It was a quiet Monday afternoon, but things were crazy inside Rafael Ferraz’s enormous house. The sound of two newborn girls sobbing in the beautiful hallways was so painful that everyone who heard it felt sorry. Renata Silva, a 25-year-old maid, had only been working at this nice house for three weeks, but she couldn’t stand how sad the twins, Helena and Sofia, were. They were only three months old. Renata thought she had to help the twins because they had been crying for hours.
Rafael, who used to be a vivacious businessman but was now tired and melancholy, strolled through the house like a ghost. Because he had trouble sleeping and was worried, he looked older than his 34 years. He had tried everything he could think of to calm his kids down, even calling every doctor he could think of, but nothing seemed to help. As he marched up and down the corridor, he yelled for Sueli, the housekeeper who had worked for the family for twenty years.
Sueli, I can’t handle this anymore. He yelled, “I’m a bad father!” Renata halted on the steps and felt how sad he was. She knew how it felt to lose a child because she had lost her own baby just a year before and was still in pain.
Rafael picked up the phone again, his hands quivering with anxiety. “Doctor, it’s me again.” My girls are still crying. Please help us! He asked for answers in a voice full of pain. The doctor’s statement, “We don’t know what else to do,” only made him feel worse.
After he hung up, he hit the wall with his hand in anger. Renata observed and felt sorry for the man who was clearly at the end of his rope. He instantly grabbed both babies and raced out of the house, saying, “I’m taking them to the hospital!”
The door slammed shut, leaving Renata in an eerie silence. She exhaled in relief, not because she was getting a break from work, but because the twins would finally have some peace and quiet. She proceeded toward their room, where the fragrance of baby powder and medicine was still in the air. The pink and blue decorations on the twin beds made her heart hurt.
As she stood there, Renata couldn’t help but think about her own child who had died. She picked up a little pink onesie with a bunny print on it, and tears streamed down her face. “My little angel,” she said through tears, wondering about how different her life might have been if her baby had lived.
All of a sudden, she heard someone arriving. Rafael was back, and his face reflected how sorry he was. He came into the room with one of the crying twins, Helena, in his arms. He murmured gently, “I don’t know what to do anymore,” his voice full of sadness. Renata’s heart bled even more when she saw how weak and lost he was.
Renata grabbed without thinking. “Can I hold her for a minute?” Rafael, who was tired and desperate, nodded and handed Helena over to him. The room became quite quiet as soon as Renata held the infant. Helena stopped crying and gazed at Renata with wide eyes, as if she were interested. It was as if a switch had been flipped. Sofia, who was still in the crib, also quieted down when she noticed that the room had changed.
“Calm down, little one,” Renata whispered in a quiet voice as she rocked Helena in her arms. Rafael couldn’t believe it when the baby closed her eyes and fell asleep, which was the first time in weeks that she had genuinely slept. He couldn’t believe it when Sofia calmed down too when he brought her close.
“How did you do that?” Rafael spoke in a voice that was just above a whisper. “I don’t know, sir,” Renata answered, and her own eyes were full of tears. “I just thought she needed me.”
At that moment, Dr. Cásia Drumon strode in with a sense of power. At 38, she was a well-respected pediatrician. But today, when she saw the two peaceful babies and a maid carrying one of them, she felt different.
“What’s up?” Cásia asked, narrowing her eyes. Rafael quickly told Cásia how Renata had soothed the twins, but she looked angry. “You can’t let just anyone take care of them.” They’re weak!
Rafael spoke up for Renata because he was still surprised by how she could calm the girls down. “But look at them! Finally, they are free! Cásia, on the other hand, wasn’t sure. “You don’t know what she might have done to them.” We need to be careful.
Renata felt a chill run down her spine when Cásia pulled Rafael aside to chat about what was going on. The way Cásia talked was off. She was used to watching the doctor get ready to give the twins their medicine during the past few months.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Rafael asked, looking worried. Cásia waved her palm in a way that said, “Of course I’m a pro.” Renata’s stomach felt like it was getting tighter. She had just seen the twins do fine without medicine a few minutes ago.
The twins’ health fluctuated a lot throughout the course of the days. Renata was there to help Cásia calm down, but she kept giving her medicine that just made things worse. The twins cried louder than ever, and Rafael didn’t know whether to believe the doctor or Renata’s gut feeling.
One day, Sueli came up to Renata with a look of fear in her eyes. “Something isn’t right.” The girls only stopped crying when you were there. And they get worse once the doctor gives them medicine. Renata nodded, her heart racing. She had seen it happen before.
