Early in the morning, Kelvin and Felipe had breakfast. Kelvin realized that Felipe still hadn’t gotten over Alan’s visit.“Felipe, I need you to understand something.” Kelvin speaks, wanting to break the hateful silence, “Alan was raised by me while Josias and Melissa were divorced. Now they are back, but the bond that was formed between the two of us won’t be broken. So don’t feel offended when he comes around to chat.”“I heard you interacted with the twins... and Melissa.” Felipe takes everything to the evil side.“We went to the beach, and the twins buried me in the sand. But when it was time to dig me out, the tide quickly came in, covering me back up. It was a rush to get me out of the sand before I drowned.” Kelvin laughs, remembering the dangerous but fun occasion.“Uncle Kelvin, I see the sparkle in your eyes.” Felipe insists, “You still miss family life. You still love Melissa Campos.”“Her name is Melissa Rocha, and I hope you don’t forget that when you’re in front of her.”
“Caio? CAIO!” William was desperate. He heard gunshots being fired. Caio hadn’t ended the call and was talking to someone, probably at the gate...“Hello, son?” William, desperate, tried to run, but his left leg always let him down. He returned to his seat and took a deep breath.“Something happened...” With his cell phone still in hand, William ended the call and dialed Josias’ number.Josias was in his mansion, in the master suite, dressing formally for another day of work.“Daddy was calmer today, darling,” Melissa comments as she combed her hair. Now she has adopted a shorter, nape-length hairstyle that is easy to maintain.“Yes, fortunately,” Josias thoughtfully comments, “When we get things off our chest, we feel emotional relief. Your father was hiding something important.”“By God, I hope this doesn’t happen again.” Melissa shakes her head, “At his age, we need to be prepared for the worst, but without knowing what’s happening, it’s impossible. If this skin problem was a case
Josias finds the living room of Caio’s house in a normal state. The only thing different is that the sofas were pushed out so the paramedics could attend to Caio.Brigitte couldn’t bear to see the blood and snuggled into her brother’s strong chest.But, to Caio’s relief, such despair was not necessary.“Officer Amoreira, don’t worry. The victim is alive but will need to be taken to the hospital. He was shot in the shoulder.”Josias looked at the open living room window. “Wasn’t that an accurate shot?”“Before we applied a sedative, Mr. Campos said that the shooter was at the gate.” The officer who first responded to the call informs the others of this.“We’re ready to go.” Another paramedic arrived with the stretcher.“Brigitte, go with them.” Dylan comforts her, “I need to stay and investigate here.”“OK, little brother... get these bastards, please!” Brigitte asks through tears and walks away, following the paramedics and her unconscious boyfriend.Josias takes a deep breath, mainta
At Café Montanha, Helen and João Paulo celebrated the result of the job interview. The radio was playing “Chelsea Dagger” by The Fratellis.Neil served two cups of cappuccino and a plate of diced chocolate-covered sponge cake.“Do I deserve to know the reason for the celebration?” Neilton asks charismatically.“Of course you can!” Helen exclaims happily, “I was hired to be a saleswoman at Cardozo Perfumes!”Neilton is startled, looking at João Paulo.The husband laughs. “Hey, what’s the matter?”“Ehr...” Neilton doesn’t know how to express himself without offending those involved, “How is Mrs. Queiroz going to work as a saleswoman when you’re a great journalist?”“My friend, it seems that you still don’t understand the dimension of the thing.” João Paulo states in good humor, “Cardozo Perfumes is not a small fry company that will pay a measly sales commission salary. It’s becoming popular, expanding the market, and winning over new buyers. You must thank that to Rosemary and my nephew
Pedro is discouraged by the announcer’s announcement. “Oh no, more bad news? Who died this time?”“Calm down, Pete!” Beto approaches the radio to hear well.The announcer announces, “An unidentified man was found dead on the banks of the river that surrounds the city, but there was a large sheet of paper pinned to his clothes with the words: ‘Here is who tried to kill Caio Campos’. The police are being summoned to this mystery. Caio Campos is still in the hospital, recovering from surgery. For more information, stay tuned to us, or follow the LCN newscast...”Suddenly, the radio starts playing “Sin, Sin, Sin” by Robbie Williams.Beto and Pedro look at each other.“Father, do you know what this means?” Peter asks.“Did Tiago’s ‘boys’ attack again?”“In this case, they did justice.” Pedro states with the vehemence of a teenager, “If Caio died... he’s my brother, damn it!”“I know, son.” Beto nods, “I think you should also go to the hospital to share the news—” Beto choked up as he tried
A few days passed. The police investigation was awaiting Caio's identification to determine whether the person found dead in the river was the same guy who spoke to him at the gate of his house minutes before the shooting.Caio, in turn, rested peacefully in his hospital bed. He was awake and received visitors.William visited his son. “My son is a big man who can even withstand bullets from a gun! Did I create the new Superman?”“Come on, Dad.” Caio laughs, not too loudly so as not to move his shoulder, “I was lucky or divinely protected.”“You always suspected that crazy guy was going to shoot, huh?” William strokes his son’s messy hair.“Always,” Caio nodded, “A guy I’ve never seen in my life was at the gate, waiting for me to just go there to ‘get a message’. If only he was disguised as a postman or messenger... but not even that!”“Tsk.
At the General Hospital, Pedro visited Caio as intended. The brothers talk about life.“Caio, how are you? Our sister cried a lot.”Caio smiled, “Do you know who came to see me? Little Theo!”“Oh, that is nice!” Pedro grinned, “After we visited him, and with your girlfriend working for his father, it looks like he’ll become more present in our lives.”“And that’s how it should be.” Caio became serious, “An episode like this makes us reflect on how short our lives are and can be ended by any nonsense.”“Hey, man, don’t give me that morbid tone.” Pedro didn’t like the change, “You’ve already been operated on, the wound has already healed, and the doctor promised that you’re out of danger.”“Today I’m doing very well. The problem is the future, what awaits us.” Caio philosophizes, “I want to
At General Hospital, Dylan took some photos of the man found dead on the city’s riverbank. William was back to provide moral support to his son.“Caio, many customers at the pizzeria appreciate your improvements.” William touches his good shoulder.“Thank you, Dad. Maybe I’ll be discharged soon.” Caio smiles hopefully.“In the meantime, let’s look at these photos.” Dylan elaborates, “As I noted and detailed in my report, the man found dead had his face carefully intact. Perhaps they did this to help you.”Caio took the photos. As he looked closely, he closed his eyes... and remembered.“Yes, Officer Amoreira.” Caio hands the photos back, “It was this guy who called me to my house, early in the morning, expecting me to leave without even knowing him.”“Are you sure, Caio?” Dylan takes the photos.“Yes. It was that individual.&rdq