In his office, Alonso learns from Magda of Omar’s accident.
She promises to call the hospital for an update. Marcia runs in, breathless, to
tell Al she knows exactly what happened to Don Omar. Magda leaves them. Mario
arrives at the government offices and also wants to see Alonso, but Mauro stops
him since he is busy with one of Mario’s “girls.” Mario is startled that Mauro
knows about his prostitution ring. They start a game of one-upmanship daring
each to reveal the other’s secrets to Alonso—especially the one about Cecelia
being Mario’s daughter and the other about Mauro’s sexual preference. Mario
backs down as Mauro urges them to go tell Alonso right then and there.
At the prison hospital, a hand passes money to a guard and
some prisoner passes in to stand by a sleeping Gerardo. It’s El Cuervo, the
dirty policeman who shot Pacheco (who later died).
Noemi is ready to tell Regina the truth about her father’s
other family, one he’s had for a long time. Regina chalks it up to her being
soused.
Alonso’s Office – Marcia declares that Natalia pushed Omar
down the stairs. Alonso doesn’t buy her story. He says right to her face that
just because they had a couple of rolls in the hay she’s to be believed? How
could she be that stupid, she’s nothing but trash. He tells her to disappear.
She claims she was only trying to help Omar through the betrayal by Alonso’s
mother. Al’s ire rises at the mention of his mother and would probably have
strangled Marcia if Cecelia hadn’t interrupted. Al tells Cece to get her out of
there and maybe get her a job at their mother’s cabaret. Marcia screams in
defiance, but Cece drags her out.
Prison hospital – Gerardo thinks El Cuervo is there to kill
him, but Cuervo says he comes “in peace.” He knows Gerry is in prison on
account of Alonso and the enemy of his enemy is his friend. Cuervo wants to
wreak vengeance on Alonso and Mario Barcenas. He’s in prison because of them.
He has a lot of information on Mario to divulge. Gerry wants to know why he
should help him. Cuervo says that in addition to retaliating against Alonso,
Cuervo will offer him protection as long as he’s in prison. Cuervo is told time
is up by the guard. Gerry agrees and Cuervo throws him a cell phone and tells
him he’ll take payment later.
Storeroom in Governor’s Office – Cecelia won’t listen to any
more of Marcia’s whiny begging for help. Cece tells her she’s now out of the
game. She is relieved to hear Marcia didn’t say anything to Alonso about
Marcia’s connection to Mario. Marcia tries again to get help to get out of what
she got (herself) into. Cece tells her she’s a big girl and sarcastically asks
if Mario held a gun to her head. No, right? She tells Marcia to stay put and
trust her while she figures out what to do next. Marcia panics because she’s
sure they’re going to kill her. Cece calms her down and tells her that if she
wants to live, she has to disappear. Marcia hears the word disappear and loses
it. Cece smacks her then tells her to control herself as she takes her into a
firm embrace. She’ll help her, but Marcia has to stay put.
Mauro’s Office – Mauro repeats to Mario—Cecelia is his
daughter. Mario is not denying nor affirming, but wants to know how he found
out. Mauro says it’s his job to investigate thoroughly anyone who comes close
to Alonso. It was tough because her background was well hidden. He goes on that
Mario shouldn’t worry because Al doesn’t suspect a thing. Mario realizes he’s
not going to come out of this situation with clean hands, so he asks Mauro what
he wants. Mauro says he wants Mario on his side when all this explodes (estallar).
First order of business, though, is to get rid of Marcia before Al finds out it
was Mario’s little scheme to put her in Omar’s household.
Mario starts to tell Mauro he can’t give him orders when
Alonso walks in on them. They cover up the real subject of their conversation
and Mario says he came by looking for Alonso. Then Magda pokes her head in to
tell Al his father has been hospitalized and undergoing tests. Furthermore,
Natalia wants him to come right away. Al acts as if it were nothing, just a
little fall down the stairs and he’ll go later on. Mario urges him to go now
and Al leaves.
