While within the powerful fabric industry the dispute between the brothers grew and the thirst for vengeance of the one who was not content to see his father defeated, out there grew the future holder of all that enormity of power and wealth. Built on a platform of injustices and extreme greed. The same as years later he would inherit the Braga empire and cause his opponents to be angry, giving them a deep death wish, but he would win over everyone:

 — Paula's idea of ​​putting the presidency of our industries in the hands of this bastard is unacceptable, after all it is our father's inheritance, it should be passed on from her to us, legitimate Braga, how can she do this to us?

 — You are right, Afonso, no doubt he would not agree in life with this absurd decision, you should be her substitute, since he is the second oldest, worthy of assuming the position she holds today, besides the fact that Paula does not have children

 — We are her blood brothers and he is some stranger that she gathered from the streets and brought to confront us, she humiliates us with this absurd attitude!

 — I agree, it is unprecedented nonsense!

 — In my opinion, we must take immediate action on this, before this absurd decision of our sister ends up leaving us to see ships!

 — And what do you propose, Ricardo? Are you planning to act violently against Paula?

— What other urgent measure could we take to avoid such insanity, seeing Paula pass on to this bastard all the inheritance that our father left us?

— Take our sister's life?

— Let us put an end to this matter!

— Isn't killing her the smartest solution, my brothers?

— I believe so, and the sooner the better!

— If discovered we will end up arrested and convicted of murder

— We are facing a threat that could soon lead us to lose everything we have! Our sister has gone mad for good and we have a duty to contain her!

— Don't count on me to commit this madness! Your ambition goes beyond reason!

— We never count on you for anything, you are a disgrace, a coward!

After that conversation, a Machiavellian plan began against Dona Paula, who became the target of her brothers' envy. At first it was decided to hire men of confidence to carry out her abduction and, if they did not convince him to change his mind, murder her. One weekend she was returning home, when she was intercepted by another vehicle and forced to stop. Four men came down armed, shooting at the vehicle and the driver who died instantly. Then the passenger was smothered by a napkin and taken to a distant place in the city. The order given to the kidnappers was to imprison the businesswoman in captivity outside the city and await further instructions.

 Luckily on that occasion, she had decided to send Fabiano to the farm to spend time with Berenice, the millionaire's disappearance was soon noticed by the servants. Because everyone was used to seeing her return from work at the same time. He was never late, and his absence was strange. So, they decided to communicate the fact to the brothers, who took the necessary steps, the police were notified by the creators of the kidnapping themselves.That they showed to be saddened by what happened, and started to make efforts in search of some evidence. But until the early hours the criminals had no contact with the family. No one even suspected being his own brothers. That they were really responsible for the whole situation.

They pretended to be really concerned about the situation and demanded results in the search for authorities. The feds were called in an attempt to obtain better results in the investigations, the gang hired to kidnap the businesswoman was instructed by the mentors to keep her in hiding. Meanwhile, Fabiano remained in Marajo with Berenice, who, upon learning of the event, had the idea of ​​hiding him in a safe place and did not allow his return to the mansion for anything, according to the instructions left by his employer if something bad happened to him.

For she already suspected that there was a plot by her brothers, unhappy with their recent decisions. That rainy night, in a dirty and dark place, she awakens from the sleep caused by the high dose of inhaled sleeping pills during the violent approach suffered by the bandits. He had severe headaches and was breathing hard. The place was difficult to access, had only one door and the air circulation, came through pipes that came from the outside, when observing carefully the place concluded it is underground. Paul had been the victim of a cowardly plan designed by his worst enemies.

 After several hours without noticing any movement, he heard the creaking of the weather-rusty door, which opened, someone finally approached. A masked man came to her, bringing water and food, he was not in the habit of eating any kind of food. But as at that moment his hunger was immense because he spent a long time without food he was forced to accept willingly and without neglecting what was offered to him.

Days went by without her being located, the case was highlighted on the front page of the main newspapers across the country, after all she was the most illustrious businesswoman in the fabric sector in Brazil. Everyone followed the outcome of the case and hoped for his return, Afonso gave constant interviews and seemed concerned about his sister.

By hiding his true criminal intentions from the public, he claims he is using all means to rescue her. While he publicly used hypocrisy, Paula remained imprisoned in the filthy and gloomy captivity. Without having any news of Fabiano, which contributes to further increase the terrible anguish I felt at that moment.

 However, even in the face of such circumstances, she felt comforted. He recalled that all documentation regarding his rise as future president of the Braga industries was already duly signed. And a copy of the legal rights passed on to him had been handed over to Fernando, his extremely trusted lawyer. If by chance he lost his life and could no longer see him again, he would have to act with the justice so that the heir was made effective in the position, and all his assets were delivered to him. Again, the noise at the entrance to the room is damp, dirty and without light. Someone was approaching.

— How do you feel, completely helpless and without all the arrogance you usually use when giving orders to your subordinates? And what about the countless times when we have been humbled by your claim to want to prove our insignificance, my sister?

— You are wrong, Ricardo, I never intended

— Now that you have lost the throne of power will you try to convince me that all these years of contempt were just to show how much you love us?

Now, my dear, don't be ridiculous! Have more respect with my intelligence, because you wouldn't be stupid enough to convince me of that, we know that for our father you were always the favorite, because he believed to be the only one with the capacity to continue the powerful empire he built, but he was wrong in concluding this about us. We are also as capable of running those factories as you are and we will prove it when we get you and your little bastard out of the way!

 — You act and talk like crazy, taking my life will not make you fit to assume the presidency. Even if he is efficient enough to preside over industries, he will never be worthy enough to sit in our father's chair and inherit his assets. None of the three were approved by him for the simple fact that you were not honored enough to earn his trust, you three have always been our father's shame!

