Amoreira and Ivan talk to Cláudio in his apartment. The place is the typical single man's apartment: messy, untidy, no floors swept, dirty dishes, and grimy clothes scattered everywhere.Ivan feels contaminated when he sits on the sofa. He could visualize a mouse running through the dirt, “Mr. Guzman, tell us what you told Mr. Queiroz.”Claudio smiles confidently, “There's not much to say. I just expressed my point of view on all this: Mrs. Rocha is trying to hide from her husband that she had a crush on me. She was jealous when she found out that I used to date girls on the beach at Sunset Village.”Ivan makes a long face, “Josias Rocha has already explained to us what this ‘dating’ consists of. Mr. Guzman, you should be arrested for this, but we're going to let it go this time because you're being accused of worse.”Amoreira reads the subpoena, “The whole thing is quite absurd.”Ivan continues, “Mrs. Rocha gave her testimony in great detail. Your version totally contradicts hers, so
Josias is desperate when he hears the secretary's information, “What did you say, Pollyanna? Kate had a stroke? She's too young for that!”“I don't know, sir, I just know that she fainted just like people do when they have this health problem! She was pretty stressed and asked me for an aspirin, but when I barely came in...”“OK, I'm going to the hospital now!” Josias turns off the cell phone.Bernardo, Maggie, and Vernon are astonished to the fullest.“Son...” Vernon tries to ask, “Is it serious?”“I'll see, Dad! Pass the message on to them!” Josias rushes to the hospital.Bernardo turns to Vernon, “What did he mean?”Vernon gulps, “He asked us to hold the bomb. It looks like he wants to try one more time to resolve this mess without involving the courts.”Maggie complains, “Then he shouldn't have let his wife carry on with this nonsense and issue subpoenas. I hope she recovers and reconsiders her actions.”“I better go with him.” Vernon also dashes for the hospital.Maggie closes th
At Crystal Blue, Vernon and Bernardo talk about the unexpected turn of events. They're at the bar, and Diane is making their drinks.“I had to withhold Mr. Guzman.” Vernon explains as if he had heard William's complaint, “I couldn't just publish while my son is suffering in the hospital. I don't want to win over a tragedy.”“Here, gentlemen.” Diane hands them glasses, “That was a very noble decision, Mr. Queiroz.”Daryl approaches them, “Now let's hope Kate recovers and backs off from trying to sue everyone, right? I mean, it was because she couldn't handle the pressure that she passed out, right?”Bernardo replies solemnly, “The doctors ruled out a stroke, which is just as well.”“So let's get positive thoughts.” Daryl gestures and winks at Diane.The door opens and Claudio enters. He finds Vernon and strides over to him, “Hey, Mr. Queiroz! Weren't you going to publish my testimony about Kate Rocha today?”Bernardo does 'pff' and spits out the sip due to the scare he took.Vernon wid
At General Hospital, Vernon and Elza appear in the lounge. Tiago was already gone.“Son, you look terrible!” Elza complains, “Go home, take a shower, and rest. Your mother will stay here.”“Mom, just stay until I get some rest and come back,” Josias responds listlessly.Vernon waggles his index finger, “Come on, son! Didn't the doctors say Kate was out of danger? It's only a matter of time before she wakes up. Until then, you rest. You don't want Kate to wake up and see you all ugly and bearded, do you?”Josias doesn't want to, but he can't resist chuckling.Elza nudges her husband, “Man, no jokes in this difficult time!”“I am trying to smooth over the difficult moment.” Vernon pretends to be offended.Vernon sits down next to him, “Sonny, your father decided not to publish my interview with Cláudio Guzman. But he accosted me at Crystal Blue and demanded that I tell everyone that Kate was hot for him! The young man is full of rancor...”Josias frowns, “This is too much! I just told T
Maggie visits Gabriela to talk about the twist their plan has taken, perhaps for their luck. The radio in her apartment was playing “S Club 7”, by the same youth group, to cheer Henrique up in the living room.Gabriela and Maggie were on the sofa, “Well, dear Gabriela. You're happy with the turn of events, right?”Gabriela cautiously responds, “In part, I am. This is an indication that my trial won’t go forward. I can bet that Josias Rocha will take advantage of his wife’s fragile health to cancel the lawsuit.”Maggie beams, “Exactly! And that's when you should seize the occasion and sue Kate Rocha! By the way, you should be doing this, not her!”Gabriela stands up with an indecisive expression on her face, “I don't know if this would be a good idea, Maggie. No more.”Maggie is taken aback by the unexpected response, “What do you mean, friend?”Gabriela turns to the hostess, “I believe that, if I want to ingratiate myself with Josias, I cannot create confusion with his wife. If Josias
A few more days passed. Instead of controversial and sensationalist articles, the LCN newspaper and Maggiezine just announced that Kate Rocha, the lady of Lagoon City, had recovered her health and returned home to finish her rest.Servants struggled to sort letters and flower bouquets sent by fans. Cards expressing best wishes also poured in.Katherine got an inflated ego and thought about using public opinion to slaughter her enemies. But her eyes were burning from reading so many letters, without any of them advising her to sue Cláudio and Gabriela.“What the hell! No fan of mine supports me in suing those two! And Josias is speaking of...”Alone in the master suite and comfortable in her silk nightgown, Katherine takes out her cell phone and calls Figueira.On the other side, Figueira answers, terrified, “Hello, Mrs. Rocha.”“Figueira, I'm feeling better. So, how are our plans going?”Figueira stutters and sweats coldly, “Ehr... M-Mrs. Rocha, your husband called ordering me to canc
Katherine violates the rest period and forces Hector to take her to the police station.The lady officer working in the front desk purses her lips, “Mrs. Rocha, haven't you done enough damage already?”“Listen here, officer, your duty is to serve society, and I am the cream of it! Call Sergeant Moraes immediately!”“That won't be necessary.” Ivan appears like magic from the corridor, “Let's talk in my office, Mrs. Rocha.”Katherine looks haughtily at the policewoman and lets herself be guided by the sergeant. When passing by Amoreira's office, she sees him avidly reading the latest issue of Maggiezine and she sneers.“Come in, Mrs. Rocha.”“Sergeant Moraes, I’ll be short and direct.” Katherine exclaims, “I want to know how the investigation is doing.”“What investigation?” Ivan sits vis-à-vis and plays dumb, “I'm not aware of another investigation.”“It’s not another, it’s THE investigation.” Katherine explains as if she were his teacher, “I want to know when Miss Alves will be behind
Katherine is walking the streets in a daze after withdrawing the complaint against Claudio without even thinking twice. Now she's at that 'Did I make a mistake?' stage.Melissa and Kelvin are hanging out together like a teenage sweethearts. But the feeling goes down the drain when they spot Katherine staggering around like she's drunk.“KATE!” Melissa exclaims, “Are you having another stroke?”“I'm too young for this.” Katherine retorts sourly, “And you mind your own business.”“Our lives were changed forever because of you.” Kelvin counters, “Why did you go and fuss with the swim instructor? He was teaching Caroline!”Katherine fumes, “And why do you care? She is not your daughter! She is MY husband's daughter.” She turns to Melissa, “MY husband, do you understand me, you bitch?”Melissa is stunned, “What is this woman talking about?”“You hired Mr. Guzman just to get MY husband's attention, I am aware of that! And when he ordered you to fire him, you refused! What were you trying to
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