- Wait a moment. Marco frowned at something that only occurred to him at that moment. 'Where are my parents?' They should be here. Nicole let out a laugh that drew a little more attention than she would have liked, but she couldn't contain herself. "Marco, you've been here for almost three days and you've only just realized that your parents aren't in California?" Marco half-smiled. He was so absorbed in everything that happened to Charlotte, Roman and Luciana, Nicole and that prince, that he didn't even find it strange his father's audacious absence and his mother's exaggerated affection. Let her never hear or know about it, for she would be sad. Camila Cavalcanti had gotten a little soft over the years. — Your mother managed to convince Uncle Edu to return to New York. He would have knocked out all of my brother's teeth if he'd spent one more minute at the hotel. "He just agreed to leave Luciana behind with Roman?" Marco looked incredulous. “I don't think he had much o
Finally, the plane landed. Charlotte was completely exhausted after sixteen hours of travel. So it took a while to get off the plane with Craig, as she wanted to touch up her makeup before being seen by the public who, of course, were waiting for her at the airport. It didn't take long and soon, she was ready to go. “Welcome to the Philippines, Miss McKeena. Mabuhay! - Said the flight attendant. — Salamat. Salamat. said Charlotte. Craig taught her a few words in the language of the country that she might use often: thank you, please, see you later... And some basic greetings: good morning, good afternoon, and good night. The Miss Universe pageant was to be held in Manila, and both Charlotte and this year's 126 nominees arrived two weeks early. There was a list of itineraries they had to follow before the contest and that was sure to keep Charlotte's mind busy. That way, she wouldn't have to think about her last encounter with Marco, although she still felt deliciously sor
Just over five minutes later, a handsome blond doctor, who looked more like a Hollywood actor than anything else, appeared. Charlotte could hardly believe his eyes. But look... — Ken? The doctor smiled, showing all his white teeth. “Hello, Charlotte. - My God! She got up from her chair and walked over to him. “I can't believe you're here! She then hugged him tightly. - Believe it. It is me. Ken hugged her back then released her. Her smile must have been a crime, because it sure was a killer. “Oh, this is my agent Craig Cooper. Craig, this is Ken Reynolds, I mean... Dr? Dr. Ken Reynolds. Ken's smile widened as he shook Craig's hand. — Nice to meet you, Mr. Cooper. "It's nice to meet you too, Dr. Reynolds. said Craig kindly. It was hard to believe that of all the places Charlotte had been, she'd found Ken, her first boyfriend and love, in the Philippines. So far from home. "How..." She cleared her throat. “How did you get here, Ken? “I'm with the US Volunteer
Charlotte took a deep breath. The conversation she'd had with Ken two days earlier over dinner was still going back and forth in her mind. He wasn't upset when she told him about Marco, but he made it clear that he still had feelings for her and would wait. “I'm hurt, Ken. And I don't want to hurt you either. 'This Marco guy must be an imbecile, doesn't he?' Who does such a thing to a girl like you? “He doesn't know about my past. I never told you. - Even though. You don't treat a woman that way. I'm sorry to say, but he treated you like you were a whore. I would like to draw blood from him to teach him a lesson. Charlotte laughed a little. Ken was strong and athletic, but he was clearly no match for Marco. The years had done him a lot of good and now the slightly skinny boy she'd once known was a real brute. If there was, for some reason of fate, a fight between them, it was clear that Ken would be knocked out. But she didn't have the heart to say it out loud and bre
He was now on his way to New York. Two nights ago, she had given her crown to Miss Italy, who now held the title of Miss Universe. As she thought about it, Charlotte smiled to herself, for she had done her duty to the country, to the world... and to her parents. Now her life was hers alone to follow what she wanted out of life. She owed nothing to her parents or anyone else. She had studied hard and wanted to apply what she learned at Harvard, becoming the entrepreneur she knew she had a chance to be. With all the years in which she dedicated herself to both her academic life and her modeling life, Charlotte was sure that the boutique she intended to open in New York would go ahead. After all, he didn't lack talent and connections, both with the business world and with the fashion world. That way, it wasn't difficult for her to get sponsors to start her project, as she didn't intend to ask for a penny from the senator or the former Miss America, that is, Mom and Dad. No, Char
“Charlotte, there are a lot of roses for you out there. Fiona said. — The delivery man asked where to put them. - Which? From who? "From Mr..." Fiona examined the note. "Marco Villa-Lobos." Charlotte was instantly angry. “Tell the delivery man to take it all back. I will not accept this. - Charlotte smiled with arrogance and a little bit of humor - Or better yet, have it taken to the cemetery. Surely the people there need it more than I do. - What a waste. The roses are beautiful and look very expensive. Of course they are expensive, Charlotte thought. He was Marco Owner Do Mundo Villa-Lobos, he could buy all the damn flowers he wanted, but she wouldn't take it. She wouldn't give him the taste. - Okay then. I'll tell the delivery guy that you won't accept. Charlotte leaned back in her chair and stared at Fiona long enough for her to know that she should send the flowers exactly where she had said. Her assistant blushed a little and confirmed with a nod that she had
