Chapter 70
Antonio clenched his fists, his knuckles whitening as he struggled to suppress his frustration.
Zabelle stood beside him, defiant yet pale, her hand subtly pressed against her injured side. He noticed the slight wince as she shifted her weight.
He had clearly told her to stay put, but his wife was stubborn, and right now wasn’t one of those times he admired her stubbornness.
Detective Reagan glanced between the couple, sensing the palpable tension in the room, and so he began to defuse the tension.
The woman who people had been saying was dead seemed fine. Other than the fact that she looked pale, there seemed to be nothing wrong with her.
She didn’t even show signs of physical abuse, and he was sure, as she was wearing a short dress with short sleeves.
“Mrs Garcia,” he began, addressing Zabelle directly, “Your presence clears up some of the questions we had. But for the sake of our investigation, we’d still like to hear from you directly.”
Antonio cut in sharply, his voice cold and measured, as he wasn’t keen on Zabelle talking to the detectives.
“You’ve seen her. She’s clearly alive, This should be enough to dismiss the baseless accusations.”
Detective Harris, who had remained quiet until now, interjected
“We understand your frustration, Mr Garcia, but considering the nature of the complaint and the video flying, we’re obligated to conduct a full inquiry. That includes Mrs. Garcia’s statement.”
Zabelle took a deep breath, bracing herself. “What do you want to know?”
Antonio’s head snapped toward her, his eyes dark. It was the first time she was under such pressure, and he didn’t want it to get to her, which was why he didn’t want them to talk to her.
“I’m fine, Antonio. If they need my
to statement
ar this up, I’ll give it and make the whole thing go away.”
For a moment, Antonio looked like he would argue, but then he turned away, his jaw tightening. “Fine. Make it quick,” he muttered, his voice low and dangerous.
Detective Reagan nodded, pulling out a small notebook. “Mrs. Garcia, the complaint alleges that you were injured under suspicious circumstances.”
Zabelle hesitated, glancing at Antonio, whose expression told her nothing.
“Is there proof that I got injured from the video going around that showed me fainting?” Zabelle raised an eyebrow, and Antonio turned to look at her.
He hadn’t told her about the video, so how did she know? He asked himself.
“None so far, ma’am,” Detective Regan responded.
“Then I think the complaint should be dismissed. I’m alive, and I’m well,” Zabelle responded.
There, Antonio chimed in, his voice clipped. “You have your answer. Are we done here?”
Detective Reagan closed his notebook but didn’t pocket it. “For w, yes. But we may need to follow up as more information comes to light
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Chapter 70
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Antonio stepped forward, towering over the two detectives. “Let me make one thing clear. If you or anyone else dares to drag my wife into this again, I won’t be so accommodating. Is that understood?”
The detectives exchanged a glance but didn’t respond. Instead, they nodded politely and excused themselves.
As the door closed behind them, Zabelle turned to Antonio. “You know, I remember asking if everything was well, and you nodded, saying everything was, so what is this?” She inquired, holding up her phone.
“Where did you get that?” He questioned her.
“In the same place you kept it,” Zabelle answered him. She had been waiting for him inside the room like he asked till she heard her phone beep from one of the drawers.
Nothing would have shocked her for what she met when she found her phone. The whole world was thinking she was dead and Antonio plus his family was getting dragged for it.
Antonio ignored her as he walked away. “Antonio,” Zabelle called as she followed him.
Antonio headed to the private bar he had, and he poured himself a drink, his hand steady despite the storm raging behind his eyes.
“There’s a reason why I didn’t tell you,” he finally responded after gulping down the drink.
“I had a right to know that the family was suffering because of me,” Zabelle hissed, and Antonio banged his palm on the counter as he turned to look at her.
“See, this is why I didn’t tell you. You have a way of turning everything into your fault, even when it’s not. Work on your low self–esteem, woman!” He growled.
“Fuck you!” Zabelle flared up over his words.
“Careful,” he warned, his voice soft but menacing. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to,” he reminded her.
Zabelle didn’t, however, flinch. “You think you can scare me, Antonio? I’m not afraid of you, and I’ve never been,” she paused before continuing.
“Besides, in case you’ve not seen it, it has gotten to the internet that someone has filed a case against you she informed him.
for my
murder,”
The news had come out that morning, and seeing as he hadn’t checked his phone, she knew he was oblivious to it.
And I don’t have low self–esteem,” she crossed her arms.
“Is that so?” he murmured, and she nodded. His calm demeanour was more unsettling than his anger.
“Then stop blaming yourself for what happened and, to convince me, stand up for yourself in front of your family,” he urged her.
Before she could reply, his phone rang, and he frowned when he saw that the call was coming from the gate of his mansion. “What is it?” He asked as he answered the call.
Zabelle watched the frown he had on his face deepen, after which he ended the call, not before ordering the guard to let him in whoever that was.
Gabriel sat in his car as he waited outside Antonio’s mansion to the let in. He was shocked when he woke up to see the news that someone had filed an anonymous complaint accusing Antono of murder.
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He hadn’t ordered such, and he wondered who it was that also wanted to know if Zabelle was alive, or was it from one of a concerned well–wisher.
“You can go in,” the guard said to his driver as the gates opened. When they got to the mansion, he didn’t waste any time in getting out of the car and heading to the mansion.
Before he could ring the doorbell, the door opened, and he stepped in straight to the living room.
When he got there, he saw Antonio and Zabelle waiting for him. Finally, what he wanted to see had been confirmed.
Antonio stared at Gabriel, whose eyes were focused on Zabelle. There was no point in keeping him away, as the detectives would tell the world that she was alive.
Zabelle, who didn’t know that it was her father Antonio had instructed to let in, was clueless as to what to say.
“Are you going to get to the point or are you going to keep staring?!” Antonio asked her.
“If she’s alive, why didn’t you say so for the past five days?” Gabriel hissed in annoyance.
“Because it was none of your business, now scram before I get physical with you,” Antonio threatened, as he was running low on patience.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you some manners?” Gabriel glared at Antonio.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to blame your child for you having sex and conceiving her?” Antonio matched his energy, rendering Gabriel speechless.
He should have expected that Antonio would be rude, but he still hated that it happened.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Gabriel then turned his attention to his daughter.
Zabelle didn’t respond; instead, she just simply shook her head, and that was enough for Antonio to ready himself to beat the living daylights out of the man who almost killed Zabelle.
Gabriel seemed to notice this, and so he immediately turned to leave. When he was out, Zabelle turned to face Antonio.
“You don’t have to be rude to him all the time,” she sighed in resignation, and a look of disgust immediately appeared on Antonio’s face.
“You are the most…” he started, but he stopped himself as she wouldn’t like what he would say to her.
“For your information, that man is the one responsible for the attack!” He told her.
