Antony wasn’t answering Giovana’s calls. She thought that perhaps he was at the meeting he had mentioned the night before. Or he was certainly avoiding talking to her. She resorted to the second option, but Ricardo’s cell phone was out of range.Giovana narrowed her eyes at the investigators and excused herself to the kitchen. Finding Tania standing in front of the stove, she ordered her.“Ask one of the security guards to go to the company and tell Antony what’s going on here.”Upon hearing this request, the maid paled and widened her eyes in surprise.“Is it that serious, ma’am?” Tania wiped her hands on her apron and then took it off.“You shouldn’t worry, Tania,” Giovana forced a smile, although it was in vain, as Tania could see the nervousness on her beautiful face, “Do it quickly, before those men get out of here.”Tania just nodded and hurried out of the kitchen. Giovana was almost lost in her own thoughts when she realized that Xavier had already arrived at the mansion and wa
Antony gritted his teeth. His fury was palpable. His handsome face contorted so that Giovana became the perfect target to unload all the tension that was on him.“If you’d let me report Irma, none of this would be happening.” a single tear trickled down Giovana’s cheek. “Now, will I have to pay to save your life?”A wave of disappointment washed over Giovana. Her heart was full of fear and bitterness, and Antony’s words only made it worse.“Are you saying that this is all my fault?”“I’m saying it,” he shouted, his eyes widening.Xavier immediately stepped between the two of them. He knew that calming the situation would be a tough mission, especially when dealing with Antony, but he had to try.“I won’t be able to help you like this.” he pulled Antony away from Giovana and made them pay attention only to his voice. “Neither of you is to blame for what happened. But Antony is right. You need to report Irma.”Giovana looked at Xavier with disdain. Irma hated her. Even though she was he
Antony was determined to free Giovana from her own decisions. Not for a moment did he think of doing the opposite of what he had planned when he decided to marry Giovana again. His goal was for the company to have one hundred percent of the shares in his hands and to live his life while making the money work for him, but Giovana was changing everything.Now he just wanted to save her.“You certainly have the courage to try,” Xavier’s voice broke through his thoughts.They got into the car and for a few seconds, Antony thought about what he had said.“Do you, as an excellent lawyer, believe that we can reverse the situation?“Absolutely,” he concluded, “we need to file a complaint against Irma. You seem willing to disappoint Giovana in order to do that.”“My intention isn’t to disappoint her,” his face changed and Xavier could see it. “I just want to help her.”A satisfied smile appeared, albeit discreetly, on Xavier’s face. He imagined how happy Nicolau would be with the change that w
The more he read, the angrier he became. In the footnote, the journalist reported that Antony was being charged with attempted murder. His face paled. He turned his back on Ricardo, intending to go into his office, when he realized that Matteo was watching him.Once seated, he looked coldly at Ricardo before concluding his thoughts. It was necessary to act cautiously, with reason, in order to solve his deepest problems. If Antony could have imagined that his marriage to Giovanna would cause him so many problems, he would never have considered marrying her a second time.“Someone revealed the truth to Roberta,” Ricardo’s voice brought Antony back, “she even knew about Nicolau’s second will and the conditions he imposed on you to have the inheritance.”Taking a deep breath, Antony struggled to understand what he was saying. With his thoughts confused and the obstacles gradually increasing, Antony could no longer think.“I can imagine who it was,” he clenched his fists and his face darke
Giovana just wanted a little peace to live her life. Since the day Gina died, her life had turned upside down and nothing had gone right in her life since.She waited for Antony to return to tell her what had happened. She looked at the front door now and then, but there was no sign that he was coming back. I’m sure he still felt annoyed with her.While anxiety consumed her insides, Tania rushed to make her a nice cup of tea. Twenty minutes later, she offered Giovana a full cup and made herself comfortable to sit next to her and talk.“You need to calm down, ma’am,” she said, looking more distressed than her boss, “all this agitation won’t do the baby any good.”“Do you think Antony’s attitudes are right?” Giovana had no intention of intimidating the maid, although her words came out harsh and in a louder tone.“I don’t even judge ladies,” she said sincerely. “I just want you to calm down so that you can think more carefully about what to do next.Giovana watched the woman as she took
After the difficult conversation he had with Andreas, Antony fled the company to deal with another major problem. Earlier, he had spoken to Valeria and asked her to locate Roberta’s address. Although he had invited her to dinner some time ago, picking her up from her residence, Antony hadn’t paid attention to keeping her address.He was terrible at retaining that kind of information. After some time, Valeria appeared in his office with the necessary data. There was something wrong with Valeria, especially in her behavior. Antony hadn’t forgotten when she had hugged him at the hospital. She was no longer the timid secretary who seemed afraid of him; now, she was more comfortable in his presence, and Antony had the impression she might jump into his arms at any moment.He hurried, displaying coldness and contempt for her new behavior. Antony already had enough difficulties and wouldn’t allow Valeria to become another one.On the way, he called Roberta’s number several times, but with no
“I advise you not to come to the police station,” Ricardo told her from the other side of the line. “Your presence might confuse the detective, and he might even think Giovana is acting under pressure.”“I understand,” he ran his hand over his face, unsure if he felt relieved or worried about it, “what are the chances of this working out?”“There’s no reason it shouldn’t,” Ricardo’s firm voice conveyed confidence to him, but Antony didn’t feel confident. “Xavier has already requested the hospital footage. This nightmare will be over soon.”Antony closed his eyes and let out a long sigh before finally continuing.“Take care of Giovana for me,” the request caught Ricardo off guard, but he decided not to comment on it. “I’ll go home to rest for a bit.”“Don’t worry, she’ll be back in your arms soon,” he teased, but Antony didn’t mind. He just smiled because no one was there to see.Soon Ricardo ended the call. Behind Ricardo, Giovana impatiently waited for him to recount his entire conve
