Matthew returned to Sterling Mansion, meeting Jarbas once again. “Hello, good afternoon, Young Sterling!” “Good afternoon, Jarbas. Is my wife here?” “Yes, she came back a bit dazed,” Jarbas replied, frowning. “What happened this time? Did she get a stressful or threatening phone call?” Matthew tensed up. “I believe it was the first option that she responded to,” Jarbas suggested, uncertain. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. Is Mr. Vieira still here?” “He has already left.” Jarbas took Matthew’s suit jacket. Matthew rushed up the stairs two at a time, eager to see Elaine. Did Vicente strike again? In the master suite, he found her coming out of the bathroom wearing a pink robe and drying her blonde hair with a similarly pink towel, probably from the same set. “Dear, Jarbas told me you were worried.” “Hi, darling, good afternoon,” Elaine replied awkwardly. “I had some little problems at work, but it’s not what you’re thinking.” “Good thing we’re on the same wavelength.” Ma

At the Alvares family home, Paulina tries to convince Ernesto to go to the beach house. “Sweetheart, I’m still hesitant,” Ernesto scratched the back of his neck. “If I don’t behave, I could ruin everything. I can’t promise to hold back if Vicente—” “You men really can’t get along civilly, can you?” Paulina crossed her arms. “Is that what you’re teaching our son?” “No, my son is a gentleman even while working at the docks.” Ernesto held his chin up proudly. “He’s lucky to get along well with women, causing discomfort for the competition.” Paulina huffed, “Is Gus getting involved with a married woman again?” “Not exactly. Cindy Cardoso approached him for an interview. Of course, our son is the most eye-catching and attractive of that whole crowd. Why wouldn’t he be interviewed?” Ernesto doesn’t hide his pride in his son. “That’s right, my baby deserves all the good things,” Paulina replied like the doting mother she is. “However, Jackson Borges got jealous and blocked Gus from th

At the Beach House, dinner was taking place between the Alvares and Gouveia couples. The situation was still awkward, with someone occasionally making civilized comments. “The duck is delicious,” Ernesto tried. “Nothing like whatever you eat in the slum, huh?” Vicente couldn’t resist. Ernesto frowned. “What does that mean?” “You know what it means,” Vicente shrugged, looking at his plate. “I bet that in Lion’s Den, you can only eat hot dogs, salami, and other cheap processed meats. At most, a boiled chicken on Sundays.” “We’re poor, but not miserable,” Paulina defended herself. “We eat chicken and beef in the middle of the week.” Andreia shook her head. “Guys, if we’re going to start talking, this meeting isn’t about our eating habits and financial situations.” Vicente took a deep breath. “That’s right, Andreia. We need to talk about our kids.” Ernesto defended himself, “I’ve talked, shouted, slapped, and forbidden my daughter more than two hundred times, but she insists on d

At the Cardoso family house, Germano was talking to Elaine.He felt that the conversation was unusual. “Elaine, you sound like you’re whispering. Is something wrong?”“I’m by the pool,” Elaine normalized her voice. “But you’re right, no one is around. Anyway, how coincidental that you mentioned your wife.”“What about her?” Germano raised an eyebrow.“I can’t prove it, but I feel she told your daughter about our plan.”“Cindy?” Germano exclaimed in shock.“Yes. Cindy showed up at my office threatening to tell Matt about our plan unless we canceled the video. That’s why I called you,” Elaine explained, always glancing around.Germano rubbed his forehead. “That doesn’t make much sense, Elaine. What’s the big deal if Matthew finds out about the video’s origin? Could it be that Matthew still has feelings for Patricia and Cindy is trying to ruin your marriage?”Elaine confronted the big question. “Well, I believe Matt loves me, and he always assures me of that. The problem is the big ‘What

At the Cardoso family house, Zilda turned off the TV with the remote.“I get you had a conversation with someone who ordered you to hold off on that sinful video.”“Stop exaggerating!” Germano complained. “How many times do I have to tell you that I was only going to imply something about the drug dealing network?”“And how many times do I have to tell you that this issue will backfire on you?” Zilda held her husband’s hands. “Germano, if something happens to you, I’ll blame those vipers for everything!”“Why did we sign a responsibility agreement, huh?” Germano still insisted on citing the document.Zilda rolled her eyes. “They’ll jump ship the moment their men utter the letter ‘d’ for ‘divorce.’”“Matt can’t divorce Elaine because of this,” Germano argued. “That would prove he only married her to secure his position as president of the Sterling conglomerate. Do you think Elaine will stay silent if that happens?”“No, she’s too devilish to let things happen naturally!” Zilda exclaime