The saga, family business

The novel is characterized by an unconventional plot: it is not a story of love or a couple

suffering from it, but rather several stories that occur over time through different
generations of the same family. Furthermore, in this production humor does not exist
and the plot is marked by death and crime.

Synopsis
The exile (the 30's)
It tells the story of the Manrique Family, Tomás, Josefina and Pedrito (an 11-year-old
boy), a very well-off family in their hometown. In the 1930s, they felt the horror of the
war between the two political parties that ruled the city. Colombia, They are forced by
an armed group led by "el capi" to leave their hometown in the mid-1930s. The 1930s
brought a violent and armed partisan radicalization in the country, when Tomás
Manrique had to flee his town with his wife Josefina and his son Pedro, the night an
armed group unexpectedly entered a party massacring all the people. men from the
opposing party. Having started a war that he did not want to be part of, Tomás decides
to move with his family to the capital. Upon arriving in Bogotá they are helped by a
train station worker, Pascual Martínez, who also takes them to an inn that belongs to
him. to Magnolia, a woman who is dedicated to witchcraft. Pascual, in complicity with
Magnolia, steals money from Tomás, and he takes revenge by stealing gold buttons
from Pascual and selling them in a sale. Pascual and Tomás resolve their differences
and go to Débora's brothel, which would become her place of play and later her lair.
Thanks to Pascual, Tomás goes to work in a screw factory headed by Don Facundo, a
despotic and very stingy man who does not trust banks.

One afternoon, a group of thieves enters the factory and Tomás ends up becoming a
hero by accident when he knocks out the criminals, thus earning the appreciation and
trust of his boss Facundo, which allows Tomás, a dandy by nature, Get to know and
begin to desire an opulent life, full of luxuries and comforts. But Tomás knows that
amassing such a fortune that he had years ago and almost equal to that of his boss
involves many years of work, and he is not willing to wait that long. In complicity with
Pascual, a thief and new friend, he decides to rob his boss's house. To obtain the
weapons that will allow the assault, they negotiate with a gangster named Tarcisio, who
in exchange asks for participation in the loot and demands that he leave his son Pedro as
collateral. Tomás accepts, but the robbery becomes complicated and he ends up
shooting his boss to death, later with Tarcisio who lent them the weapons and did not
share any of the profits with him. He rescues his son and returns home with the feeling
of having done what he had to do, but Tarcisio swears to collect that debt.

This event marks the beginning of Tomás' life in the world of crime, and little by little
the Manriques rise in status until they achieve stable well-being. However, Tomás'
dream of becoming a well-to-do bourgeois never comes true, and the man slowly
resigns himself to being an average thief.

The Tragedy (The 40's)

Ten years later, Pedro has become a young man dedicated to scamming unwary people
at the poker table in complicity with Pascual. He has decided to enlist in the army, but
two circumstances interrupt his plans: Tomás, his father, is murdered in a settling of
scores between underworld mafias (money debts and murdered by Tarcisio who,
following orders from his boss, asks for collateral again. to Pedro to pay the debt), and
meets the woman of his dreams: Marlén, daughter of one of the men whom Pedro has
left in ruin at the gambling table. Marlén's father was ironically the same man who had
murdered Tomás' friends years before and forced him and his family to flee the town
where they lived. Marlén appears ready to risk her virginity in exchange for recovering
her father's money, but Pedro wins the game. However, he has fallen in love with the
girl and offers to return her paternal fortune if she marries him, although confused, he
tells his father a few minutes before his death the truth about Marlén, his feelings for her
and his possibility of going to prison. army. Marlén subsequently accepts and the
marriage takes place. Pascual gets angry with Pedro saying that half of the fortune
belongs to him and on the same day of his wedding with Marlén he murders Pascual
and he places a curse on him saying that no descendant of his would die a natural death
but rather a tragic death. During and after the wedding Pedro thinks about the curse.

The birth of his firstborn, Armando, brings a new financial concern for Pedro who
decides to return to the game, but now betting illegally on boxing. He ends up becoming
Kid Romano's representative (ironically his co-worker at the Facundo screw factory),
elevating him to the category of National Champion. Then, Pedro feels that the
opportunity has arrived to become a millionaire by betting against Romano and forcing
him to lose with the promise that they will then resume the race towards the title.
Romano refuses, but Pedro knows his weak point, Grecia, his wife, and by threatening
to eliminate her he achieves what he set out to do: Romano has no choice but to fall to
the canvas. Pedro fills his pockets in exchange for losing his pupil and best friend.
Disgusted, Romano leaves the box and Pedro gets new prospects with whom he applies
the same strategy in alliance with another partner named Humberto Angarita. Marlén
has her second child (she previously planned to abort him), Antonio, and the marriage
begins to maintain a serene distance over an apparent harmony.

Family business (the 70's)

The new decade finds the Manriques organized as a family business, with Pedro being
the boss, and his sons being in charge of collecting bets. Ana María, Armando's wife,
and Pilar, Antonio's wife, help Marlén in a dressmaking workshop. The grandchildren,
Tito and Manuel, Armando's sons, and Ernesto, Antonio's son, are the joy of the house.