Xavier hurried towards the police chief, and they met behind closed doors for several minutes. Ricardo insisted that Giovana go back home, but she was not willing to leave the police station without understanding the facts.After much insistence, she agreed. It was past nine o’clock when they arrived at the mansion.“Are you sure you can handle this?” Ricardo held both her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “I can go up with you and talk to him.”Ricardo knew Antony so well that he anticipated his reaction. He tried to spare Giovana from more stress, but she remained adamant in her decision.“I need to do this,” she said with teary eyes. “Everything that’s happening is my fault.”“Don’t make things worse by carrying a burden that isn’t yours,” he pulled her into a tight embrace. “Xavier will find a way to prevent this from happening.”That was still the only hope Giovana had, that Xavier would free Antony from prison. She stepped away from him, turning to look at the stairs ahea
Nicolau got discharged a few weeks later. When Antony saw Giovana holding their son for the first time, he felt so many things that he couldn’t decipher the feeling that pulsed the strongest in his heart.As Giovana approached with a genuine smile on her face, she asked him if he wanted to hold their son for the first time. Nicolau was so small that Antony was afraid of hurting him. He looked at the baby, who was sleeping peacefully in his mother’s arms, and with an affectionate look, he replied yes.Holding his son for the first time made Antony understand the true meaning of love. Ricardo himself, took without him noticing, a photo who imagined that photograph hanging on their wall.On the other side of the room, Tania was packing things for Giovana’s departure, her eyes filled with tears.“I think I haven’t forgotten anything,” she quickly scanned the room, looking for anything that might have been left behind, but there was nothing.Tania soon realized it was time to tell Giovana
Antony got into the car next to Xavier and was driven to the company. When he found the memories of that place almost paralyzed him. He barely remembered the last time he had been there. He had aspired to own that empire even when Nicolau was alive. His eyes would sparkle at the thought of owning it all. Now, standing in front of everything he had achieved, none of it made sense anymore. In the end, the greatest wealth he had received was marrying Giovana.He entered the elevator alone. Xavier had left with the mission of buying the shares and returning them to Antony. And to think it was because of those shares that he married Giovana for the second time. Now his life revolved around her. A smile tugged at his lips as Antony came to this realization. At that moment, he found himself completely in love with his wife, despite his promise never to fall in love with another woman besides Roberta.When he stepped out of the elevator, the first face he saw was Valeria’s. The woman looked a
Antony had a fixed idea in his head and thought about it every time he looked at Giovana. He had spent that night by her side, holding her hand while she slept. She was eager to see Nicolau, but the doctors recommended that she wait for the anesthesia to wear off before getting up. The next day, when Antony woke up, she was sitting up, which startled him and made him rush to help her.“What are you doing?” He looked at her, scared that she might do something reckless.“I want to see our son,” she said, already putting on her sandals, indicating that no one would stop her.Antony threw his head back, closing his eyes tightly and sighing in disagreement, but when he looked at her and saw a deep sadness for not having met their son yet, he relented.“All right,” he said, taking her hands and helping her to walk, “let’s go meet Nicolau, and on the way, we’ll talk about something very important.”“What do you want to talk about?” She looked at him, furrowing her brow with concern.“I need
Antony stopped to think about what Andreas was saying. Things in his life were starting to calm down, and he needed to recognize that Andreas had made a considerable effort to help him. On the other hand, Andreas fell silent, embarrassed, as if he had made significant mistakes and was convinced that Antony would never forgive him. Only after a long period of silence, in an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding, did Andreas apologize.“I should have told you that I didn’t find Giovana when I arrived at the farm,” Andreas’ regretful tone was more than enough for Antony to understand that the boy was not at all happy with what had happened. “I promised you that I would take care of Giovana, and I didn’t want to fail again.”Antony laughed with disdain, as if he had heard a very tasteless joke.“Yes, you should have told me,” he replied calmly, looking away at the nursery in front of him, “but you need to stop always trying to please me. Why is my approval so important to you?”Andreas
Antony stared at Xavier with an apprehensive look. The lawyer was terrified until the call was ended. When he finally hung up the phone, he looked at Antony with a lump in his throat.“What happened?” Antony sweated, anxious to hear good news from Giovana.It was all he could think of. It was about Giovana’s safety, as if nothing else mattered. Before Xavier could think of opening his lips to tell him what was happening, his cell phone rang again. He looked confused at the phone number, realizing it was Andreas.He answered the call, hearing the boy asking to speak to Antony on the other end of the line.Xavier left, leaving Antony apprehensive behind. It took him a long time to make that decision. Would it be more appropriate to inform Antony about his freedom first than to let Andreas take up his time?He came back with the phone in his hands and handed it to Antony. He saw the man’s face slowly transform, and minutes later, he felt drawn to the most important news of his existence.
