Andre sets a plan in motion
At Green Mountain Lodge, Hope climbed into bed with Aiden as they continued kissing, but she soon pulled away, again suffering flashbacks of what had happened on their wedding night. Hope apologetically explained to Aiden that she wasn't ready yet, and he assured her that he understood.
"Being a few hundred miles away -- we thought that would solve our problems, but [that was] just wishful thinking. It's not Salem [or] your house that's triggering all those horrible memories, Hope; it's me, [and] it's never gonna change. The man who tried to kill you -- he had my face, and, uh, that's never gonna change," Aiden sadly concluded. Aiden suggested that he and Hope could head back to Salem the following morning, and she agreed then went back to her own room. Once he was alone, Aiden clenched his fists in anger.
At the police station, Shawn informed Rafe that there had been another fire earlier that night. "Apparently, we have a serial arsonist, or we have a serial killer pretending to be an arsonist," Shawn mused. "Or maybe both," Rafe distractedly suggested. Shawn guessed that Rafe was thinking about Hope's impromptu getaway with Aiden, but Rafe admitted that was none of his business anymore. "I've just got something that, uh, doesn't really add up, and, uh, if -- or when -- I figure it out, I'll let you know," Rafe promised.
Later, Rafe went to the Salem Inn to question Andre about the visits he had received from Aiden while in prison. Andre deflected at first but eventually claimed that the visits had simply been about Aiden's supposed kidnapping and torture, for which Aiden had wanted to blame him, of all people. Rafe skeptically wondered why Aiden had used an alias for such an innocent meeting. "I didn't know that he did. Maybe he just didn't want his name on record, just in case he decided to murder me," Andre suggested with a shrug.
"Oh, by the way, he also wanted to ask me about a house that my father owned outside of town," Andre casually added, but he claimed that he had no idea why Aiden had been interested in the property. After leaving Andre's room, Rafe returned to the police station and reached out to one of his FBI contacts, who eventually got back to him with an address for the property Andre had mentioned. "Why the hell [would] Aiden Jennings [want to] buy this dump?" Rafe wondered as he looked at a picture of the house.
At the DiMera mansion, Ciara found Chad in the study, reading the letter Abigail had left for him:
"My dearest Chad, this is the hardest letter I've ever had to write, because in it, I must tell you that you and Thomas will never see me again. I got home, and I felt like a stranger here, and I realized that's always what I'd be now; that no matter how sane I seemed, there would always be a part of you that wondered -- that worried -- and I can't blame you for that. I'd feel the same way in your shoes. I can't put you or Thomas through this, so I have to go away to give you and Thomas a chance at a sane life. I will always love you, but this is for the best. Don't try to find me. You never will. Goodbye, my love."
Chad shared the letter with Ciara, who wondered if the handwriting was Abigail's. "That's her handwriting, but that is not her," Chad insisted. When Ciara asked Chad to tell her where he had found the letter, he rushed off in anger, suddenly remembering that he hadn't found it.
At the Salem Inn, Andre sighed while eyeing the items on his bed: a bomb and a tablet computer that showed an image of the house he had asked Chad to sign over to him. "So much mayhem to attend to, and so little time," he muttered as he began placing the items in a duffel bag. Meanwhile, Chad started pounding on the hotel room door, demanding to see Andre.
After stashing the duffel bag in the bathroom, Andre greeted Chad, who mused, "I find it pretty convenient that you found [Abigail's] letter in my living room." Andre innocently countered that, to him, it had seemed like nothing more than a stroke of good fortune. "[Or] it's one of your sick games that you use to make people suffer -- in this case, me," Chad suggested.
Andre feigned indignation at first but eventually admitted that he had lied to Chad about the letter in order to protect Chad from being further traumatized. "I didn't find that letter; Abigail gave it to me," Andre revealed. Sighing, Andre recalled that Abigail had seemed scared, fragile, and emotional, but she had also seemed somewhat detached, and she had firmly believed that it would be best for her to leave Chad and Thomas for good. Andre said he had tried to reason with Abigail but had been unable to change her mind. "[And] I couldn't bind her physically; she's a very determined woman," Andre pointed out.
"You know, you make it impossible for anyone to believe anything you say," Chad skeptically noted. Maintaining that he had tried his best, Andre hoped that his admission of failure wouldn't prompt Chad to back out of signing over the property they had discussed earlier. Chad left without giving Andre an answer.
At Shady Hills, Dr. Robinson watched as J.J. questioned one of the patients about Abigail's escape. The patient insisted that Abigail had never discussed the escape plan -- or anything else -- with her or any of the other patients; in fact, the only person Abigail had ever seemed interested in talking to was one of the volunteers. "Are you talking about Ciara Brady?" J.J. guessed.
