No one passed by for half a day, and not even a sound of footsteps was heard inside the door.
Peter frowned and, with a bad feeling in his heart, rang the doorbell again, knocking loudly at the same time.
As long as there were people inside, they should be able to hear him.
He leaned against the door and listened intently. There was not a sound of movement inside.
-Are you sure the man is in there? -Peter looked suspiciously at his men, and said in a cold voice.
The men were also a little confused.
-Yes, we saw him go in and we had him under surveillance. We didn’t see him leave, so he should be inside.
And I was sure the man shouldn’t have noticed he was being followed? He shouldn’t have noticed, should he?
The man looked sly, and in case he had already seen the trail, then this floor could also be a hoax.
Peter also noticed the look and understood in his heart, saying immediately:
-Find someone and open the door immediately!
-Really?
“That’s considered breaking and entering, isn’t it?”
Peter gritted his teeth.
-Now it’s very important, if anything goes wrong, I’ll take it all on.
He had to be sure. He had found the man so easily, that if he got away, all the efforts of the last few days would be useless.
The men listened without further ado and hurried to find someone to pass.
The door soon opened and Peter was the first to rush in, checking inside and out, but there was no one inside.
But it could be seen that there were signs of life. The house was simply decorated and contained few belongings, making it look like a temporary place to stay.
-Sir, we have seen the people enter with our own eyes? -explained the men as they saw his pale face.
Peter waved his hand, it seemed that his new cousin was alert and intelligent. He wasn’t sure what he had used to escape, but at least he had an address.
-Keep sending people to look for him, and the next time you find him, you don’t have to bring me here, just take him.
The news of Alfredo’s coma and his admission to the hospital remained a secret. It was more or less known to those in the circle, but not to the outside world.
Pedro did not know why this man was hiding, but if this cousin of his knew of the Seco family’s existence, and of Alfredo’s situation, he should not run away again.
He left the apartment and was going to go straight to the office, but without realizing it, he found himself at the glass door and opted to make a trip back to the Seco family first.
He showered, cleaned himself inside and out and changed clothes.
Stephanie nodded with satisfaction when she saw Pedro emerge again, clean-shaven and, although he was quite a bit thinner than before, he looked refreshed and fresh.
-You should have cleaned yourself up long ago. Look how disheveled you’ve been these last few days, I’m sure Jaime would laugh at you behind your back if he saw you. When Alfredo wakes up, and if Jaime is already established in the Dry Group, there’s no way he can shake it off. Even if Alfredo thinks more of you, there is no way to shake him.
These words suddenly woke Pedro up.
Yes, he was so focused on finding someone, that he forgot that if Jaime gets a foothold in Grupo Seco, wouldn’t it be wasting everything Alfredo had done?
He nodded solemnly.
-Yes, Mom, don’t worry.
Pedro returned to Grupo Seco once again and found a somewhat changed atmosphere in the company, with some strange expressions on his face when he came back.
Apart from that, some positions were empty, there were some new faces and several familiar people were no longer with the company.
Pedro asked around and learned that all those people had been fired by Jaime and replaced by new people.
The men were clearly Jaime’s own men.
Pedro’s eyes were a little cold. Jaime had a lot of courage to take advantage of Alfredo’s illness and try to make a major change in the company.
But, fortunately, the replacements were all menial positions and the important positions remained the same people. Jaime did not have the power to fire them directly yet. But there was a fear that these people had been pressured by Jaime and had suffered a lot in the last few days, and they all looked pretty haggard.
“His tactics are really underhanded.”
Peter was on his way back to his office when he saw Jaime and a couple of board members coming out of the boardroom, laughing and joking and having a good time.
A few people were talking happily when they saw Pedro’s arrival and the laughter stopped abruptly, making the atmosphere a little awkward.
Jaime did not expect Pedro to arrive at the office at that moment and was confused for a moment, but he quickly reacted and said a few words to the people around him and made them leave.
Peter didn’t say a word the whole time, but his eyes took in the names of these people carefully.
“I’m afraid these people have turned to Jaime, and I have to be prepared beforehand to be the first to inform Alfredo when he wakes up.”
-Pedro, it’s a rarity that you’re finally back in the office.
Jaime patted Pedro on the shoulder and smiled.
-Alfredo said to put us in charge of Grupo Seco, but you’ve been absent since you got out of the hospital, so I’ve been working double time for the last few days. I’ve even helped you with a lot of things, you can thank me for that.
Pedro looked at his hypocritical appearance. Jaime obviously didn’t want it to show, but on the surface, he was still putting on a generous and gentle appearance. It was an eyesore.
Pedro narrowed his eyes and pulled a smile.
-That must have been very hard for you. I had some business to attend to before, that’s why I didn’t return to the company. But now that I’m back, there are some things I don’t want to bother you with. You have been very busy these past few days, so I will take care of the rest, now you can go back to rest if you are tired.
Then he raised his voice.
-After all, you have never visited our grandfather in the hospital these days, don’t you think it’s unconscionable?
Yes, Jaime had not visited Alfredo even once in the last few days because he was busy with the company, with the struggle for power, and more out of fear.
He was afraid to confront Alfredo.
Jaime was a little annoyed, and coughed lightly.
-I was busy with the company because of you, that’s why I didn’t have time to go to the hospital, Pedro, what do you mean by that? Are you trying to say that I don’t care about grandfather?
-You’re overthinking it,” Pedro looked at him coldly and averted his gaze. Excuse me, you can go out, I have to work.
He seemed so indifferent that Jaime watched him and, by the time he reacted, he had made way for Pedro.
It was only after watching Pedro’s marching back that Jaime reacted.
When he arrived at the Seco Family, Alfredo chose Jaime not only because he was his grandson, but also because of his intelligence and cunning.
Jaime clenched his fist, he seemed to have underestimated Pedro a little.
***
The atmosphere in the Santangel family was much better when the atmosphere in the Seco family was tense.
When Sergio heard that Alfredo had collapsed and was in the hospital, he took a group to visit him. Although the two men used to look at each other with distaste when they met, they actually considered each other important friends deep down.
It was Umberto who intervened, and the two said something unknown, and Sergio rested to visit Alfredo.
In the last few days, the Santangel family had continued to do what they normally did.
Olivia was still busy with the studio, which was almost finished these days.
Albina was doing much better after the doctor’s care. Her face was rosy and full of energy, and the baby was in perfect health.
The Santangel family and Umberto finally became less nervous with her and allowed her to go for walks.
In the afternoon, when it was not so hot, Albina was invited by Olivia to see the progress of the studio.
Basically, they had finished the renovation, had hired almost all the staff and could officially start operating when they dispelled the smell.
Olivia was really as competent as Umberto said. Everything was handled in an orderly fashion and while Albina was recovering, all the paperwork that needed to be done was done without any worries.
Not even Albina herself could have achieved such perfection.
She and Olivia left the building in a better mood than ever. Both were ready to go to the roadside and wait for the Santangel family car to pick them up to take them home.
However, Albina suddenly heard Olivia murmur in her ear.
-Why are there beggars here…?
She remembered that the place was strictly regulated and there was no possibility of begging and selling at the entrance or anything like that.