The family tranquility is disturbed the night when Ana María, surprisingly and
irrationally, asks Armando for a divorce, who also does not know how to handle the
situation well, which ends up becoming a true hell.

Finally, Ana María manages to escape from her husband's anger and jealousy and
moves to a hotel, where the reason for her decision is revealed: Antonio, Armando's
brother and her lover for years, is waiting for her there. Ana María has taken the first
step and now pressures Antonio so that he too abandons his family and escapes the
country together, something that is very far from the man's plans, who begins to respond
to her with evasions.

Armando begins to suspect his wife's infidelity and is about to surprise them at the
hotel. Antonio manages to escape by hiding his identity, but Armando severely beats
Ana María. Upon leaving the clinic, Ana María asks Pilar to take her into her home for
fear of further reprisals from her husband, and this is how from one moment to the next
Antonio finds himself living with his lover in his own house and with his brother
looking for Ana María's lover to kill him, without knowing it is him. Shortly after,
Magnolia meets Pedro again and warns him of the first phase of Pascual's curse and
asks him to keep Ana María away from Antonio in any way and for that he threatens
her. Later, Pedro meets again with Mota, a police captain who 30 years ago monitored
the criminal behavior of the Manriques and warns Pedro of the violent attitude towards
his associates from the underworld and intends to arrest Armando (since he had beaten
his wife). and several partners) if Pedro does not surrender in his place, having no
choice, Pedro surrenders and confesses his sins, in addition to feeling the curse getting
closer and closer, he ends his own life by hanging himself in his cell.

Antonio decides to escape the country with Pilar, but Ana María finds out about his
plans and knowing she has been deceived, she confesses to Pilar about the secret
relationship she has been having with her husband for so long, before fleeing to Europe
herself, which the little Ernesto. The information reaches Armando's ears from his
children, who for weeks builds a plan to find the traitor. He uses Marlén and Pilar to
send him a message of reconciliation, pretending to have forgiven everything, and
finally the brothers reconcile.

But the day Ernesto makes his first communion, Armando kidnaps and murders his own
brother. At his father's grave, Armando swears to Marlén that he had nothing to do with
Antonio's death, and there he undertakes to consider his nephew Ernesto as his own son.
But the boy looks at him with hatred; Deep down he is sure that his uncle was his
father's murderer and he swears to himself that one day he will take revenge.

The business is strengthened (the 80's)

Armando believes that the beauty reign is a good opportunity to expand the business, so
he decides that his children travel to the place of the contest and for that he wants
Manuel and his nephew Ernesto (who do not get along very well) to be the ones who
travel since At first Tito seeks a life away from crime but his opportunity is denied. Tito
and Manuel are finally the ones who travel and come into contact with two sisters, one
of them a candidate for the reign of Bogotá. Clemencia and Helena Angarita and the
attraction is immediate. They, cunning, pose as businessmen (Tito had already met
Helena in the company where she wanted to work).

Helena is kidnapped and the organizers cancel the event. Don Tiberio, Helena's father,
entrusts Jaime Angulo, his future son-in-law; Patricia's boyfriend, the third sister
Angarita, Helena's rescue. Jaime contacts Manuel and Tito who accept the proposal,
planning to infiltrate the neighborhood where they know the kidnapping people operate.

Don Rigoleto is the neighborhood boss, whom Manuel and Jaime convince to make
them part of his organization. Marieta, daughter of Don Rigoleto, meets Jaime and falls
in love with him. While the two men establish themselves within the group, Angulo
falls more and more in love with the capo's daughter. While on the other hand, Patricia,
the other sister Angarita, investigates her family's past, since in an argument between
Clemencia and Tiberio, she heard how her sister reproached her father for her family's
past, she told him. She asks her sister what she was referring to but Clemencia refuses to
tell Patricia, this causes her to look for an answer elsewhere, the truth was that her
grandfather (Humberto Angarita) had ventured into the underworld with gambling, he
was the manager of the "Chicanero" Arzuaga, and also did business with Pedro
Manrique. Patricia also contacts Ernesto, who does not tell her anything because
Armando forbids it. While Ernesto, who with a trick gains the trust of his uncle and sent
by him, betrays his cousins and betrays their true identities to Rigoleto. The boss
kidnaps Manuel and Tito. Jaime, taking advantage of his relationship with Marieta,
convinces her to exchange herself for Helena, Manuel and Tito, thereby getting Rigoleto
to accept an exchange without suspecting his daughter's betrayal.

On the other hand, Ernesto and Armando impede Patricia's investigations practically in
vain and Ernesto feels a great love interest in the woman but she rejects him. Armando
plans a life in legality by allying himself with Marcel Dumont, a designer who has debts
with him and by asking Pilar to continue his tradition of making clothes he has serious
setbacks since he finds out from one of his employees that Armando intimidated
Dumont. so that she could sell her clothes in exchange for forgetting the debt and in that
process Armando declares his love for Pilar and they soon get engaged but Armando
cannot cure his conscience for having killed his brother years ago and confesses his sin
a few days before the wedding.

