My childhood best friend turned into a bully & extortionist after seeing my success. Now gives threatening. Need advice.
So this is going to be a long one, but I really need to get this out and hear from people who've been through something similar. I am 21M. Me and this guy — let's call him R — were inseparable throughout school. Like genuinely best friends till 12th grade. After boards, I got into a top college out of town, grinded hard, and now I run a small side business that's doing well. R and I lost touch for years. Recently he reached out randomly, suggested a get-together, took me to a restaurant. I happily paid the entire bill. No hesitation. He's my childhood buddy, right? That's just what you do. But then things got weird. He knows me since we were kids — the nerdy, introverted guy from a lower-middle-class family who had his nose buried in books 24/7. So when I casually showed him my new iPhone, something shifted in him. He picked it up and straight up said — "ये मुझे दे दे, मैं कल दे दूंगा इसे।" I hesitated and didn't give it. The audacity honestly caught me off guard. He's also been going through my Instagram — I travel occasionally now, post normally — and I could feel the jealousy brewing. The vibe was just... off. Then things escalated badly. A mutual friend from our old group started coming to my gym. After a few days, I confided in him that R had been bullying me. I thought he had my back. Instead, one day he brought R to the gym. And when I told everyone there that R had been troubling me — R walked up and slapped me in front of everyone. I fought back. But still. This is a guy I used to eat tiffin with in school. Then came the threats. He started demanding ₹5,000, saying if I don't send it, he'll thrash me on the road. I told my parents. They went to his house, spoke to his mother. She apologised and promised he'd never behave like this again. I thought it was over. Last night I got a message from him — "अगर मैं तुझे रोड पर मिला, तो तुझे मार मार के अधमरा कर दूंगा।" I'm a skinny, studious guy. In my entire school life, I never got into a single fight — I was always focused on studying, keeping my head down. I genuinely don't know how to deal with this version of him. Part of me is sad because this was once one of my closest friends. Part of me is frustrated. And honestly? Part of me is scared too. Has anyone dealt with something like this? What do I do now — legally, personally, practically? Do I file a police complaint? Will that make things worse? Any advice would mean a lot right now.