The Hidden Third

Pro skater and actor Fabian Alomar takes Mariana from L.A.’s skate scene to years in a high-security prison, where survival meant being ready for anything - even stashing blades where the sun doesn’t shine.

FBI veteran Kurt McKenzie joins Mariana for the inside story of Operation Oxy Alley- the takedown of what’s widely described as the largest pill-mill trafficking operation in U.S. history. Mariana recounts her own investigation and how it led to her being chased down I-95 by the brothers at the center of the case, and how it wasn’t the last McKenzie investigation she got pulled into.

When Michael Santos was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for cocaine trafficking, he turned a cell into a classroom, earning degrees, writing books, and, inspired by Frederick Douglass, becoming a leading voice for reform. He tells Mariana how the transformation happened and what freedom looked like after decades behind bars.

Days before reporting to prison, Mathew Bowyer, the bookie at the center of the Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal, sits down with Mariana to walk her through his illegal betting operation, why it collapsed, and what he believes Ohtani knew.

At 23, Sequoyah Thiessen moved to L.A., believing the “Rehab Riviera” would help her kick opioids. Instead, she was pulled into the shadow economy of fraudulent rehab programs, where people in crisis are bought and sold on a multi-billion-dollar black market. She sits down with Mariana to talk about how this dangerous underworld works, who profits, and the way she turned her life around.

Rob Archuleta takes Mariana from his meth-fueled days in Las Vegas to the grueling yet rewarding crucible of Ironman, tracing why he quit drugs and how the scrappy running club he founded, Addict2Athlete, is transforming lives.

Aliia Roza says she was trained by Russian intelligence in “sexpionage” and later defected after falling in love with one of her targets. She shares her straight-out-of-Hollywood story with Mariana.