Noemi’s Home – Regina doesn’t think Noemi is serious about
her allegation regarding Mario. Noemi assures her she’s in earnest. It’s time
for her to learn the truth. Meanwhile, Emi has been listening, unseen, to the
conversation. Regina doesn’t believe her story of another family. Noemi can’t
convince her. She warns Regina how evil Mario is and they must guard themselves
against him and protect all their assets or he will leave them with nothing.
Regina refuses to believe her. Noemi wants a drink to fortify herself to
continue, which proves to Reggie Noemi is affected by her alcoholic fog. Noemi
reiterates her declarations and begs Reggie not to say a word to anyone or
Mario will kill her. Still not believing her mother, Regina takes her mother in
her arms and holds her tight.
General Hospital – Alonso arrives followed by Magda. Natalia
gives him an update. Al wants to know what she was doing in the house. [ed.
note: Maybe he forgot he told her she should go back to the house and take care
of Omar a few episodes ago.] Anyway, Natalia says when she learned Omar was
deranged and nonsensical (desvariar), she came by to see how he was. When she
arrived, she caught that girl, Marcia trying to suffocate Omar and she threw
the girl out. Omar thought she was Magda and came out to see what was going on.
Alonso stops her there and wants to know what she had to do with his fall.
Natalia takes offense that he would think she’d do anything like that.
Alonso’s Office – Mario demands Cecelia tell him where
Marcia is. Cece stiffens her backbone and tells him she’s in charge now. She’s
not going to let anything happen to Marcia. She tells him to get lost. Mario
explains all the danger they are in since Mauro knows about him, Cecelia and
Marcia. Cece says she’ll still take charge and will make sure Marcia is no longer
a problem. Mario can’t believe she is defying (desafiar) him and insists on
taking care of Marcia his way. Cece tells him again to leave. She doesn’t want
to confront him, but if she has to, she will. [ed. note: Poor Cece, she found
her courage too late.]
Prison Phone Call – Gerardo uses up precious minutes and
battery power on his illicit cell phone to call Regina, who is still at home.
He’s worried about Ximena. She isn’t picking up his call. He asks Regina to
check on her. She agrees and they trade Te Amos. Regina goes back to her
mother’s side. She wants to focus on what they were talking about—her father,
but Noemi asks to be left in peace and passes out, leaving Regina in limbo.
General Hospital – Alonso, Natalia and Magda get the test
results from the doctor. The diagnosis is not dementia, it is a malignant tumor
of the central nervous system which as metastasized to his brain. The doc does
not recommend chemo or radiation at his age and surgery is not an option. Omar
doesn’t have much time left. The three are dumbfounded. Natalia leans into
Alonso and Magda breaks down.
Cecelia’s Place – Cecelia brings Marcia to her place for the
night. Marcia wants to know why she’s helping her. Cece says that when her life
draws to a close, she’d like to have had someone help her. She tells Marcia she
will have to leave Mexico or they will find her and kill her.
The Cabaret – Mario has gone to complain to Isela about
Marcia and why on earth Cece is helping her. Isela says Cece has had enough of
him and the type of man he is. He tells her to “take care” of Marcia and for
once in her life, be useful. Isela bristles at his misogynistic directive.
Noemi’s Home – Regina finishes a business phone call as Emi
comes in and lets her know he overheard his grandmother talking about his
grandfather having another family. Regina is still in denial and attributes her
ramblings to her drunken state. Emi tends to believe Noemi. Reggie tells him
she can’t deal with it right then. She has to go check on Ximena. Emi doesn’t
want to go with her. He found out from Mario that Xi was only with him to get
information. He broke up with her.
General Hospital – Natalia and Alonso talk quietly with each
other. Al knows Omar wasn’t a good father, nor a good husband, but he needs to
know if she’s going to stay with him until the end. Yes, but it’s not for love,
it’s for pity (piedad). Then Al brings up getting Omar’s papers in order so as
to get power of attorney since he’ll be managing his father’s financial
affairs. Natalia says not so fast, son. She’ll do all the managing. She’s quite
capable. He’s surprised she’s at all preoccupied with money. Natalia gives him
a long piercing look and replies she was never worried—until just then. She
shakes her head and adds they are a family of vultures.
