Caray, Caray!

Raquel stands next to her packed suitcase and tells us that whatever surprise Ricardo has prepared for her could be dangerous. She doesn't want to risk finding out.

Juan tells Eva that Ruth came by, wanting to be friends with Juan. Juan is willing to let Ruth visit for Eva's sake. Eva is grateful.

"You killed the Reyes' parents," Sofía tells Ricardo. Eavesdropping Ruth is stunned. Ricardo admits to it, but says it was Gabi's fault. She planned the whole thing. If he goes to jail, he'll turn Gabi in, and she'll get locked up too. And if she tells the Reyes about this, he'll tell them the rest of the story, and they'll seek revenge on Gabi too. How would she like it if Juan killed them and rotted away his last days in a prison cell? Sofi runs up the stairs, mortified. Ruth scurries back to her room.

Juan is waiting in Sofía's room. That's way better than the big fat centipede I found in my room a few months ago. He wants to know why she is so upset, but she can't tell him anything. They hug, and she cries on his shoulder.

Ruth is brooding over Sofía's words ("you killed the Reyes' parents") when she hears a horse outside her window. (By the way, it's a full moon, just in case you were wondering.) It's Capricho. She's furious to think that Juan is in Sofía's room, and swears revenge.

Now Gabi is telling Ricardo that he should forgive her for deceiving him about Raquel's baby, since Ruth is the child of both of them. Ricardo says he never would have broken up with her. Gabi scoffs at this, since she was married to Bernardo at the time. Ricardo says he would have killed him. "You loved me that much?" Ricardo kisses her in reply.

They separate hastily as Ruth bursts in to tattle on Sofía for having Juan in her room. Ricardo gives Ruth a funny look as Gabi rushes off to investigate. Gabi breaks up Juan and Sofía's little kissing party and calls Sofía shameless. She tells Juan to round up his three little boogersnot kids and get out.

Juan tells her not to talk that way about his kids. Sofía isn't leaving here until she's married to him. Gabi starts with her "I own this place, I call the shots" speech, and that's when Juan drops his bomb: Abuelo sold him his share of the hacienda. Juan says Sofía can stay, or he can move his entire family in here - it's all legal.

Gabi doesn't take the news well. Juan explains that Abuelo did this to ensure that his granddaughters would be safe. Gabi runs out clutching her forehead in dismay. Sofía beams. Juan then repeats everything he just said in case we or Sofi didn't catch it the first time.

Gabi goes back to her study to tell Ricardo and Ruth what just happened. Juan now has power over a good portion of the house and property. She can't do anything. She curses the irony that her father ended up defeating her, but this means that now she's going to have to kill the Reyes.

Juan tries to get Sofía to agree to move in with him now, so that she'll be safe. She doesn't want to leave her mother behind because she's in danger. Juan thinks this is absurd, but Sofía says she just needs some time put things in order and then she'll be at ease. He doesn't understand what danger Sofia's referring to, and she doesn't explain, but he says he'll be on the lookout. He can't wait till their wedding day to be done with this nightmare forever. She thinks him for being so understanding. Someday she'll be able to tell him why she was so afraid. He tells her to spit it out, but she doesn't. They go back to kissing. Then he leaves to check on Oscar.

Alone, Sofía agonizes over what will happen if she tells anyone about Ricardo murdering Juan's parents.

Back at the cottage, Ruth asks her father what's the big deal - Gabi still owns most of the hacienda, right? Ricardo says Juan owns enough of it to have a say in any decisions.

Ruth hesitantly asks him if he really killed Juan's parents. He tells her to lower her voice - he's afraid Raquel will hear.

Raquel will not hear. She's lugging her suitcase down the road, scampering for her life. Coyote comes along and says he knows she's in trouble; he begs her to let him help. She doesn't waste any time; she hops into his truck. (The way she's walking, it appears that Raquel, like Rosario, did not consider wearing practical shoes for her great escape.)

Ricardo sees that Raquel and her things are gone. He and Ruth ride around on horses to look for her.

