74. False accusations...
"Zee!! Zeno!!!" Marco banged on the door to the apartment like a madman, making Zeno wonder why he was screaming like the earth was caving in.
"Ze…" the door flew open, and he stood there with his eyes swollen, but it was no new view to Marco, he was used to seeing this all the time. "You might wanna put some clothes on." He says, rushing into the house like something was chasing him.
"Who the hell did you bring back to the apartment last night, huh?" Marco instantly asks, but all he gets as a reply is a scoff. And he watched as Zeno strolled to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water, and much to Marco's disbelief, he was drinking water in the morning. Now this was a view he hadn't seen in a long time.
" Are you sick? That's water, not wine or whiskey." Marco reminds him, maybe he was so drunk this morning that he couldn't differentiate water from alcohol.
"I know." He shrugs. And Marco's mouth was wide open, wondering what in the world had come over the man this morning, but then he remembered his reason for being here in the first place.
"I asked you a question, who did you bring back here last night?"
"Have I ever asked for the names of my sex partners?" he asks in turn, and Marco just tossed and turned and walked back and forth like he wished to do nothing but punch the man in the face.
"Well, I think you picked the wrong person last night, because as we speak this morning, your sex tape is all over the internet, the news, everywhere. Zeno Silvestri is trending, and just ask me what for… For RAPE!!"
"oh," he gulped down the rest of the water, "why isn't there anything to eat inside this thing?" he wondered out loud, as he looked through the fridge, and all he could see was bottled beer and water. Nothing to eat at all.
He's finally gone mad… Marco was thinking. Does he have hearing problems now? Didn't he hear what I just said? Marco stood there completely dumbstruck, as he watched the man walk up and down the room completely naked, and acting like this wasn't something serious.
"Didn't you hear what I just said?"
"I did…" He takes a towel and throws it over his shoulder.
"And…, you can't see that your image is at stake here… She is claiming that you raped her, every news station has interviewed her this morning, everyone is saying Zeno Silvestri is a good for nothing rapist… She is a woman, she is getting that woman sympathy that is naturally given to women. Everyone believes her now… a warrant for your arrest will soon be issued, and you are not worried???"
"Marco," he called, just as he was about to enter the bathroom.
"Yes?"
"There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about, but I was just waiting for you to tell me on your own, but I'm going to ask now since you have no intentions of telling me…" The look on his face was all serious and steady, and Marco's facial expression matched the one on his face, as he wondered what Zeno could possibly be talking about.
"What is it about?" he asks, patiently waiting for Zeno's reply. And then he says…,
"Why haven't you told me about your girlfriend yet?"
"Sorry what?"
"From what I heard, some pretty interesting things happened while I was on the island. I heard you kidnapped Lorenzo,"
"I_I should have told you about that, but you haven't been yourself since you got back from the island, so I missed the chance to. But I assure you, I had my reasons."
"Oh, I'm sure you did. I don't know the details, but I heard that it seemed to have something to do with this girlfriend of yours, and I know that the wrinkled old man is a dog. Anyone who messes with family deserves to meet the devil… I'm assuming you take her as family right?"
"Huh?" Marco just couldn't understand what was going on. This was definitely a topic they had to discuss, but it most certainly wasn't the one they should be discussing at this time.
"Your girlfriend, Mea, was it… I'm assuming you take her as family because you even took her to your mansion which means you're really serious about her, so don't you think I should meet her?" Marco's eyelids fluttered non-stop, his brows cringed.
What the hell was going on? Who the hell is this imposter??? Where is Zeno Silvestri? Marco just didn't know what to say to this man.
"You haven't even introduced us yet… are you scared that she will fall for my looks and leave you?" he chuckles then walks into the bathroom.
"Did he just make a joke?... And laugh at it?" Marco asks no one in particular, trying to just take a minute to analyze what just happened. What the hell did that woman do to him last night???
"Just one night, one night I'm away from him, just one night I decide to turn off my phone and have a peaceful sleep, just one night I don't watch over him and his nudes are all over the place, and he's out of his mind," Marco could swear that he hadn't seen or heard Zeno making a joke and laughing at it sincerely.
What in the world happened last night?
"Zeno, we have to do something about this, shouldn't you be taking this more seriously?" Marco paced around, jumping to his side as soon as Zeno walked back into the room.
"Why should I take something so trivial seriously?"
"Because a video of you having sex with a woman is everywhere…
"So? You think I'll get arrested because someone claims I raped her and all she has as evidence is a video? I'll wipe out her entire family, and I still won't get arrested… Besides, no police station would dare take up a case against me." He scoffs as he slips his pants on.
"You really think I'm this worked up because I'm scared you would get arrested, or that your reputation would be ruined? Of course not, it won't even put a dot on your shirt. I already made some calls and the news article has been pulled down, but it's still all over the Internet. I, more than anyone knows that you can't get nabbed for something like this."
"Then what are you so worked up about?"
"I'm this worked up because of Luna!!... Will you really be okay if Luna sees this???" Now a bell in his head rang, he really didn't think of that. He would definitely kill the woman if Luna sees the video.
"You really don't mind if she sees it?? Let's be honest Zee, you can't deny that you care about Luna, you haven't been the same since you got back from the island. You've become worse than before. Have you seen your mansion??? Apart from Little Johnny and about two more workers, you've literally fired every single person in that house. And over what?? They spilled something, they got fired. They eat something, they get fired. They did not open the door on time, and they got fired. Do you remember what you fired the last person for? Because she was short and had black hair. Zeno… You are not the same without Luna, and you know it. Just admit that you really can't live without her even though you say you don't love her as a woman…"
"I do…"
"Don't just say the first thing that… Wait what??" Marco paused, wondering if the walls of the room just echoed some words on their own, or maybe his ears were just not working fine, but he was certain he just heard the words ``I Do…" What did those words mean?? "Zeno did you…"
"Let's go, there's a camera in my car, give the footage to my lawyers, and that will prove all her claims are false, I'll kill her if Luna sees that." He slips on his suit and shoes,
"And also tell them to legally sue her for defamation, and then off the record, whichever family she is from, whatever she does, I want you to make sure she never gets the chance to stare at someone like me again. Break and take all her family fortunes if they have any, and if she's just some self-made worker who managed to climb up the ladder, then break all her ladders, and make sure she doesn't even have anyone to help her at all, don't leave her with enough change to buy even water, then send one of our girls to pay her a friendly visit, and deal with her appropriately."
"Before the end of today Marco, I want her penniless and worthless and I want her on her knees before me, you get that?" He walks towards the door, but then turns to look back at Marco who just stood there looking confused. "What are you waiting for?? Start making calls." He hisses and walks out the door, with Marco running after him, still pretty much confused.
"Where are we headed now?" Marco asks…
"To Piccola."