From the first inquiries it is determined that the corpse corresponds to Lucina Utrera, daughter of one of the captains of the American fleet. Mateo concludes that the two corpses are related to his old printing press. Mateo suffers insomnia and depressive episodes that make him have a sinister recurrent vision. Teresa decides to hire Eugenia in her husband's silk factory, against the advice of her manager who warns her that all workers are men and only one man can make decisions in the factory. The plague inexorably extends. Leandra's father, Valerio's girlfriend, died and Morata, one of the members of the Cabildo, whom Zúñiga had bought. The government is forced to publicize the disease and close the city.