DOMENICA MONTERO Capítulos 25-26

 DOMENICA MONTERO English language recap

I’m going to blend episode 25-26 together. Events may not all be listed in order.

We start episode 25 with the cops finding the empty bottles of chemicals (that killed Luis’s bean crop) on Domenica’s land. Luis does not immediately assume Domenica is guilty, but he does say to her, “Swear to me you had nothing to do with this!”

She feels everyone is blaming her. Godfather, Tia, and Nana talk about what to do - Godfather thinks that the truth will win out, and they should cooperate and wait. 

This doesn’t work well, because even though Luis refuses to blame Domenica and gives her the benefit of the doubt, Mercedes, full of venom directed at Domenica, decides to file a complaint (or press charges). She never got around to selling her part of the hacienda to San Genis (Lawyer friend) so she has the legal right - she’s still an owner. Her complaint lands Domenica in the slammer in handcuffs. Genaro makes a big stink and pulls out his pistol (which he never had any intention of using). It’s all virtue signaling to make him appear loyal. 

Luis and San Genis are very worried about money,  because even though the bean crop is deceased, the providers of the supplies they bought to work the crop still expect to be paid, and Luis contracted workers to work - what will happen to them? 

In between these different storylines, little Lalo, the youngest son of Gabriel, promises Rosita that he’ll get his dad to help Luis with the crop - because his dad “has a lot of money.” Of course, Gabriel disabuses Lalo of this idea quickly, but Lalo is smarter and more astute than his dad assumes, and has some idea of what type of person his dad is.

When Luis and San Genis hear from Mercedes about what she did, they are both gobsmacked. Mercedes admits that even if she sacrifices the future of the hacienda to stick it to Domenica, it’ll be worth it to get that “tipa” out of her son’s life. Luis is furious. He yells at his mom that his feelings for Domenica aren’t going to change. 

Kiara strings a lusty Gabriel along, promising him more than besos, in return for him talking smack about Domenica in town and turning everyone against her. He notes her hatred for Domenica, which she freely admits to - “she took everything from me that I cared about.”

When Nana finds out that Mercedes was behind her niña being arrested, she rushes over to see Prudencio at Luis’s hacienda. She then immediately busts in on Mercedes, with Prudencio in tow, and reads her the riot act, while Prudencio ineffectually tries to shut her up. 

Nana informs Luis that Domenica hasn’t only had a complaint filed against her by his mom, but she was also dragged out in front of everyone in handcuffs! Luis is really riled against his mom now, and rushes off to see Domenica.

There’s a somewhat awkward scene between our senior love triangle (Prudencio, Mercedes, and Nana). Nana blames Mercedes for the life Pedro had, because Prudencio hid things to protect Mercedes. She also points out Mercedes’ hypocrisy - she’s all proper and fancy, but look at what she did! 

Mercedes makes some snide remark about Nana just being a servant, and also makes it clear that Prudencio is nothing to her (I thought that both these comments were super cruel). Also, regarding Nana’s devotion to Domenica, Mercedes says that Domenica cares nothing for Nana (again, where is this nastiness coming from?). When Nana describes her relationship with Prudencio as “pure” and “forever,” Prudencio looks at her with . . . I’m not sure . . . gratitude? affection? In any case, Mercedes is being super fea in this scene, but at the end of the day I think she will be redeemable. (Just my feeling.) Poor Prudencio just looks miserable and embarrassed by everything.

While Luis and San Genis are trying to sort things out with Domenica in jail, Pedro is very outraged on Domenica’s behalf. In essence, Pedro feels let down by everyone except Domenica, and I’m not completely sure of all the reasons, but partly he’s on her side because she was very fair with him when he was a nobody. He’s Domenica’s Number One fan.

Various loved ones visit Domenica in the slammer, but Tia and Kiara are never get around to able to see her.

Genaro offers to take the fall for Domenica so she can get out of jail (of course she refuses) but he does it for show, to (again) make himself look super loyal and selfless. He later tells Cosme (presidente municipal) that he needs to look like a hero to Domenica, to overshadow Luis (el doctorcito).

Nana and Godather commiserate about Domenica’s situation but are sure that there is no one to speak against her.