In the days that followed, Renata and Sueli began to fit together the scary puzzle. They wrote down when Cásia appeared and when the twins’ crying got worse. It was clear that Cásia’s drug made the girls’ health worse every time she administered it to them. Renata’s doubts grew worse, so she went to talk to Rafael.
“Sir, I need to talk to you,” she said one night. Cásia added, “I think the twins’ medicine is very wrong.” Rafael looked like he was in a bad place since he had to choose between trusting Cásia and worrying more and more about the girls.
“Renata, thanks for your help, but Cásia is a professional. He answered, “She has been taking care of them since they were born,” but Renata could tell he was starting to doubt.
Renata couldn’t get the feeling that Cásia was hiding something while she was taking care of the twins. The more she observed, the more clear she was that the doctor didn’t mean well. One night, she spotted Cásia putting something in the twins’ medicine without saying why.
The next day, Renata was in a bad mood because she hadn’t slept well the night before. Rafael was at his wits’ end because the twins were crying again. “Renata, they need help!” He exclaimed in rage, “I can’t take this anymore!”
“That’s what I’m trying to say!” Renata cried back, her voice breaking. “Cásia is doing something to them!” “You have to believe me!”
But Rafael really believed in Cásia. “I can’t just take your word for it.” “What’s your proof?” he demanded, making Renata feel helpless.
Weeks turned into days, and the twins’ condition kept becoming worse. The stress in the house was too much to take. One night, as Renata was cleaning the kitchen, she heard Cásia talking on the phone in a low, conspiratorial voice. “No, I can’t tell them.” “Everything is going as planned,” she said softly, which made Renata’s skin crawl.
The next day, Renata made her decision. She needed to see proof. She carefully followed Cásia to her car and observed her place a bag full of vials in the trunk. When Renata realized that Cásia was hiding something bad, her heart raced.
That night, Renata faced Rafael again, this time with proof. “I’ve been watching her, and I know what she’s up to. She told him that she was exploiting you and the twins, and she showed him the vials she had taken from Cásia’s car.
When Rafael looked inside, his face transformed from shocked to scared. He said softly, “What is this?” and his voice shook. “This is what she’s been giving them.” “It’s not safe!” Renata yelled, her heart pumping.
The news hit Rafael quite hard. “We need to get them to a hospital right away,” he said again, his determination running through his veins. They all hurried to the twins’ room, where the girls were having problems falling asleep.
Cásia came home out of nowhere just as they were getting the twins ready to go to the hospital. “What’s going on here?” she asked, her voice full of phony worry. Renata and Rafael looked at each other and realized they had to hurry.
“We’re taking the girls to get a second opinion,” Rafael remarked firmly. Cásia’s face turned darker. “You can’t do that!” They need their medicine!
“No, they need to be free of you.” Renata shot back, her voice strong even though she was afraid. Cásia got in front of them, which made it hard for them to move. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”
But Rafael didn’t give up. “No, you don’t know what you’re doing.” You have been poisoning them!
In a panic, Cásia lunged toward the twins, but Rafael got there first. He scooped them up and dashed past her, with Renata immediately behind him. They raced out from the mansion and drove to the closest hospital, where they begged for help.
As soon as they went inside, the doctors quickly evaluated the twins and ran tests. They didn’t have to wait long to hear the dreadful news: the girls had been drugged. The doctors worked nonstop to stabilize them, while Rafael and Renata waited impatiently, hoping they would get well.
After waiting for hours, a doctor finally came out. “They’re going to be fine, but we need to keep a close eye on them,” he said. Rafael and Renata felt a sense of relief.
Rafael looked at Renata as they sat in the hospital room and watched the twins sleep peacefully. “I’m so sorry I didn’t trust you. With tears in his eyes, he added, “You were right all along.” “I should have listened to you.”
Renata smiled softly, and her heart was full of hope. “What’s crucial now is that they are safe. We’ll do this together.
As the days turned into weeks, the twins became better and better, and Rafael and Renata grew closer than ever. They talked about what worried them and what they hoped for, which made their bond stronger.
Finally, they returned home, and Rafael made sure to keep an eye on everything. People in the community helped Renata get her life back on track after Cásia was arrested for her crimes.
A few months later, on a nice afternoon, Rafael and Renata stood in the backyard and watched Helena and Sofia play. Renata said with all her heart, “They’re doing great.”
“Yes, thanks to you,” Rafael murmured as he held her hand. “You’ve been their rock.”
Renata grinned, and warmth poured through her body. “And you have been mine.”
They hugged and recognized that their love had grown out of their anguish. They had established a great family together. The twins’ laughter sounded like a hymn, which showed that love had won over darkness.
Renata understood then that family isn’t just about blood; it’s also about the love we have for each other and the relationships we establish. She had found her place in the world, and for the first time in a long time, she was truly happy.