At the hospital, Sami and Lucas learn the baby is fine, but she has to stay overnight for observation. Lucas begs Sami not to put herself in the line of fire anymore; she could have died in that car. Sami explains she has to get to the bottom of the DiMera/Brady feud, for their children and for herself.
E.J. meets with Tony to call a truce. Tony wants to know why E.J. is willing to give up so much for Sami. E.J. accuses his brother of being jealous that he succeeded in Salem in ways Tony never could, and throws losing Kristen in his face. Tony warns E.J. if he turns against the family, it'll be the last thing he does. Tony makes a veiled remark about Sami's safety at the hospital, so E.J. races off. Meanwhile, a disguised Dr. Rolf sneaks a dinner tray into Sami's room. E.J. shows up at the hospital in time to see Rolf leaving and charges into Sami's room before she can eat the food. He slaps the fork out of her hand, and orders her to spit the food out -- it's poisoned!
Nick meets Jett at Brady's Pub, and Chelsea's clearly annoyed when he sits down to get to know the newcomer better. He's interrupted by Maggie, who arrives to tell him the bank called and his credit card was maxed out. Nick tracks Willow down and rips into her, taking his card back and telling her the free ride is over. Nick goes back to the pub, where he learns Chelsea has accepted a job with Jett and Jeremy to be a flight attendant on the shuttle from Salem to Vegas. Nick is bothered by the news, but doesn't have time to process it as Maggie returns and says his room has been broken into and ransacked. Nick is sure Willow is behind it. Sure enough, Willow calls him and tells him to meet her at the beach. She has Chelsea's hairbrush and she's going to the police unless he hands over all his money tonight. Nick races out, vowing to Maggie and Chelsea that he's going to put a stop to Willow once and for all.
E.J. prevents Sami from eating the food that was just brought to her, insisting it was poisoned. Lucas doesn't believe him and takes the food to the lab to be tested. E.J. says he's going to break into the DiMera Mansion and present Sami's deal to Stefano face-to-face. Sami wants to go with him. He says it's too dangerous, but she insists -- it's her life at stake. She suggests that if E.J. calls 911, claiming to be Stefano and in need of help, Tony will be forced to let the EMTs into the house and bring him to the ER. Sami and E.J. can talk to Stefano there. Lucas returns and asks what they're plotting. Sami covers and sends him home to look after Will. Then E.J. distracts the guard posted outside her door so Sami can sneak out of the room.
Nick arrives at the beach to meet Willow, who shows him the hairbrush. She demands cash and his credit cards or she'll turn him in. He refuses to give her anything more and manages to take the brush away from her. A furious Willow struggles with Nick. She rips the hairbrush out of his hand, but spirals backwards and hits her head on a log. Nick performs CPR on Willow and calls 911. But when the EMTs get there, Willow is pronounced dead. The cops see signs of a struggle and tell Nick they are taking him in for questioning.
Hope tells Bo she wants to investigate the Brady-DiMera feud, starting with the letter Sami and Lucas found in New Orleans. Bo agrees to work with her. Doug and Julie Williams return from abroad for a warm reunion. Doug remembers a tunnel which ran from his old club to the DiMera Mansion, where they found a list of Horton and Brady names and a map of Salem. Hope shows Doug and Julie the letter, and Julie translates it from Italian. It was written by Stefano's father, Santo, on his deathbed, telling his son he loved and lost a woman named Colleen because of a family in Salem. Santo wants Stefano to carry out his vendetta against this family - the Bradys.
Sami slips out of the hospital while E.J. distracts her guard. They hide outside the DiMera mansion and E.J. calls 911, pretending to be a dying Stefano. The EMTs forcefully enter the mansion to respond to the call. Bart discovers Sami and E.J., and brings them inside, taking away their cell phones. Stefano is brought out on a gurney, and Tony and Dr. Rolf argue that the EMTs can't take him. During the chaos, Sami and E.J. slip away and sneak into the ambulance. Stefano is loaded into the vehicle, where Sami and E.J. are waiting. The duo is relieved to finally speak with Stefano face-to-face. When a groggy Stefano sees Sami, he calls her Colleen.
At the Brady Pub, Julie reads the DiMera letter. It is revealed that the vendetta began because Stefano's father had his heart broken. The name Colleen is mentioned and they wonder who she is. Was she a Brady or was she stolen from Santo by a Brady? Julie, Doug and Hope discuss where to find information on Colleen and Santo. Hope wonders if the hidden tunnel under Doug's old place might give them answers. Bo asks Grandpa Shawn about Colleen, and he gets tense, saying he's never heard of her. Bo pushes the subject, and Grandpa Shawn tells him to leave it be. Doug calls a real estate agent, who says he'll let him check out the old club.
