Josias and Melissa traveled to Cancun.With that, the command of Rocha Constructions was entirely in Alan’s hands.Caroline was restless in the mansion. She should have talked to Josias about Felipe and Daniela’s suspicions, but she was so furious that she decided not to worry her parents.David, the observant brother, tried to approach her.“Sis, I see you’re worried. What’s the problem?”“Don’t worry about me, David.” Caroline smiles and heads to the pool area, “Do you know who will be the general manager of the Rocha Hotel?”“I still don’t know. And I don’t even know if I should go to work today.” David grumbles, “Lauro Medeiros must be gloating, thinking he’s the one appointed.”“Alan was very calm yesterday. Which means it won’t be Mr. Medeiros.” Caroline chuckles.As they approached the pool, David also smiled. “Good for him. But it’s good to see you smile again, Carol.”Caroline sits on a lounger. “Why do you like me so much, David? You should hate me.”David sits next to his s
At the Rocha Hotel, Benjamin and the others were bothered by Lauro’s high confidence in being the new manager without anyone announcing it.“Argh, is it really you?” Sybil hands him the paper, “Take this to your superior!”Lauro takes the sheet with a complicated expression. “And what is this?”“My resignation letter! I won’t stay a second longer here under your tyrannical orders!”“You...” Lauro foams with wrath and tears apart Sybil’s resignation letter.Everyone is stunned and outraged to see this clear demonstration of emotional outburst from the supposed manager.Benjamin smiles on the side, thinking that Alan will love to hear about this...“No one is resigning from here!” Lauro roared incredulously, “What will Mr. Rocha think of me if all of you express dissatisfaction? That I am someone difficult to work with?”Everyone is horrified by Lauro’s logic reversal. Did he fall and hit his head?“This is absurd! If we complain about your behavior, it is logical that you aren’t reason
Kelvin and Maggie are talking in Kelvin’s office at Cardozo Perfumes.Maggie notices that her brother is not present in mind, “KELVIN! Houston calling Kelvin!”“Huh? What’s up, sis?” Kelvin snaps out of his daydreams.“You seem worried about something that I don’t know about.” Maggie leans back in her chair.“Sorry, Maggie. Something strange happened today.” Kelvin explains, “Reuben showed up at the entrance of the building where I live to tell Felipe that Pat Nogueira could be a good suspect as the shooter.”Maggie considers the suggestion, nodding, “It’s a possibility. I don’t know why, but those two never got along.”“But Felipe refuses to admit this possibility, saying it’s too obvious.” Kelvin finishes with a frown, “I don’t know if he’s being wise in dismissing it.”“The police should decide that.” Maggie raises an eyebrow, “But he’s not going to tell the police, is he?”“He went straight to the restaurant, grumbling and insulting Reuben.” Kelvin shakes his head.“Now he has a g
In the office of Cardoso Perfumes, Maggie tried her best not to disrespectfully laugh at Angela’s face, even though she deserved it.Angela, however, reacted as if she had been laughed at. “Don’t give me that look, Mrs. Marçal. One day, ONE DAY, I’ll get revenge on all of you!”“Huh... What have I done to deserve your wrath?” Maggie asked mockingly.“Why does your brother feel entitled to treat me like this when we barely know each other?” Angela whinnied.“Maybe, as he said, it’s because you caused the divorce of our friends,” Maggie replied nonchalantly.“That has nothing to do with you. Therefore, I demand respect!” Angela yelled.“Respect is not demanded, it’s earned.” Maggie shrugged, “And if you’ll excuse me, I have a magazine to manage. I came to talk to my brother, not you.”“Oh, now you’re leaving because it suits you. I don’t have fleas.” Angela mocked.Maggie walked past Angela. “You also didn’t come to talk to me, therefore, leave as well.”“I want to know who I complain t
Dylan eagerly awaits Felipe’s presence. The new owner of Crystal Blue appears with a look of disbelief that he is dealing with something of utmost importance.Dylan shakes his head, “Mr. Mountain, ready to save your life and protect it?”“I insist on thinking that the solution is not so easy.” Felipe closes the door and sits in front of the police officer.Dylan leans forward, “It’s better to let me decide if it’s a waste of time or not to suspect your maître. Besides, it’s a miracle that he’s still at the restaurant!”“You also know that Patrick and I don’t get along?” Felipe frowns.“I think the whole Lagoon City knows.” Dylan smiles, “And that makes things easier.”“Why?” Felipe asks impatiently.“Mr. Mountain, before treating the attempt on your life as the plot of a detective novel, I suggest you pay attention to the facts.” Dylan becomes serious, “We still have possession of the recordings from the internal circuit of your restaurant. My colleagues are currently checking if Patr
At the Mountain Penthouse, Felipe is not entirely pleased with Kelvin’s actions. The night imposes itself outside, with stars decorating the horizon.“Look, nephew, how beautiful the night is! I think I’ll take a swim in the pool—”“Not so fast, uncle!” Felipe complains, “You acted very badly by going to the police station. Why did you do that?”“I needed to.” Kelvin turned to him, “Someone mentioned that a certain person could be the shooter and you just shrugged it off because it didn’t fit into the crazy theory you came up with.”“I can’t understand why Pat would do something so stupid and obvious.” Felipe scratches his head.“Assuming Carol told Patrick, wouldn’t it be plausible that he’d want to avenge Carol, taking advantage of the anger he has towards you?” Kelvin reasons with him.“We weren’t fighting like before.” Felipe shrugs, “I could make amends with him if I wanted to.”“Then do it, before he shoots you again!” The doorbell rings and Kelvin goes to answer it.Felipe sits
At Lafayette Mansion, Ingrid finished watching another episode of ‘Love Spins the World’. She took a tissue and wiped away her tears.The narrator announced, “And coming up next, we’ll have Melissa Rocha as the new head writer of our beloved show!”Ingrid smiled in approval. “Our dear Izzy is retiring completely, finally.”Jacques appeared in a tank top and shorts, showing a body aging but still with remnants of his youthful good shape. “Hey, honey! How was your fun?”“As that actor wanted to get out of the show, they decided to create an accident where his character died. Today was a sad occasion.”“Oh, that’s too bad.” Jacques sat next to her.“Have Rose and Thierry arrived yet?” Ingrid looked back.“No, they are still out. Do you think they’ll eat out?” Jacques scratched his forehead.“Well, they moved into our house, but that doesn’t mean we should track them down.” Ingrid stood up, “If they want to eat out, more rocambole with meatloaf will be left for us.”Jacques chuckled, pick
The next day, the news that Patrick Nogueira confessed to being the shooter shocked Lagoon City.Except for those who already knew about the difficult relationship between Patrick and Felipe.Felipe read the news in the Mountain Penthouse office, on the computer. The printed version would come out in the afternoon newspaper and the televised version would come out at 6:00 p.m.Kelvin entered the office and found his nephew as if he wanted to devour the monitor.“Felipe, have you convinced yourself of the truth?”“What truth?” Felipe turned to Kelvin, “There’s something fishy going on here, uncle.”“Don’t you prefer to accept things as they are and have peace of mind?” Kelvin leaned on the desk, intrigued.“I was sure it was Caroline who shot me.” Felipe shook his head.“Don’t be ridiculous. Caroline doesn’t even appear on the CCTV footage. She wasn’t even close to the restaurant that day.” Kelvin insisted, “And YOU were very clear in telling Dylan Amoreira that you didn’t see the shoo
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