I had a best friend who was sweet as honey but only with her mouth.

Behind my back, she was a demon.

She stole my boyfriend, the underboss of the Chicago Outfit. Her excuse? She wanted to keep me away from the darkness and the blood, so she'd take the suffering in my place.

She pawned her wedding ring and fed her husband some story about a limited edition bag for me.

She skimmed from her husband's company accounts and pinned it on my male escort habit.

She was pregnant and still wanted thrills. So she went to a full-blown orgy with her husband's uncle and a group of his associates. That's how she ended up hemorrhaging.

But somehow it was my fault. I was the one who organized that kind of party, according to her.

And her story? She tried to stop me, so I pushed her down and made her lose the baby.

In the end, her husband sent me to a cartel hellhole in Mexico to atone for my sins.

There, her lover sold me to the red-light district. First came the addiction. Then the streets.

I served every man in their outfit, one after another. My body rotted. I died slow, sick, and alone.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the night my best friend miscarried because of her own filthy party.

Every time Evelyn went to meet her lovers, she told her husband Dominic that I needed her.

Either I'd been hurt by male escorts and was too depressed to be alone, or I'd lost too much gambling and needed to hide from collectors. She used every dramatic excuse from every soap opera.

If it hadn't been for the night Dominic showed up outside my office with his men, a gun pressed to my temple as he demanded answers in front of everyone, I never would have known my own life was supposedly so colorful.

Right now, Dominic's phone calls were coming in non stop.

The second I answered, his furious voice exploded in my ear.

"Scarlett, it's this late, and you're keeping Evelyn at your place again?"

"I've had it with you. You're a grown woman. Can you stop being such a parasite? You think the whole world revolves around you?"

"Evelyn is married. She's pregnant. Can you stop sucking the life out of her for five minutes? Do you have any idea how exhausting you are?"

"Or is this revenge because I dumped you? You're trying to wreck my marriage out of spite? Evelyn is a good person. If you keep using her like this, I swear to God, I'll make you regret it. Send her home. Now."

Dominic's voice was loud. His temper was worse.

I used to think Dominic was gentle when we were together.

But Evelyn always said, "He's a dark empire's king. He doesn't have real feelings. He's just obsessed with you for now, playing a role. Don't let him fool you."

Every time Dominic treated me well, she insisted he must have done something behind my back.

So during one of our cold wars, she slipped in as Dominic's sweetest, most understanding female friend.

She spun lies about me.

And in front of me, she kept tearing Dominic down, telling me to leave him.

With Evelyn helping from the shadows, Dominic and I drifted further and further apart.

If I hadn't accidentally seen Evelyn with Dominic, her legs wrapped around his waist, her lips on his neck, his hands gripping her like she belonged to him, I might still be thanking my lucky stars for such a clear headed best friend who helped me spot a toxic man.

Not long after, she married him.

After that, I kept my distance from both of them.

But Dominic didn't see it that way.

I kept getting threatening calls. His crew members would show up at my startup office, leaning against my desk, cracking their knuckles, demanding that I return their boss's wife. My employees were terrified. A couple of them quit on the spot.

My life became nothing but work and making excuses for Evelyn's whereabouts.

I never actually knew where she was.

I just parroted the lies she'd told me to say, bracing myself against the pressure.

Until the day Dominic stormed into my office in the middle of a meeting. He had six of his biggest guys with him. They threw my laptop against the wall, smashed a chair, and put a gun to my head in front of my whole team. Then they stripped me down to nothing in the conference room, stuffed me in a burlap sack, and shipped me to Mexico.

That's when I realized I'd been the patsy. The fall guy.

Thinking back to Dominic's revenge in my past life, and how Evelyn and her lover had silenced me, a fire started burning in my chest.

Dominic. Today, I'm going to make you tear apart your own family's filthy secrets with your own hands.

A cold smile curled my lips.

