At Rocha Constructions, the new secretary gets up to take Josias's jacket.“Good day, sir. Was your expedition unsuccessful?”“Unfortunately, you can say that.” Josias grumbles, “Our mayor has his career in jeopardy because of a maniac. Is Tiago present?”As if arranged, Tiago, Wallace, and Uélton appear together.“I was asking about you, Tiago. Where were you?” Josias asks him.“Master, we better go to your room. You will need some chamomile tea.”“There's already that tea in the kitchen.” The secretary promptly leaves to fetch a cup.“Thank you, Pollyanna.” Tiago leads the visitors to the presidential room.The four gentlemen enter the enclosure, Wallace being the last to close the door.“What else happened, Tiago?” Josias asks in a distressed way, “Your countenance already betrays the next bad news.”“Master...” Tiago sits in the visitors' seat, “Melissa Mountain is in the hospital.”Josias widens his eyes to the fullest. Wallace realizes how his friend still cares about his ex-wif
Melissa and Kelvin safely return to Crystal Blue. Diane and Frederick applaud the couple.“Calm down, people, the situation was not so serious,” Melissa responds calmly.But Dr. Silvana insisted on accompanying her, “What do you mean, Melissa? All care is still little. You need to rest for the babies to be born and grow healthy. That's what you want, isn't it?”“Of course I want this,” Melissa responds with tears in her eyes.Diane informs them, “Daryl left to pick up Alan and Caroline from school.”The restaurant door opens and those mentioned enter desperately.“MOMMY!” Alan and Caroline run and hug Melissa. The three end up crying.“Calm down, my kids, mommy is fine.”“I don't want you to die, Mommy,” Alan exclaims in distress.Diane can't resist and ends up crying too. How long will we have violence in this city?Kelvin is looking somber, “Well, now that you're all here, you better head to the police station.”“What’s the use of going to the police station?” Daryl dismissively ask
At Crystal Blue, Josias is relieved to see that Melissa is safe and sound.“Daddy, you don't have to worry.” Caroline says angelically, “Mom and Kelvin promised that everything will be fine.”Adults are embarrassed. How do you explain to Caroline that JOSIAS is the one making sure things are okay?Josias smiles slightly and strokes his daughter's hair, “OK, princess. You better go home with your mother.”Dr. Silvana approaches him, “Mr. Rocha, we were just going to the penthouse. Don't worry, Melissa and the twins are doing fine.”“Thank you, Dr. Silvana. You've been a loyal doctor. If you need anything...”“I need a boyfriend,” Silvana responds unexpectedly, making everyone laugh with the unusual reply.Kelvin approaches Josias, “Don't worry, buddy. I'm going to the police station right now.”“Let's go together. Nobody touches someone I love.” Josias responds coldly.Kelvin nods. The two gentlemen withdraw.“Where did dad go?” Alan asks.“He went to the police station with Kelvin,” M
At the police station, Ivan enters his office and gets terrified.Josias and Kelvin sat waiting for him, grinning mischievously.“What are you doing here? Who let you in?”Josias nods, “There is no such thing as ‘you can’t come in’ for me, my friend.”“As far as I know, Mr. Rocha, no one is above the law.”“But then am I UNDER the law because your wife thinks I’m attractive?” Josias gets to the heart of the matter.Ivan sits in the swivel chair with discomfort on his face, “Just say what you want because my time is short.”“Vera Reis’s life will be short if you keep the kidnapper out of prison.” Kelvin responds, “Now that Mr. Vasconcelos is free and knows that she was the one who denounced him, he’ll want retaliation.”“Meanwhile, he enjoys accosting my ex-wife in the street and freaking her out.” Josias completes.But Ivan smirks, “Wait, whose wife is she?”“Mine,” Kelvin responds without understanding.“So, Mr. Rocha, excuse me, the conversation will be with the young man here. If t
The next day, Melissa is relaxing in the Mountain Penthouse living room. She is lying on the sofa while Kelvin serves her breakfast.“More peaceful, my queen?”“Much more peaceful, my king.” Melissa smiles, “Breakfast looks good.”“I tried to do the basics. Hope you like it.”Alan steps forward, “I helped, Mom. And Caroline opened the jar of jam. She is very happy about the contribution.”Melissa laughs. Thank God, a peaceful and happy home life was all she needed.However, the landline rings and Kelvin answers, “Hello?”The classic doorman replies, “Mr. Mountain, Sergeant Ivan Moraes wants to speak with Madam Rocha. I dare not call the police this time...”Kelvin purses his lips, then replies, “Send him upstairs. There is nothing you can do to prevent this.”“OK.” The doorman hangs up.“Who was it, dear?” Melissa asks, interested.“Instead of sending a subordinate, Sergeant Moraes decided to come himself.”Melissa was going to chew on a ham sandwich, but her mouth tasted sour.******
Amoreira finishes reading the report and hands it to Beto.“And then?” Beto picks up the sheets but doesn't read them.“There is no arsenic or anything wrong with those sweets. The kids could have eaten it.” Amoreira responds serenely.But the news doesn’t cheer the couple. Teresa blusters, “But that, never! We teach our children never to accept anything from strangers. The person who gave those sweets said he worked for their aunt's husband, but we know that Vera doesn't have a husband.”“And the only person claiming to be my sister's husband is wacko Renan Vasconcelos.”“So, Detective, do we have the materiality to charge him to Sergeant Moraes?” Teresa asks in a pleading tone.Amoreira sits down at the desk, “The sergeant is in the Mountain penthouse taking Mrs. Mountain’s testimony. She was approached by the industrialist and she felt sick. But the babies are doing fine.”“Oh my God!” Teresa covers her mouth with her hand in horror.“This freak is lusting after Melissa's naked bod
Ivan continues to ask Melissa how what she alleges was an attack happened.“And then, Mrs. Mountain, you’re telling me that Mr. Vasconcelos, despite approaching you strangely and inconveniently, didn’t pose any danger to you?”Melissa's eyes widen, “What do you mean, he didn't pose any danger? He was about to kidnap me if not for my husband showing up!”Ivan wiggles, “I'm sorry, Mrs. Mountain, but I cannot draw the same conclusion. Were there security guards or bodyguards near him? Was there a black, ominous car parked in a convenient spot? If Mr. Vasconcelos wanted to kidnap you and saw that the lady was aloof, why didn't he abduct you immediately? Why did he come up with this ‘wanting to help you’ thing?”Melissa snorts, "Sergeant, I don't think the guy is going to openly admit that he was going to kidnap me!"“But the square was empty. An opportunity he had.”Melissa takes a deep breath, “I can't believe it! You want to set him free!”“I don't want to arrest people for guesswork, M
Later, after Beto returns from the bus station, he is in the office at the Teodoro building, conferring with Josias and Tiago.“Very well, gentlemen.” Josias takes the reins of the meeting, “Time to let me know exactly what's going on in town. Why was I not informed about the supposedly poisoned candies?”Beto responds, “Josias, I didn't want to bother you. You've been so busy with your company and the construction of the new headquarters... I needed to take control of the situation.”“I'm not saying you're incapable, Beto.” Josias clarifies, “I want to congratulate you for taking the initiative to protect your family.”“I know you always want to help.” Beto smiles, “The children are very fond of you, calling you Uncle.”“It must be because I was there from the birth of all of them,” Josias responds with a smile.“Anyway, Josias,” Tiago clears his throat, “There's something you need to know.”Josias stares at Tiago intently.“I had a private conversation with Renan Vasconcelos a while
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