On a beautiful sunny morning, William was performing abdominal exercises on the mat in his living room. The sweat dripping down indicated that he had been there for quite some time. William grimaced in pain as he felt his muscles burning, but his determination was greater.“If I continue like this, I won’t be crippled anymore.” He comments between one repetition and another.The gate bell is rung desperately. William insists on finishing the series.“Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty!” He gasps, “PHEW! Let’s see who it is.”William gets up and answers the intercom, “Hello?”“Will, we need to talk for yesterday!” Josias’s voice echoes in the ears of the resident of the house.William releases the gate for Josias to go up. He has a doubtful expression.Upon opening the door, Josias enters like a hurricane. “William Campos, I thought you were out of trouble! Why do you insist on getting into a mess, huh?”William gestures to the couch, “Let’s sit down, calm down, and talk so
Caio is studying the floor plans of another Rocha Constructions project to learn how it is done in practice. On the study table, there are several academic books. The radio in the living room plays “When I’m Gone” by Eminem.The door was open, and William entered. “Son, doesn’t that sound disturb your concentration?”“Come in, dad!” Caio gestures, “No, I’m fine.”“You said.” William sits on the sofa. “Today my leg isn’t helping.”Caio drops the pen to the floor. “What happened? Do you feel rusty? Do you want me to call an ambulance?”“No, son, calm down...” William laughs, “On the contrary, I exercised a lot. I don’t want to get stuck.”Caio gets up and approaches his father, “William Campos, don’t exaggerate. It seems like the tables are turned: I’m the father and you’re the naughty child.”William laughs more and more, “I hope you don’t waste your energy on me. Soon your children will come.”Caio sits on the sofa with a dreamy expression. “Have you noticed that at least once a week,
After finishing his studies, Caio is now weeding the front yard. This was necessary, as the weeds were getting bigger than the flowers. And the wall wasn’t high, the same way Josias rented the house in 1982. Therefore, residents could notice the neglected yard if Caio didn’t pay attention to it.So, when Brigitte appeared at the entrance of the house, she saw her ‘friend’ in jeans, without a shirt, performing the weeding with mastery. Brigitte was surprised by her neighbor’s manly body and stayed for long minutes watching Caio weeding with a smile of approval.After the exhibition, Caio turned around and noticed there was an audience, “Oh, Brigitte! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”“Since when do you offend me with that fit body?” Brigitte laughs, “I would be offended if you were thinner than a roundworm.”Caio smiles proudly, “It runs in the family. If you’ve seen photos of my father when he was my age... and my grandfather is not to be ignored either.”Brigitte passes throug
The flower vase temporarily knocked out Ulysses. When he regained consciousness, he only saw that his apartment was empty, with shards of the toilet around him.“Addie... you damn thing!”Ulysses gets up and stumbles outside.Meanwhile, Adelaide was in the building’s parking lot, with her hands shaking, trying to call the police.“Hello! Hello, police officer... Call detective Amoreira! I need to talk to him urgently! My husband is crazy and he wants to kill me!”“Madam, in case of domestic violence, we will forward it to the responsible sector. Detective Amoreira does not have the authority to arrest attackers, he only investigates the crime.”“I’m his client... Adelaide Cardozo, sister of the late Shirley Mountain!”The police officer, with just this information, knew how to take care of the situation, “A vehicle is being dispatched right now, Mrs. Cardozo! Are you at home?”“I left the apartment and I’m hiding in the parking lot!”“OK, we have your address!”“Quickly!” Adelaide han
The next day, it was the Mountain family’s turn to wait in the General Hospital lounge.Daryl, as always, was the most excited of them all.“I don’t believe it... I can hardly believe that Josias deliberately ran over Uncle Ulysses...”“Because Uncle Ulysses was running after Aunt Addie to kill her,” Kelvin adds indignantly.“We don’t know if he really wanted to kill her, Kelvin!”“Please!” Maggie exclaims, “Let’s not argue.”Diane asks calmly, “Is Aunt Addie better?”“She is resting in our apartment,” Bernardo responds. “She wouldn’t look good in her old apartment.”“Fortunately.” Diane sighs, “She’s suffered enough.”“If Aunt Addie is suffering the most, it was Josias who inflicted more drama in her life.” Daryl neighs.Maggie and Kelvin look at each other, determined.“OK, since we’re all talkative here,” Kelvin takes the floor, “I think it’s time for the Truth Game.”“What stupidity are you talking about, Kelvin?” Daryl crosses his arms.“Don’t be so quick to call what I have to s
Dr. Braggart regretfully announces, “Everyone, it is with great regret that I inform you that patient Ulysses Cardozo succumbed to his injuries and passed away.”The family doesn’t know whether to celebrate or mourn. Silence is general.“Who will take care of the bureaucracy for the release of the corpse?” Dr. Braggart clears his throat, somewhat uncomfortable.Daryl offers, “I’ll handle it, doc. My aunt is bedridden. Later, we’ll make preparations for the burial with her.”Daryl and the doctor leave the lounge. The rest are still impacted by the news.“This feels surreal.” Isabel shakes her head, “We should feel something, shouldn’t we?”“Honey, after it was revealed that the deceased was responsible... for the explosion, causing the death of his henchman...” Francisco clears his throat, “How are we going to mourn his death?”“And even more so for the fact that if he had remained faithful to his wife, Shirley would be alive.” Diane responds, “No matter how annoying and troublesome sh
Diane presses the intercom at the gate of the Teodoro building. Outside, she can hear the song “My Humps” by The Black Eyed Peas.“Some things never change.” Diane smiles.Diane hears the click and enters the lobby. Teresa was behind the counter, swaying to the beat of the music, feeling twenty years younger.“Oh, God, am I missing a performance?” Diane applauds, laughing. For a moment, she forgets her problems.“Life is too short to not have fun once in a while, my dear,” Teresa states.“And you have plenty of reasons to have fun, right, friend?” Diane leans against the counter. “In my case, we will have one more funeral to attend.”“To attend and to take care!” Teresa gets serious, “I heard about your uncle. Girl, I’m so sorry.”Diane sighs, “I don’t know if I can accept these condolences, Tess. Knowing what I know...”Teresa nods, “How is your family?”“They know.” Diane promptly responds, “I told Daryl, and he admitted that it was Ulysses who blew up the kitchen at the Rocha Hotel
The next day, Josias was meeting with his family to discuss the case. João Paulo and Helen returned from their honeymoon.In the living room of the Rocha Mansion, Melissa turns to Helen, “Later, I want to see the photos, Helen.”“Ah, of course, you’ll see them. They were perfect.” Helen sighs in wonder.João Paulo kisses Helen on the cheek. Then he turns to Josias, “What’s up, little brother? Did that anonymous phone call my father received tell the truth?”Josias smiles, “It wasn’t exactly anonymous. It was Daryl, confessing the truth and getting revenge on his uncle for sleeping with Shirley.”Vernon shakes his head, “I wonder what was going through his head.”Melissa sighs in regret, “Oh... Shirley was never a good person, huh? What happened to that lady who baked shortbread cookies?”“That was the mask she wanted us to see,” Elza speaks.“Only the family, especially Francisco and Isabel, knew who she really was,” Simeon states.“Well, with Diane confessing that the guy I killed wa
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