[center][img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjk2LmZkNzc3ZS5UV0Z5YkdsbElFTmhjM1JwYkd4di4w/lie-to-me.regular.png[/img]
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[i]Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him
Wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted
But if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom
Holdin' him for ransom[/i][/center][hr][hr]
[i][color=#D4A320]”Well hermanita, Daddy’s personal accounts are all frozen so he couldn't send you anywhere if he wanted to...”[/color][/i]

Marlena scoffed, rolling her eyes. That was the shittiest excuse Adrian could come up with to justify her misery. Was he even trying? [color=#F6989D]“Mom’s accounts aren’t frozen. And as far as I know, Daddy has access to them. So it’s not that they [i]can’t[/i] send me anywhere and more that they don’t [i]want[/i] to send me anywhere.”[/color] she complained, letting out a defeated sigh. [color=#F6989D]“Oh, well. It is what it is, I guess.”[/color]  the young woman said sadly. She placed her phone and her drink in the safety of the floater’s cup holders and used both hands to propel herself across the water in Adrian’s direction.

Seemingly ignoring Marlie’s never-ending complaints, Adrian made no comment on what she’d said, and instead provided her with ‘solutions’ to solve the ‘problem’ his sister was facing. [i][color=#D4A320]”If you are so lonely, why don't you go out and get new connections? Or go be productive.”[/color][/i]

The black-haired girl gasped exaggeratedly, brown eyes widened in disbelief. Um, excuse me, what?! [color=#F6989D]“But I don't [i]want[/i] to be productive!”[/color] Marlie whined in that baby voice that she knew annoyed him so, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looking every bit like the spoiled child that she would never admit she was. This wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear! [color=#F6989D]“Why should [i]I[/i] be productive? I’m the baby of this family. My job is to laze around and spend the money. Being productive? That's what you and Lele are for,”[/color] the young woman added, making mention of the older sister that she was sure hated her guts for some unknown reason. [color=#F6989D]“Plus, it’s my summer break. After five months of ‘productivity’ in college I deserve a little break.”[/color]

[color=#D4A320]”What do you know about the eldest Zima son?”[/color] Adrian asked Marlie, looking at her expectantly and once again choosing to ignore her comments.
  
[color=#F6989D][i]“Who?”[/i][/color] Marlena asked loudly, brow furrowed in total confusion. His question had come out of left field, completely obliviating all previous anger at her older brother deciding to ignore her for a second time in the same conversation. [color=#F6989D]“I didn’t even know those people had a son.”[/color] she said earnestly, looking taken aback by this piece of information. Once she recovered herself after a few hard blinks, she quickly grabbed her phone. [color=#F6989D]“I may not know anything right now, but there’s nothing that can’t be solved with a little social media digging!”[/color]

If there was anyone more skilled in the art of social media stalking, it was Marlie. She had plenty of years of experience in the job, and was nothing short of dedicated when it came to finding what she was looking for. A quick search of the Facebook profiles of the two sisters Marlie knew about quickly produced a name for the subject in question: Aleksandr. Based on that, she pulled up the basic sites: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The first two ended up to be dead-ends, but it was in the last one where she struck gold.

[color=#F6989D][i]“Ayyyyyyy, papaciiiiiiiito!”[/i][/color] Marlie purred, biting her lower lip as she stared at the few gems she’d finally managed to score. His Twitter -although useless in terms of information about himself- had provided the Castillo daughter with plenty of material to lust after. As much as she hated to admit it, Aleksandr Zima was fucking [i]hot[/i]. Contrary to his pasty as shit relatives, the young man was tanned to perfection; with impeccably styled dark brown hair and a neatly-kept beard that emphasized his strong, pointed jaw. But it wasn’t this was really got Marlie’s gears going. In a [url=https://scontent-sea1-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/aabe2baa50b1a06926ce65a3e709f439/5B185F01/t51.2885-15/s480x480/e35/25014517_146438932682041_174030532940660736_n.jpg?ig_cache_key=MTAzNTc1MDA0MTQ1MDg5NjI5Mw%3D%3D.2]particular picture[/url], the eldest Zima sibling was showing off his chiseled body for the world to see. A pair of strong arms she could picture pinning her down to some surface, rock-hard abs to run her hands up and down in, the beginning of that  marked V line that she imagined running her tongue down through… 

He looked like a Greek god sculpture that had come to life.

Marlie sighed deeply, taking a long moment to admire the blessings received from the Lord. Absentmindedly, she took a long, hard sip of her piña colada before talking to Adrian again, eyes still glued to her phone’s screen. 

[color=#F6989D]“The only thing I know after this quick Twitter research is that I would love to see his face between my legs,”[/color] Marlie said candidly, without so much as a hint of shame. Smirking suggestively, she finally tore her eyes away from the screen and turned to look at Adrian, who was looking less than pleased at her spicy comments. [color=#F6989D]“Okay, fine! I get it: something serious!”[/color] she complained loudly, throwing her arms in the air in surrender and rolling her eyes at her brother before turning back to her phone. [color=#F6989D]“My god, can’t fucking take a joke…”[/color] she grumbled angrily under her breath, thumb furiously scrolling across the device’s screen.

More quick research lead Marlie to Aleksandr’s corporate profile at Zima Enterprises’ official site. Under a very official-looking photo, he young man was listed as nothing less than the Executive Vice President of the Board of Directors of his parents’ company. His education level and university of origin was also listed underneath his position, and once you clicked on his name there were various photos of him at official company events.

Deciding this should be more than enough information to start with, Marlie made a mental recap of all the facts gathered before passing them on to Adrian.

[color=#F6989D]“So from the [i]very[/i] limited information I’m seeing -because this fucking guy’s, like, a ghost-, all I know is: A) his name’s Aleksandr Zima; B) he’s your age; C) he came to Salem just a few months ago, and apparently the Zimas threw some big ball over at their snake pit to celebrate him. D) He’s some fancy Executive Vice President of the Board of Directors of those snakes’ company, and E) He’s got a degree from the ‘School of Economics and Political Science at Marlborough College, London’”[/color] the young woman finished, saying the name of the school in a mock British accent. 

Marlena looked up at her brother proudly, clearly looking for praise at having provided him with [i]some[/i] kind of information about the man. But there was something nagging at her, something she couldn’t shake off no matter how hard she tried…

It hit her like a ton of bricks, and she wanted to smack her palm against her forehead. How had she failed to ask the most obvious question of all?! 

[color=#F6989D]“Wait a second, why are you asking about him, anyway?”[/color] Marlie questioned, increasingly curious as to why in the world her brother wanted to know any type of information on the son of their biggest enemies in town.