Chapter 4

All this time, the owner of Royal Palace had always been known by the ambiguous title of The Boss. It would appear that at one point, Hugh had taken ownership of Royal Palace without public knowledge, and he had conveniently taken on the pseudonym of The Boss. Iris had never heard of anything related to his identity during her month-long employment here. He must have witnessed her performance, so he wanted to see and probably planned to humiliate her thoroughly before giving her the boot. It just so happened that she had made enough money anyway; it was time for her to leave. Hugh did not speak the entire time. He fixed his eyes on her scarred, sallow face like a predator locking its eyes on its prey. Iris could feel the tension in the air. The overwhelming pressure almost suffocated her. Flashes of cruel memories began to replay in her mind again. However, the last five years had completely changed things between them. They were no longer siblings, but mortal enemies. Facing the man she had once loved with every fiber of her being, she felt nothing but terror. Five years ago, there was a misunderstanding that led Hugh to think that Iris was the one who tried to burn Olenna to death. The dark secret that her father was the one who caused the death of Hugh’s parents was exposed subsequently. Just like that, her life had taken a drastic turn for the worse. Hugh morphed into what seemed like a demon overnight and relentlessly tried his best to put her into prison. Unable to handle the drastic turn of events, Iris’ father passed away soon after, and Hugh took over Baron Corporation. Despite all those, Iris knew she was in no position to hate Hugh because she knew her father owed Hugh that much. Everything in the Barons was supposed to be Hugh’s in the first place whereas her father was just an adopted child of the Barons. Had it not been for Hugh’s biological parent’s passing, her father would by no means inherit the business empire. Looking at Hugh, she walked up to him and asked calmly, “Boss, is there something you need from me?” “It’s been five years, hasn’t it? I must admit that you’ve truly surprised me,” Hugh enunciated. They said it was far more difficult for a wealthy person to cope with poverty than for a poor person to adjust to wealth; it would certainly appear so. Why else would Iris be dancing in this sort of place? Hugh thought that Iris came here for money so that she could live the affluent life that she used to have. She was really out of her mind. Iris remained calm. “Boss, I know you don’t want to see me around. I’m quitting.” Hugh’s brows were still furrowed tightly. He got up and approached Iris. Then he pinned her against the wall and seized her by her chin. “Do you think doing that is enough to wash away the sins of your beloved father Rowan? Do you think you can write them all off just because he died and you huddled in a prison for five short years? “Instead of staying low and hiding somewhere else, you just had to show your face around here. Did you think I was going to let you off the hook? Hm?” Rowan killed Hugh’s parents. He had taken two lives. As for Iris, she had tried to burn Olenna to death and ended up leaving Olenna in a vegetative state. Such grave crimes would not be forgiven so easily! Hugh was going to keep Iris chained with him for the rest of her life to pay off the debt. Hearing what he said, Iris looked down silently before she went down on her knees, saying, “Please, let me go.” She had explained what had happened between her and Olenna back then many times. However, Hugh would not believe her. At this point, she was not bothered to explain. The only thing she wanted now was to get away from Hugh and take Rei’s mother to get treated. She knew how effortless it would be for Hugh to kill her. Her demeanor further sparked the burning anger inside Hugh. “Iris, don’t you have any dignity at all?” “No, not anymore,” Iris confessed blankly. Dignity? Since the moment she was determined to work in this place, dignity was nothing she would care about. What good could dignity do to her? Could she count on dignity to save someone’s life? Could it provide her with a comfortable life? Hugh did not expect to get such an answer. The Iris he knew in the past would never say something like this. Was this truly the Iris he knew? “Since you have no dignity, then go ahead and work in the PR services. You want to sell your body, don’t you? That’s the best place for you to do that!” Hugh said sternly. She was taken aback and began to kowtow nonstop. “Boss, I beg you to spare me… I don’t wanna be a party girl,” she uttered. Joining the public relations services meant she would have to work as a party girl. There were two kinds of positions in Royal Palace—one required working as an escort and the other did not. It was a matter of personal preference. Either way, those girls would have to make some sacrifices, and it was way too common for them to be taken advantage of by their customers. Her virginity was the only thing she still had, so she did not want her body to be stained by filthy men. Her resistance added fuel to the fire as Hugh became even more furious. He bent over and forcefully clenched her by the jaw. He said coldly, “What right do you have to defy me?” What he said sent shivers down her spine. It was true, she had no rights whatsoever. Capital was associated with the Baron name; his name had become synonymous with the status of the city. After being released from prison, Iris had heard many people talk about Baron Corporation when she worked in Royal Palace. Ever since Hugh took over the company, he managed to take the business empire to greater heights. Today, Baron Corporation was not only ranked at the top of Zwanda but the entire world. Meanwhile, she was nothing but a criminal coded 0825. If Hugh wanted to end her, she would not even last till the end of the day. If Hugh was not going to let her off, it was a pipe dream for her to escape. “Iris, enough of your games, otherwise I’ll blow up Rowan’s gravestone, and may his soul never rest in peace.” Iris had already witnessed Hugh’s cruelty five years ago. She knew that Hugh was a man of his word. As for Iris, her father was her Achilles' heel. She could not let her father roll over in his grave because of her. She looked up into Hugh’s eyes. She psyched herself up and asked, “For how long?”