A few days passed. At William's house, Caio approaches the telephone that rings incessantly.“Hello?”“Hello, can we speak to William Campos?” It was a male voice.“It's my father, who wants it?”“Municipal Traffic Department, young man.”Caio puts the mouthpiece on the dresser and goes to his father's bedroom door. As he knocks it, he announces, “Dad, there's someone from traffic wanting to talk to you.”William opens, totally hung over from recent events, “Who? From traffic?”Caio shrugs and seems like he doesn't understand.William goes into the living room in just his boxers and answers the phone, “Hello, William Campos speaking.”“Do I have the privilege of speaking with the illustrious soccer player Will Campos?” The male voice becomes excited and amazed.“Yes, who speaks?” William rubs his eyes with his free hand.“This is from the Municipal Traffic Department. We located your abandoned car in the General Hospital parking lot. Can you take it out of our depot?”William smiles i
William is at Ramos supermarket talking to Beto about what happened.“Beto, they found my car abandoned in the General Hospital parking lot!” He exclaims excitedly, “Why did I never think to look for it there?”Beto chuckles, “The more we are desperate, the less we think about the more obvious options.”William is still standing, “Can I go to the DMV to get it out of storage?”“Yes, go there. You will definitely have to fill out a lot of paperwork and formalities.”William rolls his eyes impatiently, “Argh... I'm glad the driver's license was with me. If I knew the address of that Gustavo...”Beto narrows his eyes, “What's that guy got to do with it?”“I suspect it was him. I was so desperate to save my sister that I left my car keys in the ignition. And I hit the rear of his jalopy. Is it a coincidence that when he and Angela ran from the journalists, they ‘mistaken’ and got into my car instead of theirs?”Beto smiles from the corner of his mouth and nods, “These people are trouble.
Josias is in the library waiting for Angela and talking to Ernesto about David's future.“I was heartbroken when my son asked to stay.” Josias comments, leaning against the desk.Ernesto clears his throat, “Boss, if you think it's better, ask for full custody of David, just like you did with J.J. Angela Souza is a terrible mother, and that was proved by your stepfather.”Josias smiles. Vernon's news story buried all the reputation Angela had earned in Lagoon City.“Well, if I try, no court or Family Court will deny my request.” Josias smiles mischievously, “The problem is, while I punish Angie, I'm seriously thinking about relieving Katherine.”Ernesto is surprised, “Do you want to share guard again with the other viper?”“What do you think, Ernesto?” Josias suddenly transforms himself from boss to simple friend of the secretary, “Should I give Katherine Bezerra a second chance? Or do you think her current behavior is pure pretense just to marry me?”Ernesto ponders before replying so
Monday. William shows up at his parents' house with the recovered car. One of the headlights is broken because of the crash he gave to Gustavo's car. Yet he honks proudly. Caio is with him in his school uniform.Simeon and Dora leave and smile at the sight of their calmer son.“Son, glad you were able to get the car back.” Dora congratulates him.“When we really want it, we get it,” William speaks strangely as if ownership of the car depends on him and not the police in finding him in the General Hospital parking lot.Simeon brings up the important issue, “So, are we going to have a lawsuit against a certain person?”Dora smirks, “Now that she is no longer engaged to Josias, we can sue her at will.”William, however, frowns and then replies, “That's where the fun was lost. Accusing Angela while she was engaged to Josias would be funnier.”Caio giggles, “You don't get tired, huh, Dad?”“Never, son. Let's go to school before you're late.”William starts the engine, but Dora still manage