I said sweetly into the phone, "Evelyn's at that boutique on Mulberry. You know the one. She's been trying on clothes and jewelry for hours, buying up half the store. She can't carry everything herself. Why don't you come pick her up? I think she'll need you."

Then I hung up and turned off my phone. No more wasted words.

But almost immediately, I heard tires screech outside my office window.

The front door of my startup burst open. Dominic's men stormed in, shoving past my receptionist. One of them grabbed me by the hair and yanked me out of my chair before I could even stand up.

Before I could react, several of them had me pinned against my desk.

Dominic himself walked in slow, taking his time. He didn't storm past me. He stood in front of me, looked around my office with disgust, then nodded to his men. They started smashing everything. Computers, printers, the glass conference table. My receptionist screamed and ran out.

Dominic just watched. Then he walked over to me, grabbed my face with one hand, and squeezed my cheeks until my teeth hurt.

"Where the hell is Evelyn?" His voice was quiet now. That was worse than the yelling. "You said she was at a boutique. Bull. I've had guys watching that store for an hour. She never showed."

His face was red, his eyes cold.

Watching him so furious, a dark satisfaction bloomed in my chest.

I raised an eyebrow, slow and deliberate, even with his hand on my face. "I said she was buying clothes. I didn't say she was with me. Maybe she's with your uncle. He owns half the stores on that street. Why don't you ask him?"

His eyes went icy. He let go of my face, grabbed my hair instead, and shoved a gun barrel against my jaw so hard I tasted blood.

"Cut the crap," he growled. "I'm asking you one last time. Where is Evelyn?"

Evelyn was always careful about covering her tracks. I was just her excuse, her alibi. How was I supposed to know where she really was?

I said it flat. "She's a grown woman. She goes where she wants. What am I supposed to do, follow her around like a babysitter?"

That wasn't what Dominic wanted to hear. His face twisted.

He let go of my hair and slapped me so hard my ears rang. My head snapped to the side.

Rage flared in my chest. But so did anticipation.

Already this mad? Just wait. You have no idea what she really is. When you find out, the look on your face is going to be priceless.

He saw the defiance in my eyes. His hand went to his belt.

He pulled out a knife. Not a big one. The kind you keep in your pocket for close work. He pressed the flat of the blade against my cheek, then dragged it down slowly. The tip caught the collar of my blouse and sliced through it like paper. Buttons popped. The fabric fell open.

That was when my phone slipped out of my pocket and hit the floor.

Dominic picked it up. He looked at the screen, then at me. "Same birthday code, huh? You never change." He typed it in. The phone unlocked.

He scrolled through my contacts. When he found the top one, marked with a heart, he snorted. "Let me guess. Evelyn?" He looked at me with pure disgust. "Of course. You've been sucking her dry for years. Why would you have anyone else in your life?"

And then it rang.

The screen lit up. My love ❤️ Julian was calling.

Dominic smiled. He answered and put it on speaker.

"Scarlett? You there?" Julian's voice came through, warm and a little worried. "I've been trying to reach you. Everything okay?"

Dominic didn't give me a chance to speak. One of his men clamped a hand over my mouth.

"Scarlett can't come to the phone right now," Dominic said. His voice was calm, friendly almost. "This is her ex. Dominic."

A long pause on the line. "Why are you answering her phone?"

"Just thought you should know a few things about the woman you're about to marry."

Another pause. "What are you talking about?"

"Her whole life is a disaster," Dominic said, leaning back against my desk like he owned the place. "She's been bleeding my wife dry for years. Made her sell her jewelry so she could buy designer bags. She pays for male escorts. Throws these dirty little parties. And she doesn't bother with protection. You know she had an abortion recently? Made my wife sit with her in the hospital. I'm guessing the kid wasn't yours."

Dominic looked at me while he talked, enjoying himself.

"So I'll ask you again," he said into the phone. "You really want to marry that kind of trash? You're not worried about catching something?"

Silence. Julian said nothing for a long time.

Julian and I were good. Really good. We were already planning the wedding. He was decent and kind and gentle. No matter how bad our fights got, he'd always come back and work through it.

