Chapter 276
She remembered that Dinho had promised to call as soon as he identified the mysterious sender. He had probably already sent a message.
Lilian looked at her cell phone next to her laptop. When she had sent the FaceTime invitation, she saw several unread notifications. There must have been something from Dinho there, but she hadn't had time to check—Gabriela had answered the video call almost immediately.
“Really?” exclaimed Gabriela, her irritated tone giving way to a relieved smile. “Argh, that's great!”
Her expression softened. She already knew from Antony that Lilian and her team were facing a storm in São Paulo. In fact, she had argued with her own husband for putting her friend in this kind of trouble right after her return.
Gabriela feared that Lilian would burn out again and end up taking another one of those long, silent breaks that always worried her.
“Ah, but tell me,” Gabriela continued, crossing her legs and leaning closer to the screen. “Why did you decide to call me like this, out of the blue?”
Lilian leaned back in her chair, taking a deep breath before answering.
“I need your help with something. I wanted to buy a brand of clothes for my mom, but the group doesn't have a license for it here in the country. So I thought of you,” she said with a confident smile. "I wanted to know if we have any representation or partnership with this brand in a neighboring country.
If a license were available, Lilian would prefer to buy directly from Gabriela's company. It was safer—and much more convenient—than buying in her own country, where control of the brand was in the hands of the Spector Group, led by Gloria Spector.
Gloria was still a name that made Lilian shudder.
If she bought the designer clothes in the country, Gloria would surely find out—and that would bring back memories of their first meeting, which had been a complete disaster.
Lilian did not want to repeat that story.
“Of course!” Gabriela's eyes sparkled with excitement. It had been a long time since Lilian had asked her to take care of anything related to fashion. In the past, when they worked together in New York, Gabriela was practically her personal stylist.
“Girl, what do you need? Just tell me.” Before Lilian could even answer, Gabriela raised her hands enthusiastically.
“Oh, you don't have to say anything! I already know! I'll choose the latest spring and fall collections for you!”
Lilian laughed.
“It's not for me.”
“What?” Gabriela's eyes widened. “It's not for you? Then who is it for? Your evil mother-in-law?” she asked, narrowing her eyes with pure suspicion.
Lilian laughed.
“Hahaha, of course not! Why would I help that woman?”
Gabriela let out a sigh of relief and nodded.
“Great. Thank goodness!”
“It's for my mother,” Lilian said, in a softer tone.
“Wait a minute... what?” Gabriela blinked, shocked. “You... you already have a good relationship with your parents!?”
She knew that Lilian's relationship with her family had fallen apart since her parents forced her to marry. The last thing she had heard was that Lilian had only reconnected with her grandfather after returning to Brazil.
“Yes, but only with my mother,” Lilian replied with a melancholy smile.
She knew her father was still furious. At noon, Aunt Gisele had sent a message saying that he had made a scene at her house, trying to get information about his wife's whereabouts. Her aunt firmly refused to say a single word—and he ended up leaving without finding out anything.
“Oh, girl...” Gabriela put her hand to her chest, moved. “I'm so happy for you! Things are finally working out.”
Lilian felt her heart warm at her friend's sincere reaction.
“Thank you, Gabriela.” She smiled when she saw her friend's eyes well up with tears. “Hey, you don't have to cry. Just send me the contact information for the company that holds the license. I want to call them and buy a large quantity of clothes for my mother.”
Gabriela nodded, still smiling.
“You don't have to do that. Just tell me her size and the style she prefers. I'll take care of everything and call them for you. I have plenty of time to do some shopping for your mother.”
Lilian laughed, amused.
“Hahaha, okay. I'll send you the information later. I need to ask her first.”
“Sure!” Gabriela replied excitedly, a smile returning to her face.
The two friends talked for a few more minutes, sharing laughs and stories about Gabriela's busy life in New York. It was only when the clock struck eleven at night that Lilian, already feeling the weight of fatigue, excused herself to end the call.
As soon as she closed her laptop, she picked up her cell phone from the table. She needed to check if there were any messages from Dinho. His report was the missing piece—Lilian wanted to know who had sent the evidence that could put Joana behind bars.
One name came to mind: Gloria Spector.
Lilian remembered her last meeting with Gloria perfectly. On that occasion, the woman had offered to help her—and, in fact, Gloria had experience with this type of situation, since she owned the largest entertainment agency in the country.
But Lilian didn't want to accept anything from her.
She didn't want to owe the Spectors anything.
She sighed deeply, putting her worries aside and sliding her finger across the screen until she found Dinho's message. When she started reading the report, her eyes widened and her heart raced.
She couldn't believe it.
“Lilian, are you okay?”
The familiar voice behind her made her jump. The phone slipped from her hands and fell to the floor with a soft thud. Lilian turned and saw Ethan standing in the doorway, his brow slightly furrowed as he approached.
“What's wrong, honey?” he asked, picking up the phone from the floor and handing it back to her. “Why are you looking at me like you've seen a ghost?”
Lilian blinked several times, not knowing what to say. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she breathed.
“Is there... some surprising news?” Ethan insisted, placing the phone on the table and resting one hand on her face.
“Ethan...” She took a deep breath, hesitating before asking the question that burned in her mind.
“Did you send the evidence?”
“What evidence?” he asked, gently pulling her by the waist, bringing their bodies closer together.
“The evidence...” Lilian replied, staring him in the eyes. “The evidence to send Joana to prison.”
For a moment, the world seemed to stop.
The smile on Ethan's face faded. His expression hardened, his thoughts racing. The air grew heavy.
He didn't answer right away. Inside his head, his mind was racing.
How did she find out so quickly?