Chapter 8 Chapter 8
She didn't turn back; she just walked to the elevator.
As she turned the corner, she stopped.
Her eyes—curious, sharp—rose to the impeccable face of João Pedro Arbex.
“Is eavesdropping fun?”
Upon hearing this, the assistant panicked.
“Miss Lutz, we weren't eavesdropping!” he explained hastily. “We just got out of the elevator and overheard you by chance! Besides, our boss is never interested in other people's personal affairs. Please don't misunderstand us!”
Katherine raised her eyebrows, unhurriedly.
“Hmm. Let's assume that's the case, then.”
“Assume”?! The assistant became even more distressed. “Miss Lutz, I'm telling you the truth! We REALLY didn't listen on purpose!”
“Enough.” João Pedro's cold voice cut through the air like ice.
The assistant fell silent immediately.
João looked away from her face and took a step to the side, ready to move on—until Katherine asked calmly:
“Why do you want that perfume so badly?”
The question made him stop.
For a second—just one—his body froze.
Then he continued walking.
No answer.
Katherine clicked her tongue.
“Hmph. That temper is exactly the same.”
He didn't turn around, probably pretending not to have heard the whisper.
Shortly after, Katherine met Adam on the way back.
He was carrying a bag full of food and walking as if he had been loitering in the parking lot for a long time.
Looking in the direction João Pedro had gone, Adam laughed:
“Boss, if that assistant knew you could hear everything, he wouldn't dare lie.”
Katherine continued walking, unhurried.
“Be careful what you say,” she warned. “And don't talk about what shouldn't be said.”
“I know, boss. I only said it because there was no one else around.”
She glanced sideways, ending the conversation.
Katherine's body possessed many “extraordinary abilities.”
Her six senses were dozens of times better than those of an ordinary person.
She learned at an absurd speed; she mastered any knowledge in a few days.
According to her mother, all of this was the effect of the experimental drug.
But no one could know.
Almost no one knew.
She usually wore a special hearing aid to lower the volume of the world—otherwise, she would hear everything, all the time, with painful clarity.
But today...
She didn't wear it.
And so she heard everything — including the words that Daniel Lutz whispered to Rosana and Nísia when he entered the auction hall.
Remembering this, she smiled — a cold, sharp smile, laden with irony.
In Katherine's life, there was one unsolvable mystery: Daniel Lutz, her biological father.
A man who had never fulfilled his role—not even for a single day.
At the age of eight, she believed she was not his daughter, that his coldness was due to that.
She took a secret paternity test.
The result...
It was the biggest disappointment of her childhood.
She really was his daughter.
—
She answered the phone.
“Hello, I'm calling from the auction house,” said a respectful voice on the other end. “The artwork sold for six million. According to your instructions, the entire amount will go to charity.”
“Hmm. Thank you.”
Katherine was about to hang up when the employee quickly added:
"One more thing. The buyer is a very influential person—Mr. João Pedro Arbex, from the Arbex family. He wishes to meet with Mr. Sasha Luz.
Katherine let out a wry chuckle.
So that was it.
Six million spent just to set up a meeting.
“We're not going to meet.”
"Please listen to me! Mr. Arbex wishes to discuss a partnership with Sasha Luz. The amount will be determined by Sasha himself. It's a unique opportunity. Please pass this message on to Mr. Sasha Luz!
“I'm not interested.”
She hung up without hesitation.
Adam, who was watching everything, immediately commented:
“Boss, it seems your father didn't like the color of my hair. Do you want me to dye it black to match you better?”
Katherine chuckled softly.
“Green suits you better.”
“Boss! How can you be like this?!” he grumbled.
Across town, João Pedro Arbex pretended to be asleep in the back seat of the car.
After the call, his assistant said:
“Boss... the auction house said that Mr. Sasha Luz is not willing to meet.”
João Pedro's eyes opened slowly.
Cold as ever.
But... there was something different.
A sparkle.
To his assistant, that could only mean one thing: interest.
After all, his boss was rarely rejected.
And when he was... he became dangerous.
“Ask them to send you the contact details for Sasha Luz's assistant,” the man ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
Shortly thereafter, João Pedro received the sequence of numbers.
He didn't call.
He just stared at them, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
At nine o'clock that night, Katherine finished her business and returned to the Arbex residence.
The mansion was grand—not just luxurious, but majestic, like a small Western palace.
The main building, where the patriarch lived, was divided into the East and West Wings.
The East Wing housed the youngest son and his family.
The West Wing housed the eldest son and his family.
Two separate worlds, united only by occasional dinners.
The matriarch of the family had decided that Katherine would stay in the West Wing, where her granddaughter, the same age as Katherine, lived, in this case, Dandara Arbex, the patriarch's granddaughter.
After walking through long, silent corridors, Katherine arrived at the small hall where the elderly gentleman was reading a book next to his granddaughter.
Both were so absorbed that they did not notice Katherine's presence.