Chapter 3

Jack

I remain silent when I hear that the two children have been orphaned. That was very sad. With a lump in my throat, I comment:

- Wow, how pitiful. I feel sorry for that man, who was widowed young and has two small children to take care of.

Ralph continues talking:

- Yes. But in the industry he works in there is a lot of competition, his company is one of the best and this causes a lot of envy.

- And this is the reason for the threats? Wow, that's good for him, and why is he being threatened so much?

- So, he has an agency, and the competitors don't always look kindly on it. Yes, it is that old story, when one company is much more successful, the others feel threatened. And then he started receiving threatening e-mails, warning him that they would destroy his business if he did not retract.

- Not retract? Why not? - I ask, curious.

- Jack, you must know his agency from TV. Sarah Model's," he says and I am at a loss to understand what a TV station has to do with the case he is trying to pass on to me.

- You know I barely have time to breathe," I mumble to him.

- I'll start all over again, okay? - Ralph says and I stand there waiting for him to start clearing things up for me.

- Okay, I'm listening - I answer curious.

- Come on, Alex has a modeling agency called Sarah," he begins.

- Yes, I know this agency, does it have the same name as his deceased wife?

- Yes, Sarah was a beautiful model and loved by everyone. Alex himself worshiped her.

- Wow, this Sarah must have been pretty special! - I say this sentence feeling even a little jealous of the dead woman. And may God forgive me.

- Yes, she was. Until she found out that she had an incurable disease, it was a shock at first, after all, Sarah was the joy of everyone.

- And Alex, how did he react? - I ask, curious about this story.

- When he found out, he broke the whole office and was supported by her.

- How awful, Ralph - I felt sorry for the story of the girl who lived a short life, and didn't even have the chance to live with her husband, Alex, who should have loved her very much. Poor guy! - Rafael continues to tell me the story:

- Yes, Sarah had very serious heart problems. She could never have become pregnant if she wanted to stay alive.

- Let me get this straight, Sarah had a heart condition, but she died after many years of conceiving children.

- Yes, let me tell you Sarah's story. She was born with a heart murmur, but she didn't know that she had the disease. Her parents always hid the truth from her, letting her live as she wanted. Sarah was often ill, and once, in a conversation with me, she said that she went to the doctor and through tests discovered that she had a heart condition. She must have been devastated for her parents - she says this with a lot of empathy.

- How did they react when she found out the truth? - Well, they agreed with everything the doctor said. She was very upset with them for keeping the truth from her, but afterwards everything was fine between them.

- And her husband? - I ask curiously.

- So, as I told you, he reacted badly when she told him. When the disease came out, she was already pregnant with the twins. It was a complicated pregnancy and Sarah almost died in childbirth. A C-section was performed and the children were fine. Sarah went into shock and spent a few days in the ICU. It was a miracle that she came out of there. She kept getting better, only what she didn't know was that her health condition had gotten much worse. After the pregnancy, she started to get tired for any silly thing, until one day she was found lying in her room.

- I felt so sorry for Alex, his wife sick and him taking care of the babies! -After this event, Sarah was sent straight to the hospital. Her heart was failing and, after a week in the hospital, she could not stand it and passed away... Alex decided to take refuge at work. He changed the name of his agency from "Belíssima" to "Sarah Model's" in honor of his wife. And today he dedicates himself exclusively to his children in his spare time.

Rafael, with much regret, ends the story. I am moved by everything I hear.

- My God, how much suffering," I reply, saddened by the situation.

- Yes, it is true! Sarah did not last long and ended up dying a week after being hospitalized. Her heart couldn't take it," she says sadly.

- Wow... - This is the only thing I can say, still shocked by what I heard. - How sad that she died - I answer feeling sorry for a man who lost his great love and for his children who lost a mother.

- That's true! - Alex hardly leaves the house because of the children and I understand that.

- Well, and the threats come from where? And why does he have to retract them?

- I am getting there. On a night of events to raise donations for the heart hospital, there was a talent agent and, as it was normal to deal with this subject, this Veronica was introduced by her agent to Alex, saying that she was the right type of model for the agency.

- What was the reaction of his friend