Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 355

"I’m both a lawyer and a judge."

Fanny raised her credentials, exuding an air of unwavering authority—she stood as straight and resolute as a pine tree.

Her words cut through the room, and for a split second, the air went still. Frieda and the others looked as if they’d been slapped.

It was only then that Gennifer noticed someone standing behind Ruby.

Fanny.

Something snapped in her mind; her eyes practically shot sparks.

If it hadn’t been for Fanny and Ruby conspiring to make Farrar lose that case, she wouldn’t have become the target of online ridicule—mocked by both strangers and her own peers. She’d tried everything to hush the gossip, but there were still plenty of people questioning her résumé, calling her a fraud.

Fanny swept a cold glance across the room. “The will is crystal clear. As the custodians, if Ruby has come to claim it, you are obligated to hand it over—otherwise, you’re illegally withholding property.”

Her voice was sharp and icy, landing like the gavel’s strike from the bench—dull and heavy, reverberating in everyone’s chest.

The room was dead silent. Pamela, standing guard, gave Hanley’s collar a threatening tug.

“Give it to her!”

Hanley scowled, barking at Frieda in a low voice.

He was desperate to return home, but had also picked up on the recent turmoil in Quinborough.

Fanny, the newest high-ranking official at the Quinborough District Court, was already regarded as the embodiment of the law’s iron will.

Frieda clenched her jaw, her face dark with anger, but said nothing. She turned and disappeared for a moment.

When she returned, she was carrying an old, dust-caked box that looked like it had been buried for decades.

Ruby’s gaze locked onto it.

“Take your things and get out of the Grayson family,” Frieda spat, slamming the box into Ruby’s arms.

A dull ache shot up Ruby’s hands from the impact, but she hugged the box tightly to her chest, feeling a wave of relief and satisfaction settle over her.

She said nothing, only nodded to Pamela to let Hanley go.

Pamela snorted and shoved Hanley with just enough force to send him stumbling, clutching his chest as a coughing fit turned his face pale.

“From this day forward, I am cutting all ties with the Grayson family.”

Ruby’s words dropped like a thunderclap—clear, decisive, and splitting the air with finality.

She swept her gaze across the room, reading every face.

Frieda was stunned, Hanley looked as if he’d been waiting for this all along, and Gennifer couldn’t quite hide the satisfied smirk at the corners of her lips.

Unable to forgive herself, she poured all her love and remorse into Gennifer.

“It’s fine, Mom,” Gennifer said softly, giving Frieda’s hand a reassuring squeeze, the picture of obedience.

Hanley watched them with a sneer. “Take a good look at your precious daughter.”

Frieda pressed her lips together in silence.

Meanwhile, Ruby had slid into the backseat of the car.

She cradled the heavy box in her lap, still half in disbelief.

She hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly.

Ruby frowned. The Grayson family might not be at the very top of the social ladder, but they were still wealthy and influential. She and Fanny hadn’t even needed to read out the legal documents they’d prepared; Frieda had just handed everything over.

Something about it nagged at her, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. With a sigh, she pushed the thought aside and focused on the box in her hands.

It was hard to imagine this battered old tin belonged to a matriarch of a rich family—it looked like a prop from a 1970s film.

Ruby wrestled with the rusty latch and pried it open. Inside was a single, yellowed sheet of paper.

Frowning in confusion, she carefully unfolded it. It was a piece of sheet music she’d never seen before.