The disobedience of his children outrages Armando, which is why they have to look for
new horizons. Manuel dedicates himself to work obsessively although with lost calm
thanks to Clemencia with whom he fell in love but who is married to a cold man who
makes her unhappy. Jaime has “relapsed” with Marieta and now the woman has
threatened to find Patricia and tell her the whole truth. So, he asks his friend for help,
but Manuel suggests that he do it so that his brother Tito can see Helena. The deal is
made, allowing Manuel and Clemencia to become lovers.

Manuel finds it difficult to control Tito, who has even considered the possibility of
running away with the girl. He asks for patience and guarantees that the time will come
when everything will be fixed.

Marieta becomes pregnant by Jaime and refuses to have an abortion, Tiberio threatens
her. Marieta knows about the love that Manuel feels for Clemencia and knows that Teo
is in the middle of the two. Then, she proposes to help him, getting rid of her beloved's
husband and that he help her with Jaime's girlfriend. For Marieta, death would be a very
weak punishment for what she has suffered. Manuel accepts the alliance with Marieta
and together they are in charge of planning the misfortunes of the Angarita family: Teo
dies in “strange circumstances” and Manuel's relationship with Clemencia is stabilized. .
Days later Armando and Pilar get married and that same day, fulfilling his pact with
Marieta, Manuel puts a poison given by her in a glass given to Patricia. Armando and
Pilar are also murdered by orders of Rigoleto Castro under the phrase "a father to
change of a daughter."

Tiberio's truth comes to light after the police find Teo dead in his office with a letter
saying the same; in the past he killed his wife, news that Manuel finds out and asks him
in exchange for not saying anything that Tito and Helena become boyfriend and
girlfriend and later Ernesto confirms it to Patricia and later Helena who loves her father
so much and ends up hating. The old man ends up accepting and then abandoned by his
daughters. On the day of Jaime's marriage, the bride dies. Marieta manages to flee after
the crime was committed.
After six months in a single religious ceremony the two marriages take place, Helena
with Tito and Manuel with Clemencia. Everything seems to indicate that they will be
happy as Ernesto avenges the death of his uncle and his mother by murdering Rigoleto
and his trusted man.

War (the new millennium)

Twenty years later, Manuel and Clemencia have three children: Inés (24), Estela (22)
and Óscar (21). During this time Manuel has been in charge of the business and creating
a happy family. However, their goal is to clear their family name and get their children
back to legality, without them knowing where their money comes from.

To achieve his purpose, Manuel knows that only by allying himself with other families
can he do so. He finds out that in the Llanos there is a family, the Ruiz, with a lot of
power and he thinks that it would be a mutually beneficial society. So he sends Tito,
who has become his right-hand man, to establish the first contacts. At the same time,
Iván Zapata, Ernesto's illegitimate son, came to the family with a prostitute named
Lucrecia Zapata years ago, but Iván does not feel comfortable with his family since,
being a fugitive criminal from Pereira, he does not want to take part in cleaning up the
businesses. and he gains the trust and work of Aquilino Camargo, the Manriques'
partner in the underworld.

Tito and Helena are parents of the beautiful Claudia. But their marriage is not going
well since Tito, wanting to clear his surname, sees that Claudia has Pirro Camargo as a
boyfriend, the son of one of her underworld associates who can reveal the origin of his
fortune and, to make matters worse, humiliates his wife Helena. Tito's trip to the Llanos
is a rest for both Helena and Tito but a subsequent torture for the man due to the
difficulty of the negotiation. In the Llanos, the Ruiz family receives him with kindness.
Don Casimiro is the patriarch and is married to Hortensia. They have three children;
Héctor, the eldest, is married to Andrea and they have a son named Simon, Pipe is the
second and then comes Carolina, the youngest.

Tito achieves a great friendship with Pipe and invites him to Bogotá. The man accepts,
earning the affection of the Manriques, especially Helena. With Pipe's departure, Helena
discovers that she has lost the opportunity to love again but Pipe confesses her feelings
to her.

Business makes agreements between families happen. Manuel invites the Ruiz family to
spend a few days at his recreational farm and that's how it happens. The sympathy
between the families grows and at a reunion party what was seen coming happens...
Helena (after a huge humiliation given by her husband) and Pipe end up making love
and their madness is such that the night before the Ruizs return to the Llanos, they
decide to escape. When he arrives home, Don Casimiro finds Pipe and Helena and asks
her to come back but it is of no use. Don Casimiro has no other option but to call
Bogotá and tell Manuel what is happening.

Manuel meets with Tito and updates him on the situation. Tito collapses and cries out
for revenge. Manuel is the one who takes the initiative and talks to Casimiro, giving him
an ultimatum: either the Ruizs return Helena or the Manriques are going to go for her,
no matter what the cost. Casimiro does not accept Manuel's tone and when saying
goodbye it is implied that the two families will go to war. Oscar, curious about the
family's past, investigates and ends up getting the truth out of her but promising not to
tell his sisters or his cousin (his impossible love).

