Episode 7

Pietro headed towards the stairs with Alice still holding onto his arm. Augusto followed behind, as he had promised her. Pietro climbed a few steps, catching the attention of everyone at the party.

"Good evening, everyone. As we know, we are here to celebrate the birthday of the beautiful Alice Castro. I want to wish you all the happiness in the world and that all your wishes come true. So, congratulations," those words were said while looking at her.

For Augusto, it was a tremendous irony to hear those words. He knew that Alice was not and would not be happy being married to him. Even though she was still by that man's side, Pietro always looked at Augusto. He didn't understand why Pietro was looking at him in that way. He even wondered if that man was imagining that he could do something against him during the party.

Pietro ordered two glasses of champagne, handed one to Alice, and made a toast. Augusto thought that with him behaving that way, he didn't resemble the demon he knew the other one to be.

Alice descended the stairs and started walking through the hall, greeting people. The party was truly beautiful. Augusto knew that he couldn't throw that kind of party for her, as their budget was limited after that incident with her father. Augusto saw a guy greeting Alice, then heard some women gossiping.

"Look, isn't he Mr. Torres' son? Did you know that his father caught him with one of his security guards in bed? I heard that the guard was killed, and the son was beaten up by his father. Imagine the disgust the father felt when he saw that scene," one woman said in horror.

Augusto sighed and moved away from those women. For a moment, he thought about the proposal he would make to Pietro. Hearing those comments, he imagined that his plan would really work. After all, the world of the mafia was still very prejudiced when it came to homosexual relationships. A tough and virile pose always counted, so he imagined that Pietro would surely reject his proposal.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed that some people were approaching him to greet him. He talked with them for a while, mainly about business and even his parents. When he turned his attention back to the hall, he couldn't see Alice anymore.

Augusto excused himself and started walking through the hall, looking for his sister. He saw his parents, but she wasn't with them. He searched for Pietro and also didn't see him around, which made him nervous. He went upstairs and searched, but still couldn't find her. He went back downstairs again, about to look for his parents to let them know that his sister had disappeared, but then he saw Alice entering, arm in arm with Pietro, as if they were coming back from the garden. His sister had a slightly frightened expression, and he just hoped that Pietro hadn't done anything to her.

"Alice, are you okay? I was looking for you, where were you?" he asked as soon as he approached the two.

Augusto saw that Diego also entered shortly after, gave his brother a cold look, and looked at Alice in a strange way. She lowered her head after that look, giving Augusto the certainty that something had happened.

"We just went outside to get some fresh air, right, dear?" Pietro responded in place of Alice.

After he responded, she looked at him before nodding. Augusto could see the fear in her eyes. He wouldn't insist because he knew that with him around, she wouldn't say anything.

"If you'll excuse me, sir, there are some people who want to talk to Alice. With your permission, I'll take her," he said while looking at Augusto, trying to meet those eyes that still frightened him.

Pietro gave a slight smile, took Alice's hand that was on his arm, and handed it to his brother, who nodded in gratitude and quickly walked away with her from him. He noticed his sister's cold and trembling hands and led her towards a corridor where there was no one, starting his interrogation.

"Alice, what happened? You're trembling. Did that damn man do something to you? Did he threaten you or touch you? Tell me!" he was impatient.

"Nothing happened, I just went to the garden to get some fresh air and ended up running into him there. You know I'm afraid of him, and since I was alone, I got a little nervous. That was it." she didn't look at him as she responded.

Augusto knew his sister well and knew that wasn't what had happened. No matter what she said, he would find a way to discover what had happened in that garden and find out what Pietro had done to her.

"Let's go back to the party before he realizes we're missing."

They returned to the hall, and once again Augusto caught sight of that man. He couldn't explain it, but something seemed different from the previous times, as if something had changed. He just didn't know how to explain it, but he didn't know if he wanted to find out either. What he did know was that he wouldn't take his eyes off his sister for the rest of the party.