Saagar Kote
Netflix’s ‘The Gift of Deceit’ or ‘Dom de Iludir’ is the saga of Lúcia and her daughter, Maíra. Lúcia is the owner of a prestigious art collection in Rio de Janeiro and wields significant influence. The relationship between the mother and daughter is complicated, as Lúcia constantly tries to dictate every action of Maíra’s life. Growing frustrated with her situation, Maíra hopes to escape and live life on her own terms. However, Maíra faces health scares as she frequently experiences seizures, which become a major cause of worry for Lúcia.
Despite all the medical resources available, Lúcia decides that Maíra should be treated by a spiritual healer named Carmen, who promises the mother that her daughter will be okay. While Carmen becomes a part of Lúcia and Maíra’s lives, a family of criminals plans to steal from Lúcia through an elaborate scheme. With Carmen’s real intentions remaining unclear, Lúcia and Maíra’s fates precariously hang in the balance. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Gift of Deceit Plot Synopsis
Lúcia co-owns an elite art collection in Rio de Janeiro with her husband, Fred. The two of them have a daughter named Maíra, who is engaged to Dante. During an art exhibition, Dante breaks off his engagement with Maíra, following which Fred dies. Three years later, Lúcia owns the art collection fully and controls almost every aspect of Maíra’s life. Maíra suffers from seizures, making Lúcia anxious. The mother finds a spiritual healer named Carmen, who promises to heal Maíra. It is revealed that Carmen’s real name is Irina and that she is in a romantic relationship with Maíra, unbeknownst to Lúcia. Maíra pretends to be sick so that she can gain control over her mother. Maíra assumes that Irina loves her, but Irina is actually using her as an easy target to scam Lúcia.
Irina’s family includes her father Bóris, sister Bárbara, and daughters Natália and Tatiana. Nilo is Bárbara’s boyfriend, who is often criticized by Bóris. Natália stays out of the family’s scams, while Bóris also involves her younger sister Tatiana in his schemes targeting wealthy people like Maíra. Natália, who dearly loves her younger sister Tatiana, is a lawyer, which makes her a unique presence within the family. Lúcia, through her contacts, finds out that Irina is actually targeting Maíra’s innocence. Despite Lúcia’s constant efforts to convince her, Maíra doesn’t believe that Irina means any harm. Meanwhile, Bóris holds an iron grip over his family, dictating all their actions and crimes. Lúcia is taken hostage by Maíra and Irina, who force her to give them the Portinari, an extremely expensive painting.
Maíra believes that this is her ticket to financial independence, away from Lúcia’s control. After Maíra leaves the house and shifts to Irina’s place, Lúcia is unable to sit quietly and reaches out to the cops. Elaine and Diego, two honest cops, take over the case. They are able to track down Irina’s family compound and wait for an opportunity to strike. Bóris hopes that Irina will use Maíra as long as necessary and then kill her. However, Irina starts having doubts, and eventually marries Maíra within the family compound. The cops storm the compound, killing Nilo and Bárbara in the process. The newly married Maíra and Irina escape and take a boat to a remote island.
Bóris also manages to escape. Lúcia, now legally Tatiana’s grandmother, gets temporary custody of Tatiana because the girl is underage. This arrangement worries Natália, who doubts Lúcia’s intentions. On the island, Maíra learns that Irina and her family wanted to kill her at one point and use her as a cash cow. This leads to an argument between Irina and Maíra, just as the cops reach their location and apprehend them. Since both Irina and Maíra were involved in the scam against Lúcia, the court declares them both guilty.
The Gift of Deceit Ending: Does Lúcia Survive? Why Does She Control Maíra?
After the court rules against Irina, Bóris is shocked to see how his family has been reduced to nothing. Being the patriarch, he decides to take revenge against Lúcia and Maíra. Taking his chances, Bóris arms himself, knocks on the door of Lúcia, and enters forcefully. He immediately takes Lúcia and Maíra hostage, forcing them to obey every single thing he says. Shocking revelations unfold after this, when Bóris forces Lúcia to divulge secrets in exchange for her and her daughter’s lives. As Bóris records on video, Lúcia confesses that Coleção Rossetti, her family’s art collection business, is really a front for money laundering. It is only because of several instances of rule-breaking that Lúcia is able to provide for her family.
When the confession goes viral, the cops, led by Elaine and Diego, surround the house, along with a specialized armed unit. The police officers try to communicate with Bóris and make him see reason, but he is hellbent on revenge at this point. He tells Lúcia and Maíra that he may not be able to recover what was taken from him, but he can at least ensure that they will also suffer as he did. When Bóris pulls out his gun, Lúcia assumes that he is going to shoot her and probably spare Maíra. But Bóris causes panic within Lúcia as he aims the gun at Maíra instead. In a quick second, Lúcia jumps in front of her daughter and is hit by the bullet. However, the bullet doesn’t instantly kill her, but causes a serious injury and severe bleeding.
