him. But none of that matters now. I'm just glad he's fine."

"Me too…"

Lillian was gazing at her father, her heart in a dilemma. Lucas' words were still swirling in her mind.

"It's your choice, Lillian Cheng," he had told her. "Either sign it and free your dad from his debts. Or let him rot in my dungeons…"

Her grip tightened around her father's palm. He was lying motionless, sedated by the medicines. Her heart wrenched upon seeing him in such a pitiful condition.

To make matters worse, the man who was responsible for her father's helpless state had offered a marriage contract to her.

The thought of marrying Lucas Hao was sickening. How could she marry a monster like him? That man was responsible for her father's misery and he expected her to agree to his contract? Was he insane?

A sick and heartless bastard. That was what he was to her.

Howard's eyes fluttered and he slowly opened them. Lillian and Natasha yelped in excitement as he turned to gaze at them.

"Lily?" he whispered. "Nats?"

"Howard!" Natasha squealed tearfully.

"Dad!" Lillian called him. "Can you hear us?"

Howard slowly nodded. Natasha was crying in happiness. She gently stroked her husband's cheek.

"We were so worried!" she told him. "Seeing you injured and unconscious! Do you know what he had gone through?"

Howard gave her a feeble smile.

"Mom, can you please get a doctor?" Lillian requested. "They should check up on him."

Natasha nodded and ran off to get help. Lillian quickly turned to Howard.

"Dad, don't tell mom that you were beaten up," she told him. "She knows that you were hit by a car and let her keep believing that. Otherwise, she'll be in distress. It'll worsen her health as well. Just...just don't tell her."

"B-but-" Howard began but Lillian shook her head.

"I know about the debt you owe to Lucas Hao," she revealed. "And don't worry about it."

"We have to pay him back!" Howard hissed in a weak voice. "Otherwise, he'll kidnap you! I've heard those men. They're going to harm you-"

"The debt has been taken care of," Lillian lied. "One of my friends agreed to help me. I'll repay the debt to Lucas Hao."

Howard looked scared and worried but Natasha just walked in with a doctor in tow so he could not say anything else. The doctor checked his vitals and announced that Howard was out of all danger. The mother and daughter rejoiced, relieved that Howard was safe.

"Don't you ever be careless on the road again!" Natasha scolded her husband. Howard gave her a weak smile but he was still worried about Lillian. What was she planning?

"I agree with mom," Lillian said, faking a snicker. Then Natasha frowned.

"Lily, where were you last night?" she asked. "I tried calling you but your phone was unreachable."

"My phone isn't working," Lillian lied. "I was on my way home but Hannah called me up and she was in some trouble with her landlord. I went there to help her and by the time the issue was solved, it was late so I crashed at her place."

Howard frowned at Lillian. It was obvious to him that she was lying but Natasha did not notice it. She was angrily glaring at her daughter.

"That's so unlike you!" she scolded Lillian. "I was so worried! Your dad is in the hospital and you were unreachable! I-"

She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"Don't ever do that again!" she warned. Lillian did not protest but stood there, letting her mother rant. She nodded, feeling guilty for lying to her mother. Natasha had suffered a heart attack two years ago and both Lillian and Howard tried their best to keep her from worrying too much. It was the reason why Howard did not tell Natasha about the loan because the news might be fatal to her.

"I won't do it again," Lillian promised. "But you gotta go home, mom. Uncle Jonathan can take you back. I'll stay tonight with dad."

"But-" Natasha began but Lillian shook her head.

"You can come back tomorrow morning," she said. "Go home, mom."

Natasha sighed and patted her daughter's cheek. "Stay safe," she said. "Both of you."

Howard grunted while Lillian nodded. The doctor came in again and sedated Howard. Once he left, Natasha bid them goodbye and went home.

Lillian was busy taking care of her father all day. She was so busy that she did not realize that hours had passed by and it was already nighttime.

Howard was asleep again. He woke up a few hours ago and was awake for a while before going back to sleep while Lillian fidgeted with her dinner. She was absentmindedly poking the noodles she bought from the cafeteria, thinking about Lucas Hao's offer.

Why was he adamant on marrying her? She was sure they did not know each other from eve. Then why was he upturning her life as if it did not matter to him?

There was also another thing which scared her. Whenever he talked to her, there was a silent fury in his eyes which made her nervous. It felt as if he hated her but she could not think of any reason why he should feel that way.

Am I reading too much into it? She wondered. But the marriage contract…

She glanced at her father's sleeping figure. This man was the most important person in her life and she could not bear to see him suffer. How many sleepless nights had he spent while raising her? Howard and Natasha doted on her, making sure that she was never harmed nor hurt. How could she let them deal with such a big debt on their own?

Lillian gently kissed her father's cheek. Her eyes darted to the clock on the wall and she felt her blood go cold.

It was 9 PM. She had only twelve hours left to decide.