Oliveira stood outside Matthias's house, her knuckles rapping impatiently against the door. "Matthias, are you there?" she called out, her voice tinged with growing frustration. He must be close to the door, she thought, so why was he taking so long to answer?
She knocked again, harder this time, her brow furrowing in confusion. Finally, the door creaked open, revealing Matthias standing in the doorway.
"Matthias! What took you so long to open the door?" she demanded, her tone sharp.
Matthias took a deep breath, his eyes darting nervously. "I... um... I..." he stammered, his mind racing to come up with a believable excuse. He needed to be perfect, to convince her that nothing was amiss. This was the most critical moment of his life. He wouldn't risk the mistake of letting her suspect something was wrong.
"I noticed something on the fire was burning," he blurted out, trying to sound casual. "I wanted to get to it quickly, but I had to rush in... you know..." He forced a smile, but it felt strained and unconvincing.
Oliveira's gaze narrowed. She could sense something was off. It wasn't the reason for her visit, but her instincts were screaming at her. Swallowing hard, she nodded and stepped inside without waiting for permission.
As she sank onto the couch, her eyes scanned the room, her confusion growing. Something was definitely wrong. She felt a chill run down her spine.
"Matthias, is anyone else in the house with us?" Oliveira asked, her eyes scanning the room.
Matthias shook his head. "No, it's just you and me. No one else."
Oliveira pointed to an injection container lying on the floor. "But who owns this?"
Matthias's eyes widened in feigned surprise. "What...? Oh, that...?" He knew it belonged to Ryda, who was hiding in his house. And she must not know someone like that is with them, she mustn't know or else it's going to cost him so dearly, secrets is going to be opened at once if Oliveira get to see Ryda inside that house and then his plan will fall ashes immediately.
So, Matthias, picked up the container, forcing a weak smile. He needed to make a believable story to convince her otherwise about the container. "You know, these days have been tough for all of us. I haven't been myself since that incident. When I came back, I wasn't feeling well, so I had to call my doctor." He slumped onto the couch, feigning weakness.
"The doctor came to attend to me... you know... he said I shouldn't stress myself further more or think too much... I need some days rest at home, and the container was containing the injections he gave me to help cool off my temper" He said with his voice barely audible.
Oliveira nodded, understanding his plight. She, too, had been through a lot, as had her daughter. That's why she had come to see him, to discuss their shared struggles. If she had known things would turn out this way, they wouldn't have done it, she wouldn't have even think of it because she's actually the pioneer of the problem so far.
Matthias too, it pains her that he acted so awful because he could have stopped when he noticed that everything wasn't fine at his arrival on that moment, but she wouldn't totally blame him, maybe it was too late for him to do something, but that's why she's here though, to find a way.
"It was really awful, what happened to my granddaughter," Oliveira said, her voice heavy with emotion. 
"What happened to her?" Matthias asked making Oliveira gaze at him in surprise.
"What do you mean what happened to her? look, Matthias, I'm not here to play games anymore, you should have withdrawn from that action. Immediately you noticed that everything has gone wrong, you should have contacted the doctor and told him to stop! Now my granddaughter's life is at stake at the hospital, I don't want her to die. She's precious to me. I love her, and I love my daughter."
Matthias stared at her, bewildered. He didn't understand what she was talking about.
Matthias's face was a mask of confusion. "And... what exactly was that supposed to mean? I'm not understanding," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
Oliveira, too, was now confused. What did he want her to explain differently? She was talking about the case at hand, what exactly was supposed to be confusing him about Gabriella's case. Hope he isn't even trying to remove himself from the equation now.
"I don't understand, Matthias. I'm talking about my granddaughter! Gabriella we both planned to kill... get rid of her so you could marry her mum" She said taking in a deep breath.
"She's in the hospital, and the doctor needs a huge amount of money to cure her. You could have stopped what you were doing. You could have stopped when you saw Damian. It wasn't too late then, but you chose to ignore everything," she said, her voice rising in frustration.
Matthias's confusion remained. "Pardon me, but I don't see myself understanding what you are saying. What are you talking about? I'm confused and lost here"
"Come on, Matthias, stop the drama! This isn't a joke. My granddaughter is seriously ill in the hospital!" Oliveira exclaimed.
Matthias shrugged. "Yes...? Yes...? She's in the hospital. What are you trying to insinuate? How is that supposed to be my problem? I mean, I'm not understanding the whole thing."
Oliveira stared at him, her bewilderment growing. "Honestly, Matthias, I don't understand what you're trying to do. You were the one who put my daughter in this situation. You were the one who suggested we do it!"
Matthias cut her off, his voice sharp. "What are you talking about? What suggestion? I was the one that did what? are you okay right now? because I'm not getting you at all"
"Do what...? I didn't do anything! Yes, I know we discussed how to get rid of her. That's the truth, and I agreed with you. But honestly, I didn't do anything! Yes, I planned it, but not today. It wasn't even close. I planned on getting rid of her myself, so I don't understand what you're talking about. I haven't done anything," Matthias said, leaving Oliveira staring at him, confused.
She took a deep breath, looking around the room, almost getting angry at his blatant pretense.
"I don't understand! Are you trying to tell me that you have no hand in my granddaughter...?" she began, but he interrupted her.
"Oh, yes, that's exactly what I'm trying to say, whatever it is that happened to her just count me out of it! I'm not part of it!!" he replied. His words hung in the air, leaving them both locked in a deadly stare. Their eyes met, intense and penetrating.
"Come on! If this is a joke, you'll have to stop it!" Oliveira said, a sad smile playing on her lips.