The argument among the Vasconcelos family members reached a tumultuous climax. Sandro noticed that his relatives were trying to blame Briana for Katrina having spent the night in Lawrence Sodré’s bed, while he was high on drugs and taking advantage of her situation to manipulate her. “Katrina, you can’t be serious! How many times do we have to repeat that you shouldn’t have gone alone to Sodré Mansion in the first place?” “As many times as you want!” Katrina snapped. “I said I was going there to save the contract we made with Sodré Bank!” “Briana already warned us about Lawrence’s true nature,” Nadir retorted. “You refused to believe it out of pure stubbornness. And even more, if you wanted to discuss the contract, how is it that you ended up sleeping with him?” Katrina flinched, her eyes showing she was caught off guard. She looked at Gilson and Claudia, seeing that her parents were equally perplexed, unsure how to help her. “Come on, Katrina. Answer this question,” Althea ord

Moments later, Claudia and Katrina hid in the Vasconcelos Mansion’s library. Claudia didn’t even want to risk pulling the curtains — some maid might see her conferring with her daughter. Katrina lit the central chandelier and closed the door, locking it, turning the key twice as if that made it safer. Turning to her mother, she started to complain, “Mom, you know the story isn’t complete, right?” “Yes, I understood there’s more.” Claudia huffed. “If Briana also took the drug with coffee, she must have alleviated the symptoms in someone. Mark didn’t mention anything about taking her to the hospital in time.” “The poisoning happened inside Glamour. Mark was there as a clean worker. He said Briana was already feeling the effects of the drug,” Katrina recounted the details as if she were Miss Marple. “That means they did it somewhere hidden in Glamour, maybe in an empty little room!” “And that’s why they got married in secret!” Claudia exclaimed excitedly. “When they appeared at you

Days are passing, and Mark still hasn't received an invitation to meet with the Parliament members, not even from his distant uncle, the current regent. Could it be that Parliament isn’t in a hurry to start the power transition, given that nothing extraordinary has happened in Aurelia? Mark took a deep breath. He grabbed his cellphone and dialed Linda. Linda, as always, answered from her operations center. “Good morning, Lord Ferro.” “Miss Mattes, have you received any communication from Parliament?” Mark asked with a furrowed brow. Linda held her breath for a few seconds, unsure of the nature of the question. Then she responded respectfully, “Lord Ferro, forgive me for my frankness, but I don’t believe Parliament would waste time on a mere servant like me.” Mark thought about that too, but... “Cut out the ‘mere servant’ talk; you’re very useful to me. However, Parliament still hasn’t contacted me, and I don’t want to overstep by going there without being summoned.” Mark cou

Entering her office — the same office that used to belong to James — Katrina found the abusive actor waiting on the sofa in the small lobby.“What do you think you’re doing on this sofa?” Katrina dropped her smile. “I don’t want you dirtying it!”“Wow, thanks for the consideration!” Sérgio stood up. “I see I’ll get what I want more easily and quickly!”Katrina rolled her eyes, feeling not even a little intimidated. She grabbed her purse’s keys and opened her office door, with Sérgio following her.“Just tell me what you want.” Katrina went straight to her desk, carefully turning on her computer so as not to break a nail.“I was fired from the series!” Sérgio exclaimed angrily, pointing a finger at Katrina. “I want compensation for this loss.”Katrina shot him a cold look. “Mr. Saldanha, you heard my lawyer yesterday: I have no obligation to compensate you in any way because you decided on your own to attack my cousin, the one who backed the series you’ve been in since the beginning.”

Katrina and Patricio quickly moved apart and straightened up. After all, they’re just friends, right? “Come in!” Katrina authorized. The door opened, and Claudia entered, breathless from her conversation with Gilson. “I’m glad you still have an office to work in,” she declared dramatically. “Mom, what are you talking about?” Katrina narrowed her eyes. “I just spoke with your father.” Claudia took advantage of Patricio’s presence. “Mr. Nogueira, you need to help us. My brother-in-law, Briana’s father, is influencing my mother-in-law and my husband to fire Katrina!” Katrina’s jaw dropped. Patricio made a grimace, feeling personally offended. “WHAT? Mom, I can’t believe they’re really going through with this! I thought it was just Uncle Sandro’s delusion,” Katrina barked. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t given up on the idea. And with Briana saving the day because of the mess involving ‘You Can’t Buy Happiness,’ Sandro now has solid, convincing arguments to justify your expulsion,” Clau