LOGINHe looked different. Thinner. Older. His face had lines that weren't there before. His eyes were hollow, like someone had scooped out everything inside him. His hands didn't stop shaking."Scarlett," he said when I opened the door. Just my name. Like a prayer.I didn't let him in. I stood in the doorway with my arms crossed. The chain was still on."I know everything now," he said. His voice was rough. "I know what she did to you. What I did to you. I was blind. Stupid. I believed every lie she told me.""You ruined my life," I said. "You humiliated me in front of millions of people. You had your men strip me on the street. You were going to send me to Mexico."He flinched like I had hit him. "I know.""You almost had me killed.""I know." His voice cracked. "And I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it right. Come back with me. Let me take care of you. Let me give you everything I should have given you from the beginning. I'll sell the house. I'll leave the outfit. We can go a
The next few days, the internet tore me apart.The influencers posted their videos, full of righteous fury. The comment sections roasted me like I was the devil herself. Death threats poured into my social media. People called for my business to be shut down. A few of them showed up outside my building with signs.I stayed inside. I didn't answer my phone. I didn't read the comments. I just waited.I waited for Dominic to figure out the truth.Then, one night, a story broke that shook the whole city.Dominic Marretti's wife and his uncle Vincent were found dead in Vincent's house. Both of them shot. Execution style. Kneecaps first, then the head. The kind of hit that sends a message.The news called it a revenge killing. Gang related, they said. A settling of scores. The police had no suspects.But everyone knew. Everyone whispered. Everyone looked at Dominic.The timing was too perfect. Evelyn and Vincent had humiliated him on a live stream watched by millions. They had made him look
The police changed everything.Dominic, who had been running the show all night, was suddenly the one getting handcuffed. His wrists were yanked behind his back. The metal clicked tight.And me. The woman he was about to lock up. I was the one who had called them.Julian ran toward me before I could say a word. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. His face was buried in my hair. His whole body was shaking."Scarlett, I'm so sorry," he said. His voice was raw. "I didn't leave because I didn't believe you. I left because I needed to find help. Real help. The kind that could actually stop him."I didn't say anything. I just let him hold me.I had always known Julian came from a good family. A connected family. His father knew people. His mother sat on boards. But Julian never talked about it. He never flashed his money or dropped names. He just lived his life like a normal person. That was one of the things I loved about him.He pulled back and looked at me. His eyes were red.
The time was clear as day. Everyone could see it on the doctor's face. He was lying.The crowd turned to me. All those eyes. All that hate.Dominic's eyes blazed like I had just confessed to something.The influencers' cameras swung back and forth between the doctor and my stunned face. They didn't know who to believe anymore. But they loved every second of it.Evelyn started crying even harder. She knew how to turn on the waterworks. She had been doing it her whole life."Scarlett, I've treated you like a sister. Why are you doing this to me?""All these years, what did I ever do wrong to you? I let you borrow my car whenever you needed it. I let you stay at my place when you had nowhere else to go. I covered for you with your parents. I lied to Dominic for you. I did everything for you. Why can't you just be a normal person?""That baby didn't ask for any of this. You locked me in that room with those collectors. If Uncle Vincent hadn't come to save me, I would have died right there
The drive was dead quiet. No one said a word. The only sounds were the engine and the tires on the road.Finally Dominic spoke. "Enjoy your last few hours, Scarlett. If I find out you really killed my kid, I'll make sure you wish you'd never been born."After what happened in my past life, I didn't doubt him for one second. I had seen what he was capable of. I had felt it.But I'd learned my lesson.I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.I just smiled coldly and kept my mouth shut. There was nothing to say anyway. He would see the truth soon enough.Ten minutes later, we pulled up to Vincent's place. It was a big house in a quiet neighborhood. The kind of house that was supposed to look respectable. But I knew what went on behind those walls.I led them straight inside. I knew exactly where to go. I had been here before, in my past life. I had seen what was waiting.There they were. In the master bedroom. Vincent was kissing Evelyn like his life depended on it. His hands were o
In my past life, I died because of that lie.I didn't know anything about it. When Dominic came for me, I had no idea I was carrying that kind of weight. I tried to defend myself, but he never gave me the chance. He just had his men put me in the trunk of a Cadillac and ship me to Mexico.But this time was different.This time, I had witnesses.Evelyn hung up. Dominic didn't hesitate for one second.He backhanded me across the face so hard my vision went white. The taste of blood filled my mouth. "You b*tch! No wonder you wouldn't tell me where she was. You knew exactly what you did."The slap stunned me. My ears were ringing. I could feel the side of my face starting to swell.I stared at him like he'd lost his mind. Maybe he had.I knew Dominic was stupid. Evelyn couldn't have been running around behind his back for this long otherwise. She had been lying to him for years, and he bought every single word.But this? This wasn't just stupid anymore. This was something else entirely.I







