Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 392

Ruby Grayson frowned as she glanced over, catching the sharp, almost predatory glint that had replaced the softness on Violet’s face.

“Give those to me,” Violet hissed, her words clipped and laced with a cold, grinding threat.

Ruby narrowed her eyes, folding her arms and leaning back with an air of practiced ease. “You think I went to all this trouble to get these photos just to scare you for a minute? Come on.”

She shrugged, a sly smile curving her lips. Her lashes fluttered like butterfly wings, but to Violet, it felt more like claws scratching at her nerves. “Take them if you want. I’ve got plenty of backup copies, anyway.”

“You’re nothing like your idiot mother. You’re much more calculating,” Violet spat, her voice trembling with rage as her grip on the file loosened.

Ruby just gave a cool, dismissive smile. “I haven’t had anything to do with her for a long time. Still, as scheming as either of us might be, at least we’d never fake our own deaths and send an illegitimate daughter off to live as someone else’s ward.”

Her retort hit home. Violet’s face flushed an ugly shade as the anger nearly knocked her off her feet. She staggered, barely catching herself as Hanley Grayson hurried in and she collapsed into his arms.

“What’s going on here? Why are you—” Hanley’s voice carried his anxiety as he entered, their child in tow. He’d grown uneasy after waiting so long for Violet, and now he’d walked in on Ruby taunting her.

Violet’s eyes flashed with calculation, but she let tears fall, her expression crumpling into a mask of wounded innocence. “Hanley, it’s our fault what happened to Frieda. I just wanted to apologize to Ruby when I saw her today, but…”

She choked out her words, sobbing softly. “It’s only natural Ruby hates us.”

Hanley had never thought any of this was justified. As Violet trembled in his arms, his anger flared. “Violet, Frieda Steele wasn’t some innocent victim. If it weren’t for him, you and I could’ve been together years ago. You’ve always been too kind. Everything that’s happened—it’s their fault, not ours.”

He turned on Ruby, his voice hardening with patriarchal authority. “Ruby, you didn’t come here with good intentions. Apologize to Ms. Violet, right now!”

He held Violet close, his face set in stern disapproval.

Ruby couldn’t help but laugh. Ever since they’d stolen Frieda’s shares, they didn’t even try to hide their true selves anymore.

Hanley’s carefully maintained gentlemanly façade shattered. He stomped on the photos, rounding on Ruby with a furious growl. “Have you lost your mind, Ruby?”

Gennifer Grayson stood frozen off to the side, stunned by the entire scene. She couldn’t fathom when the Grayson family had started keeping secrets like these, or how Ruby—the timid girl she remembered—could have caused all this chaos.

“If you want them, take them,” Ruby said coolly, stepping over her fallen bag without a second glance.

As she tried to leave, Gennifer rushed forward and seized her wrist. “You can’t go! You must have more copies, don’t you? Delete everything before you leave!”

Gennifer’s hand was icy against Ruby’s skin, her heart pounding in her chest, but she held on tight, refusing to let go.

Ruby arched an eyebrow, her tone edged with irritation. “What, are you planning to kidnap me now?”