At Rocha Constructions, Josias is very focused on the Guarapari project. He is standing, calling one of the cement suppliers.“Look, I received the report from the head of Engineering, and I can say that I wasn’t satisfied with what I read. You urgently need to improve the quality because I don’t want the building to collapse with the residents still inside! Can you imagine what a scandal that would be? Your name would go down in the mud with me.”The door opens and Reuben appears with Daryl.“I told you he’s busy,” Reuben speaks quietly.Daryl replies in the same tone, “Believe me, boy. He’ll listen to me.”Reuben gives up and closes the door. Daryl takes a deep breath. Is today...Josias sees Daryl and ends the call, “OK, contact Mr. Alfred Paterson and agree on the best solution. I’m counting on you, bye!” He turns to Daryl, “What a surprise!”Daryl approaches cautiously, “You’re going to lose that smile when you hear what I have to say, Josias.”“What are you talking about? There’
At Rocha Constructions, Josias talks to Octavio in his office. All around, architects draw their plans on their computers, very focused. One of them is almost burying his face in the monitor, trying to see.Josias jokes about this, “I think one of your architects needs glasses, Octavio.”“Oh, Denis always does that. I’ll give him the tip later.” Octavio chuckles.Alfred asks, “Josias, were you able to talk to that cement factory that I dare not name?”“Don’t worry, Alfred. You’ll be getting a call from them any moment.”Alfred scratches the back of his head, “I know we’re responsible for these matters, Josias, but it seems that some only take us seriously after they are reprimanded by you. You probably said the same thing as me, but with you, they understand. With us, we’re accused of being too demanding.”“I know you are capable guys and have done everything.” Josias doesn’t let his friends feel inferior.“It’s comforting to hear you like that, Josias. Another boss from another compa
At Vernon’s office at LCN, he finishes speaking to the person on the phone. João Paulo waits.“So, Dad? Are you going to keep me waiting?”“Oh, son, I’m sorry.” Vernon scratches the back of his head, “I think the information is too fantastic!”“What it was? Who called?”“Anonymous caller, obviously.” Vernon shakes his head, sitting down, “One person, muffling his voice, said that the person who blew up the kitchen at the Rocha Hotel was Ulysses Cardozo.”“Never heard of this guy.” João Paulo frowns.“Well, that’s what the Internet is for these days.” Vernon smiles and starts typing.João Paulo goes around the desk to follow his father’s research. On the screen, photos of several Ulysses dudes appear.João Paulo points to one of them, “What about this guy? Ulysses Cardozo, president of the perfume company, residing in Linhares... and his wife, Adelaide Cardozo.”“Isn’t Shirley Mountain’s sister hospitalized with traumatic shock?” Vernon is amazed, “What does her husband have to do with
At night, the doorbell rings at the Mountain Penthouse. Felipe, shirtless and in sweatpants, goes to answer, “I’ll open the door!”Daryl comes from the balcony after resting and admiring the night view of the city, “Who would it be at this hour? Maggie?”Felipe opens the door and is surprised by João Paulo, “Mr. Queiroz?”“We need to talk! Is your father there?” João Paulo asks fiercely.“He is. But please lower your voice. We don’t want any confusion.” Felipe lets João Paulo pass.Daryl approaches, “Did I hear my sacred name?”João Paulo continues with a frown, “Daryl, we’re investigating the explosion at the Rocha Hotel that killed my baby.”Daryl smirks, “Look, I don’t know whether to convey my condolences or scold you for getting your daughter’s nanny pregnant! Dude, haven’t you learned your lesson? Are you going to forever have children out of wedlock?”“I’m marrying Helen and you are NOT invited!” João Paulo yells, “Can we stick to the matter?”“What do you wanna know?” Daryl cr
The next day, Amoreira receives a call from his cell phone when he is still waking up.The detective struggles a little to find his cell phone among the clutter in his room. The device continues to ring insistently.The door opens and Brigitte, already ready to go to college, finds the situation funny. “Dad, do you intend to answer your cell phone, or do you like the music playing?”Amoreira holds the blanket. “Daughter, what is this? Your father is not decent.”Brigitte tsks with her tongue and pulls the blanket. Amoreira, however, was in boxer shorts. The cell phone was under the blanket, and Amoreira would probably never find it.“The cell phone was almost biting you, Dad.” Brigitte holds out the device to him, “And it’s Mr. Queiroz.”“Oh, my.” Amoreira picked up his cell phone, but the call had gone to voicemail.However, it rang again, and Amoreira cleared his throat to answer, “Hello?”On the other side, in his apartment, Vernon was impatient, “Were you sleeping? Did I interrupt
At the Mountain Penthouse, Maggie and Bernardo talk to Daryl, Kelvin, and Diane about Adelaide’s situation.“Guys, Uncle Ulysses needs to take care of some commitments regarding the company, and he needs us to keep an eye on Aunt Adelaide.”“Oh, shit...” Diane complains through gritted teeth.“We thought about organizing a rotation so it wouldn’t be difficult for anyone.” Bernardo suggests with a pacifying smile, “What do you think?”“I’m very busy at Crystal Blue and I don’t even have the intimacy with Adelaide for that,” Diane responds dryly and rudely.“Jeez, Diane!” Maggie frowns, “What’s wrong with you?”“If I go to the hospital, I won’t hold back.” Diane complains, “I’m going to shake her awake and make her tell us what really happened here in the living room!”“Be patient, darling.” Daryl wraps his arm around her back.Bernardo takes advantage, “I see that you’re more receptive to the idea, Daryl.”“Yes, I accept the mission. Aunt Adelaide needs our support. She also has respon
Vernon reacts in horror upon hearing the same story that Amoreira told Kelvin.“For God’s sake, Detective! Is this all true?”“Yes, and young Kelvin Mountain had the same reaction as you.” Amoreira nods regretfully.“Do the other brothers know anything? Francisco, Isabel...”“No, Kelvin Mountain is the only one who knows this, and I asked to keep the conversation between us.” Amoreira sighs, “If it weren’t for Mrs. Cardozo being catatonic in the hospital, I would have already given this whole bombshell to my colleagues who investigated the ‘suicide’.”“The case was resolved and kept as such, unfortunately.” Vernon narrows his eyes, “Amoreira, I think you should have spoken this discovery to everybody even without your client’s prior approval.”Amoreira, however, is in doubt. “I thought a lot before telling the nephew.”“I know, the ‘detective-client confidentiality’ thing.” Vernon sighs, “But I think things are a little different. No one will question why Mrs. Cardozo showed signs of
Erasmo is calm in his office when he receives an abusive phone call from Daryl.He purses his lips, not willing to be charged for the favor...But when the minutes pass and Daryl doesn’t give up, Erasmo has no choice but to answer, “Hello? My God, man, don’t you have any other occupation than to bother me today?”“I need to know, man...” Daryl smirks at his desk.“No, my wife hasn’t yet recorded or caused any flagrant to dishonor Cláudio Guzman.” Erasmo chooses his words.“That’s not what I want to know!” Daryl scoffs, “I want to know if your adulterous wife moaned in pleasure beneath the virile body of Lagoon City’s most sought-after model!”“Go to hell!” Erasmo screams madly. At this moment, Olivia enters the office and gets scared.“Apparently, I’ll have to do my part. I have free time, and I’ll pay a visit to Josias Rocha to talk about Alan’s son-in-law who will no longer be.”Erasmo hangs up the cell phone on Daryl. Olivia is terrified. Are they talking...?“Do I need to ask who
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