Melissa heads to the LCN studios where Isabel Freire's farewell party will take place. Jack and Veronica are organizing the delicacies.“Melissa, so glad you came.” She points to the food and drink table, “Do you think Izzy will like it?”“Of course she will like it.” Melissa smiles widely, disguising her concern.But Jack noticed her earlier expression, “Sad to say goodbye, Melissa?”“No.” Melissa wiggles, “I am being threatened by Renan Vasconcelos, according to Vernon Queiroz.”Jack and Veronica are stunned.“Hey, don't worry!” Melissa shakes her hands, “Let's not allow a suspect to ruin the party!”“Is this just a suspicion?” Jack asks seriously.“Wow, Jack, you should play a cop.” Melissa congratulates him, trying to deflect the subject.Elza and Vernon approach the party.“Look, honey, we have canapés and brie for you.” Vernon nods to the table.Elza sees Melissa talking to Jack and Veronica, “And our ex-daughter-in-law is there.”“Let's calm her down.” Vernon and Elza approach
Josias and Amoreira were still in the detective's office when an officer opened the door.“Detective Amoreira! We have information from the kidnapping department. Vera Reis called denouncing industrialist Renan Vasconcelos!”Josias smiles satisfied, “Finally, she made the right decision!”“OK, but now it's not me anymore, right?” He turns to Josias, “Mr. Rocha, you better accompany this young man to speak with the officer in charge of the investigation.”“Thank you so much for helping this far, Detective.” Josias extends his hand.Amoreira shakes hands with Josias, “It’s a pleasure to serve old friends.”“Follow me, sir, please.” The officer gestures for Josias to follow him.He goes to the kidnapping department, a section of the precinct where pre-assigned officers handle these cases specifically, as well as the homicide department and the drug trafficking department. Everything at the station is well organized since Ibrahim's tenure.The new officer opens the door to Sergeant Ivan M
A few more days passed. Josias is still uneasy about the little importance that Sergeant Moraes gave him at the police station regarding Renan. In the dining room, Katherine is serving breakfast in Lilian's place.“Honey, you are at liberty to hire new servants for the mansion. Lilian must be missed.” Josias smiles at her, trying to distract himself from the disgust.“We still have the cook who helps us.” Katherine smiles back, “And I like serving my husband. I want to strengthen our bonds.”“What about me, mommy?” J.J. asks smartly.Katherine giggles and sets the cereal in front of him, “It's chocolate. Eat everything to grow and become strong.”“Nice!” J.J. enjoys breakfast.Katherine sits down next to her husband, “So what's the police station's response?”Josias gets pissed off again, “I can't get over that police officer insulting me!”“I think he's swamped with things to do and couldn't give you more attention.” Katherine tries to see the colorful side of the situation.“And wha
Bernardo takes Isabel's manuscript as if she were touching the Holy Supper's holy chalice.“Mrs. Freire... you already wrote your manuscript! How fast was that?”“I can't wait any longer, otherwise, life slips through my fingers.” Isabel talks like a poem.Maggie giggles, “None of that, Izzy, you'll live many years yet.”“God hear you.” Isabel looks anxiously at Bernardo, “I can see that my book will please.”Bernardo places the manuscript on his desk, “I will take care of this precious thing, Mrs. Freire.”Maggie wonders, “Are you gonna read it?”“Exactly. Our #1 female writer deserves the best treatment.” Bernardo grins.Maggie shrugs. She is very busy with the Maggiezine business.******At Simeon's house, William made the atmosphere so gloomy that Dora decided to turn off the radio.William continues to neigh, “Well then, Vera, pack your bags and stop sullying at my parents' house.”“And who says I'm soiling anything?” Vera retorts.“You haven't been bringing your ‘clients’ into m
Josias enters Rocha Constructions and finds Tiago and Alfred toasting cups of coffee in the kitchen.“Finally justice has been done!” Tiago proclaims, “Now our wives can rest easy!”“I don’t have a wife yet, but I share the same opinion!” Alfred adds mockingly.Josias is surprised, “Hey, what's going on here? What is the reason for the celebration?”Tiago turns to Josias, exulting, “Master! Didn't you listen to the radio? They arrested Mr. Vasconcelos!”Josias is not immediately excited. He pours himself a coffee, “I don't think he got arrested. What must have happened is that he was generously referred to the police station to provide clarification. A kind of preliminary hearing for the initial investigation. If they see that the imbecile has answered something worthwhile, they can temporarily detain him.”Alfred is dismayed, “What if the idiot manages to answer the questions in his favor? Are the police going to release him?”“Sadly, yes.” Josias takes a drink, “But how did they get
At the police station, Ivan loses his temper with Renan.He stands up sharply, “I've heard enough. Mr. Vasconcelos, you are entitled to a call. I suggest you call your lawyer.”Renan panics, “My lawyer? But why?”“You’ll need it. You are willingly admitting that you intended to withhold Miss Reis's freedom.”“Cut out ‘Miss Reis’, she’s not in the running for any beauty pageants! Although she deserved it, she is very beautiful and has a great guitar body!” Renan makes the ‘guitar’ gesture with both hands, “Anyway, she's Mrs. Vasconcelos!”“Do you have the marriage certificate for the two of you?” Ivan asks mockingly.“No, but we still need to get married. How are we going to get married if she stays away from me?”“Are you sure you are an industrialist?” Ivan scratches his head, confused, “You are looking very clumsy to me!”“Do not judge a book by its cover,” Renan utters the popular saying.The mention of ‘cover’ and ‘book’ reminds Ivan of Josias's biography, making the sergeant more
The following day, Tiago went to the police station to speak with Ivan Moraes on behalf of Josias.The officer received the oldest brother of the Bento family, interested in getting to know him.“Mr. Bento, welcome to my humble office.”Tiago looks around the room and sees the awards and recommendations of authorities, including a frame of the sergeant with the late Mayor Ibrahim. Humble?“Sergeant Moraes, I hope you don't expel me. I came to speak on behalf of Josias Rocha, my master.”Ivan breaks the smile at lightning speed, “My wife is not here.”“You’ll no longer have a wife if you continue with this uncontrollable jealousy!” Tiago asserts, “Will Lagoon City's justice be undermined because of this?”Ivan takes a deep breath and decides to be reasonable, “What does your 'master' want?”“First of all, to this day he has not been able to give testimony about the kidnapping of Vera Reis.” Tiago takes a deep breath, “He was a witness to what happened, along with Mr. Roberto Reis.”“I
At the police station, Ivan feels entitled to be insulted by Tiago punching his desk.“Beware of your fits, my lord! Do you want to spend the day in pre-trial detention?”“No, it was Renan Vasconcelos who should have been there!” Tiago roars, “What happened, how did he escape?”Ivan is at a loss to explain, “He didn't escape. He made the call he was entitled to... to Mayor Ibrahim.”“Did you mean Tobias Ibrahim? Because the son has nothing to do with the father!”“Don't let him hear you.” Ivan scoffs.“Don't make jokes, Sergeant! You made a big mistake!”“You mean the MAYOR made a big mistake?” Ivan distorts the matter.But Tiago doesn't fall for the linguistic trick, “I'm saying that Renan Vasconcelos is a dangerous man who doesn't deserve to be scot-free. Is the fact that he built a factory a reason for him to get away with it?”“We'll keep an eye on him, Mr. Bento. As the victim managed to escape from captivity but only gave us a phone call, there is no greater reason for him to be
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