Beto visits Rocha Constructions to talk to Josias about the things that are happening.Josias invites him to sit down, “How have you been, Beto?”“Bad.” He grumbles, “Pamela is trying to get Rosemary to the capital. It seems that only now she remembered that she has children.”Josias sits in the presidential chair expressing concern, “That's tough, Beto. If you need help... Remember that I am a client of Damascene Lawyers.”Beto smiles weakly, “It's funny that Miguel has already ensured Little Theo's safety. And Pamela is playing nice by leaving only Pedro with me.”Josias frowns, “Why separate the brothers? Argh, that Pamela was always a nutcase.”“However, Josias, I wanted to tell you something else.” Beto is overwhelmed, “You know Gustavo is working at the supermarket. Mr. Ramos asked me to ask you what you want to do with him.”Josias is curious about the question, “Me? I didn’t understand Mr. Ramos.”“He wants to know if I should fire Gustavo Carvalho,” Beto explains with the det
After Beto leaves, Josias picks up the phone and dials the Rocha Hotel, to his mother's extension.On the other side, Jane answers the phone while Elza is checking some documents, “Rocha Hotel, Mrs. Queiroz’s office, good morning?”“Good morning, Jane. This is Josias Rocha. Can I speak to my mother?”“One moment, sir.” She passes the mouthpiece to Elza, “It's your son, ma'am.”Elza smiles motherly and picks up the mouthpiece, “Hello, my dear son!”“Mom, don't embarrass me in front of Jane. What will she think?” Josias speaks jocularly.Elza also laughs, “She will think my son is lucky to have a mother who loves him so much. How can I help you?”“I'm considering moving Katherine to the secretary position here at the company.” Josias informs her, “Would she accept?”“Would she accept? But I’m sure she will, son!” Elza vibrates, “Especially when it comes to an opportunity to get closer to you.”Josias continues to smile slyly, “Really? I hadn't thought of that...”“Don’t come with that,
But it was too late. Amoreira already knew from the fingerprints left on the steering wheel and William had also been duly informed.The mocking face of the two made Gustavo uncomfortable, “Are you thinking of arresting me?”“Should we arrest you?” Amoreira repeats the question to mock Gustavo and make him more scared, “We happen to find Mr. Fields in the General Hospital parking lot. And you just admitted you were trying to stop a nosebleed.”“If I got in that car, there would be blood on the passenger seat!” Gustavo responds furiously. The survival instinct is in full swing inside him.But Amoreira sits down and lights a cigar, “You mean... if you were going to be in the passenger seat, then someone else drove for you?”Gustavo couldn't take it anymore. Panicked, he claps his hands on Amoreira's desk and leans over him, “OK, no more investigating or interrogating me. I assume the bullshit! It was me!”William was about to protest, but Amoreira gives him a stern look, ordering him to
The next day, Josias is communicating the decision about Katherine to his children and employees.“Guys, Katherine is going to work as a secretary at the company. So do not be surprised by her presence.”Lilian shrugs, “I hardly ever go to the company, so it's fine with me.”“Mom is a secretary.” J.J smiles.“Let's have breakfast.” Josias takes J.J on his lap and everyone heads to the dining room.There, Lilian starts bringing out the platters containing delicious and nutritious options. David chooses peach pieces.“Dad, won't my mom come back?” He asks respectfully.Lilian gulps, "Eat your breakfast, David."“Your mother is not coming back, David.” Josias responds cautiously, “Do you miss her?”“If she stays with that friend, I want to stay here.” David lowers his head and pouts.Josias pats him on the head, “It's okay, son, we're going to be together.”Ernesto is standing in a corner of the dining room, watching the familiar scene.******When Ernesto is at Rocha Constructions, he i
Josias visits the Rocha Hotel since he didn’t have a day off for the staff. In the management room, Eugenio gathered David, Benjamin, and Sybil. “Why is that mere cook present at this meeting?” David asked disparagingly. “Because that’s how our boss ordered it,” Eugenio replied dryly. “I didn’t say anything and didn’t call this meeting, so if you’ll excuse me...” Benjamin and Sybil were horrified to see David leaving the meeting just like that. However, when he opened the door, David came face to face with his father. “David, where do you think you’re going?” “DAD!” David exclaimed, extremely surprised. “I didn’t know you were coming!” “Didn’t Eugenio tell you I was coming?” Josias asked with a scowl. David understood who the ‘boss’ was. Benjamin and Sybil felt vindicated. Josias sat down at the desk, taking Eugenio’s seat, while the manager remained humbly standing. “Very well,” Josias began the meeting in a formal tone, “I’m here just to make things crystal clear. First