However, Manuel has an additional problem: searching for a rescue in a foreign

territory is not easy. Los Llanos is under the rule of Don José María Manosalva, the
boss of bosses. So if you want to be successful you must not only have the authorization
of Don José María, but also his help. Fortunately for Manuel, the relations between the
top boss and Don Casimiro are not the best and they have had a prolonged war for
control of the area. Manuel talks to the man, and he lets him know that he will help him
in exchange for finishing off the Ruizs and keeping their lands. Since Manuel has no
interest in the land, he accepts. Manuel is willing to give him whatever he wants, but the
old man surprises him and shakes the agreement: the only thing he accepts as collateral
is Inés, his eldest daughter. He is sure that if he has his daughter, he will fulfill
everything agreed upon there. On the other hand, Pirro does not have the best
relationship with Claudia and she sends one of the poems that he wrote to a newspaper
for a poetry contest, which makes the journalist organizing the contest investigate the
underworld world related to Pirro, although with him price of being secretly murdered
on orders by Manosalva to put pressure on the Manriques at the same time that
Lieutenant Cárdenas, a police officer who was investigating the case of the journalist's
murder, is also murdered by Manosalva.

Finally, Manuel assumes his role as boss and agrees to give his daughter as collateral.
Although chaos takes over the family and Clemencia refuses to let her daughter go, Inés
resolves the conflict and bravely accepts her role after a failed intelligence operation in
which Manuel planned to kill Manosalva, with Iván, Oscar and Pirro being the ones.
executioners but due to a tip from Claudia to the Ruiz family they fall into the hands of
the Llanos boss.

Before going to the Llanos, Manuel asks Ernesto to stay in the care of Clemencia and
her children. For Ernesto, the opportunity for revenge so often postponed, influenced by
his partners, finally arrives. Without knowing that he left a snake in his house, Manuel
leaves for war with Tito and with the best warriors of each family loyal to his cause.

Despite the help and support of Don José María, Helena's rescue becomes complicated.
Manuel knows that apart from money and the desire for power, Aquilino Camargo only
cares about one thing: Alexa (Manuel's illegitimate daughter), his wife who at the same
time has relations with Iván. Then he pulls the strings in such a way that the woman
dies in a confusing attack of which the Ruiz family is accused. The stratagem gives the
expected results and, maddened by pain, Aquilino launches into war.

The war ends with the rescue of Helena and the extermination of the Ruiz family. But
the cost in lives and bloodshed is still far from over.

Consequences of war
With the war won, the survivors demand punishment for Helena. The woman gets Tito's
forgiveness but he is murdered by his wife and Helena instantly commits suicide.
Manuel only has one way to calm the spirits of his people. He distributes control of the
occupied territories, endangering the life of his daughter. Manosalva finds out and
refuses to return Inés until Manuel keeps his word.
He has to put an end to the Ruizs and make their lands pass into the hands of
Manosalva. Ernesto and Clemencia have become lovers and think that to be happy
Manuel must die. Clemencia's few doubts disappear when she learns that Manuel has
endangered the life of his daughter Inés.

Ernesto presses, agrees to make Inés return, as long as Clemencia kills Manuel.
Clemencia and Ernesto commit the homicide. Accidentally, Estela, daughter of
Clemencia and Manuel, witnesses the crime. The girl looks for Óscar, her brother, and
asks him to leave immediately. The boy leaves on time and Ernesto cannot end the life
of Manuel's possible avenger.

Ernesto spreads the rumor that Óscar has been the murderer of his own father and
announces the death of Inés, something not confirmed, but that suits his goals of
becoming leader, the position that according to him he deserved since his grandfather
Pedro gave him He had delegated power to Antonio.

Estela directly accuses her mother and Ernesto of having killed her father. Clemencia,
manipulated by her lover, plans to send the girl out of the country. Estela is still waiting
for her brother's return so that both of them can punish her father's murderers.

The tragedy
Óscar appears incognito and with the firm intention of killing Ernesto and taking his
rightful place within the organization as his father's heir. The two brothers plan their
revenge. For Estela there will not be complete justice if Clemencia does not pay with
blood for her father's death. While Claudia, full of anger, denounces Pirro, and he goes
to jail, while a devastated Claudia, being alone, goes to her deceased parents' house,
where she finds some pills and decides to end her life by combining them with alcohol.

Óscar shudders, it is one thing to kill Ernesto and another to kill his own mother. Estela
convinces him, the two brothers set a trap for Clemencia and she dies at the hands of
Oscar, begging for forgiveness that is not granted. Ernesto goes in search of Clemencia
and dies at the hands of Óscar.

