At the Sterling Empire headquarters, a large press conference was held in the building's lobby to accommodate numerous journalists and photographers. Everyone was in such a frenzy, eager to know what Matthew Sterling's final decision would be after so many horrifying events. Cindy, representing Urbano, made a personal appearance, wanting to capture the nuances and body language of her ex-boyfriend. Sheila approached her, rocking a black suit with a white blouse. "Cindy, I need you to hold it together. I just saw Marilza Peres representing LCN." Cindy grimaced. "She really climbed the corporate ladder dating Ricardo, huh? I hope they're happy." "Are you going to be okay?" Cindy pointed to the makeshift stage. "Don't worry, Sheila. My focus today is your son." Sheila smiled, satisfied and slightly relieved. She didn't want two journalists arguing to take the focus off her son. Karl appeared, hugging Sheila from behind. "Oh, Larry..." "I came here to give moral support," he sai

Indeed, Matthew returned to Sterling Mansion after satisfying the curiosity of the journalists. Now, he stood in front of the fireplace in the living room. Jarbas was picking up the shoes left on the rug. Sheila and Karl were sitting on another sofa.Karl occasionally glanced at the portrait of him hung on the wall. The resemblance between him and 'Lawrence' was striking, but so far, neither Sheila nor Matthew had come to the conclusion that their husband and father was alive in front of them.He decided to tease them. "Yeah, you're right when you say I look like the late Mr. Sterling."Sheila looked at her husband's portrait with nostalgia. "May God rest his soul. Yes, Larry, you two could be brothers if I didn't know that Andreia was his only sister.""Maybe a distant cousin?" Matthew joked. "Sometimes that happens.""Yeah, sometimes that happens in soap operas," Sheila laughed heartily.Jarbas returned, holding a piece of paper. "Understood." He positioned himself in front of Matth

Karl was driving back to Golden Letters, finding Nayla and Kirk discussing Elaine’s legendary dismissal. “What a shame she wasn’t at her apartment,” Nayla said with a sigh of disappointment. “Maybe she’s out and about, avoiding the press conference and the journalists’ questions,” Kirk suggested. “No. If she wanted to avoid being harassed by reporters, she should have stayed locked up in her apartment, isolated from everyone,” Nayla said as she sat down in her chair and turned on her computer. Kirk was about to say something else when Karl approached them. “Hello.” Nayla wasn’t in the mood to be friendly. “Mr. Vieira, do you agree with the injustice that happened here?” “Elaine Prates behaved horribly at Vanda Borges’s book signing just because she rivals our writer’s daughter,” Karl replied pragmatically. “If that’s not grounds for dismissal, then Elaine would be allowed to do something worse. Is that it?” Nayla took a deep breath, gathering her courage. “We know that the main

At the beach house, Vicente was now helping Andreia finish cooking lunch. Andreia, tired from her pregnancy, sat down at the table to rest. “Phew... thanks, dear,” Andreia said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “I hope I’m not getting in the way of your work on the concert.” “A musician can’t work on an empty stomach,” Vicente joked as he stirred the pot of beans. He leaned in and sniffed the aroma of fresh beans with garlic, salt, and strips of bacon. “Hmm... this is going to be delicious.” “Try it to see if it’s salty enough,” Andreia instructed him. Vicente wasn’t quite sure how to do that. He took the ladle out of the pot and waited for a few drops of the bean broth to drip onto his left palm. But the drops fell scalding hot on Vicente’s hand, making him comically exclaim in pain. “OUCH! It’s hot!” Andreia burst out laughing. “HA, HA, HA... Of course it’s hot, my dear! You just needed a few drops, something quick.” Andreia took the ladle from Vicente’s hand and blew on i

At the beach house, Vicente and Andreia were now at the table about to start lunch. When Vicente joined them with his plate, Andreia brought up the complicated topic again. “Before we give thanks for the meal, I think we should continue discussing what Nate knows about Bella.” Vicente grimaced. “I don’t want to lose my appetite, dear.” “That’s not funny, Vince.” Andreia insisted. “You still haven’t told Nate that I’m not his biological mother. Don’t you think he’s going to find out sooner or later?” “Only if Paulina opens her mouth.” Vicente continued to grimace. “At most, Bella will think she’s not Ernesto’s daughter.” “And since he’s still recovering at the clinic, she won’t bring it up with him.” Andreia calmed down. “Then we need to send a message—” Vicente interrupted himself. “Hey, what if what Nate meant by ‘I’ll talk to Bella today’ was actually some DNA test?” Andreia alarmed. “Do you think they went to do that?” “If they did, I hope they didn’t go to the clinic, not