Chapter 92 Technical consulting?
Steve hesitated. He was between a rock and a hard place: on one side, the prodigy girl who could ruin his career with a bottle of perfume; on the other, the most powerful man in the capital who could destroy him with a snap of his fingers.
“I... I needed technical advice,” Steve began, his voice faltering slightly.
“She has a knowledge of botany and chemistry that goes beyond any medical book I've ever read. But she refused. She said she doesn't deal with ‘amateurs.’”
João narrowed his eyes. He knew there was more. His assistant's report on the patient in Italy and Steve's connection to Josiane Collins swirled in his mind.
“Technical advice?” João smiled without humor. “Or are you trying to use her to cover up the traces of an experimental treatment that went wrong abroad?”
Steve froze. Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead.
The tension in João Pedro's office was almost palpable. Steve Laser, caught between loyalty to an old friendship and fear of the overwhelming influence of the man in front of him, tried to balance himself on a tightrope.
“João, we've been friends for over ten years,” said Steve, seeking one last refuge. “If I revealed what she's doing, I feel she would die a horrible death. She's not as fragile as you think.”
João Pedro, feeling the warmth of the cup in his fingers, just gave a cold smile.
“Her thoughts are my thoughts,” he declared, ending the discussion with a sentence that made it clear: for him, there was no separation between Katherine's interests and his own.
Meanwhile, at her private residence, Katherine awoke from a deep nap. The house was completely silent, interrupted only by the soft hum of her hearing aid. She got up, unaware that while she slept, her house had been invaded silently and... efficiently.
Gabriel arrived shortly after, sweating under his suit, bringing the monthly report from LM. As he opened the refrigerator in search of water, he froze.
“Boss... did you finally learn how to use the kitchen?” Gabriel pointed to the inside of the refrigerator, shocked.
Katherine approached and felt the impact. What had once been a desert of water and coffee bottles was now overflowing with fresh vegetables, selected fruits, prime cuts of meat, and even tea with milk. In the center of it all was a note with firm, elegant handwriting:
“If you don't know how to cook, call me. — João.”
Katherine felt a mixture of irritation and something deeper. How had he found out her password? That man's audacity seemed to know no bounds.
When she returned to the Arbex mansion that night, the scene was one of military discipline. Under the moonlight, Octavio ran through the garden with weights on his legs under the patriarch's relentless gaze.
Under a tree, Nísia and Dandara watched the scene, distilling their usual venom.
“Guess what the street racers called her when they brought Octavio back?” Dandara laughed at Nísia. “Kath!” I almost died laughing. So vulgar.
Nísia smiled, but her mind was working fast.
Katherine wasn't just a “distant relative”; she had connections in the racing underworld that no one there could explain.
Ignoring the whispers, Katherine walked through the garden with her quiet elegance.
“Grandpa,” she said, approaching the old man.
Dandara shuddered, startled by the sudden appearance. “Why doesn't she make any noise when she walks?” she whispered, irritated.
But Katherine was already at the patriarch's side, her calm presence easing the tense atmosphere, while Octavio, in the distance, seemed about to collapse.
Nísia and Dandara approached shortly thereafter, trying to lighten the heavy mood that hung over the garden. Upon seeing Katherine, the patriarch's stern expression instantly relaxed.
“Kath, come sit here with me,” Mr. Arbex smiled, ignoring the presence of the other two.
Dandara, sensing the blow, hurried to take the seat next to her grandfather, casting a look of disdain at Katherine before adopting a sly tone. “Grandpa, please let Octavio go. He's been running around all afternoon... If you keep this up, you'll end up without a grandson.”
Anastasia, although disapproving of her niece's drama, joined the appeal with a heavy heart: “Father, he has already learned his lesson. Please don't punish him any further.”
The old patriarch, however, turned his piercing gaze to Katherine, seeking the only opinion that seemed to matter to him at that moment. “Kath, this young man has been terribly disobedient. What do you think? Should I forgive him, or should the punishment continue?”
Katherine watched Octavio from a distance. The boy moved with the slowness of an exhausted camel, dragging his feet dramatically. His expression was one of total indifference. “That thing tied to his ankle... does it weigh five pounds?” she asked, her voice icy.
Mr. Arbex raised his eyebrows, surprised by the accuracy of the question. “Three pounds. Why? Do you think I'm being too cruel?”
Katherine stared at Octavio's ‘miserable’ figure and let out a short sigh. “Only three pounds?” Her tone carried a veiled contempt for the boy's lack of vigor.
“Hey! What do you mean by that?” Dandara exploded, indignant. “Are you saying my brother isn't suffering enough?”
Katherine didn't even bother to respond. With a fluid, almost imperceptible movement, she bent down, picked up a small stone from the ground, and, without changing her posture, aimed at Octavio's back.
With the precision of an arrow shot by a master, the stone cut through the air and hit the tire attached to the boy's foot with a sharp crack.
The four people around them were stunned. There was no effort, just a flick of the wrist, and the stone had already done its job. Octavio shuddered at the sudden impact and looked back, confused.
“There's a snake right behind you,” Katherine lied, her voice devoid of any emotion. “Run.”
Panic was instantaneous. Octavio tried to jump, but the weights held him back. “Where?! Where?!” he shouted, starting to dash through the garden with an energy he hadn't shown in hours. The 1.5-kilogram wheels wobbled as if they were made of paper in the face of his desperate speed.
Mr. Arbex let out a loud laugh, and the shadow of irritation on his face dissipated in an instant. “That boy was deceiving me! Pretending to be weak to gain pity, when he obviously still has plenty of strength left!”