Upon hearing such a statement, Ricardo was filled with fury and beat him on the face, irritated and ordered the jailer to leave her without food that day. In the weeks that followed she received a visit from her brothers several times and was greatly humiliated. Afonso decided to force her to sign a document that would give him autonomy over the industries.

And indefinite power over all the family's businesses, in case something fatal happened to him. He intended to kill her little by little and then take over the Companies immediately. For refusing to agree, she was beaten and remained for several days without the right to eat properly. Due to poor hygiene and mistreatment, she was fainted. The blood disease was made worse by the lack of medical care and the insulin that should be applied daily, but she was determined not to give in.

 Paula's Death

Isolated in captivity, without the proper conditions to survive and at the age of fifty, Paula collapses, her strength lacks and a week later she is found lifeless. By the police. He had symptoms of malnutrition, wounds all over his body. He had visible signs of sexual violence. Certainly, to give the impression that they were caused by strangers and not to arouse suspicion about the brothers.

 The news spread instantly and there was great commotion for the death of the businesswoman who won the love of many for the simple and dedicated way she helped everyone who sought her protection. As usual Afonso, Ricardo and Demetrius appeared before the cameras expressing sadness, but in fact they were happy with what happened. Because now with Paula out of the way, it would be easier to take definitive possession of the family's assets and assume the presidency.

Nothing would stop Afonso from sitting on the chair that once belonged to his father and running the Braga empire. Everything seemed to be going well, but to the surprise of the assassins Fabiano was safe in a safe place. Far away from all that violence, and soon he would come back on the scene to review his acquired rights as an authentic heir.

These rights were officially declared by his adoptive mother, who made him worthy of such power. Afonso's new administration began at a time when the government was facing a major financial crisis and this necessitated a providential recession in all sectors of the economy. Having a huge impact, which led most industries to lay off employees to avoid possible bankruptcy. Although the industries have a good economic base, their directors decided not to take unnecessary risks.

Hundreds of layoffs soon followed at branches across the country. Generating mass protests by workers who complained about the initiatives taken by the bosses, without taking into account the precarious situation in which the former employees and their families would be, those who remained in office decided to support the striking unemployed.

 This brought immense delay in the supply of fabrics to distributors. And these started to go to court with a request for compensation for the damages caused. Since they lost a lot of money because it was not possible to meet their numerous customers within the required time. As Paula had predicted before her death, even if they took over the management of the factories they would fail.

They would not be able to continue the entrepreneurial power left by their father, as they were too incompetent for this. With each passing day the recession increased and more people lost their jobs. He started at the lowest levels and also reached the top positions, as commissioners and production managers.

 At first, it was believed to be just a crisis without many proportions. But then it got worse. Gradually began to expand externally. And the press began to publicize that the powerful Braga empire threatened to break up in a very short time. One morning, when he read a criticism made by a journalist from one of the main newspapers in the capital of Pará.

Stamped on the front page, Ricardo was angry to the point of calling the newsroom and threatening him. This earned him more criticism and an expensive process. They, say that after committing the first crime it is difficult to stop, and this seems to be true. The two most audacious brothers who ambitiously committed the barbaric murder of their older sister. They have since become arrogant to the point of threatening to eliminate anyone who posed as their enemies.

 That lawsuit brought against Ricardo's pride, the most violent, because it was reported in the press. And his hatred exploded to the limit of ordering his gunmen to immediately eliminate him. Journalist Raul Vilella was kidnapped, beaten and killed on Friday morning, August 23, 1950. His murderers also deposited his remains in front of the newspaper's headquarters where he worked, generating a wave of protests against the authorities.

While these were colluding with the atrocities committed by the powerful. Colonel Eduardo Cintra visited the businessman and notified him of being the main suspect for the barbaric murder of the journalist. Since there was a feud between the two. But when he returned from the conversation, he gave orders to his men to leave him out of suspicion, it was believed that he had received a good kick to keep silent.

 The recession ended and the Brazilian economy stabilized, despite the foreign debt and the high interest rates that the government would have to pay. There was a sharp drop in the production of the industries during that period, but the sector overcame the crisis and began to recover even if slowly.

 The Braga brothers and their associates celebrated their victory in the face of economic turmoil, returning to their lives of perks and excessive spending. This was the reason why Gustavo Braga decided to appoint Paula as his successor.

In the presidency of the industries and not one of his children. The year 1955 brought news to the fashion sectors. With the emergence of new trends in the European market, which were soon followed by the female and male world. Great achievements, such as Equal Rights for everyone. It also allowed for a greater expansion in the production of more modern fabrics taking the factories.

 They made more profits, generating new jobs. Everything seemed to follow its natural course, without any major problems. It was a winter afternoon, when Ricardo was visited by Afonso and became aware of something that put all that good life at risk in exchange for violence and crime:

  — I have not good news!

  — What is it about, do you seem nervous? ...

  — Fernando came to me to notify the officialization of a document left by our sister, where he declares all his assets to his only direct heir

 — Who, the bastard?

 — Exactly!

 — We don't even know his whereabouts, what harm would it do us?

 — She left a signed document in the hands of a lawyer who is suing justice, for God's sake, are you by chance still traveling on the effect of the drugs you usually use? The case is very serious my brother!

  — Of course not! I think it is an exaggeration on your part to think that with the power we have in our hands we have felt threatened by such a silly subject! Check the price of this document and pay whatever it takes to the lawyer, whoever it may be, but put a rock on it!

  — What the hell, don't you see I already did that?