Burn Me Once Burn With Me (Ruby Grayson) novel Chapter 414

Based on everything Fanny and Hayley had told her, it seemed Antinus was probably from Brighthelm.

Antinus and her grandmother were apparently around the same age. Whether her grandmother had acquired the manuscript simply through her collection, or if she’d actually known Antinus himself, the whole thing sounded far too incredible to believe.

Ruby’s mind was a mess of confusion. She had no choice but to push those questions aside for now.

“Hey, kid, Mira’s awake.”

Pamela appeared quietly behind her, voice lowered in a gentle reminder.

Ruby glanced at the big grandfather clock on the wall. At this hour, Mira should still be napping, so the commotion in the living room must have woken her.

She nodded. “I’ll go check on her.”

The moment she pushed open the door, Mira didn’t even look up before calling out in her sweet, childish voice, “Mommy.”

Joy softened Ruby’s eyes. She hurried to her daughter’s side in just a few quick strides.

As soon as she sat down on the bed, Mira reached out with her chubby little arms, asking to be held.

Ruby scooped Mira up immediately, holding the little girl close and breathing in her warm, milky scent.

But as she hugged her, Ruby suddenly sensed something was off—a faint, rhythmic thumping against her back.

She pulled away and finally noticed Mira clutched a tiny pink drum in her hands.

Ruby’s brows knitted at once.

She’d always been careful to get Mira only plush toys, worried that hard objects might hurt her. She racked her memory, but couldn’t recall ever seeing this drum before.

She stared at it, frowning, a flicker of recognition in her eyes. It didn’t feel completely unfamiliar, as if she’d seen it somewhere before.

“Pamela.”

Still holding Mira, Ruby carried her into the kitchen to find Pamela, who was busy preparing some warm cereal for the little one. “What is it, kid?”

“Pamela, do you recognize this toy? Did you buy it for Mira?”

Pamela looked closely at the pink drum, scratching her head. “I may be getting old,” she muttered, “but I know the kinds of things kids like these days. Why would I give the baby a drum?”

The words only deepened Ruby’s unease.

If neither she nor Pamela had bought it, then how had it ended up in Mira’s hands?

A sudden sense of dread crept over Ruby.

“Has anyone unusual come by Southgarde Estate in the past few days?”

Pamela’s expression turned serious at once. She set down the bowl and thought carefully, but finally shook her head. “No one. You’ve barely been home, and I’ve been here the whole time, looking after Mira.”

Ruby’s frown deepened, her lips pressed in a thin, tense line. Without another word, she tossed the little drum straight into the trash.

“Let’s just feed Mira her cereal first.”

She took several deep breaths, trying to force her anxiety away, but her chest still felt tight.

Pamela watched the little girl, heart melting at how adorable she looked.

“See? I spend way more time with Mira than you do, and she still loves you best.”

She chuckled, and Ruby’s face softened, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

The peaceful domestic scene filled the kitchen with a warmth Ruby hadn’t felt in a long time—a sense of calm and tranquility she thought she’d lost.

But that calm was quickly shattered.

The shrill ring of Sylas’s phone cut through the quiet, as wild and brash as the man himself.

“What’s up?” Ruby answered.

“Gennifer’s out of jail,” Sylas replied.

“What?” Ruby’s brow furrowed.

Sylas repeated himself and then explained in more detail, “Your uncle arranged for Gennifer to serve three months, and as far as we knew, the Graysons were willing to cut her loose. But just now, Hanley and Frieda showed up and bailed her out. There were even a few reporters waiting at the scene—it looks like Hanley and Frieda planned the whole thing.”

His deep voice was almost musical, resonant like a cello.

When Sylas was serious, he had a kind of magnetic intensity that was hard to resist.

But Ruby’s attention was fixed solely on his words.