Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 323

Ruby’s smile curled at the corners, cold and predatory.

Gennifer’s heart skipped a beat. What is it about Ruby that makes the air feel so heavy, so suffocating?

Before she could finish the thought, Ruby had dragged her to the sofa. Those icy eyes raked over her, making her skin crawl. "It wasn’t me, I swear... I didn’t do it..." Gennifer stammered, her whole body trembling.

Ruby had somehow produced a gleaming knife, its blade catching the light as she pressed it right up to Gennifer’s pale, slender throat. Cold sweat broke out all over her.

“Ruby, don’t do anything stupid!” Gennifer shrieked. “If you hurt me, not only will Cassian make you pay, you’ll spend the rest of your life behind bars!”

Ruby just gave a mirthless laugh. “Oh? Didn’t I already go to jail once, thanks to you?”

Gennifer heard the threat beneath those words. The moment Ruby’s attention wavered, she bolted for the front door, panic overtaking her. “Help! Somebody help! She’s got a knife! She’s going to kill me!”

She screamed until her voice was nearly gone, but the door was locked fast. No escape.

Suddenly, she felt a rush of air behind her. Ruby seized her by the hair and dragged her back down to the floor.

Just as despair swallowed her, there was a sharp knock at the door. “Hey? Gennifer? Are you home?”

Ruby froze. Elin’s voice called out again, closer this time, her tone edged with concern.

Elin had just come back from the grocery store and, passing down the hallway, thought she’d heard Gennifer’s cries.

She knocked again. “Gennifer?”

“Mm—mm!” The sound was muffled; Ruby had clapped a hand over Gennifer’s mouth, her cold gaze never leaving the door.

She hadn’t expected Elin to still be around. That probably meant Frieda was nearby as well.

Ruby’s mind flashed back to that day in the alley, when a mob had cornered her—thanks, no doubt, to someone’s handiwork.

Her grip tightened unconsciously, anger pulsing in her veins. She was Frieda’s real daughter. Why was it always Gennifer who got favored? She’d stopped hoping for fairness long ago, but she’d never thought Frieda would actively work against her.

Gennifer’s face was turning red, then purple, beneath Ruby’s hand. Gasping for breath, she somehow managed to wrench herself free and hurled herself at the door, slamming her fists against it.

“Auntie! Help! Ruby’s here—she’s trying to hurt me!”

Her desperate screams pierced the air, snapping Elin to attention. Elin’s grocery bag hit the floor as she pressed her face to the peephole. Through the tiny lens, she saw Ruby gripping Gennifer by the hair, Gennifer’s face a mask of terror.

Elin pounded on the door. “Ruby! Have you lost your mind? Let her go. Let Gennifer go right now!”

Ruby’s brow furrowed, the noise outside grating on her nerves.

Ruby’s voice was flat. “An eye for an eye. Isn’t that fair?”

Suddenly she produced a fistful of salt, holding it up for Gennifer to see.

Gennifer’s eyes went wide with horror. “You... no—!”

Before she could stop her, Ruby shoved a handful into her mouth.

The burning salt stung Gennifer’s throat and mouth, making her cough and gag. She clawed at her neck, retching, collapsing on the floor as if she’d been left to die of thirst.

Frieda’s heart broke to see it, her glare promising retribution. “You’re insane, Ruby! Cassian will see what you really are!”

She lunged at Ruby, but the glint of that knife forced her back.

Ruby smiled coldly. “Did you think about this when you gave Mira that salt?”

Gennifer couldn’t speak, desperate for water, eyes searching frantically. As she tried to crawl away, Ruby hauled her back by the neck.

Forced to look up, Gennifer sobbed, voice raw. “Ru... Ruby... Grayson, I won’t let you get away with this!”

Ruby leaned down, her lips close to Gennifer’s ear. “I warned you. Mira is my line in the sand. You never should have touched her.”