The Demon’s Den – Teresa is in her element, screaming at
Ximena and throwing things. Xi is hiding in the bathroom. Xi comes out, afraid
her mother will destroy the house when Tere attacks her physically. She manages
to open the front door and Regina steps in while Tere continues her assault.
Regina tells her to stop and Tere turns at the sound of her voice. Tere grabs a
pointed letter opener and continues her tirade, now turning it on Regina.
Reggie starts to back away saying they all need to calm down, get some air;
maybe Ximena needs some air. Tere feels threatened by Regina wanting to take Xi
away. She jabs the point of the letter opener in Xi’s chest and asks if she
wants to leave. They get into a three-way tussle but Reggie manages to grab Xi
and flee as Tere yells at her that she’s a traitor. Tere is left standing alone,
completely deflated.
Noemi’s Home – Emi is reaching for a slug of alcohol when
Mario walks in on him. Emi says it’s to get the courage to ask him something.
Mario is all ears. Emi wants to know if it’s true he has another family. Mario
wants to know who told him and what was said. Emi uses his smarts and only says
his grandmother told him—he doesn’t want to give Mario an opportunity to invent
anything. Mario tells him not to believe anything an alcoholic would say. Mario
does admit to having had another woman and another family, but won’t tell him
anything more. He’s off to bed, leaving Emi standing there agape.
Cecelia’s Place – Isela barges in at a very late hour,
upsetting Cecelia. Isela wants to know why she is now defying her father over a
nobody. Cece says she’s tired of how Mario handles things and she won’t let
another woman die at his hands. Isela tells her to wake Marcia up. They have to
leave right away as Mario’s goon squad is about to arrive to kill Marcia.
Marcia is now up and wonders what’s going on. Isela will help her get out of
the country, but she’ll have to leave immediately.
General Hospital – Magda and Natalia begin to have a heart
to heart talk about Omar. Natalia tells her they have gotten too old to be
enemies any longer. She feels for Omar and what Alonso has become.
NEXT DAY
Prison Hospital – Gerardo calls Ignacio to have him withdraw
50,000 in pesos from his personal account (Nieves has the access information),
to “pay” for his cell phone. Ignacio asks no questions but promises to get it
done. Gerry asks about Ximena and Iggy says she’s ok, Regina is caring for her.
After Gerry hangs up, he turns to Cuervo and asks him to do his part and give
him the dirt on Mario Barcenas.
Alonso’s Patio – Al is talking to his lawyer. He wants the
power of attorney over his father’s affairs that very day, before his mother
gets ahead of him, wink, wink. The attorney is dubious but will get on it right
away.
Noemi’s Home – Mario comes up behind Noemi in their bathroom
and does everything short of bashing her head in for opening her mouth to
Regina about his other family. He swears he will
kill her if she says anything more to Regina.
Meanwhile, Regina is having breakfast by herself when Emi
passes by on his way to school. He learns Ximena is in the house and she needs
their help. Emi tells his mother they are the ones that need help. Emi stammers
over what Mario told him last night, just as Mario comes in—without a hair out
of place or bruised knuckles—and says he’ll talk to Regina.
Escalante’s Office – Fernando is briefing the judge on how
things are. Bizco is dead and the whole ball of wax is being run by El Chulo.
The judge is advised that El Chulo has a message for him, that everything will
continue as is, but first they need a favor. Senator Martinez is to be released
from jail. He’s leaving it up to the judge to figure out how to do it and it
has to be that very day.
The Cabaret – El Chulo & Co. have arrived to pick up a
little present from Isela. He and Isela greet each other, making it clear they
are on very familiar terms with each other. The “present” is Marcia, who is
flopped out on a bed, out cold. Isela names her price, a bargain, since they
are friends—a kilo of “stuff.” Chulo looks her over and agrees. She’ll fetch a
good price up at the border. He calls in his guys to pick her up and take her
out. [ed. note: This was a disgusting and disturbing scene to have to write.]
Cecelia’s Office – Cecelia is on the phone with her mother
asking about Marcia. Isela assures her she’ll be fine up north and she should
concentrate on her own job. Mauro comes in looking for Magda and Alonso. Cece
learns about Omar’s short life expectancy.