Someone coughed behind him. Marco turned in alarm and saw his father, Eduardo, standing a few steps away from the door. - What was this? asked Eduardo, with a half smile. Marco was a little embarrassed. His face even turned red. "Are you talking to the billboard?" — Eduardo approached and looked at the giant photo of Charlotte and her newborn mark. “I didn't raise you to be a coward, son. Talk to the girl in person. Marco groaned and went to his table, where he sat, pretending to be the owner of the world and not the older Villa-Lobos in front of him. "What did you come here for, father?" "Can a father no longer visit his son?" Eduardo asked with a crooked smile that Marco found irritating. He closed his eyes and silently agreed with his mother on the matter. “Of course you can, but that's not what you came here for and you know it. Eduardo sat in the chair opposite his son's and played with an invisible lint on his pants for a few seconds – something more irritating t
Marco walked into the kitchen and put beans in the coffee pot for a cup of coffee. - Ok, this is good. Speak. — Dr. Reynolds was Ms. McKeena. I found that... “Wait a minute, what? “Yes, my research revealed that he's a boy she had her first romantic relationship with while still in high school. Marco then knew who he was. Ken. It is clear. How had I not remembered before? The guy who took her virginity. She'd mentioned him when they'd dated, but she'd never told him why they broke up. And if they were together now, maybe they would have solved their old problems. Cum. “Go on, James.“Ahm… He's a doctor at Columbia and they met during the Miss Universe pageant in the Philippines. The Doctor. Reynolds was there as head of the medical mission that collaborated with the Miss Universe Organization. 'What's his specialty?' 'He's a cardiologist, sir. - Know. - Marco replied, without humor. His mind was wandering to a not very pleasant place. He didn't like this docto
Five years later Marco walked into the house with a huge smile on his face. Tonight, he and Charlotte celebrated five years of marriage blessed with children and lots of love. It seemed that with each passing day, he loved his wife more and the opposite was also true. Charlotte had become even more beautiful with advancing age and even after two pregnancies, one with twins, she was still considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, losing the match to her sister-in-law Luciana, who had leveraged her career as an international model. . Marco parked the car in the garage and the moment he opened the door, two blonde girls with identical faces ran towards him. — Papa! Daddy! Daddy! Beatriz and Juliana shouted happily. They were only three years old, but their lungs looked bigger than they were. “Hello angels of my life. I missed my little princesses. Marco kissed each of them deeply, making them laugh. "Daddy, you're tickling me." Beatriz said, pushing Marco's
“We don't even have the result yet. Charlotte smiled, unable to contain her anxiety. He sneered at her with one hand. “Oh I don't need to. I feel. There's a Villa-Lobos in here. he said, placing his big hand on top of her belly. “And he does. Camilla agreed. “I didn't believe it either when I got pregnant with Marco, but that fool knew right away. Charlotte was touched by the love she saw in their eyes. Twenty-five years had passed and they still loved each other as if they were married yesterday. She wanted that too. After an awkward and loveless life, being part of Marco's family was the greatest blessing she could have. The doctor returned to the office with a huge smile on her face. Eduardo blinked at the two women beside her, full of himself, as if he had reason. "I'll have the trousseau prepared." he said, with a giant smile. — Now all that remains is to know the color. Nicole and Luciana couldn't stop chattering when the three of them returned to the room wit
The weeks that followed were far from easy for Charlotte. In the first, immediately after her father's death appeared in the newspapers and the cause, namely her own daughter, she had to face her mother - who publicly disowned her, saying that she would never forgive her for taking her husband away from her shortly before. of being arrested by the FBI for passive corruption -, the police - to whom he had to give several explanations and describe step by step what had happened in Porto, having to prove that he had acted in self-defense - and the press, which was the worst of all. all. After the news got out, she couldn't take a step anywhere without being surrounded by reporters from all the media. Her father's criminal record was mostly revealed and was extremely extensive. Also, he had a few projects that ended up coming to light. One of them being a major action in Harlem and part of Brooklyn that would take away the housing of hundreds of people, as it included demolishing som