But now he just stayed quiet.

Dominic hung up. He smiled at me. "Still not telling me where Evelyn is?"

I kicked the guy covering my mouth. Hard. He yelled and let go.

"You can't just make up lies like that," I said, my voice shaking with rage. "You didn't even check if any of it was true."

Dominic's smile didn't move. "Check? I don't need to check. I know you."

He looked around my office at the broken computers and the smashed furniture. His men were still tearing things apart. One of them ripped a poster off the wall. Another kicked a hole in the drywall.

"You want to talk about crime?" Dominic said. "I am the crime. I run this city. The cops don't touch me. I am the law around here."

He stepped closer and grabbed my chin. "You think I don't know how much you've stolen from Evelyn over the years? This whole company? She paid for it. Every desk, every computer, every stupid little plant in the corner. I'm just smashing my own stuff. So what's the problem?"

He said it like he was some kind of hero.

I looked at the clock on the wall. Less than half an hour. That was when Evelyn would bleed out in some hotel room with Dominic's uncle.

Almost there. The show's about to start.

I gave Dominic a tired look. "Maybe wait a few minutes. Your wife is about to call you."

That pushed him over the edge. His face went red. "Still acting tough? Fine. You want to play games? I'll destroy you. Right here. Right now."

He nodded to his men. "Take her outside."

They grabbed me by the arms and dragged me out of my office, down the hallway, and through the front door of the building. The whole way, one of them ripped at my blouse. Buttons scattered across the floor. Another one grabbed my skirt and yanked. By the time they threw me onto the sidewalk, I was barely covered.

People were walking by. Office workers on their lunch breaks. Secretaries. A couple of guys in suits. They stopped and stared.

Dominic followed me out. He stood over me and started talking. Loud. He told everyone who would listen about what a terrible person I was. How I drained Evelyn dry. How I was dirty and cheap and worthless.

The crowd got bigger. People pointed at me. Their voices were sharp and mean.

"Are you serious? That woman is married and pregnant, and she's letting her friend do this to her? The friend must be a complete idiot. I would have cut her off years ago."

"Textbook fake friend. Smiles in your face, stabs you in the back. Wants everyone to be as miserable as she is. My wife had a friend just like that. Messed her up so bad she's still on medication."

"A total leech. Sucks the life out of her family, then her friends, then whatever guy is dumb enough to marry her. Anyone who gets close to her ends up ruined."

"Don't forget the sleeping around part. She's been with half the city from what I heard. I wouldn't want to live anywhere near her."

They were all so sure. So convinced I was the devil.

Dominic looked down at me. "How about it? Still want to act tough?"

He thought he had me cornered. He thought I was about to beg.

I gave him a cold smile. "This is your big move? A few office workers yelling at me? I'll just move. Problem solved. You want to really ruin me? Call some influencers. Stream this live. Let the whole city watch."

His face went dark. "Fine. You asked for it."

Yes, I thought. Let it burn. Let everyone see how your uncle and your wife have been screwing you over this whole time.

Dominic made some calls. He knew exactly who to reach. The biggest influencers. The most connected reporters.

Within minutes, they showed up. Phones out. Cameras rolling. Streaming live to thousands of people.

"You are not going to believe this," one of them said, pointing the camera at my face. "Look at this woman. See her? Plain, simple, looks harmless? She is rotten to the core."

"For years, she's been living off her best friend. Money, favors, whatever she wants. And her friend is pregnant, and she still treats her like a servant. Runs her errands. Holds her hair back when she's drunk."

"And how does she repay that kind of loyalty? She spends her friend's money like water. When the cash ran out, she made her sell her wedding ring. Made her steal from her own husband. All to pay off gambling debts. To pay for male escorts."

"On top of all that, her personal life is a disaster. She's engaged, but she sleeps around constantly. Heard she picked up something nasty. Got pregnant, didn't even know who the father was, got an abortion without telling her fiancé. Made her pregnant best friend sit in the hospital with her."