Noemi’s Home – Mario “tells” Regina about this other family.
Regina notes that Noemi is just finding out about this family or no. Mario says
she’s always been suspicious of him. Regina wants to know who this woman is, if
he is still seeing her and if he has children with her. He insists it was an
error and it means nothing. It’s mostly in Noemi’s imagination. Reggie has had
enough. She gets up and as she walks away she tells him her mother is suffering
over this. He should be by her side, be the one who takes her to the doctor. Ximena
comes in and she and Reggie go off together.
Alonso’s Office – Cecelia and Mauro are discussing Larreta
and how he’s thinking of talking about the dirty dealings in the Dept. of
Health. They need to keep his mouth shut. Al doesn’t think it’ll be a problem
now that his pal Martinez isn’t there to back him up. Mauro gives Al the “bad”
news that the judge has changed his mind and is going to release Gerardo on his
own recognizance. Al’s narco pals arranged it. Cece is very upset that Gerry is
getting out; it upsets their plans. Al
feels betrayed. Mauro suggests Al go talk to El Chulo in person.
General Hospital – Natalia comes into Omar’s room to see him
and he orders her out. A nurse enters and he tells her to get that woman out of
his room; she pushed him down the stairs and tried to kill him. Magda arrived
just in time to hear him say that. Magda heard what Omar said and tells Natalia
she would have been justified in pushing him down after the way he treated her.
Natalia denies doing it. Magda says she’s not accusing her, but maybe it’s
better if she takes over caring for Omar. As she walks away, Natalia calls
after her—Magda talked to Alonso, didn’t she. They’re plotting to strip
(despojar) her of everything and accuse her of trying to kill her. (Magda looks
as if it might be a good idea to try.)
Regina’s Office – Ximena is there with Regina when Daniela
comes in to tell them Gerardo is to be freed. Ignacio follows her in and
announces it’s thanks to Regina, who is surprised by that. Iggy quickly adds it
was Escalante as he gives Xi a big bear hug.
Noemi, dressed, coiffed and sober is on her way to the
doctor’s. She has stopped by to finish their conversation. Daniela excuses
herself.
The Demon’s Den – Ximena has decided to go back to her house
and is calling out for her mother. She thinks she’s alone when the Red Demon
comes out of nowhere and snatches a pregnancy test out of Xi’s hands. She wants
to know who she’s been sleeping around with. Xi just looks at her.
Mauro’s Office – Cecelia has followed Mauro in and is
incredulous that he and Alonso are doing business with narcos. Mauro answers
that Alonso is the boss. How else does she think campaigns are financed? Cece
has figured out that El Chulo had something to do with releasing Gerardo.
Obviously he’s backing whoever doesn’t want Al to win and Mauro is fairly
certain that person is working with Regina. Ah, muses Cece, The Immaculate One.
Cece’s solution is to eliminate her. Mauro doesn’t think Al will listen to that
proposal. Oh, and another thing, Mauro mentions to her, he thinks Al is getting
tired of Cece. She’s behaving as though she is going to take her sister’s
place, but Alonso won’t have a woman who is inferior. Cece says she’s not inferior. Mauro looks straight at
her and tells her of course, she is. Accept it.
Somewhere on an Empty Street – El Chulo and Alonso confront
each other, backed up by black SUVs, goons and guns. Al feels betrayed and
wants to know what is El Chulo’s relationship to Gerardo Martinez. El Chulo
says none. Al tells him not to lie. The judge let him go and did it for El
Chulo. Chulo doesn’t know what he’s talking about. [ed. note: It’s remotely
possible that Chulo doesn’t know anything—Escalante told the judge he had a
message from El Chulo, but that might have been a lie to make the judge do what
Escalante wanted.] The two counter-accuse each other of betrayals and they end
up in a stand-off.
Regina’s Office – Noemi continues her tale. That
relationship between her father and the other woman went on for a long time.
Regina has a sister and yes, Reggie knows her. It’s Cecelia Aguilar. Cara de impactada de Regina.