Episode 3 of Reina Roja kicks off with a poignant flashback, retracing the Mentor's interview with Antonia for the prestigious role of Queen within the organization's ranks. As the narrative shifts, we find Gutierrez and Antonia standing at the threshold of Trueba's corporate empire, ready to confront the mother. However, their path is obstructed by her assistant, who grudgingly grants them a mere quarter of an hour with Laura, citing a pressing meeting that, to Gutierrez's astonishment, supposedly supersedes even the well-being of her own son.
Concurrently, Carla and Sandra engage in a whispered exchange, revealing Sandra's secret life as a taxi driver embroiled in a dangerous scheme. Having shelled out exorbitant amounts for a mysterious cargo, she now finds herself in a precarious predicament, kidnapped and held captive, haunted by the specter of Ezequiel's vengeance.
Antonia, meanwhile, finds herself on the precipice of a mental precipice, the telltale signs of her affliction emerging. With admirable resolve, she battles her condition long enough to pry information from Laura about the enigmatic tattoo. Laura's naivety rings hollow, insisting she's never laid eyes on it, and when probed about a ransom demand, she discloses a chilling phone call—one that demanded something she was powerless to grant.
But Antonia's frayed control snaps, and she flees, racing across the rooftop and into the bustling streets, leaving Gutierrez to ponder her abrupt departure. Before he can give chase, Mrs. Trueba intervenes, imparting cryptic insights about the kidnapper and the unspoken bond between parental misdeeds and filial suffering.
Lost in a delirious fog, Antonia experiences a full-blown psychological tempest, with simian shadows swarming around her and the specter of a slain victim relentlessly pursuing. Passersby stare in awe as this bizarre spectacle unfolds, until Antonia escapes into the shadows, collapsing in a deserted alleyway. Gutierrez finds her, a broken shell of her former self, and with a swift pill, he draws her back from the brink.
Nourished by a comforting doughnut and a cooling cola, Antonia emerges from her ordeal rejuvenated, her mind now acutely focused on the task at hand. She insists they must speak with Laura's assistant, convinced they hold crucial pieces to the puzzle. Gutierrez, his curiosity piqued, inquires about the medication that anchors Antonia's equilibrium, and she divulges the sordid truth of her recruitment into the Red Queen Project—a regimen of intellectual augmentation experiments that came at a dire cost.
A second flashback unveils the harsh realities of Antonia's training, where the Mentor and his cadre of scientists pushed her to the brink, subjecting her to relentless mental trials and controversial drug treatments. The shattering episodes that now haunt her are the grim aftermath of those experiments, known all too well to the Mentor, yet he pressed on, determined to harness her latent potential.
Returning to the present tense, Gutierrez and Antonia stealthily trailed the assistant as she exited her workplace, observing her switch cabs mid-journey, as if attempting to evade a tail. Arriving at her residence, they lurked outside, covertly eyeing the house, only to be spotted by the assistant, who promptly dispatched guards, forcing our duo to hastily retreat.
Meanwhile, Carla's distraught father implored the anti-kidnapping detectives to locate his daughter, while Sandra grilled Carla with suspicious inquiries about her family. Just as tensions escalated, Ezequiel's arrival sent Sandra into hysterics, pleading for mercy.
Later, Gutierrez's evening unfolded with a homely meal and an unexpected guest—a church priest. Over dinner, Gutierrez grappled with the enigmatic message in Ezequiel's words about the sins of fathers. The priest's responses were oblique, but Gutierrez's mother's casual query to the priest about confession and divine forgiveness, juxtaposed against personal unforgiveness, sparked a new perspective. Unable to shake off his thoughts, Gutierrez ventured out to meet Antonia, where their lighthearted banter deepened their bond.
Antonia confessed that for her, the universe was not a canvas of stars or poetry but a tapestry of data waiting to be decoded. Her frustration boiled over as she realized the kidnapper was communicating in a cipher she couldn't crack. Gutierrez shared his dinner conversation, particularly the notion of children bearing the burden of their parents' sins. Antonia's mind ignited, piecing together the puzzle.
A revelation dawned: Laura Trueba and Carla's father had deceived them about the kidnapper's demands. Ezequiel's true intention was not merely to abduct the billionaire's offspring but to coerce them into a public confession, exposing secrets that their parents feared even more than the threat of their children's lives.
Antonia, Gutierrez, and Doctor Aguado delve into the labyrinthine mystery of the kidnapper's identity, yet their progress remains mired in obscurity. Suddenly, the Mentor's call pierces through the silence, revealing his allegiance to the billionaires as he adamantly dissuades suspicion from Laura's assistant and attempts to steer their investigation. Amidst a witty exchange that even stuns the Mentor, who deems their partnership ill-advised, Antonia unveils a staggering revelation: Laura wields the power to halve the organization's funding with a single phone call to a Brussels official.
The scene shifts to a haunting flashback, where the Mentor's persuasive words lured Antonia into the treacherous waters of an experimental drug, igniting a chain of catastrophic meltdowns. Determined, Antonia and Gutierrez devise a daring strategy to breach the guards' watchful eyes and seek Carla's father for insights into Ezequiel's public confession demand. However, their quest remains unfulfilled as the father remains tight-lipped. As police sirens wail, Antonia is forcibly escorted from the premises, while a fiery confrontation between Parra and Gutierrez culminates in a slap that echoes through the air, captured by a journalist's lens. Antonia fears this footage could unravel their case, yet Gutierrez stands firm, noting Parra's deserved punishment and briefly divulging his desire for a Madrid transfer amidst whispers of betrayal.
Opening up vulnerably, Antonia confides in the pills' paradoxical role: they dull her razor-sharp mind during episodes, when her thoughts spiral into overdrive, causing her brain to simmer with excess heat. Meanwhile, back at Ezequiel's lair, Sandra retreats to her cage, her walls of silence fortified by the realization that, despite shared captivity, she and Carla are worlds apart. While Ezequiel's hands are tied in Carla's case, he unleashes his savagery on Sandra, his rapes relentless. Her fate hangs precariously as Carla's father scrambles to meet Ezequiel's exorbitant demands, for Sandra's life is balanced on a knife's edge—a grim end in an unmarked grave awaiting her.
As the episode draws to a close, Gutierrez accompanies Antonia to her abode, where she prepares to transform and embark on a hospital visit. Stubbornly, she declines his offer of a ride home, opting for the anonymity of a taxi. Little do they know, Ezequiel has been lurking in the shadows, now assuming the guise of Antonia's taxi driver. Recognition flares in Antonia's eyes as she beholds him, but before she can muster a reaction, he strikes swiftly, injecting her with a tranquilizing serum that immobilizes her, leaving her frozen in terror, unable to even stir a finger.