Melissa and Mary visit the Mountain Café.“A guava juice for me, Mr. Mountain!” Mary requested, smiling sweetly.“Of course, my princess!” Rodrigo replied, thinking Mary was very adorable. “Neil will make a delicious cup for you.”“Thank you. But the princess is Carol,” Mary responded, striking a serious pose.Melissa and Rodrigo laughed heartily. Mary is something else...“Rod, how has it been managing the café in your father’s absence?” Melissa asked seriously.Rodrigo served a baked chicken pastry with ketchup to Mary. “I'm getting by, Melissa. Josias was here earlier, more concerned about my loss than his own, as always. Isn’t he supposed to be resting?”Melissa nodded. “My husband is like that: he only relaxes when all of us are relaxed.”“An impossible mission because of certain people.”Neilton approached with the glass. “Who ordered a guava juice?”“I DID!” Mary grabbed the glass and went to a table.Melissa leaned forward, “Neil, Rod, how are Daryl and Diane? Behaving?”“Cont
At João Paulo’s house, he and Josias were about to have a significant conversation.“Walter, do you want to go with your mom to the kitchen?” João Paulo asked, looking at Helen. “I think she made some walnut cake.”“It was carrot cake,” Sandra replied, already getting up from the couch.“You got it.” Helen appeared and picked up Walter in her arms. “Let’s let Dad and Uncle Josias talk.”“Bye, Uncle!” Walter waved goodbye to Josias.“Bye-bye, I want a piece later!” Josias chuckled.Once alone with João Paulo, Josias became serious. “Don’t let anything or anyone ruin this family scenario, little brother.”“I’m fine. No one wants to ruin anything,” João Paulo replied casually.“Well, I hope David hasn’t caused you any trouble.”“He probably doesn’t even know I exist, man.” João Paulo shrugged.“But I stopped by Café Montanha and found out that the Vasquez family has replaced the Mountain family as the ‘annoying people.’”João Paulo sighed in disappointment. “Yeah. They—”The doorbell ran
Josias visits Café Montanha for a coffee and finds Rodrigo there. “Rod, how have you been?” Rodrigo is taken aback. “How am I? You’re the one who suffered a horrific loss recently!” “But you also lost your father. We’re in the same situation,” Josias explained as he sat down on a stool. “I’m okay, Josias. Life has a way of cheering me up. For example, I’m back at the diner after Thierry decided to take his place at the supermarket.” Rodrigo smiled. “What about the photography studio?” Josias smiled back. “It’s still going to operate, and Thierry will make periodic visits. But he’s going to appoint one of the staff to manage the studio.” Rodrigo served a pizza pastry to Josias. “Thank you. Well, I hope everything is alright between you two. I need to visit Rosemary and meet Jean Luc — is that the name of the baby?” “Yes, the name of the supermarket heir. Meanwhile, Frank will be here or somewhere else.” Josias interjected, “If Frank wants to work at Rocha Constructions, count
At the Rocha Mansion, Josias receives a visit from Benjamin. “How have you been, Ben? Any news about your parents?” The two embrace. “Actually, that’s what I want to talk about.” Benjamin scratches the back of his neck. The embrace breaks. “Let’s go to my office.” The two gentlemen enter Josias’s imposing office. “Any problems with Adolfo?” Josias asks, becoming serious. “Not yet, but I hope not to have any,” Benjamin replies with some sadness. “You know, Josias, what happened with your father made me think about my family, about how important it is for all of us to be together in the final moments.” “That’s true. João Paulo can tell you that better than I can.” “I think you can say it too. Vernon was the father you never had.” Benjamin clears his throat. “So, I’ve been looking into some hotels and realized there’s a demand at the Rocha Hotel in Victoria.” Josias looks at Benjamin, understanding where he’s going with this. “You want to go to Victoria to be close to your pare