Patrick and Elena“Elena, there hasn't been a day that I haven't thought about you. "So while you were working out your revenge plan against my father, was it me you were thinking about?" As you tried to destroy my family's business, was it me you were thinking about? There was fire in Elena's eyes and as much as Patrick couldn't physically feel the heat emanating from them, he was afraid of being burned just like ten years ago. He panicked. “Please, please, please, Elena. He knelt at her feet. “Try to see my side. Look, I know I messed up, I see it now, but I was wrecked. - Then he started crying. “I was scared, ashamed, filled with pain… I didn't know how to guide myself. Closing her eyes tightly and turning away, Elena tried to run away from the pain in Felipe's eyes. She laughed sadly and shook her head. She didn't know if she should refer to the man with her in that room that way. Felipe was sweet, kind and never, not in a thousand years, would he hurt her. But Pat
Patrick and Elena Elena couldn't believe it. Her breath hitched as she tried to absorb what she had just discovered. How had Felipe escaped the fire on the hill? And why did he use the name Patrick Matarazzo now? "How come I didn't connect the dots earlier?" Elena wondered, remembering everything that man had told her. An arson, isn't that what he told you? How could she not have guessed? Dammit, she didn't even think about it. But she couldn't blame herself. She never thought that Patrick could be Felipe because deep down she imagined that if he had survived that hellish night, she would have looked for her immediately. That was the image she had of the guy she knew and loved. It didn't cross her mind for a miserable moment that he would one day become such a calculating man. But where did his father fit into this story? Why did Patrick do what he did with his family's company? Why did he bring his father almost to ruin? Or rather, why did she hate him so much? Even
- Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Eduardo roared with rage. James Hardy had called him a few minutes ago, telling him about the ill-fated FBI raid on Senator Bernard McKeena's home. Apparently, he had spies inside the agency and already knew about part of the operation, so his men managed to get him out of prison, killing four federal agents and a detective in the process. It was obvious that at that moment he was preparing to leave the country. And maybe never come back. Something that raised every hair on Eduardo's body. “Darling, calm down. Camila asked, fearing that her husband would end up having a health problem. “How am I going to calm down? That worm put my son in a coma just because he got a few bumps. What do you think he's going to do with the rest of us when he finds out I'm the one who gave him to the police for good? That's if he doesn't already know. “Marco will be fine. - Yes go. But I don't want to spend the rest of my life fearing that at any moment he or you or Luc
Marco was taken to a specially monitored room. His condition was not really serious, the doctors had said that when his body was ready he would wake up, but it was good to always keep an eye on him for any changes in the condition. Not many people were allowed to stay there for long, so after each of the family members saw him, only Camila, his mother, was able to spend the night with him. Charlotte would have liked to have had that honor, but she understood that the poor woman was desperate to be close to her son and besides, she had to help Edward get his father. Around two in the morning, Patrick's investigators and Eduardo himself contacted him. They already had the evidence they needed to turn Bernard over to the police. Not only the ones that linked him to the attack on Marco, but also a video recovered from years ago in which the senator plotted Thomas' death with two mobsters. Yes, mobsters. James Hardy identified them on the recording. They were men of the mobster wa
- It is clear. Charlotte felt a lump in her throat. She wanted to see Marco, she wanted to be with him when she got out of surgery, but she also wanted to help with the evidence against her father. Eduardo got up and started to walk down the hall back to the waiting room. But he stopped before walking through the cafeteria door, looking at Charlotte. “Thanks for that, Charlotte. - He smiled. — I'll talk to Camila, I'm sure when she's calmer, she'll reconsider her words. “Thank you, sir. Please just... let me know if he comes out of surgery before we get back. — Yes, notice. Keep me informed of developments. Matarazzo Corporation's IT technician was analyzing the images captured by the camera, which, thank God, was still recording in good performance. Patrick and Charlotte had been with him for over an hour, and as cooperative as she was, her mind hadn't left the hospital. She just wanted to know about the man she loved. - Charlotte? Charlotte? “Uh, what? - She blinke
"I must apologize for my wife, Ms. McKeena. Eduardo sat in the chair next to Charlotte's, giving her an apologetic smile. "She's nervous and... — Don't worry, Mr. Villa-Lobos. Charlotte smiled back at him. “I understand perfectly. “Hello, Charlotte. - Patrick greeted her, sitting down too. — Patrick. And Elena? “She stayed there with my wife. – Edward informed. "But tell me, why did you want to talk to us?" Charlotte shifted in her chair so she could look the two men in the eye – even if she had to lift her head very high to do so. “I can help you find the biker who shot Marco and put the person responsible in jail. “And how can you help? Sorry, I don't mean to be skeptical, but I don't see how you can help. — I know who is responsible for sending Marco to the hospital, Mr. Villa-Lobos. - As? Who is it? — Eduardo scowled, already preparing himself for what he thought he was going to hear. “It was my father. After Marco told me the truth about my brother's death