Later, J.J. questioned Chase, who insisted, when he realized that J.J. was treating Ciara like a suspect, that she couldn't have possibly had anything to do with Abigail's escape. "She was with me at the time," Chase explained as Ciara arrived and eavesdropped from the hallway. Chase continued that he had watched Ciara from afar as she had gone about her business in the reading room. "That's creepy, man," J.J. declared, prompting Chase to clarify that he had been monitoring Ciara's movements at the facility simply so he could stay out of her way.
When Ciara entered the room, J.J. turned his attention to her, and she assured him that she'd had nothing to do with Abigail's escape. Ciara added, however, that she wasn't sorry that Abigail had managed to pull off the feat, since being at Shady Hills had seemingly just made her worse. "Oh, right, and she's much better off on the run -- all alone, mentally unstable, no money, maybe hitchhiking across the country. Yeah, that is a much better situation," J.J. sarcastically agreed.
Ciara apologized for sounding insensitive, admitting that she couldn't understand why Abigail had gone on the run instead of just going home to Chad and Thomas. Suggesting that Chad could be lying about what had happened to Abigail, J.J. warned that if Ciara knew anything else, she needed to reveal it to the police right away. "Chad is a mess about this, J.J. He's not hiding anything," Ciara insisted.
Later, J.J. and Jennifer went to the DiMera mansion to see Chad, who had contacted them to let them know about the letter Abigail had left for him. After reading the letter, Jennifer sadly observed that the handwriting was Abigail's, and Chad nodded in agreement. Noting that Chad didn't seem particularly upset about the development, J.J. angrily accused him of convincing Abigail to write the letter in an effort to throw everyone off her trail. "You've made it very clear you don't trust us," J.J. pointed out.
"Yeah, you're right, J.J. -- I don't trust you, and I'm beginning not to like you," Chad countered. Chad insisted that he'd had nothing to do with the letter, but J.J. remained convinced that Chad was lying and knew exactly where Abigail was. Chad encouraged J.J. to search the entire mansion for Abigail. "You're not gonna find her here," Chad promised before rushing off, vowing to find Abigail himself.
Later, after J.J. and Jennifer left, Ciara returned home and found Chad in the study, poring over notes and maps in an effort to figure out where Abigail had gone. Ciara warned Chad about J.J.'s suspicions and stressed that if Chad did know more than the police and needed someone to confide in, he could trust her to keep his secrets. "I wish I was hiding [Abigail]. I wish I'd never sent her to the clinic. I wish that she'd never even met Ben. I wish I knew that my wife loved me. I wish I knew what the hell to do with my son!" Chad screamed in Ciara's face, flinging the documents across the room in frustration.
As Chad turned away from Ciara and started pacing the room, she hesitantly wondered if there was anything she could do to help him. Chad dismissively instructed Ciara to go check on Thomas. When Ciara returned after completing the task, Chad had calmed down considerably, and he showed her Abigail's letter to get her take on it. Ciara suggested that someone might have forced Abigail to write the letter. Chad said he'd had the same thought but hadn't been able to think of any suspects other than Ben, who was still locked up, and Andre, who didn't have a clear motive for devising such a plan.
Deciding to play Andre in an effort to figure out if he really had been behind Abigail's disappearance, Chad contacted him and left him a voicemail message, asking to meet with him right away. Ciara advised Chad to think of a believable reason for the meeting so Andre wouldn't smell a trap. Impressed, Chad noted that Ciara seemed pretty skilled in the art of deception, prompting her to remind him that she was a teenager. Chad decided that he would go to the meeting, armed with the paperwork for the DiMera property Andre was interested in, leading Andre to believe he had simply decided to stick to their agreement.
Chad went to the Salem Inn but wasn't able to find Andre there. J.J. soon received a tip from someone about Chad's visit to Andre's hotel room, leading him and Jennifer to reach the conclusion that Chad was indeed working with Andre and couldn't be trusted. Meanwhile, Andre grinned as he looked around the basement of the house he had asked Chad to give him.
While Joey recuperated in the hospital, Kayla and Steve hovered over him. Joey was anxious to leave the hospital, but he admitted that he was a little disappointed to lose the craziness of the open road. When Joey noted that he enjoyed being a team with Steve, Kayla raised an eyebrow at her ex. Steve cautioned Joey to concentrate on healing. With a nod, Kayla reminded Joey that he still needed to face multiple criminal charges in court. Joey said he wanted to take responsibility for his actions.