With revenge accomplished, Óscar feels the full weight of guilt. His days become
torment and at times he loses his mind. Furthermore, his place as a leader and boss is
questioned by the other heads of the organization. Estela convinces her brother to
escape before the organization takes action on the matter. The brothers flee and go in
search of their sister Inés, because they know that she is still alive and that she is
subjected to a humiliating life on one of Manosalva's properties. The rescue is
successful and in a bloody operation Inés is rescued and Manosalva outwitted.
Manosalva's anger explodes and he embarks on a fierce pursuit of the Manrique
brothers. The boys live like rats, hiding not only from the people of Manosalva, but
from the organization that their father had invented and strengthened.

Óscar communicates with the people of the organization and offers to turn himself in, in
exchange for being put on trial and above all, in exchange for respecting the lives of his
sisters. The heads of the families accept the deal. The organization rules that the girls
must leave the country. The council determines that Oscar is guilty and that he must pay
with his life. A shot to the forehead ends the life of the last Manrique without old
Tomás' dream of having a respectable and wealthy family ever being fulfilled.
Oscar is killed by a stranger, which he regrets already in the grave. He believes that
Pascual's curse will end with him, but it will not be like that since there is only one left,
Iván, who denies the surname Manrique but carries the burden of the curse. Iván goes to
prison carrying a 10-year sentence.

The Last Saga (2005)

It's been 5 years. The Manriques' former partners are in charge of the businesses.
Everyone remembers the curse of the family who killed each other. Iván pays his
sentence in prison, where he has problems with Víctor alias Pochola, who wants to kill
him. A detainee arrives at the prison: Daniel Ochoa, who intends to help Iván get free
and take charge of the business, he is the Manrique's heir in his own right. Iván prevents
Daniel from being murdered, who leaves prison and contacts Lucrecia. Daniel offers to
help her with money but Lucrecia does not accept.

Daniel comes into contact with the lawyer Julio Miranda and they manage to get Iván
out of jail. Iván is willing to correct his steps and avoid mixing with the underworld,
now he wants to give a decent life to Lucrecia and her sister Herlinda. Daniel arrives at
the Angarita construction company and decides to invest. Jota Jota Garrido accepts the
partnership with Daniel but does not see his partner favorably. Daniel and Miranda send
J. J. to jail and Daniel takes charge of the business. Herlinda arrives at the construction
company looking for a job and ends up involved with Daniel; but Iván does not agree
with this romance. In the office Herlinda meets Yolanda and they become good friends.
Iván starts working as a freighter in a supply warehouse, as he refuses to accept Daniel's
help and does not want to return to the underworld. Miranda manages to make Iván lose
his job; Finally he has no choice but to accept the help of Daniel Ochoa. Iván visits the
Manrique graves, which always have fresh flowers. In the cemetery he discovers that a
woman always takes care of the family mausoleum. Lucrecia looks for Maruja (Lilia;
that's what this character was called in the 4th generation), a woman who knew
Armando Manrique and read the letters for him. Maruja tells him that Iván bears the
tragic fate of the Manriques.

Iván returns to the cemetery and there he finds Estela Manrique. She has returned to
Bogotá to care for the memory of her family and works as a literature teacher at a
school. Meanwhile, Inés finally got married in Paris and forgot the Manrique tragedy.
Iván believes that love will be reborn and has several meetings with Estela.

Garrido threatens Daniel: he must get him out of jail. Iván and Daniel prepare Garrido's
escape just on Lucrecia's birthday. Herlina organizes the lunch in honor of Lucrecia and
ends up inviting Daniel and Yolanda, who is in love with Iván, but the latter is only
interested in Estela and also invites her to his house. Iván and Daniel free J. J. When the
police take him to the prosecutor's office, Daniel wants to kill him but Iván prevents
him. Miranda changes sides and negotiates with Santamaría to hand over Garrido, who
ends up paying the sentence in a beautiful mansion, while Daniel goes to jail.

Lucrecia worries about the meeting between Iván and Estela. Maruja tells him that
Estela does not represent any threat because she will live wandering under the weight of
guilt. To free Iván they must invoke the soul of Pascual Martínez, but they cannot
communicate with that spirit.
Herlinda looks for Miranda to free Daniel, now that they are preparing their marriage,
the lawyer tells her that he now works for Garrido and that he will not free Daniel.
Víctor leaves prison and takes charge of the cabaret. Estela abandons Iván and leaves
the country.

By order of J. J. Daniel dies in prison. Some time later Iván and Yolanda begin a
romance. Yolanda organizes Herlinda's birthday. At the party she meets Lucio Benítez,
who works for Iván. They have a relationship but Herlinda tells him that she loves
Daniel. Iván hits Lucio and orders him to stay away from his sister. To annoy him,
Herlinda decides to continue her relationship with Lucio and ends up marrying him.

Maruja assures Lucrecia that Iván and Estela will never see each other again. Iván's
problems continue now with Chiqui, a small-time thug, who starts to cause trouble and
ends up murdered on Iván's orders. A woman arrives at the cabaret looking for a job;
This is Candy, pseudonym of Carmenza López. She starts working as a dancer but is not
willing to sleep with clients. Iván falls in love with Candy and proposes marriage. The
letters show that Candy can twist Ivan's destiny.