Nick is taken to the station for questioning regarding Willow's death. A supportive Chelsea meets him there, and Nick tells her Willow found the hairbrush and threatened to blackmail him. Nick vaguely explains to Roman that Willow fell, but the Commissioner suspects he is leaving something out. Nick reveals he and Willow struggled. Roman confronts Nick about paying for Willow's apartment and accuses him of sleeping with the deceased. Alone, Nick tells Chelsea she must dig up the hairbrush he buried at the beach and throw it away. At the beach, Chelsea finds the hairbrush but is caught by Bo!
After he mistakes Sami for Colleen, E.J. sets Stefano straight. Sami begs Stefano to accept her offer for a truce in exchange for the stem cells. It will save his life and bring peace to the Brady and DiMera families. Stefano, however, refuses to take her deal. He sets that there can be no peace until the wrongs of the past have been corrected. Sami and E.J. ask for an explanation, but all Stefano will say is, "ask Shawn Brady."
Marlena, John and Belle arrive at the hospital to visit Sami – and discover she's not in her room. Lucas enters, having returned for his missing cell phone. He theorizes that Sami took his phone, and he calls it, trying to track her down. Tony answers. Afraid Tony has somehow harmed Sami, Lucas races to the DiMera Mansion, followed by John. Lucas and John confront Tony, demanding to know what he did with Sami. At that moment, the doorbell rings, and it's the EMS techs returning Stefano, having been forced to by Tony's attorney. Accompanying them are Sami and E.J. Lucas flips seeing Sami with E.J., afraid her continual association with the man will get her killed.
Marlena asks Belle about her living arrangements. Why did she move in with Philip after the way he treated her? Belle admits she always feels safe with Philip, and she needs that right now. Marlena proposes that Belle still has feelings for Philip, but she denies it.
Chelsea comes clean with Bo about the hairbrush. He takes her to the police station, where she and Nick explain how he stole the brush from the lab in order to protect her. They were afraid the police would think she started the Brady fire when they discovered the brush was Chelsea's. Nick and Chelsea also tell Bo and Roman they believe Willow planted the brush the night of the fire. Believing the two kids, Roman takes the brush and goes to discard it in the trash bin across the street. Nick is relieved but knows he still has to face a coroner's inquest about Willow's death.
At the hospital, Lucas forbids Sami to go anywhere near Stefano again. Sami insists she needs to solve the mystery of the vendetta and Colleen. Lucas says he'll ask Bo if he knows who Colleen was, but Sami has to stay out of it. Once Lucas is gone, E.J. arrives, having received a note from his father summoning him and Sami. Stefano supposedly wants to offer Sami the possibility of a truce. Sami, torn, references Lucas' warning to stay away from Stefano. E.J. points out that everything Sami wants is within her grasp, ultimately convincing her to join him. Sami writes Lucas a note telling him she went to see Stefano.
Bo and Hope break the news to Shawn that Willow Stark is dead. If DNA tests prove the child Willow was carrying is Shawn's, it's only right that they take of her funeral arrangements. Shawn decides to foot the bill on his own, but if the child isn't his, if Willow lied to him, he wants nothing more to do with her.
Once Shawn's gone, Hope asks Bo if he believes Chelsea had nothing to do with starting the fire that almost destroyed their home. Bo says he believes Chelsea is innocent; Hope concurs. Doug and Julie arrive with the key to Doug's Place. Lucas stops by and asks Bo about Colleen. Referring to the letter Sami and Lucas found, Bo, Doug, Julie and Hope report that Colleen was the love of Santo DiMera's life. They think she's at the root of the DiMera-Brady feud. They're going to open up Doug's Place to search the tunnel underneath the club, where Doug and Julie once found evidence of the DiMeras' plans in Salem.
Philip tells Belle he got a call from a man named George Stemmer, who claims to have spotted Claire the night she disappeared. Stemmer shows up, positively identifies Claire as the little girl he saw in the arms of a woman who tore out of the parking lot in the South Pacific. Stemmer remembers the woman's backpack had a bumper sticker: "USADORABLE". Philip learns it's a beauty pageant for toddlers and there's a pageant being held that day in Chicago. Shawn arrives, and Belle and Philip fill him in. Philip and Belle resolve to go to Chicago to investigate, praying they'll find Claire. Belle encourages Shawn to attend the inquest into Willow's death to learn if he truly was the father of her unborn baby. Shawn agrees to meet Belle and Philip in Chicago once the inquest is done.
