{"id":115,"date":"2026-01-02T00:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T03:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/?post_type=capitulo&#038;p=115"},"modified":"2026-03-06T01:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T04:55:12","slug":"cake-by-the-ocean-2","status":"publish","type":"capitulo","link":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/livro\/cake-by-the-ocean-english-version\/capitulo\/cake-by-the-ocean-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Cake by the Ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><br><strong>(Read while enjoying the song &#8211; Cake by the Ocean &#8211; DNCE \u2027 2015)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"DNCE - Cake By The Ocean\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PAzH-YAlFYc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Rand\u2019s dogs always swarmed me when I arrived. Pure euphoria\u2014jumping, begging for attention. I\u2019d push them away politely; I wasn\u2019t much of a dog person, but I didn&#8217;t complain either. It was just the cost of being there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I pulled up in my gray, rounded VW Gol, orange backpack slung over my shoulder, and walked through the open gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019d sit in the living room. Rand would prep the lines with ritualistic precision. He was communicative, generous, the kind of guy who made friends anywhere. He could hold someone in conversation for hours without breaking a sweat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was his polar opposite. Technical, introspective, more at home with code. But there, with him, I relaxed. Or at least I faked it\u2014I\u2019d become an expert at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGot a light, man?\u201d Rand asked, cigarette already in his mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I pulled the yellow lighter from my pocket\u2014the survivor\u2014lit it for him, and tucked it back away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We didn\u2019t talk much about Depil Xu. We didn\u2019t have to. We both knew how she\u2019d wrecked him. I saw it in the silences, in the way his hands paused while prepping the lines, in the topics he carefully avoided. Relationships were dangerous territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Attachment was vulnerability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I was about to put that theory to the ultimate test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I spent months just watching. Studying him. The way he handled people, how he built trust effortlessly. That skill was going to be crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there was a bigger problem I had to solve first: the perfect plan required leaving no traces. None. For years, I had searched for the answer on how to achieve that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At first, I couldn&#8217;t see it. Every scenario I simulated had a leak. Technology can be tracked. Patterns can be identified. Witnesses can emerge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the most unpredictable variable was always the human one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then it hit me: I already knew the answer. I\u2019d always known. I just needed enough leverage to execute it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The answer was to eliminate all variables. Literally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But to do that, paradoxically, I would have to break my own rule: I\u2019d have to involve someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that someone was Rand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It started on an ordinary night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about something,\u201d I said, keeping my voice casual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA score. But not just any score\u2014something perfect. No traces, no flaws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He smirked, thinking it was all theoretical. \u201cEvery crime has a flaw, man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s exactly why I\u2019ve never pulled one. But I\u2019ve been developing this for years. I finally figured out how to make it foolproof.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I laid it out slowly, letting him soak it in. High-end gym locker rooms across the country. S\u00e3o Paulo, Rio, Bras\u00edlia, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Recife. Wealthy targets, zero connection between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe projected take is a hundred million,\u201d I said, watching his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA hundred\u2026 mill?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMaybe more, maybe less. Depends on the targets. If the yield looks low, we abort. No point risking it for scraps. But if we pick right, it could go way past that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rand was processing. He snorted a line, looking thoughtful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhy are you telling me this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBecause I found the right person. You have something I don&#8217;t\u2014you\u2019re a natural with people. You can keep anyone talking without looking suspicious. It\u2019s a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I saw his ego inflate, just a bit. I kept going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut there\u2019s a catch. And I need you to understand how serious this is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhat catch?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI spent years looking for the perfect crime. I realized the only way is to leave no uncontrolled variables. None. I control the tech. I control the timing. But people\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople are unpredictable,\u201d he finished for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cExactly. And you\u2019re a person. An extra variable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I let the silence hang between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut here\u2019s why I decided to tell you: I trust you. I\u2019m breaking my own rule\u2014doing it alone\u2014because I realized you\u2019re different. You understand loyalty. You understand security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Building the narrative, brick by brick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd most importantly: I have rules to ensure this works. Non-negotiable rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFirst: we do this exactly once. Never again. I don&#8217;t care how much we make or how tempted we get. One and done. Repetition creates patterns, and patterns get you caught.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSecond: absolute mutual trust. If either of us thinks the other is slipping, we abort. No questions asked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThird: no emotional traces. No flashy spending, no lifestyle changes. The money trickles in, discreetly, over years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rand was hypnotized. I saw the exact second he was sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou really did think of everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI did. For years. And only now did I find someone I can trust enough to break my rule about working alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lie. I knew from day one he was disposable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But he believed it. Everyone believes it when you build the right narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m in,\u201d he finally said. \u201cWhen do we start?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re ready. But remember: just once. After that, we go back to our lives and we never mention it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJust once,\u201d he repeated, like a vow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I smiled internally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He didn\u2019t know my rule was different: once with each person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And he was just another name on the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It took four months. We traveled together\u2014executives in meetings, brothers on a bender. Elite gyms in seven capitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rand was a natural. He\u2019d lock CEOs and entrepreneurs into conversations about the market, networking, opportunities. Twenty, thirty minutes at a time. I had all the time in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hacked 114 phones. I spent weeks analyzing financial profiles, transactions, investments. I cross-referenced the data and purged the risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I selected 41 targets. Combined net worth? Impossible to pin down, but they all had millions in liquid assets and international credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If everything went right, we\u2019d hit the hundred million mark. But it was unpredictable\u2014it depended on what each one had available the moment we struck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During those months, the friendship deepened. More waterfalls, more talks, more time at his place. The dogs would jump, I\u2019d push them away. He\u2019d just laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We didn\u2019t talk about Depil. But I knew she was still living rent-free in his head. I saw it when he\u2019d drift off, prepping another line in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Attachment. Always attachment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I still had none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>D-Day. Thursday, 2:14 PM. Forty-one accounts accessed simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero\u2014cascading conversions through sixty-three ghost wallets. The money danced through the system until it was unrecognizable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fourteen days later, I finished the audit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We met at his house. He was wired, the dogs picking up on the energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cForty-one million, fourteen thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lower than the goal, but a lot. A hell of a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rand exploded. \u201cHOLY SHIT! We did it! We actually did it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I stayed calm. It wasn&#8217;t my first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRemember the rule?