While Joey called Jade, Kayla and Steve stepped into the hallway to give their son privacy. Kayla rubbed her head. Worried, Steve asked if she was having one of her headaches. Steve reminded Kayla that he would be there if she needed him. When Steve asked Kayla if she wanted him to return home with her, she shook her head no. Kayla admitted she was not ready for Steve to move back in.
"Back in California, I thought we had turned a corner when you said you couldn't live without me," Steve whispered. Kayla said she was still scared by Steve's recklessness. Kayla asked for time to think. Steve argued that Kayla was making an excuse because she did not want to be with him. Shaking her head no, Kayla said she needed to be sure that reconciling with Steve was the right decision for their family. Kayla said she was concerned that Joey had inherited Steve's wanderlust. Kayla added that she was not sure if Joey could ever get over the fact that he had murdered someone.
"You are my one and only. Nothing is ever going to change that," Steve told Kayla. Steve walked out of the hospital and over to his office. Once there, a frustrated Steve paced the room. Kayla returned to check on her son in his room. Joey was upset that he could not reach Jade on the phone.
Joey asked Kayla if she still blamed Jade for what had happened. Kayla argued that Jade was a troubled girl. Groaning, Joey complained that Kayla did not know Jade. Joey told Kayla that she did not listen to him like Steve listened. When Joey asked about Steve, Kayla said that Steve was spending the night in his office.
"You still haven't taken him back? After everything he's done? He risked his life for me again. What more does he have to prove?" Joey asked. Kayla said she loved Steve, but the issue was complicated. Joey urged Kayla to think more with her heart than her head. Joey said that Kayla should give both Steve and Jade a second chance.
At the condo, Victor apologized to Maggie for lashing out on her behalf. Victor told her that he could not help himself because he loved her so much. Maggie said she was heartbroken to learn that Summer was more of a stranger than a daughter. Visibly shaken, Maggie said Summer had not returned any of her messages. Maggie said she intended to forgive her daughter. When Victor groaned, Maggie pointed out that Victor had forgiven his children over their indiscretions. Victor argued that his children were not criminals.
"We'd be much better off without that parasite in our lives," Victor said. Victor urged Maggie to forget her daughter. Fighting tears, Maggie refused to abandon her daughter a second time. Maggie blamed herself for Summer's hard life. Victor said he would do whatever Maggie wanted. Maggie asked Victor to find Summer. With a sigh, Victor told Maggie that it might be too late.
In her hotel room, Summer found a bag with $100,000 and an envelope of pictures of her with Clark. The envelope also contained a note promising more money if Summer assisted them in a scheme. There was a knock at the door. Dario asked Summer to let him in. Summer cracked open the door but refused to let Dario inside the room. Summer ordered Dario to meet her at the club, and he reluctantly left. Summer shoved the bag of money under her bed, stuffed the photos in her purse, and left to meet up with Dario.
At the club, Summer told Dario about the bag of money. Summer handed Dario the envelope of photos with the note. Worried, Dario wondered if the person that had been watching Summer had photographed them getting rid of Clark's body. Summer said she was tempted, but she refused to go along with the blackmailer's demands. Summer announced that she was going to leave town. Interrupting the moment, Summer's phone rang. Summer smiled when she saw Maggie's name on the caller ID. Summer declined the call, and she told Dario that she did not want to hear Maggie's anger.
"I hate myself for letting her down," Summer said. "What the hell are you talking about? I was the one that told you that you should squeeze whatever you could out of her, but you refused. You really don't think you can fix this with her?" Dario asked. Summer shook her head no. Dario offered to walk Summer back to her hotel to pack.
In the town square, Brady met up with Theresa and Tate. Brady asked about Theresa's argument with Victor. Theresa explained that she had fallen asleep while sitting with Tate in the park. With a sigh, Theresa said that Victor had woken her up. Brady was upset. Theresa agreed that Victor was right to verbally shred her, but she was not an unfit mother as Victor had argued. Brady agreed.
Brady chided Theresa that she should have known that she had been too tired to take Tate out on her own. Theresa nodded. Theresa lamented that she had not been able to spend more time with her son, and she asked Brady if they could plan some time alone with their son together. Brady emphatically agreed. When Theresa asked Brady if he was angry with her, Brady shook his head no. Brady added that he had no right to judge Theresa's choices.