Eva and Tio Vicente enjoy hot drinks and she tells him her tale of woe. (Could these two someday be an item?) Ruth is so much like her adoptive father. It pains Eva to admit it, but it's the truth. Tio says Ruth is also a lot like Gabriela when she was younger; she loved hurting the people around her. Tio tells Eva not to cry; someday everything will be fine, and Ricardo Uribe will pay for the cruelty that he instilled in Eva's daughter.

Ricardo angrily gives up the search for Raquel. Ruth thinks she'll be back; she's run away before. Now she wants to finish hearing his explanation about killing Juan's parents. He says yeah, he killed them, but Gabriela drove him to it. She had it all planned out. Ruth is shocked. How could Gabriela possibly have convinced him? He says she did it the way all women do, with the same weapons that work on all men: love, jealousy, passion. Ruth is still aghast that this was enough to turn him into a killer. He says yeah, he's passionate, and when he makes a decision, nothing can stop him. Ruth's pleading eyes beg him to change his story.

Feo complains to Gabi that her father got his own way; the final winning move. Gabi says it won't last long. Feo will have to get rid of the Reyes, or she'll do it herself. Feo advises her to chill out. First, they should play along with Juan so as not to tip him off and make him want to move in. Sofía will be easier to manage, too. And then add a touch of good old blackmail. Sofía will fall in line, because she loves her mommy and doesn't want her to suffer. It'll be better to have Sofía in the hacienda than Juan.

Juan tells his peeps at home that he's not confident about the kids' safety; but if he marries Sofía right away then he can bring them to live here now. Franco asks what's this great danger that Gabriela's supposed to be in; Juan guesses that it has something to do with Feo or Ricardo. Tio warns Juan to be cautious; one false move will get the enemy's attention.

But Oscar says that if Sofía suspects something, then she's probably right, and she's in danger and so are the kids. Juan says that's why they need Oscar to get better, to protect their women and children. Oscar promises that he will. Tio says let's find out what's going on before we do anything.

Gabi calls Sofía into her study. Sofi is expecting to get kicked out of the house; instead, Gabi says she's given up her useless effort to keep Sofía and Juan apart. She'll respect their decision to marry. That's it; Sofía is dismissed.

Sofía says it's nice of Gabi to let them be together since nobody can split them up. But she wants to know if it's true that Gabi made Ricardo kill Juan's parents."

Gabi says that when you're in love with someone the way she was in love with JJ Robles, you'll do anything. "But you should know that better than anyone, with all you've been through with Juan Reyes, right?" Sofía says she'd never make Juan commit a crime. Gabi says that emotion can cause you to surpass your own limits.

Sofi guesses that JJ rejected Gabi, and that's where her hate for him began. Gabi is speechless. Sofía tells her that Ricardo threatened to turn Gabi in if Sofi turns him in.

Gabi seems shocked by this twist, but is ready to use it to her advantage - she explains that this is why she asked Ricardo to stay - because if she displeases him, he'll turn her in. She lays an extra-thick guilt quilt on Sofía, saying that this is her big chance for revenge, for Sofía to show just how much she hates Gabriela. Sofía cries with denial, no I don't hate you, I love you, I'd do anything for you, I'll keep quiet in order to save you, even though my conscience will complain.

Gabriela puts on a stellar display of motherly contrition. "I never thought you could have compassion for me," she says. She takes Sofía's hands, "You're soooo good. The only thing I can do is ask forgiveness for all my offenses. Please forgive me for all the damage I've done." She asks Sofía to please stay at the hacienda until her wedding day.

Sofía tears up and thanks Gabriela. This is all she's ever wanted in her life. Gabriela hugs her and frowns over her shoulder. Ruth interrupts and sarcastically remarks, "What a moving sight, though I don't know who you're trying to fool." She asks Gabriela why she hasn't kicked Sofi out yet. Gabi defends Sofía and says she'll never kick her daughters out of this house. "But you did before - besides, you don't even like Sofía!" Gabi shushes her and tells her to be respectful to Sofía, or else she'll be sent to live int he cottage.

