The Comeback: How I Destroyed the Friend Who Ruined Me Chapter 07
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. “I called my dad. He made some calls. The detective
who showed up? That was because of me.”
I nodded. I didn’t have words.
I had lived through this once before. I knew I couldn’t control everything. That’s why I had called the cops
on the way to Vincent’s house. I had sent them the security footage from my building. Dominic illegally
entering my apartment. His men smashing everything. Him grabbing me. Slapping me. All of it.
But normal cops wouldn’t touch Dominic. He was too powerful. Too connected. Too dangerous. That’s
why nothing had happened until Julian got involved. Until Julian pulled out his family name and made
things move.
Julian had believed in me the whole time. Even when it looked bad. Even when I looked guilty. He never
stopped trusting me.
I felt tears burning behind my eyes. Not from sadness. From something else. Something I couldn’t name.
“I’m sorry I doubted you for even a second,” Julian said. “I should have stood by you. I should have stayed.”
I put my hand on his face. “You came back. That’s what matters.”
He hugged me again. Tighter this time. Like he wasn’t planning on letting go.
But I had to be clear with him. I pulled back and looked him in the eye.
“I didn’t call the cops to get Dominic arrested,” I said. “Even with the footage, even with the witnesses, the police can’t really touch him. He’s too big for that. Too many connections. Too many people on his
payroll. If they lock him up, something worse will come out of it. Way worse. But I had to protect myself. I had to clear my name. And I needed everyone to see the truth on camera before he could twist it.”
Julian nodded slowly. He reached out and took my hands in his.
“Then tell me what I can do,” he said. “What do you need from me? I’ll do anything. Whatever it takes.”
I squeezed his fingers. “You already did it. You believed me when no one else did. You left, but you came
back with help. That’s everything. That’s all I needed.”
“But I want to do more,” he said. “I want to fix this. I want to make sure he never hurts you again.”
“Just stay,” I said. “Just don’t leave again. That’s enough.”
He pulled me close and kissed the top of my head. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
They took both of us to the station. Dominic. Me. Julian came too. The influencers tried to follow, but the cops shut them down at the door.
At the station, they questioned Dominic. He wasn’t quiet. He wasn’t cooperative. He shouted and pointed
at me through the glass.
“This is her fault,” he told the detectives. “She’s been manipulating everyone. She seduced a city councilman’s son. She turned him against me. She’s trying to start a war between the outfit and the politicians. She wants to watch us tear each other apart.”
The detective didn’t write any of it down. He just stared at Dominic like he had heard it all before.
Dominic didn’t seem worried. He was cocky. Confident. He had been in rooms like this a hundred times.
He knew how the game worked.
Then his phone rang. One of the detectives picked it up and put it on speaker.
It was Dominic’s lawyer. But his voice was different than usual. Stressed. Nervous.
“Dom,” the lawyer said. “The expansion deal is dead. The city council just shot down every permit we
applied for. Every single one. The councilman’s office is blocking everything. We can’t move forward on
any of it.”
Dominic’s face went white. His cocky smile disappeared. He looked at me through the glass, and his eyes were filled with pure hatred.
“You did this,” he said. His voice was low and quiet. Deadly. “You and your new boyfriend. I’ll kill you. I swear to God. I’ll kill both of you.”
The detective cleared his throat. “That’s enough.”
Then I asked to drop the charges.
Everyone stared at me like I had lost my mind.
The detective looked confused. Julian grabbed my arm.
“Scarlett,” Julian said, “what are you doing? We have him. We have everything. The footage. The
witnesses. Why would you let him go?”
Dominic stared through the glass. His face was a mixture of confusion and suspicion. He didn’t
understand. Neither did anyone else.
I hadn’t said a word to Dominic about this. I had called the police. I had given them evidence. And now I was dropping everything. It made no sense.
But the detective didn’t argue. He didn’t push back. He just nodded and started the paperwork.
Outside the station, Dominic caught up to me. He grabbed my arm hard.
“What the hell are you playing at, Scarlett?”
“Don’t think this changes anything. You caused Evelyn’s miscarriage. I’m going to destroy you.”
I looked him dead in the eye. “Dominic. We were together for years. Did I ever once ask you for money?”
He blinked. Thrown off. He thought for a second. “No. What’s your point?”
“My point is, use your head for once.”
“We dated for years. I insisted on splitting every check. Does that sound like someone who leeches off people?”
His brow furrowed deeper.
“You know I can’t even name half the cards in a deck. Does that sound like a gambler?”
“You know I hate loud places. When have you ever seen me drunk in a club, picking up random men?”
“Does someone like me, quiet and private, really seem like the type to party with lowlifes every night? Have you ever seen me with friends like that?”
“And look at my company, Dominic. I run a tiny startup with secondhand furniture and outdated computers. If Evelyn really funneled all that money to me, where did it go? Where’s the nice office? Where’s the expensive equipment? When your guys trashed my place, did you see anything worth more than a few hundred dollars?”
“Dominic. I know you love Evelyn. I know you hate me. But for once in your life, think. Does any of what she told you actually make sense?”
His face had gone gray. But he didn’t say anything.
Evelyn was good at this. In front of Dominic, she was always sweet and kind and gentle. He was obsessed with her. He believed everything she said.
He still wasn’t talking, so I kept going. “I called the cops to get your attention. That’s all. I wanted you to
sit down and listen to me for five minutes.”
“If you don’t believe me, check on Evelyn’s family. When you got together with her, they were nobodies. Now? They’ve been using your name. Your connections. Your muscle. They’ve been shaking down local businesses, running small scams, all under the umbrella of the Chicago Outfit. Everyone thinks they have
your protection.”
“And Vincent’s companies? The ones he runs? Evelyn has been funding them. She’s been bleeding you dry and feeding him.”
“All that money she said she spent on me? She spent it on herself and her family and your uncle.”
“And the baby she lost? It happened at night. You can question that doctor again. Or better yet, get the DNA from that baby. See if it’s yours. Or your uncle’s.”
Then I turned and walked away.
This time, Dominic didn’t stop me.