Someone rings the doorbell at João Paulo’s house. The homeowner goes to answer after taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. But when he opened the door, João Paulo felt like slamming it in the visitor’s face. “Don’t be rude!” Erasmo exclaimed. “What do you want, you old bore?” João Paulo shot back. Erasmo barged into João Paulo’s foyer. “The mourning is over. Let’s pick up where we left off.” “Are you crazy? Who decides how long mourning lasts? We just got back from the trip!” “Not exactly, it’s been a day. Life goes on, my friend!” Erasmo replied mockingly. João Paulo remained serious. “But I don’t want to continue living this way, where fights and intrigues are the order of the day. Mr. Vasquez, you have a business to run, and I have a family to raise.” “But you found time to slap my son-in-law when he was here defending his family, didn’t you?” “Alan was extremely rude, but that was some time ago.” João Paulo frowned. “I don’t feel the same anger as before.” “So a
At the Vasquez Mansion, Alan could hardly believe that the people were thinking about more intrigues and disputes. “Guys, don’t you understand that I even forgot the reason I slapped Uncle João Paulo?” “Ridiculous!” Erasmo gestured. “You just maintained respect because it was a difficult occasion. But now, the mourning is OVER!” “Do you think João Paulo will rest, dear?” Sofia asked, sitting next to him. Alan shook his head. “If Uncle João Paulo doesn’t want to rest, then he is truly despicable. But my dad is back in town. He wouldn’t dare to do that.” The news should have been uplifting, but the members of the Vasquez family merely exchanged silent glances. With Josias present, it’s quite likely that he will put a stop to their fighting. Alan turned to Olivia. “In the meantime, we should celebrate the recovery of my dear mother-in-law!” Olivia and Sofia smiled awkwardly because of the secret they were keeping. “That’s right, let’s celebrate life!” Erasmo wrapped his arm arou
Josias Rocha and his family returned to Lagoon City. Those who were waiting for them stayed in the mansion and greeted them cheerfully in the foyer. “WELCOME BACK!” Melissa, crying, embraced her parents, William, and the twins fervently. Josias greeted them with a light smile. “Where’s João Paulo?” William asked. “He went straight to his house. His kids needed to rest from the trip.” Melissa wiped her tears with her fingers. “Alan went straight to his mansion. Especially now that his mother-in-law has woken up from the coma.” “That was a scare; I thought we’d have two funerals,” Simeon commented. Everyone headed to the living room. “Is Paris very beautiful, Mom?” Mary asked. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s stunning. We’ll go shopping together another time, okay?” “Do you have pictures?” Ignacio asked anxiously. “Yes, son, we took some pictures.” Melissa sat on the couch, pulling out a package from her bag. Josias sat in the armchair, taking a deep breath. William approached him.
At Café Montanha, Daryl walks in for a coffee and finds Rodrigo at the counter while Neilton serves the others. “Hey, are we back to the old tradition?” “Don’t be a clown, man.” Rodrigo laughs. “Yes, Thierry is at the supermarket, as we agreed.” “Hi, Neil. Can you make me a cappuccino while I enjoy a natural sandwich?” Daryl places his order. “Sure thing, Mr. Mountain.” Neilton heads to the back. Daryl sits on the stool. “So, how do you feel after getting back to your element?” “I don’t regret at all helping my dear wife at the supermarket, Daryl,” Rodrigo admitted while preparing the natural sandwich. “I’m not talking about regrets.” Daryl joked. “But it’s undeniable that after Uncle Francisco’s passing, you prefer to stay here, carrying on the legacy he left.” “Just like Crystal Blue.” Rodrigo smiled. “Hey, I’m aware that you’re looking to open another restaurant in Sunset Village. Do you think you can manage it? How’s the prospecting going?” Daryl picks up the sandwich but