Chapter 3

Iris quivered as she murmured, "I'll get you the money, Uncle Thomas." She promptly left the money on the balcony and started to flee to her room. Thomas demanded coldly behind her then, "Do you think I lack the money?!" Iris stopped and turned to face him, her clear gaze dewy but strong. "I'm not that kind of girl." She got into her room and locked the sliding door before pulling up the curtains and bawling. After a while, she dried her tears, picked up her phone, and sent a text. - The next day, at the CEO's office of Franklin Corp, Kenny was staring at a photo sent by a bodyguard before putting the cellphone on Thomas's desk. "She's working at Fiona Crowley's Lunar Peak, sir, as a waitress." The store happened to be Thomas's property, and Thomas glowered at the word 'Lunar Peak'. Naturally, it was Iris in the photo—dressed in a long, sleeveless dress, her legs were bare with a side slit that ran all the way up her thigh. Moreover, her bangs were combed over her forehead and kept in place with a hair pin, keeping her beautiful face in full view. However, it only left Thomas scowling as he snapped icily, "She only deserves a dirty job!" With that, Iris went from being a waitress at Lunar Peak to becoming a dishwasher in the corner of the kitchen. However, that came as a relief to her—in that waitress uniform, she could see people's eyes at her filled with all kinds of emotions, such as surprise, admiration, and jealousy. She hated being studied from head to toe even before work hours began. At the same time, Fiona lit herself a cigarette, finding Iris had adapted to her new job as a dishwasher. She had planned to promote Iris soon, only to get an order from her higher-ups. She was certainly impressed that Iris was actually such a VIP. Unexpectedly, Thomas had finally paid attention to Lunar Peak, which he had abandoned and forgotten for so long. After all, it felt like it had been a hundred years since the man had taken an interest in Lunar Peak. In fact, he would be there visiting the place at 7 PM tonight. There were not that many customers around lunch hour, and Iris was basically idling after 2 PM. However, business was booming in the evening, and more dirty dishes kept coming in. She stared at the sink, piling with plates and other eating utensils, and felt soreness from her waist and legs. She almost could not stand, but she toughed it out since she owed Thomas a lot of money. - There was silence in one of Lunar Peak's private rooms—there were at least thirty dishes on the table, but only one person was eating. Fiona and Kenny stood nearby at attention like attendants, with Fiona fawning over Thomas. "Mr. Franklin, it's an honor to have you here at Lunar Peak. If there's anything you find unacceptable, I shall improve on it immediately." There was no warmth in Thomas' dark gaze as he growled, "Tell her to come in and clean up." Fiona was left stunned for a second before catching on and saying, "Yes, sir. Right away." With that, Iris was brought to the private room from the kitchen. When Iris arrived and opened the door, her face paled and she shuddered at the sight of Thomas. Fiona could see that things were complicated between them, so she said, "Iris, Mr. Franklin is done eating. You can clean up the table now." However, right after she said that, several plates of food were swept off the table, crashing onto the floor and leaving it a mess. Fiona was about to say something, but Kenny dragged her out of the room before she could do it. Iris trembled as she leaned against the door. She desperately tried to unlock it, but it refused to budge. She looked at the man as he approached, her eyes welling up with tears as the growing sense of dread seized her. Thomas towered over Iris. As he cornered her, Iris felt frightened to the core. "Uncle Thomas," she called out with a quivering voice, hoping that he would remember their relationship. However, Thomas' face contorted with further savagery as he grabbed her chin. She gasped in pain but kept calling him, "Uncle Thomas…" He sneered fiercely. "You don't have the right to call me that, Iris Lynd. You broke those six plates. Forget about the food cost, and that's still 600 dollars which I’ll deduct from your salary." Iris stared at him in disbelief. He might have helped her at the hospital, but he also tricked her with a crippling debt. And now, he called her to him at her workplace, only to make things difficult for her again. "I didn't do anything," she spoke. Her soft voice betrayed her anger, and her eyes were bloodshot. Thomas' eyes flashed viciously, his alluring voice hellish as he threw her to the floor. "Resisting, huh?!" He took out an expensive-looking handkerchief and wiped his fingers pompously, as if touching her sullied him. He then threw the handkerchief at her and uttered, "That's another 5,000!" Fiona only returned inside after Thomas left with Kenny—seeing Iris sitting on the floor and shuddering, she could not help wondering how Thomas could be that brutal to such a delicate young girl. "Iris, Mr. Franklin said that you had to pay your debt. You'll also be working as a cleaner aside from washing dishes." Iris was so angry, and tears ran down her face. "Why do you have to listen to him?" she asked. "Because he owns this place." - Iris could hear people talking about her the instant she returned to the kitchen. "Didn't you hear? She upset Mr. Franklin on her first day at work… And here I thought he'd take a liking to her pretty face." "Nah, he prefers curvaceous women like Toto Gibson." "So it's true that he's dating Toto?" "I mean, all the tabloids have been writing about it for a long while…" Iris' hand was shuddering as all the color drained from her face—Thomas already had someone, but he would still abuse her like this?! One of the girls saw Iris and quickly stopped talking, while her friend shot Iris a look of contempt. "And here Fiona thought we'd have an impressive talent here at Lunar Peak—turns out you couldn’t live up to her expectation. It's fine, Katie—let her do all the work." And with that, both girls left a huge mess at the sink, but Iris stayed silent as she put on her gloves and went to work. It was 11 PM by the time she was done. When she just stepped out of the building, she saw Kenny standing beside a black Maybach. She stiffened, and Kenny told her politely, "Mr. Franklin has asked me to take you to a place, Ms. Lynd." "No." Iris refused defiantly, but she was trembling. Even her hands that clutched her bag’s strap shook. "Mr. Franklin said he would send certain photos of you to your aunt, who is abroad, if you refused," Kenny told her. "What photos?!" Iris' face paled—he had compromising photos of her?! "Such as you at the hallway of Franklin Manor on a certain rainy day." Iris felt like she was falling apart inside—there were definitely cameras in Franklin Manor's hallways, and the way he treated her was surely captured on tape. He was certainly the worst person she had ever met. He was so scheming and could easily find her Achilles heel! She had no idea where Kenny would take her as the black Maybach sprinted through a highway, but she felt creeping fear whenever she remembered Thomas' savagery. Eventually, the Maybach stopped outside a luxurious nightclub, and Kenny told her, "I'll be waiting outside, Ms. Lynd. In the meantime, please change into the attire inside the box on your left. The windows are tinted, so you don't have to worry about people peeping inside." With that, Kenny alighted and closed the door behind him, while Iris opened the box despite her fear. There was a white dress, a pair of heels, and a mask inside—when Iris was done changing, she alighted. Kenny studied her for a moment—the dress was handpicked by Thomas himself: conservative, lace-trimmed so thoroughly that it did not even expose her wrists, and so loose that it did not accentuate her waist at all. For a while, Kenny actually could not find the right words to say just then—she was already pretty, and the dress made her appear further docile and delicate. Iris followed him into the nightclub. The instant she entered the private room, she found the cigarette smoke within so stifling that she pinched her nose… only to feel her mask on it, and she felt a sense of relief. The place was congested, though she immediately spotted the man who stuck out like a sore thumb with his typically savage visage.