Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 282

The booming, theatrical voice on the phone made Ruby wince. She held her phone away from her ear, as if distance could soften the headache.

Garrison reached over and took the phone from her, his voice as calm and gentle as a stream. “Is something wrong?”

On the other end, Townsend fell abruptly silent, recognizing who had answered. He gave an awkward chuckle. “Hey, uh… Mr. Cloud, you’re there too?”

“What’s going on? When you said things were ‘blowing up’—what did you mean?” Garrison’s tone turned serious.

A tense pause lingered before Townsend finally composed himself. “Ruby… did you go to the Starseek Research Institute’s hearing today?”

Victor’s gaze snapped to Ruby at the mention of her name, suspicion flickering in his eyes. He frowned, sensing that something was off, and tapped open the news app on his phone.

Right at the top was Ruby’s name, followed by a glaring red “BREAKING” banner.

Townsend kept talking, his voice strained. “Ruby, the internet’s saying your law license was revoked. They’re claiming you shouldn’t have been allowed in that courtroom at all, and now the defendant’s side might get hit because of it.”

Ruby narrowed her eyes, her mind racing. She’d already mapped out the most likely sources behind these rumors. Her first instinct was to look at Victor—just as he looked at her.

“I’m not acting as your attorney—just here for support,” she said, meeting Victor’s eyes and giving him a reassuring look.

But Victor shook his head.

Ruby assumed he was worried about how this might affect the hearing’s outcome. In truth, he was far more concerned about her.

He’d been out of the country, caught up in work after the scandal broke. By the time he returned and picked up the threads, Ruby had already weathered a storm of online attacks—and, if rumors were true, a dangerous kidnapping. If he’d known what she would go through, he’d never have left her side.

“Actually… if someone with real authority in Quinborough spoke up, it probably wouldn’t be so hard to handle…” Townsend’s sentence trailed off, as if he was hinting at something but didn’t quite dare say it outright.

Ruby’s eyes glinted. “Don’t worry. I’ll take it from here.”

She ended the call.

Garrison’s gaze lingered on her, concern unmistakable. “Are you sure? I’ll tell the staff to hold dinner. If you need anything—just say so.”

“No need,” Ruby replied, shaking her head and retaking her seat. She offered Victor and Ramsey a small, calm smile. “Since Mr. Hargrove is treating us tonight, there’s no rush.”

Victor and Garrison both looked at her in surprise. To them, it was a crisis—yet here was Ruby, as steady as ever, refusing to let the fire at her feet ruffle her composure.