At Crystal Blue, Daryl and Patrick continue to talk. “YOU want to quit, Pat? That is the most meaningless talk I have ever heard in my entire life.” Patrick is wide-eyed, “You have to believe me, Mr. Mountain! Your child is becoming arrogant and dangerous! Soon, even you won’t be able to control him!” Daryl refuses to believe the accusations, “My son is just reacting to years of teasing from you. Pat, if you spent your energy making peace and living peacefully with my son, we wouldn’t even have this conversation.” “OK, OK, I promise I won’t let my job down anymore when it comes to Felipe being the maître d’!” Patrick gestures and starts to sweat. “And you promise to live peacefully with my son, being friends?” Daryl raises an eyebrow. Patrick is silent for long seconds, then answers, “I need to get back to work, sir.” Patrick leaves the office and slams the door shut like he’s running away from some dinosaur. When Daryl
At the General Hospital, Cláudio is still resting in his hospital bed, attached to devices and an oxygen mask that guarantee his survival. The electrocardiogram monitor leaves doctors at ease with heartbeats at normal levels.“It’s only a matter of time before he wakes up.” The doctor who operated on him reports this to the nurses. Everyone leaves the room.In the hallway, Josias appears and addresses the team, “Good morning, doctor. How is the patient?”“He’s still the same, Mr. Rocha. Thank you for your concern. Few people come to visit him. It seems he has no relatives alive or living nearby.”“I had some boys investigate.” Josias alludes to the ‘boys’ of Tiago, “We found no living parents or brothers who live far away. I believe that Cláudio is already a guy alone in the world...”Perhaps this explains Cláudio’s eagerness to have a rel
Josias smiles like the king of the jungle while Ivan feels like a zebra subject.“OK, you already came here and showed off in front of me. Typical of narcissistic people like you.” Ivan asserts, “Now excuse me, we need...”“I won’t excuse you!” Josias exclaims, “We need to talk about what I discovered in the photos taken from the fashion show!”Amoreira is interested, “What photos, Mr. Rocha?”Josias approaches the detective, “I ordered Thierry Lafayette to take some pictures of the fashion show for me. I found the way in which he photographs and edits interesting. So he handed me an envelope, I went through them, and found something interesting in one.”Amoreira perks up, “Mr. Rocha, I also asked for some pictures of Young Mr. Lafayette and discovered something interesting.”Ivan feels lost, “Don’t tell me you two...?”Josias turns to Ivan, removes the photograph in question, and takes it out of his pocket, “It was this photo.”Ivan, against his will, stares at the photo and comes to
At the police station, Josias and Amoreira come to the same conclusion about the photos. Ivan remains indisposed, because he wanted to arrest Josias for the attack, but...“Sergeant Moraes...” Josias leans towards him at the desk, “Do you now understand that Daryl Mountain was trying to KILL ME?”Ivan looks at the photographs only to avoid facing Josias completely right.Amoreira confirms his theory, “Yes, that’s what I also concluded. Mr. Mountain wanted to shoot Josias Rocha, but missed and accidentally hit Cláudio Guzman.”“And he managed to get away by getting into the middle of the mess when everyone backstage started running and pushing each other.” Josias concludes triumphantly, “If you double-check the CCTV footage at slow speed, chances are you’ll spot Daryl among the crowd.”“Yes, knowing he was there, it’s likely that I’d find him,” Ivan states with a frown.“And there is one more thing.” Josias continues, “Thierry Lafayette told me that Daryl Mountain approached him in the
Ivan and a few helpers show up at Crystal Blue just as they are about to open for midday service. Felipe, in his post as maître d’, is surprised by the unexpected visit.“Gentlemen, have you booked a table or can I help you with something?”Ivan laughs, “Look guys, he thinks we came for grilled salmon!”Ivan’s helpers burst out laughing, offending Felipe.“Sir...”Ivan shakes his head, “Are you Daryl Mountain’s adopted son?”“Yes, Felipe Mountain.” Felipe is on guard.“Come with me to the police station, boy. We need to talk about a complaint that was filed against you.”Diane observes the situation from the bar and bristles, “Hey, what’s going on here, Sergeant?”Ivan regards Diane with contempt, “The mother always wants to defend the calf, no matter how wrong he is! Thankfully, Victor will be different.”Diane comes out from behind the bar and approaches them in large strides. The other waiters are frozen in astonishment.“Let go of my son! He didn’t do anything wrong! Do you want t
2004Another new year for Josias. He pulls back the master suite curtains, scarcely able to believe that God has been merciful in giving him a full and satisfying life.He smiles as he looks down to see his gardeners carefully tending the grass and flower beds. Melissa always has a strong opinion about flowers.He looks around and sees the beachfront skyline of Sunset Village slowly being taken over by mansions just as fabulous as his. Sunset Village became synonymous with elegance and refinement, and those reaching the same level wanted to show off their status in this exclusive neighborhood.Josias looks back and sees his beloved Melissa sleeping peacefully in the double bed. A little longer, and they would be legally married. Rumor has it that Kelvin has already found another girl, but these are rumors...Melissa turns to the left and starts to wake up. Josias hurries over and places a kiss on her lips.“A good morning kiss.” He declares gallantly.Melissa opens her eyes and smiles
Josias goes to General Hospital and meets with Dr. Braggart.“Dr. Braggart. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”Dr. Braggart chuckles and holds out his hand, “I wish you were the one to bother. I just kicked out a horde of interview-hungry reporters. If your father or brother wants to come here, they are welcome.”Josias laughs, “Thanks for the exclusivity, but if someone from Maggiezine comes, let them in too.”“OK, noted. Do you want to see the patient?”“Yes, if possible.” Josias looks through the bedroom windowpane.Claudio is awake, looking at the ceiling. He notices someone entering and turns to see who it is.Dr. Braggart announces, “Cláudio, you have visitors. I hope everything is alright.”Claudio nods slowly. Josias faces the doctor and he withdraws.When closing the door, Josias faces Claudio, “Hello, Claudio. Glad to see you more willing. I hope you can help me.”Claudio still doesn’t say anything, maybe because he’s weak, maybe because he doesn’t want to talk to Josias.Josia
At the hospital, Josias and Ivan decide not to discuss the matter with Cláudio. But Cláudio has already heard a lot.He shifts on the bed, “Daryl Mountain... Daryl shot me...”“Calm down, Mr. Guzman, we are still investigating this!” Ivan despairs, “This is your entire fault, Josias Rocha! Let’s get out of here, we can’t let the patient get excited!”“Just now you worry about it?” Josias turns to Claudio, “We’re very sorry, Claudio. Recover, and try not to think about it.”Claudio takes a deep breath. It will be almost impossible not to think after they say that well-known people tried to kill him!Josias and Ivan leave the convalescent’s room and pass by Dr. Braggart.“And then?”“Doctor, we decided to let the patient rest.” Ivan says in an apologetic tone, “We’ll come back another day.”“Thanks, I’ll take a look at him.” Dr. Braggart walks away.Ivan was about to neigh some more, but Josias’s cell phone rang and he answers it, ignoring the sergeant, “Hello?”On the other side, Melis