When Theresa asked what was wrong, Brady told her that Summer was a con artist and had been working him since arriving in Salem. Brady told Theresa about Clark and Summer. When Theresa said that she had been upset that Brady had taken Summer's side, Brady nodded and said he had wanted to give Summer the benefit of the doubt. Angry, Theresa rose to her feet. "I am going to find that conniving little bitch, and I am going to run her out of town," Theresa growled.
Brady stopped Theresa and asked her to spend time with him and Tate instead. With a curt nod, Theresa agreed. Brady told Theresa that Summer had lost everyone and everything and would likely leave town on her own. Brady admitted that he felt sorry for Summer. When Brady noted that he had a history of dating manipulative women, Theresa asked Brady if he meant her. Brady said that his initial involvement with Theresa had been destructive, but both he and Theresa had changed.
"There's no regret here. At all," Brady said. Theresa worried aloud that Victor would turn Brady against her. Brady promised he would never let that happen. Theresa and Brady sat down to eat. As Theresa looked up, she saw Summer across the square. Brady cautioned Theresa not to fight. Summer and Dario walked over to the table. Brady accused Dario of helping Summer con him.
When Brady harrumphed in annoyance, Summer said, "I was absolutely truthful with you once, and I think you know what I'm talking about." Summer told Theresa not to take Brady for granted. Summer added that Brady and Tate deserved the best and that Theresa should take care of Tate. Brady said goodbye, and Dario escorted Summer out of the square.
Theresa was suspicious, and she asked Brady what he had not told her about Summer. Brady admitted that Summer had confessed that she was in love with him. With a gasp of triumph, Theresa shouted that she had believed that Summer had been after Brady from the beginning. Alarmed, Theresa asked Brady if he had feelings for Summer. Brady firmly said no.
While Brady went into the restaurant to order take-out, Theresa said hello to Kayla, who was walking through the square. Theresa asked about Joey. With a smile, Kayla said that motherhood suited Theresa. Kayla told Theresa that she was proud of how Theresa had changed. "Everyone deserves a second chance, right?" Theresa asked.
At the condo, Maggie wondered aloud if Summer had left Salem. Maggie gasped when there was a knock at the door. Victor opened the door to admit Fynn into the home. Victor explained that he wanted Fynn to examine her, since she had fallen twice. With a nod, Maggie asked Fynn to tell her his first impression of Summer when he had met her in Los Angeles. Fynn said he had not known Summer well but that Daniel had believed that Summer was worth saving.
After examining Maggie, Fynn pronounced her healthy, and he left. Victor asked Maggie if she had rethought his offer to take a cruise. With a smile, Maggie said she was open to the idea of leaving Salem for a trip. Thrilled, Victor kissed his wife tenderly.
At the hospital, Jade sneaked into Joey's hospital room. With tears in her eyes, Jade told Joey that her father had kicked her out of the house. Jade said she had thought she did not care what her parents thought of her, but she was hurt by the rejection. Joey hugged Jade. "They hate me, and now I have no place to go," Jade said.
Jade crawled into Joey's lap, and he promised to take care of her. Jade worried about Kayla. Joey said Kayla would not kick Jade out when she had nowhere to go. Joey and Jade said "I love you" to one another and kissed.
As Steve drank in his office, Kayla knocked on the door. Steve hid the bottle and unlocked the door. When Steve saw Kayla, he asked her what she wanted. Kayla held up a harmonica and told Steve she wanted to drop it off for him. With a grin, Steve noted that Kayla's excuse was flimsy. Kayla told Steve that she loved him. "I can't seem to live with you. I don't know if I can live without you," Kayla said.
In Summer's hotel room, she showed Dario the bag of cash. When Summer suggested she should take the money and run, Dario argued that whoever had bribed her was serious. "I just hope that Theresa took my warning seriously because someone out there is willing to pay a lot of money to kidnap her and Brady's baby," Summer said.
Alone at her parents' place, Belle had an unsettling dream that began with Shawn kissing her but ended with Philip replacing Shawn as her preferred lover. Later, while trying to get some work done, Belle found a picture of her and Philip that had been taken a few months earlier, during their trip to Las Vegas. Hoping to shake off unwelcome memories, Belle grabbed her purse and rushed out of the townhouse to get some air.
After sending Parker off with Nicole, Chloe helped Philip sober up then took him to a secluded section of the town square to find out what was bothering him. Dodging the question, Philip wondered why Chloe was back in Salem. "Actually, I'm here because of you. I owe you an apology," Chloe admitted.