Miranda begins to investigate and discovers that Carmenza López is a scammer wanted
by Interpol. Candy has a lover who exploits her, it is Camilo, with whom she always
carries out her attacks and whom she is not willing to abandon, because he, in addition
to scamming her, provides her with drugs.

Lucio feels left behind because Iván does not occupy him with important matters. The
marriage begins to worsen. Lucrecia finds out that Lucio hits Herlinda, but she becomes
more and more distant from her family. Lucio hires two hitmen to murder Candy on her
wedding day. In the church everyone waits for the bride's arrival. Maruja has a feeling
and tells Lucrecia. Iván leaves the temple and manages to shoot one of the hitmen,
Pochola follows the other to a warehouse, and forces him to confess the name of the
author of the attack: Lucio. The wedding takes place at the Manrique house, the new
residence of Iván and his family. Iván thanks Maruja for having notified him in time
about the attack and tells Lucio that he will give him more responsibilities because he is
willing to forget his grudges.

Some time later, Iván and Pochola decide to get Lucio out of the way: they tell Lucio
that they will give him a lot of money if he pretends to abandon Herlinda. He agree. But
when he left for the airport, they murdered him and sent another man out of the country
with Lucio's passport. Santamaría waits for Lucio, since he was going to give him
information about Iván. Upon arriving at Herlinda's house she discovers that Lucio has
abandoned her and at the airport she confirms that he has indeed left the country.

Miranda proposes to Garrido to create a foundation that helps poor children, so he can
demonstrate to the Law that he intends to collaborate with justice, and in the process
Miranda can obtain money. Garrido accepts, on the condition that Iván and his wife
preside over the foundation. Miranda gets angry. On the day of the foundation's
opening, Candy gets drunk, much to J's embarrassment. J. and ends up fighting with
Iván. Candy abandons him and returns to Camilo's side to resume her assaults and
scams.
Candy is pregnant, but the letters show that the child is not Ivan's. Lucrecia questions
Candy, but she decides to abandon Iván and ends up aborting the baby. Julio Miranda
proposes to J. J. a means to get out of prison, to help Carlos Baquero, the son of an
influential politician. Carlos is a talentless and arrogant singer, who has not been able to
record an album. J.J. Garrido charges Iván with the matter. But the arrogant Carlos
offends Iván and the business is about to collapse. Iván pressures Don Julio Miranda, an
honest record businessman, who places Carlos in the first places in the audience. Ortiz
is not willing to continue with the blackmail and confesses to Lieutenant Santamaría
how Iván threatened him to record the album. The scandal is huge, Iván and Garrido
have no way to prove their innocence. Ivan is arrested. Miranda schemes against
Faryala, who is murdered, with Miranda now taking her place in the organization.
Candy seeks help from Pochola, the only option they have is to kidnap Ortiz's
grandmother. Pochola travels to the Tenza Valley, in Boyacá and there she finds Doña
Virgelina and brings her to Bogotá. Upon arriving at the prosecutor's office, Julio Ortiz
sees his grandmother in the hands of Julio Miranda and decides to change his statement
and say that it was Santamaría who forced him to frame Iván. Ortiz decides to leave the
country with his family, while Iván is free and Santamaría must retire from the police.
Meanwhile at the bar, Pochola buys an adulterated drink, despite the protests of
Natacha, the new manager of the establishment. Pochola leaves the bar and dedicates
herself to robbing jewelry stores to frame Garrido, who tells Iván that they should kill
him.

Garrido regains his freedom and takes charge of the companies. Herlinda begins a
romance with him. Herlinda argues with J. J. and ends up hitting her, Herlinda tells the
incident to Lucrecia, who demands that Iván uphold the family's honor. Iván decides to
murder J. J. ... J. J. and Miranda decide to take revenge on Iván. They denounce Candy
and she goes to jail and they are going to deport her. Iván visits her, she tells him that
she cannot live without freedom and says goodbye to him. Candy commits suicide. Iván
becomes enraged and swears revenge on J. J. They kidnap him and take him to the
abandoned theater. Ivan kills J. J. on stage. Lieutenant Santamaría has the theater
surrounded and orders them to leave. Miranda begs for her life. Iván tells him that
Santamaría told him that it was he, Julio Miranda, who betrayed Candy and then kills
him. Iván calls Herlinda and tells her that he must be gone for a while. He instructs her
to take the silver and jewelry from the cabaret safe. Then they will meet in Cartagena.
Pochola reports that the police have surrounded the theater. The only chance to escape
is for one of them to serve as cannon fodder while the other two escape. Fate decides
that it is Iván, who goes out into the street and shoots. The police kill him in cold blood.

Time after... Maruja reads the letters for Lucrecia: there is a man Marique, and Lucrecia
can avoid the tragic fate that awaits her.

In the cemetery: Estela Manrique cries over Iván's grave. He reproaches him for not
having kept his promise and for having fallen into crime again. But your child is the
best gift to forget and have a new life...

Maruja assures Lucrecia that the last Manrique will arrive seeking her protection...