We end episode 25 with two cliffhangers - that crooked socio that tried to take advantage of Domenica many episodes before, this time convinces a judge that something hinky is going on, and all her accounts are frozen. Domenica learns this in jail. Meanwhile, a black-hoodied Max Langer is in town and takes Kiara by surprise.

We start episode 26 with more details about the crooked socio and Domenica’s frozen assets. She still has her personal accounts and the hacienda - they can’t touch that - but all her factories and businesses have everything frozen. She’s worried about all the employees and how they’re going to be paid. She’ll immediately sell her mansion in Puebla, but there was some concern about that too (I couldn’t follow it all). Godfather says his son Cute Lawyer is going to take legal steps to combat all the problems, but it’s tricky and will take time.

Max is incognito in town and still has some money. He offers Kiara a million pesos (about $30-something thousand US dollars) if she helps him get Domenica to forgive him. Max also promises to pay Kiara more when he successfully marries Domenica and has access to her money. Kiara takes the money (some sort of Venmo-type instant transfer), then tells Max good luck! Domenica is in love with someone else! Max doesn’t want to believe that Domenica could get over him so soon! (Max still claims to be in love with Domenica.)

Cosme asks Domenica to see him in his office - he has an “abajo del agua” offer for her. What he’s offering is some sort of private, unofficial, under the table deal - something like that. He wants Luis and Domenica to settle things privately - the charges be dropped (I assume) if she pays damages for the ruined crop. Godfather and Domenica refuse - she didn’t poison his crop, paying him is admitting guilt and she’s innocent! Luis isn’t in favor of the deal either, but later on, Mercedes officially accepts it, thinking that if they get paid back, great! But Domenica isn’t paying, even if she had the money, which she doesn’t.

Pedro has a private talk with Mercedes, whom he stiffly calls “señora,” and demands that she drop charges against Domenica if she (Mercedes) has any heart left in her.

When Mercedes finds out about Domenica’s frozen assets are due to a complaint from an ex socio, she thinks it’s sufficient proof that Domenica is bad - even her socios turned against her!

Mysteriously, Domenica is sprung from jail - the private “abajo del agua” deal was completed! But who paid? Luis didn’t have the money, neither did Godfather.

When Domenica and Kiara go to the community center, so Domenica can wash the jail smell off her, Max is lurking in the shadows in his black hoody and takes her by surprise. She unleashes her sadness and rage at him, while he spins her an excuse for everything - it appears he is claiming that some crime group was shaking him down for money (protection money?) and they got greedy when they found out Max was marrying someone rich. Max claimed that the syndicate threatened Domenica’s life, which is why he left her that note when he left her at the altar - it was all a ruse to try to convince the mob that Max didn’t really care about her, so they’d leave her alone. He did it all to protect her, see?  And now that all of the mob has been caught, he’s free to come back and straighten things out! Domenica doesn’t believe any of it. But - one other thing! It was Max who paid the fee for the “abajo del agua” deal, on her behalf, which is why she’s out of jail. But it looks kind of bad, because it implies she’s admitting guilt.

In the midst of all this, we have a scene with Kiara’s friend Silvi, who has successfully found the jewelers who sold Max the incriminating wedding ring. Silvi offers the guy a bunch of pesos to stay silent, but her offer is too low. He’ll take the rest of his bribe out in sexual favors, which Silvi has no problem with - the actor who plays the crooked jeweler is the guapo Marcelo Córdoba.

Cosme’s wife is also crafty and savvy and connects the dots about the true border between Domenica’s and Luis’s haciendas.

San Genis (Lawyer Friend) has some cute kind of flirty exchange with Blanca, Cosme’s secretary, where she mentions that she is a caregiver for her ill mother.

After hearing Max’s fanciful excuses, Domenica walks off. Later, when Padrino discovers Max in their midst, he rushes up and punches him. Well-deserved, but Godfather is urged to go off and put some ice on his hand while Domenica talks with Max. She cries as she tells him how utterly betrayed she felt after he left her at the altar, what a fool he made of her, how humiliated she was. As she weeps, Max gives her a comforting hug, and of course it is at this precise moment that Luis Fernando walks in and indignantly asks what’s going on. 

End of episode 26!