Ruth goes to her room, confused and angry. Feo's waiting for her. She explains that Gabi and Sofía offended her and she hates them both. He wants to know why she's so mad at her now when she admired her so much before. Ruth says Gabi treated her like a dog in order to get in good with Sofía. "You're jealous!" Feo taunts. She asks him to help her make Gabriela feel the way Gabi made Ruth feel. He recommends that they get rid of Gabriela in an "accident." Ruth will inherit everything. But first he'd like Ruth to sign a statement giving him half her fortune. She tells him he's crazy.

Juan contemplates a batch of conchas. They look a little like brains. Maybe these people have conchas for brains. That would explain a lot. He muses that he's got to get Sofía and his kids out of there and protect them.

Franco sneaks into Sarita's room. He wakes her with a kiss. We don't get to see much more, but we know there's more.

Ruth agrees to Feo's deal and asks him for the paper. He says he'll get it later. First they'll seal the deal with some rough sex.

Ricardo is on the prowl, dressed in black with his face covered; definitely the look of a low-tech Darth Vader. He remembers getting shot at by some unseen person (Coyote) and wonders who's this additional enemy he doesn't know about. Could be the person who helped Raquel escape; what wants to kill him, and why does he hate him?

Coyote brings Raquel home to Mom. "This woman is my mother. One more victim of Ricardo Uribe and Gabriela Acevedo." He kisses Mom's hand and she kisses his sweet shiny forehead.

Feo returns to his own room, where Gabriela is already asleep with a book in her hand. (Extraordinary Tales of Edgar Allan Poe - no doubt "The Tell-Tale Heart" is among them.) "Very soon you'll be sleeping forever," he thought-bubbles at her.

Eva dreams of talking to her better fake daughter, Rosario, in a flower garden. She explains that things aren't going well with her real daughter, Ruth, who rejected her. Rosario comforts her with a hug. Eva wakes up, begging Rosario not to leave. This wakes Quintina, who is wearing green socks with toes, and some randomly applied face cream. (Notice that even rumpled from sleep, Eva looks better with her hair down than in the ponytail.) Eva then describes the entire dream to her.

Q says it's a tough break that Rosario didn't turn out to be Eva's real daughter. Rosario was so nice, and Ruth is nasty like trichinosis. Like Ricardo. In fact, just today Quintina caught Ruth trying to gain Pablito's confidence, maybe trying to get some information. She's up to no good.

It turns out that the reason Rosario couldn't hang around with Eva is because she had an appointment to haunt Feo. "Do you remember me? You're going to pay for each and every one of your crimes." "Leave me alone! You're dead!" he cries, waking Gabi. "Get her away from me!" he begs. Gabi looks around, but doesn't see anyone. "Right there!" He points at the wardrobe. "It's Rosario! She's come for me, she wants revenge!" He can still hear her echoing accusations.

Gabriela realizes that Feo killed Rosario and Armando. He admits it, still staring in terror at the haunted wardrobe.

Darth Ricardo skulks around in Pablito's room, looking for that little box. His foot knocks a toy over; Pablito wakes, but pretends to be asleep as Ricardo searches all around his bed.

The boy follows Ricardo into the living room. Darth takes the Robles family crest off the wall and steps on it. He finds Pablito's little box inside Juan's big trunk. "Now I just have to find Raquel," Ricardo thought-bubbles.

But first he will have to get past Pablito, who demands an explanation. Ricardo shushes him, but this is not an obedient child. His screams of fury wake the entire house. He latches onto Ricardo's leg for dear life. Everyone rushes out to help - everyone except Oscar, who fumbles on the floor with his wheelchair and curses himself for being unable to defend the family. Slacker!

The grownups are too late - the masked man is gone. Juan rushes outside and takes a few shots at the departing shadow. At least one shot gets him in the leg. Darth Vader Uribe rides off into the darkness, and nobody knows it was him.

Mexico airdate: 10 de septiembre
Next time: Sofía tells Uncle Vinnie that Ricardo killed the Reyes' parents.

Labels: Fuego