Cemetery... Inés tells Estela that no one should know her past. It depends on her that
Miguel Manrique is happy. Estela wants Doña Lucrecia to meet her grandson.
Lucrecia is happy with her grandson. The boy is the only heir to the Manrique empire.
Federico Muñoz, Manuel Manrique's partner in his Llano war, is worried to learn that
the Manriques are in Bogotá, and that Miguel is the legitimate heir to everything. Inés
has come to meet her boyfriend's family, who turns out to be Mauricio, Federico's
youngest son, whom his parents have kept away from the family business. Between
Federico and his eldest son, Omar, there is a rivalry. Omar feels left out because
Federico prefers Paola, the family lawyer, and Mauricio.

Herlinda shoots Santamaría and forces him to confess who ordered Iván's death: none
other than Don Federico, who wanted to get J out. J. and Iván from the business and for
this reason he allied himself with the police. Herlinda decides to approach Omar, who
now manages Débora's old brothel, and starts working as a dancer.

Pochola y Manteca is in prison, where a former boss is ready to regain power. This is
Pirro Camargo, Paola Muñoz's boyfriend, who has pretended to be paralyzed all this
time. Federico opposes Pirro's release from prison, despite Paola's protests. Pirro and his
men escape from prison. Camargo arrives at the brothel and meets Herlinda, for whom
he is willing to confront the Muñoz family.

Federico meets Manrique. Problems between the two families arise and Inés breaks off
her engagement. Mauricio discovers that his father had a relationship with another
woman. Amparo is furious when she knows that this woman is nearby, it is Lucrecia.
Omar attempts against his father but fails to kill him. Herlinda decides to involve the
Manriques in her revenge against the Muñozs and kidnaps Miguel, but the child falls
into the hands of Omar, who now has control of the situation. Pirro decides to help
Herlinda. Federico wants to murder Herlinda, for this reason Lucrecia has to confess to
him that she is his daughter. Omar organizes an attack against the Manrique house.
Amparo has gone to negotiate with the Manriques, but in the middle of the shooting a
bullet hits her and she dies. Pirro and his men manage to contain the attack. Omar's pain
is great knowing that his mother has died. Everyone blames Herlinda, who was not
there at the time of the attack. Estela goes to Federico's house to ask him to give Miguel
back to her. Federico kidnaps her. Pyrrhus also falls into the power of Frederick.
Lucrecia informs the police that it was Herlinda who kidnapped Miguel Manrique, and
that Estela is being held at the Muñoz house. Pirro and Estela manage to escape. But
Mauricio captures Estela again, who tells Lieutenant Muñoz that she is in no way
kidnapped. Estela has decided to remain silent to save the child's life. Pirro manages to
escape from the Muñoz farm. Omar gives the order to kill the baby. The police rescue
the child thanks to the nurse who was caring for him contacting them. Omar murders
Lieutenant Santamaría.

The police arrest Omar and Herlinda. Federico orders the death of his son. At the
cabaret Pirro has the kidnapper of Estela's child. She shoots him, the man confesses that
the child is alive thanks to the nurse escaping with him.

In the police station. The nurse arrives with the child and hands him over to Lieutenant
Muñoz, who tells Omar that the nurse will testify against him; so he proposes to testify
against Federico and Pirro. Lucrecia receives a call and tells Inés that the child
appeared, then leaves for the station.
Estela says goodbye to Pirro and thanks him for everything. Pirro gives him the number
of an account. Omar does not want to testify against his father but testifies against Pirro
and Herlinda. The police surround the cabaret. Pochola fails to warn Pirro and flees.
Muñoz enters the premises and arrests Pirro. At the headquarters Lucrecia waits for Inés
and Estela with the child Miguel in her arms.

Pirro arrives detained at the headquarters. Estela says goodbye to him. Muñoz tells him
that in the cell he will see the man who betrayed him: Omar Muñoz.

Lucrecia arrives at Federico's house: his son is imprisoned and his wife is dead. Does he
need anything else to put an end to so much bloodshed? Federico tells him that he will
forget everything.

Inés is willing to forget Mauricio. Estela tells him that they cannot stay in Colombia.
Paola tells her brother that they have all been victims and to fight for Inés. Federico
orders the deaths of Pirro and Omar.

It's night in the prison. Omar and Pirro remember that, like Aquilino and the Manriques,
they all ended up betraying each other. It is not easy for a criminal to get money that he
cannot then spend freely to justify its origin. Silence is ordered. Several men enter the
cell and stab Omar and Pirro. Paola arrives at jail. Muñoz tells him that Omar died and
that Pirro is dying in the hospital. Paola looks for her father and reproaches him for
Omar's death. Federico responds that Omar had the ending he wanted. Estela doesn't
know whether to leave the country or look for Mauricio. Lucrecia informs them of
Omar's death. Estela becomes convinced that she must leave Colombia to avoid
revenge.

