جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 20

Helena checked the time on her cell phone and felt a pang of guilt. She had managed to calm Mateo down, but after that, everything had happened so quickly that she had barely had time to breathe: the hurried shower, the crowded transportation, the unexpected commitment at work... As she waited for the elevator, she thought about Henrique rushing out, Mateo's sullen expression, and bit her lip. Had she overdone the drama? What if Henrique thought she was manipulating his son? In the car, on the way to work, Henrique kept one hand firmly on the steering wheel and the other resting on the armrest. His face looked even colder than usual, but inside, the insistent image was that of Helena, standing at the door, speaking in a sweet tone he didn't recognize in anyone in the Ballmer family. She was just a screenwriting teacher... or something like that. Still, with half a dozen sentences, she had done what psychologists, mediators, and entire staffs had failed to do. Mateo, strapped into

“Mateo is so obedient. Thank you, dear!” she praised him, stroking his hair.The little boy, hearing the praise, smiled slightly and, without saying a word, took a piece of paper out of his pocket.He handed it to her with all the solemnity in the world.Helena looked at it, surprised."Huh? Is this your phone number? That's great! I'll keep it. I promise I'll call you as soon as I have a moment.Beside her, Henrique Ballmer raised his eyebrows, curious.His son didn't have a phone.So... where had that number come from?Discreetly, he leaned over and looked over her shoulder—and saw, clearly, his own phone number.For a moment, he was silent.Then a slight smile—almost imperceptible—appeared on his lips.“Not bad,” he thought.“As expected of a Ballmer.”Vox TalentsThe atmosphere in the office was anything but calm.Tania paced back and forth, her face red with anger.“Helena got the job as assistant screenwriter!” she blurted out, throwing a pile of papers on the table.“Assistant

Later, after dinner, when his parents had gone upstairs to rest, Axel went straight to his brother's office.He had a mischievous gleam in his eyes—the same as always.“So, bro, I did well today, didn't I? Huh? Huh?” he asked, metaphorically wagging his tail, waiting for praise like a happy dog.Henrique, sitting at the table, just looked up with the serenity of someone who is rarely shaken.Without saying a word, he picked up something small on the table and threw it with a quick movement.The object described an arc in the air. Axel grabbed it reflexively.“What's this?” he asked, curious.When he looked closely, his eyes widened.It was a key—not just any car key, but the key to the luxury model he had been coveting for months.“Oh, my God!” he exclaimed, almost jumping for joy. “My dear brother! I love you!”He held the keys to his chest and kissed them theatrically, as if they were a trophy.Henrique watched the scene in silence, the corner of his mouth almost—almost—turning up i

“What else did you think?” Axel asked, crossing his arms with an amused smile. “You're seriously underestimating the influence you have!”Seeing that Helena still looked confused, he began to list:“Remember the day at the warehouse? When you fainted, no one could get close to you. Mateo wouldn't let anyone touch you. In the end, it was my brother who personally took you to the hospital!”Helena's eyes widened, and she instinctively glanced at Henrique Ballmer in surprise.“He... carried me himself?”Axel continued, excited by the effect he was having:"And there's more! When Mateo woke up in the hospital and realized you weren't there, he thought you had died. He was completely out of control—he almost jumped out the window!He only calmed down after my brother gave him that note you left.Then he went on a hunger strike to force Henrique to take him to see you last night.And today... well, he ate so much because of your call that, since he couldn't go on a hunger strike again, he m

The little boy timidly handed her the paper.Helena looked at it—and was speechless.“This... this drawing is me?”The figure was a little disproportionate, but the features and the gaze were unmistakable.Mateo had drawn her.The boy lowered his head, nervous, afraid that she wouldn't like it.Helena smiled, delighted.“This is... simply amazing!” she exclaimed with genuine enthusiasm.“Can I take a picture to use as my phone's wallpaper?”Mateo pressed his lips together and, blushing, pushed the drawing into her hands.“For me?” Helena asked, surprised.He nodded.“Thank you! I love it!” she said, moved, before pulling him into a hug and giving him a smacking kiss on the cheek.The little boy froze for a moment—and then his face turned red up to his ears.His eyes, normally cold and distant, now shone as if they held an entire sun.Hele