The influencers kept piling on. Spinning everything bigger and uglier.

The comments exploded:

@ChicagoRealTalk: wait wait wait... so the friend is PREGNANT and she's still playing nurse for this woman?? hell no

@SweetLikeHoney: i'm literally shaking rn. how is someone this evil real??? her friend and her fiancé need to run far far away

@SouthSideSally: not the abortion without telling the fiancé 💀 this girl is pure trash

@WindyCityWatcher: bro her friend sold her WEDDING RING for her??? and she repays her like THIS?? i can't

@ChiTownMom: this makes me sick. she shouldn't be allowed near decent people ever again

@BeautyByBella: the way i would NEVER do this to my best friend. this is beyond disgusting

@LurkerDan: someone needs to put this girl in her place fr

@CubsFan101: nahhh this is wild. her poor friend. her poor fiancé. everyone in her life honestly

My face was everywhere. Within hours, I was trending as "The Leech," "The Toxic Friend," "The Parasite."

The influencers kept fanning the flames. The crowd's rage built. People started throwing eggs and rotten vegetables at me.

Some guys who'd been eating nearby hurled beer bottles at my feet. Glass shattered everywhere.

I stood there in the trash like a prisoner waiting for execution, taking every single insult.

Then I saw Julian pushing through the crowd.

My chest tightened.

To me, Julian was my rock. He loved me. He trusted me. No matter what. When the world beat me down, he'd stroke my hair and make it better.

I trusted him. He was my safe place.

In that moment, I needed him more than anything.

"Julian!" I called out.

He saw me. His face went pale. He started running toward me.

But Dominic's men saw him too.

"Get that guy," Dominic said. He didn't even look. Just waved his hand like he was swatting a fly.

Two of his guys grabbed Julian before he could get within ten feet of me. One of them put a hand on his chest. Julian tried to push past.

"Scarlett, are you okay?" he shouted. "What's going on? What are they doing to you?"

"Get your hands off me," Julian said to the men. "I'm her fiancé. Let me through."

The bigger one smiled. Then he punched Julian in the stomach.

Julian doubled over, gasping for air.

"Julian!" I screamed.

The crowd laughed.

"Look at this idiot," someone yelled. "Still defending her after everything?"

"What a simp," another one said. "She's been cheating on him and he's still trying to save her. Pathetic."

"Some guys just can't take a hint. She's garbage, buddy. Walk away while you still can."

Dominic's men dragged Julian to the side of the building. He tried to fight back, but they were too big, too many. One of them grabbed him by the hair and slammed his face against the brick wall. Blood dripped down his chin.

"Stay out of this," one of them said. "Or next time we won't be nice."

Julian looked at me. His eyes were full of confusion and fear. He opened his mouth to say something, but one of the men shoved him again. He fell to his knees.

The crowd laughed harder.

Dominic walked over to me, stepping over a broken bottle. He looked down at my torn clothes, my bleeding hands. He was enjoying himself.

"Your boyfriend," he said, nodding toward Julian. "Came all the way here for you. What a fool. Doesn't he know what you are yet?"

I didn't answer.

Dominic turned to the crowd. "See that? Even her own fiancé didn't know what she was really like. He thought he was getting a wife. Instead he got a liar. A thief. A wh*re."

The crowd ate it up. More cheers. More insults.

I looked at Julian on his knees, bleeding, surrounded by strangers who thought he was a joke. My heart hurt more than my body ever could.

But I couldn't help him now. The only way out was through.

Dominic's phone rang.

Evelyn.

He answered. Her voice came through, tearful and weak:

"Dominic... I lost the baby."

His eyes went bloodshot. "What happened?"

Evelyn's voice wobbled. "It was Scarlett. She owes money to some collectors. They cornered me by mistake. She pushed me at them and ran. I fell. The baby... the baby is gone."

Hearing those words, I exhaled. A long, deep breath.

Finally. This is almost over.