Hours passed, and Daryl took matters into his own hands as the patriarch of the Mountain family.The adults are gathered in Melissa's office. Daryl wore a T-shirt, and the women wore Bermuda shorts over their bikinis, but Kelvin is still shirtless in his trunks.Daryl determines, “After all the information Josias has given Melissa, we need to look for another swim instructor. Caroline has been voted 'the Princess of Lagoon City' by our fans, and if anything happens to her, the public will blame US instead of the rapist.”“How is that possible, dear?” Diane asks wide-eyed.“People will ask why we didn't realize this sooner.” Daryl responds in a serious tone, “They expect us to protect the kids from everything.”Melissa keeps pensive, without giving an opinion.Diane adds, “Maybe that's why he didn't want to name names when he met me.”Someone knocks on the door. Francisco sees who it is, it's Rodrigo.“Father, I’m here. What happened?” Rodrigo is amazed to see the family together.“Com
The next day, Tiago met Melissa at Café Montanha. They sat at a table in the far corner, afraid someone would see them.“Melissa, it’s a pleasure to serve my master's ex-wife.” Tiago greets her, “Rest assured that your request will be granted.”“Remember: I want to know everything about Cláudio Guzman, but the truth!” Melissa holds up her index finger, “Dismiss the gossip and rumors. Someone is about to be accused of being a rapist, and for that, we need solid arguments.”Tiago listens attentively to Melissa, “Of course, Melissa. A false accusation could ruin the swim instructor's life. Now, I would like to know what you think of this.”Melissa hardens her gaze, “Tiago, you will be shocked by what I say. But I don't think there was any harassment. If there was any sexual interaction, it wasn’t forced.”Tiago gets enraged, “Do you mean that Katherine Bezerra adulterated and betrayed my master?”Melissa gasps and gestures, “I wouldn't go that far, but after I heard Rodrigo's story... He
Melissa ordered a taxi and headed for Sunset Village. When she stopped at the Rocha Mansion, she paid the fare and signed an autograph for the taxi driver who couldn't have been more than twenty-five and was very excited to be of service to her.“My wife won't believe it! Thank you very much, Mrs. Mountain!”Melissa smiles gently, “You're welcome. Good work for you!”After the taxi driver departs, Melissa enters the exterior of the mansion. Gardeners tend to the grass, azaleas, and peonies. As she rings the doorbell that sounds like heavenly bells, she takes a deep breath.“Who is it?” Alan asks, leaving Melissa relieved.“Alan, my son, it's your mother!”Alan more than quickly opens the door, “Mom! What are you doing here? My father is not there.”Melissa gets the feeling that Alan wanted Josias to be in the mansion. Was the son trying... “I need to talk to you, Alan.”“I didn't cuss Reuben.” Alan justifies himself automatically.“It has nothing to do with Reuben, although I'm glad t
At Rocha Mansion, Melissa and Alan continue to confer.Melissa is agitated, “Son, try to convince your dad to hold his own. We're not sure if Katherine's claims are still valid. Probably just a misunderstanding happened...”Alan is equally concerned, “Mom, Kate can't get two sentences together when my dad brings up the subject. She starts shaking, and crying... she begs my dad not to call the police, but she never says what really happened when she fired him. It looks like Mr. Guzman raped her and she doesn't want to say it out of fear. If you don't want Mr. Guzman to go to jail unfairly, you’ll have to talk to Kate.”Melissa takes a deep breath and lets out a long sigh. Talk to Katherine? If in recent months she has returned to being hostile...At this, Melissa has a mental snap, “Son, don't you want to go back to the penthouse? Carol misses you.”“My dad almost had a stroke when you asked him last year.” Alan scratches the back of his head, “I don't know Mom, I feel like I'm still n
Melissa and Katherine go to Josias's office. When the lady of the mansion closes the door, Melissa has a strange feeling that she would never leave there.“Why did you close the door so ominously?”Katherine smiles mysteriously, “Are you afraid of something, my dear?”Melissa composes herself, “Yes. I am afraid that they will condemn an innocent man.”“If anything has happened to my Josias—”“No woman!” Melissa interrupts her, “It's happening, but with Mr. Guzman!”Katherine once again loses her composure. The name of Claudio acts on her like a kryptonite, “I-I... I don't know why you came to bother—”Melissa's voice is cleaver-sharp, “Didn't you know Mr. Guzman is teaching my daughter to swim? I believe so because even Alan was not spared from this story. Josias is very angry and demanded that I fire him.”Katherine is stunned, “And you still haven't fired him? What do you expect in obeying my husband without delay?”Melissa smiles wryly, “I happen to obey MY husband, Kelvin Mountain
Time has passed. In the Mountain Penthouse, Melissa was preparing breakfast for her family. Dora showed up very early to help her.“Wow, daughter, why are you in such a hurry to leave?” Dora finds her daughter already dressed up in a brown suit, purchased from one of the exclusive stores whose saleswomen only need to bow when Melissa enters.“I have an appointment today.” Melissa blinks mysteriously.Melissa's cell phone which was left on one of the kitchen islands rings. Melissa sees the number on the caller ID and smiles, “Hello?”On the other side, Tiago is in his house with James playing around, “Melissa, this is Tiago.”“I can see your number, Tiago.” Melissa giggles.“Ah, I'm still getting used to these modern devices.” Tiago also chuckles, “Anyway, everything ready for our date today?”“All right, I'm already advancing breakfast.”“OK, I hope I can help you. Goodbye!”“Bye!” Melissa hangs up, “Mom, do you have your cell phone yet?”Dora shakes her head and glances at the coffee
Melissa enters Café Montanha. Rodrigo and Francisco are at the counter. All customers have already been served. The radio is playing “Scar Tissue” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.Francisco approaches Melissa, “Good morning, Melissa. How are things in the penthouse?”“If you mean the swimming instructor, I hope to get this resolved today.” Melissa smiles slightly, “Rod, see me a cappuccino.”“Coming...” Rodrigo starts to prepare.Melissa had already had coffee, but she decided to strengthen her stomach. She also ordered potato bread and sat down at one of the tables.When Francisco served her, he continued, “I tried to calm Izzy by pointing out that we had no evidence for a conviction, but she wouldn't let Reuben keep Caroline company. Do you understand her, Melissa?”“Don't worry, Francisco. I won’t be offended.” Melissa guarantees.“Thanks.” Francisco faces the entrance when he feels someone enter.“He's with me.” Melissa widens her smile when she sees it's Tiago.Tiago sits down witho
After long minutes of crying, Vera decided to pull herself together and lift her head, “Why am I so desperate? I'm sure Wally will never pay attention to the whore who got pregnant again.”Carmen smiles reassuringly, “That's right, my friend, let's think positively. Hey, is the radio off?”“Ih!” Vera runs to follow the tradition. Otherwise, Teodoro's ghost would haunt the building, so they believe. Jennifer Lopez's song “If You Had My Love” filled the room.“New singer?” Carmen scratches the back of her head.“I don’t know her.” Vera answers with a shrug, “1999 has been the year of debutant pop female singers.”Carmen jokes, “If I take singing lessons, maybe Tiago will be interested in introducing me.”Wallace appears and sees Vera wiping away her tears, “Vera, was the joke so funny you're crying?”“No, honey, I was crying because Pamela called again.” Vera replies, snuggling into his chest, “I think we better report her to the police.”“Moral harassment,” Wallace responds with a frow
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