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOnce and done. I know, I know. But fuck, man\u2014forty-one million!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why we need to celebrate. Close the loop properly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat waterfall. Where we met. Where you almost died that first time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He laughed, nostalgic. \u201cDid too much, thought it was the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s go tomorrow. A closing ritual. It started there; it ends there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPerfect, man. Perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The waterfall was deserted. Mid-week, exactly when I knew it would be empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We sat on the rocks. Rand prepped the lines, talking nonstop about his plans\u2014how he\u2019d invest quietly, follow the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe did it right, didn&#8217;t we? Stuck to the plan. One time. No repeats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe did,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I pulled the special bag from my pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBrought this for the occasion. One last celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He didn&#8217;t question the strange purity or the generous portion I offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blind trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More lines. He talked, laughed, reminisced. \u201cYou\u2019re my brother, man. Not just a partner. You\u2019re family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI feel the same,\u201d I lied, monitoring his breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When he started to stagger, when the disorientation set in, I stayed by his side. I held him as he slumped over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I cried\u2014real tears, practiced over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhy\u2026?\u201d he wheezed, in his final moment of clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBecause that was the answer I knew from the start. The only way to eliminate the human variable is to eliminate it literally. I trusted you, Rand. But trust has an expiration date.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe\u2026 rules\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI followed my rules. You followed yours. The difference is that mine always included this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I watched his breathing stop. I waited the exact amount of time before calling emergency services\u2014the panicked, desperate friend. \u201cMy friend! He did too much! Please, I need help!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I arrived before the ambulance. Stayed with the body. Cried when they pronounced him dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the wake, I was the most devastated person in the room. I hugged his family. I gave a speech about friendship and loyalty. I cried at the coffin\u2014cynical, but necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I kept visiting the house afterward. Helping with the dogs, comforting the neighbor who took them in. I couldn&#8217;t just vanish. That would be a pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it worked. No one suspected a thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 41 fraud cases were never linked. Different cities, different profiles. They were filed away as unsolved cybercrimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The money? Invested offshore over the years. Shell companies in five countries. Gradual acquisitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I knew how to do this because I\u2019d done it before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rand wasn\u2019t the first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And he won\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The perfect crime isn&#8217;t a one-off\u2014it\u2019s a method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I spent years looking for the answer to a crime without traces. And when I finally found it, I realized I\u2019d known it all along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Eliminate the variables. Build the trust. Execute perfectly. And remove the human element at the precise moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rand followed his rules: once, no repeats, mutual trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I followed mine: once with each person, erase all traces, never attach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Attachment is vulnerability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I never attach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Read while enjoying the song &#8211; Cake by the Ocean &#8211; DNCE \u2027 2015) Rand\u2019s dogs always swarmed me when I arrived. Pure euphoria\u2014jumping, begging for attention. I\u2019d push them away politely; I wasn\u2019t much of a dog person, but I didn&#8217;t complain either. It was just the cost of being there. I pulled up [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":108,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"livro":[19],"personagem":[82,27,81],"genero":[53,52],"tom":[55,54,56],"timeline":[57],"versao_jota":[49],"categoria_cap":[58],"item_essencial":[36,34,32],"tema":[80,61,62],"local":[68,65,67,63,45,66,70,69,64,79],"keyword":[76,72,74,73,71,77,78,75],"class_list":["post-115","capitulo","type-capitulo","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","livro-cake-by-the-ocean-english-version","personagem-depil-xu","personagem-gpjota","personagem-rand-oliveira","genero-crime","genero-thriller-psicologico","tom-calculista","tom-frio","tom-perturbador","timeline-curitiba","versao_jota-normal","categoria_cap-crime-premeditado","item_essencial-gol-bolinha-cinza-urban-2003","item_essencial-isqueiro-amarelo-o-sobrevivente","item_essencial-mochila-laranja","tema-frieza-psicopatica","tema-lealdade-como-ferramenta","tema-manipulacao-e-confianca","local-academias-de-elite-em-sao-paulo","local-brasilia","local-cachoeira-local-onde-se-conheceram","local-casa-do-rand","local-curitiba","local-porto-alegre","local-recife","local-rio","local-salvador","local-velorio","keyword-assassinato-premeditado","keyword-confianca-traida","keyword-crime-perfeito","keyword-fraude-financeira","keyword-manipulacao","keyword-metodo-replicavel","keyword-overdose-simulada","keyword-variavel-humana"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/capitulo\/115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/capitulo"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/capitulo"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"livro","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/livro?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"personagem","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/personagem?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"genero","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/genero?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"tom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tom?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"timeline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/timeline?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"versao_jota","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/versao_jota?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"categoria_cap","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categoria_cap?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"item_essencial","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/item_essencial?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"tema","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tema?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"local","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/local?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ziev.com.br\/gpjota\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}