Paola visits Pirro, begs him not to die. Pirro asks for forgiveness and dies. Federico
returns all the properties to the Manriques as a sign of his will. Estela does not want to
accept. Pochola plans an attack against Don Federico. Estela does not want to receive
her family's dirty money. Pochola is willing to take charge of the businesses, preventing
them from returning to the hands of the Muñoz or the Manrique. Federico asks Inés to
give Mauricio another chance. The union between them can be the beginning of peace.
Estela wants to leave the country, but Inés convinces her to wait one more week.

Santamaría calls Paola, in prison she speaks with Omar's murderer, who tells her that
the order was given by Federico Muñoz himself. Inés gets ready to go to the Muñoz
house. Estela has a bad omen. Lucrecia reassures her. The Muñoz brothers do not agree
to hold a meeting with the Manriques at a time when Omar remains unburied.

Manrique and Lucrecia arrive with the child at Don Federico's house. Inés notices the
tension between the Muñozs and her father. Mauricio assures him that he will soon
know everything. Estela gives Paola the account number that Pirro left her.

Pochola arrives with the car bomb at the house. The guards let him in when they see that
he has no weapons. But then they discover that he did not enter the house and they look
for him. Pochola leaves the farm.

Federico toasts the beginning of a new life. Lucrecia wants to change the child, Estela
insists on taking care of her son, but Lucrecia tells her to stay in the room while she
takes care of Miguel. Lucrecia leaves. Meanwhile, Pochola reaches the car where a
driver is waiting for him. Federico's men follow him. Pochola detonates the bomb...

Last Scene: Caracas Avenue in Bogotá, it is night. Lucrecia walks with Miguel in her
arms. A funeral bell rings, while Lucrecia tells Miguel:

"YOU WILL NEVER BE ALONE, MY CHILD. NEVER"

Characters
Tomás Manrique (the patriarch of the Manrique family) (1930s-1940s)

Tomas Manrique was a Colombian landowner, but on the day of his friend's wedding, it
is interrupted by several politicians who kill his friend in the middle of the party, which
is why Tomas decides to go to Bogotá with his son and wife, where he begins to enter
the underworld of robberies and scams, then their descendants would dedicate
themselves to illegal gambling until their disintegration where not a single descendant
would remain.

Pedro Manrique (1930s-1970s)

He dies by suicide in prison, partly due to the pressure of fulfilling Pascual Martínez's
curse. In 1948 his father-in-law Ananías proposed to him to assassinate Jorge Eliecer
Gaitán.

Armando Manrique (70s - 80s)

Son of Pedro Manrique, he murders his brother who was unfaithful to him with his wife
and in the 80s he marries his brother's wife, he is murdered with his wife and his
brother's ex-wife on their wedding day by Rigoletto Castro .

Antonio Manrique (70s)

Son of Pedro Manrique, he and his brother Armando are like water and oil; He has
relations with Armando's wife and dies at his hands, this happens due to Pascual's curse.

Manuel Manrique (80s - 2000)

Son of Armando Manrique, he is murdered by his wife Clemencia who was unfaithful
to him with his cousin Ernesto, Manuel is the father of Oscar, Estela and Inés.

Tito Manrique (80s - 2000s)

Son of Armando Manrique, he died in 2000 on the Ruiz estate, a family with which the
Manriques had wanted to launder their money to enter the world of legality. Within this
family, his wife Elena met "Pipe" with whom she betrays him and he ends up murdering
him, and he is murdered just like his brother at the hand of his wife. It is Claudia's father
who commits suicide because her ex-boyfriend "pirro" Camargo, son of Aquilino
Camargo, despises her.

Ernesto Manrique (80s -2000s)

Antonio's son, he was always little influential in the family's decisions, he had an affair
with Manuel's wife and was an accomplice in Manuel's death, and he was murdered by
Manuel and Clemencia's son Oscar.

Oscar Manrique (Year 2000)

Son of Manuel and Clemencia, he murders Ernesto Manrique and his own mother since
they killed his father, then he is murdered at the hands of Federico Muñoz and JJ
Garrido, who keep the Manrique fortune after exterminating them.

Iván Manrique Zapata (Years 2000-2005) Unrecognized son of Ernesto, he always

denied his last name Manrique, falls in love with Estela Manrique, pays prison, leaves
prison to continue on the path of crime, there he meets JJ Garrido who tells him
proposes to work for him, some time later he kills him for having handed over to justice
the second woman he loved and who became his wife "Candy" who was a criminal
wanted by Interpol, the same day he murders JJ Garrido, Iván is murdered by the police,
led by Lieutenant Santa María. He dies without knowing that he had a son, a son he had
with Estela Manrique.
 Thom Josefi
as na de
Manri Manri
que que

Pedro
Marlene
Manrique

Anton
Ana Armando io
Pillar
Maria Manrique Manri
que

Lucre
Hele Tito Ernesto
Manuel Clemencia cia
na Manri Manriq
Manrique Angarita Zapat
Anga que ue
a
rita

Ivan
Claudia Oscar Estella Manri
Ines
Manriq Manriqu Manriq que
Manrique
ue e ue Zapat
a

Migue
l
Manri
que
Manri
que