Irma slowly opened her eyes and heard voices coming from afar, as if in a dream. The trees seemed to be in constant motion, making her head spin faster. The same man she had seen in front of the farm was the one who came to her aid. Although dizzy and disoriented, Irma tried to get up and escape. Her efforts were in vain, as she was weak and injured. The man held her and called the police.When the police cars arrived, she mocked the officers. She laughed uncontrollably.“Do you not know that I am Giovana’s mother?” Her disoriented look frightened some. “I came to visit her. Don’t I have that right?”“She ran away when I called her,” the man accused. “She ran through the woods and fell, hitting her head. Forgive me, but Mr. Andreas asked me to watch over the farm and forbid this woman from approaching.”The police seemed confused by the situation. One of them approached Irma, touching her arm, which greatly irritated her.“You need to come with us.”The order did not sit well with her
Giovana could no longer stand the car shaking all the time. She closed her eyes tightly and believed that the pain in her abdomen was because of the long hours of travel. Tania remained by her side, never letting go of Giovana’s hand for a moment, and although she told the maid that she was okay, Tania could see from Giovana’s face how much she was suffering from the long delay.“We need to stop,” Tania said, noticing Giovana’s face changing color. “Giovana won’t be able to endure this much longer.”“We can’t stop now, Tania, it’s only a few more hours,” Maria declared.“You’ve been saying that for two days now,” she snapped, though she had no reason to.“Please, Tania, don’t argue with Maria because of me. I’ve already said that I’m fine.”Giovana held back from grimacing as the car went over a pothole, throwing her body forward. The pain was increasing as the minutes passed. Giovana remembered the moment when Antony was taken by the police and his words, begging Giovana to leave the
Antony was in a room, being watched by police officers. In front of him, Xavier kept talking only about subjects that wouldn’t raise any suspicion. The lawyer already knew about the evidence against Irma and was preparing to put his plan into action.“Ask Andreas to go to Giovana,” he said, looking at the mirrored wall, imagining the figure of the delegate looking at him behind the glass. “Keep her safe.”“Andreas has already gone to the farm,” he said, wiping the sweat from his face. “I’ll get him out of jail today, Antony. I propose we put an end to this injustice once and for all.”Xavier was in a hurry, although Antony insisted on knowing who had been responsible for discovering his location. Xavier had no idea who it had been. He left the interrogation room, demanding to speak to the delegate.The man was arrogant, thinking he deserved a prize for arresting a fugitive from the police, which Xavier certainly disagreed with. He placed the paid bail on his desk, which made the man j
Someone called Irma that morning and informed her that Antony had been found. The voice on the other end of the line asked her to turn on the TV as Giovana’s location would be revealed.She paced anxiously around the house, waiting for the moment to put her plan into action. Her soul would only find peace once Giovana was dead. When she entered the living room, the TV was broadcasting Antony’s arrest live. She stopped and looked at the small screen, seeing Giovana’s face. Her eyes sparkled with emotion. She had finally found her daughter Gina’s killer.A sudden sense of unease surged in her heart as she hurried to pack her bags and leave. She saw Gina pass by the hallway, sending a shiver down her spine. Gina's constant visions and appearances tormented Irma. Surely her mind’s delusions, but she believed Gina’s spirit would only find peace when Giovana finally paid with her life for the crime she had committed.“I will draw her blood and bring it to you,” she said to the empty walls,