Writhing in pain, Lúcia still fights to save Maíra at any cost. When the cops force their way into the house, Bóris drags the mother and daughter to a smaller room and aims his gun once again, intending to kill both this time. However, he is unaware of the fact that the cops have a sniper stationed at the opposite building, with a clear view. When Bóris is about to shoot Maíra, the sniper fires, killing him instantly. Lúcia is rushed to the hospital, where Maíra stays with her injured mother for support. Lúcia survives her wounds due to medical intervention and is thankful to see her daughter with her. A secret from the past eventually comes to light, affecting how Maíra perceives her mother.
While Lúcia is still at the hospital, Maíra goes through old videos, photos, and documents at the house. She finds out that she had a twin sister who died a few days after birth. Lúcia had given birth to twins, who both had weak hearts and needed a transplant. The babies were born this way because Lúcia traveled a lot during the pregnancy, against medical advice. The doctors were able to find a replacement heart for only one of the twin babies. Lúcia chose to save Maíra, which led to the death of the other baby.
Throughout her life, Lúcia remains obsessed with controlling every move of Maíra, as she feels guilty about causing the death of the other baby. Lúcia is afraid of losing her only remaining daughter, which is why she keeps a tight grip on Maíra. This compulsive behavior leads to significant emotional issues between the mother and daughter, eventually driving Maíra to rebel against Lúcia. Thus, the relationship between the two is a complex bond shaped by multiple factors.
Does Irina Truly Love Maíra? Will They Be Separated?
The relationship between Irina and Maíra is tested by several tribulations as they come to terms with the gravity of the unfolding crisis. Though Irina initially targets Maíra as a potential target for a major scam, her feelings eventually change. Irina assumes that she will be able to seduce Maíra, fake a romance, marry her, kill her, and secure Maíra’s inheritance. This plan is devised by Bóris, who trusts his daughter to pull off the scam successfully. However, during the course of the fake relationship, Irina actually develops feelings for Maíra, especially after they get married. At this point, Maíra genuinely loves Irina and hopes to escape the clutches of Lúcia’s controlling behavior. For the majority of the story, Maíra remains unaware that she is the main target of the scam and that Irina had been lying to her about many things.
Maíra is also declared guilty in court, as she too played an active role in scamming Lúcia. Though both Maíra and Irina are pronounced guilty, only Irina faces prison, as Lúcia bribes a court-appointed psychiatrist to declare Maíra mentally unstable. Maíra is eventually ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment. In the courtroom, before being escorted out by the cops, Irina confesses that she truly loves Maíra. An emotional Maíra responds by saying that she, too, feels the same. Despite the many lies that hover over their bond, Maíra and Irina are able to build a genuine bond. However, fate turns out to be tragic for their love story, as Irina is sentenced to serve more than two decades in prison for fraud, attempted murder, and other charges.
Once the dust settles, Maíra visits Irina in prison, and the two of them have a heartfelt conversation. Though they are legally still married, they cannot really live as spouses. But the narrative doesn’t show them officially filing for a separation. Irina and Maíra once again confess their love to each other, despite understanding how tragic their circumstances are. Maíra walks out of the prison with a heavy heart, knowing that she will always miss Irina.
Does Maíra Stay With Lúcia? Will Irina Be Released From Prison?
After Lúcia recovers from her injuries, Maíra takes her home and provides her with all the support she needs. Although Lúcia has controlled her throughout her life, Maíra empathizes with her, knowing what drove her mother to do so. Maíra and Lúcia’s relationship also undergoes a significant change, a reversal of roles of sorts. Earlier, Lúcia was the one who cared for her daughter, but Maíra is Lúcia’s caregiver towards the end of the narrative.
Maíra is now the one with the power to control her mother, and she realizes she can shape her own life. The revelation that Lúcia bought the psychiatric report could lead to the trial being annulled and Irina’s sentence being reviewed, though her release is not confirmed.
Who Gets the Portinari? What Happens to Tatiana and Natália?
The whereabouts of the Portinari, an extremely valuable painting, remain unknown for a while. Bóris is the one who manages to hide it in a secure location, unbeknownst to his family members. After entering Lúcia’s house, Bóris asks Tatiana to leave and reunite with Natália. While Tatiana is about to leave, he hands her a currency note, which actually contains coded instructions and coordinates. When Tatiana hands over the note to Natália, the latter eventually understands the coded message.
Following the instructions, she reaches an isolated shipyard, where she finds the hidden Portinari. Given how valuable the painting is, it can be presumed that Natália will sell it for a huge sum and use the money to reset her life and also take care of Tatiana. Natália and Tatiana also visit their mother, Irina, in prison, and try to cheer her up. It is likely that Natália will bring up Tatiana to be an honest person and steer her away from the life of crime and deception that her family is cursed with.
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