The next day, Josias knocks on Alan’s bedroom door. The heir opens the door wearing a sky-blue robe.
“Yes, Dad?”
“Son, before you have breakfast, come and find out what is going on,” Josias commands him.
Alan tightens the tie on his robe and closes the door, following his father’s lilting steps.
Josias walks to one of the guest rooms. Tiago is there, present and somber. His hand tucked inside his suit made Alan wonder if he was holding a gun.
Josias opens the door and the three gentlemen enter.
Gabriela is leaning against the headboard, eating a breakfast consisting of strawberry jelly and raspberry flan. On the bedside table is a steaming cup of coffee.
“We are ready, Gabriela,” Josias announces.
“Dad, what is she doing here?” Alan wonders, “Won’t that get us into trouble?”
“On the contrary, son. Finally, we’re looking for solution
At Rocha Mansion, Josias, Tiago, and Alan continue to listen to Gabriela and her confessions.But Gabriela keeps looking at Tiago’s hand, “Is he holding a gun under his suit?”Josias gestures, “Don’t mind Tiago. Focus on me, tell me everything you know, like you promised.”Gabriela feels tremors and decides to continue, “OK. After I was beaten and taken to the hospital, I obviously resented Katherine’s assault on me and vowed revenge.”Josias interrupts her, annoyed, “Here’s another mistake of yours. Why did you need to seek revenge? Don’t you see, Gabriela? This is where things got worse! I could very well force Kate to apologize, but you have lost your reason for wanting to reciprocate in kind.”Gabriela retorts, “But your dear wife blew up the peace pact when she invaded Isabel Freire’s autograph session and assaulted Maggie.”“Then that&
At Rocha Mansion, the controversial talk between Josias and Gabriela continues.“Gabriela, don’t take me for a fool.” Josias raises his index finger, “You claim that you had no part in the photographs and the anonymous e-mail, but it was precisely this action that helped you to carry out the plan: Kate filed for divorce and went to Boston, dying on the high seas along with my son.”Gabriela despairs, remembering the grave dug in the sand on the beach, “I swear, Josias... I met you by chance. I enjoyed the moments when you fed pizza in my mouth as if we were dating. But I wasn’t posing for any photographer. That was a terrible coincidence.”“Yeah, but it served your purposes.” Josias somberly concludes, “Next, Melissa appeared in front of me wanting to confess to the plan, but then backtracked. So...”Alan is startled and asks angrily, “Hey, you mean my mom going to Victoria&mdas
At General Hospital, Daryl is bedridden, being treated by Dr. Braggart.“The bleeding has stopped, Mr. Mountain. You need to rest for a few days because of the broken rib. Thankfully, we won’t need surgery for correction and stanching.” The doctor winks at him.Daryl was about to sigh, but the movement makes his ribs hurt, “Ouch... I’ll have to breathe carefully.”“Only for now. I’ll send a nurse to give you a pain reliever.”Beto was nearby, “Thanks, doc. Looks like if it weren’t for Josias’s secretary, the friend here could have something worse.”“How strange, I didn’t expect the people of Mr. Rocha was of this violent strain. OK, I need to see other patients.”Doctor Braggart retires.Daryl looks at Beto gratefully, “Roberto, I appreciate you taking me here.”“You don’t have to thank me.” Beto gesture
The next day, Josias showed up at Daryl’s penthouse building. Felipe passed by with bags from the nearest grocery store.“Hello, Mr. Rocha!” The young man greets him with a charismatic smile.Josias remembers that Felipe is not to blame for being adopted into a family of crooks and greets him politely, “Hello, Felipe, good morning. Don’t your parents have servants to do the shopping?”“No, and I don’t care. So I know the neighborhood.” Felipe responds politely.The elevator arrives and they enter. Felipe presses the penthouse button. Josias presses Vernon’s pavement button.Felipe looks at where Josias pressed, “Are you going to visit your family? They are good people. Sandra is a cutie and takes after her father. She’s going to be a headache when she’s a teenager, breaking the hearts of every high school boy.”“João Paulo and I didn’t have
At General Hospital, Josias is in Dr. Silvana while the others wait in the popular lounge.Elza notices that her husband and son are stressed and have high blood pressure. They gasp as if some angel is crushing their necks.“HEY, do you want to tell me what’s going on at once?”“Nothing is going on, sweetie!” Vernon tries to hide it as much as possible, “Come, sit next to your hubby.”“It’s baloney!” Elza remains standing, “It’s obvious to the whole world that you two have one more reason to be surprised by Josias’s request. And it’s not because of what Gabriela Alves believes. By the way, how did she come up with that idea?”João Paulo shrugs, “I told you, Mom. The creepy girl wants to win Josias back and is using my daughter as a tool. She knows I’m going to fight in the Family Court for full custody.”“Why would Gabriel
At Rocha Constructions, Josias enters after donating his blood and hair for the second DNA test.If Sandra is his daughter, things will change... But not for Gabriela.Mirella and the other receptionists are embarrassed to see the President of the company enter with a friendly smile.“Good morning guys! What sad faces are these?”“Mr. Rocha, you better check with your secretary,” Mirella responds scared, fearing of being fired.Josias gets worried, goes through the access roulette, and hurriedly goes to his office.Upon reaching Pollyanna’s desk, she promptly rises, “Mr. Rocha! Forgive me for being the bearer of bad news, but I have to inform you that there has been a nasty fight near the elevators.”“What happened?” Josias worries.“Daryl Mountain wanted to talk to Mr. Motta, but he skipped the access roulette wheel. The security guards held the intruder, but instead
When Octavio passes Pollyanna’s desk, she calls out to him sternly.“Mr. Motta! I emailed you, and it turns out you weren’t even in the office yet!”“Did something urgent happen, Pollyanna?” Octavio approaches her.Pollyanna smiles sarcastically, “Mr. Rocha is interested in your boxing skills. Do you intend to apply for the next MMA?”Octavio takes a deep breath, fearing that Josias first found out about the incident from Daryl. He would fatally twist the truth in his favor...Concentrating and gripping his briefcase extra tightly, he enters Josias’s office.The CEO and CFO were waiting for him.“Octavio, help yourself to a drink,” Josias commands him with a clouded countenance.Octavio looks at the drinks table and fears there is arsenic or cyanide in the brandy, “No, Josias, thank you.”“OK, so can you explain to me with a dry throat wh
Daryl and Diane were excited about Josias’s visit to the hospital. They were sure they were loved and respected.But at the sight of Tiago Bento, their smiles faded like thin air.“What is it, Mountains?” Tiago asks wryly, “Didn’t you expect to see me?”“I didn’t expect to be murdered today!” Daryl screams.“Calm down, dear.” Diane holds him. It looked like Daryl wanted to get out of the hospital bed despite the fractures.Josias continues with a straight face, “Daryl, I came to see how you are doing. Unfortunately, while I was made aware of the shameful fight, I was also made aware of other things I didn’t like.”Daryl decides to stay defensive, “Like for example?”Josias sits in the visitors’ seat, “I found that the approach of Gabriela Alves was purely purposeful and meticulously planned down to the last detail, and never to make me happy, but rather of defeating Katherine in a ridiculous feud that certain ladies had against her.”Diane narrows her eyes, “What do you mean, Josias?”
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