Guessing that Philip had gotten drunk because of what had happened between him and Victor, Chloe revealed that she had unwittingly played a part in Deimos' revenge scheme. Philip assured Chloe that he didn't blame her, explaining that he had made his own bed when he had tried to hide his connection to an overdose victim, giving Deimos an opportunity to blackmail him. Philip was stunned when Chloe informed him that Deimos was still alive and was planning to return to Salem to get revenge against the person who had not only tried to kill him but had also faked a marriage to him in order to steal his money: Kate.
Later, after Chloe left, Philip ran into Shawn, who had decided, after getting some advice from Roman, to seek Philip out and have a man-to-man talk with him about Belle. Philip apologized for the way he had behaved earlier that night and wondered if there was anything he could do to make amends. "Stay away. Leave Belle alone," Shawn suggested.
Philip said he would agree to step aside if that was what Belle wanted him to do; however, he wasn't convinced that it was. Noting that Shawn was a good guy who deserved to hear the truth, Philip declared that Belle wasn't really in love with Shawn. "She wants to love you. She knows that it's the right thing. That's why she reconciled with you now. But in her heart, deep down, she's not in love," Philip continued.
"You think you know my wife better than I do?" Shawn asked. Philip confidently said yes, adding that the girl Shawn had fallen in love with and had taken to the Last Blast dance was gone. "[But she's] scared of losing her family, so she's trying to be the girl that you fell in love with, which is sad," Philip added.
Shawn argued that Belle didn't seem unhappy to him. "That's my point! There's this whole other...very wild...side to Belle you've never even seen. Do you know what happens when you lock that in a cage?" Philip asked. As Shawn protested that no one was locking Belle in a cage, Philip continued, "Part of her will die. Do you want to be responsible for that?" Philip walked away without waiting for a response, and Belle stepped out of the shadows and watched him leave before focusing her attention on Shawn, whose back was turned toward her.
At the Brady Pub, Nicole treated Parker to vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles, swearing him to secrecy about the snack. After spending some time talking to Parker about Daniel, Nicole changed the subject, wondering how Parker liked Deimos. Parker revealed that Deimos had been nice to him but had upset Chloe. Warning that Deimos liked to play games with people at times, Nicole advised Parker to be careful around him.
Chloe arrived shortly after the evidence of Parker's snack had been cleared away, and she sent him off with a dollar to spend on the jukebox. Nicole seized the opportunity to talk to Chloe about Deimos, realizing that they had been involved at some point. Chloe explained that Deimos had used her to advance his plan to get revenge on Victor. Chloe added that Deimos had offered to run away with her but had changed his mind as soon as Nicole had walked back into his life. Nicole stressed that Deimos didn't really care about her; he cared about a woman she strongly resembled. Chloe assured Nicole that she understood and wasn't upset with Nicole.
Later, after Nicole left, Chloe wondered if Parker would like to hang out with one of his friends from Salem the following day. Confused, Parker pointed out that Chloe had previously warned him that their stay in Salem would be a short one. Chloe explained that Philip had made her promise not to leave before meeting with him the following morning to discuss something important that might keep her and Parker in Salem for a while longer.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Kate imagined different ways in which her first encounter with a back-from-the-dead Deimos could play out, each of which ended with her trying to murder him again. Eventually, sick of worrying about Deimos' return, Kate went to the police station to find out what Roman was doing to locate him, dead or alive.
Roman questioned Kate's behavior, noting that she seemed uncharacteristically upset about the loss of a man she had barely even known. "Why do you find it so hard to believe that I could fall in love with a man like Deimos?" Kate wondered. Roman conceded that Deimos had definitely been Kate's type, but he guessed that she was still holding out on him about something.
Later, Kate returned to the Kiriakis mansion and started to climb the stairs to her bedroom, but she paused when ominous piano music suddenly began playing. Kate nervously entered the living room and found Deimos sitting at the piano. "Well, hello, darling. Aren't you gonna welcome me home?" Deimos asked before resuming the tune.
At the Kiriakis mansion, Kate recovered from her shock and embraced Deimos to welcome him home, stressing that she was thrilled to see that he was okay. Kate continued that seeing Deimos fall into the river had been devastating. "You pushed me into that river," Deimos reminded Kate.
Kate tried to assure Deimos that she hadn't meant to do that. "I may have been...impulsive...in lashing out, but, after all, I had just watched you declare your love for another woman. But why would I try to kill you? What would that have done for me?" Kate reasoned. Deimos pointed out that Kate had helped herself to his money and house following his disappearance, but she argued that he would have done the same thing if he had been in her shoes. "Maybe," Deimos conceded.
"Definitely," Kate maintained. Kate argued that she actually deserved Deimos' admiration, not his anger, because her actions had proven that she truly was a woman after his own heart. "Perhaps at one time, [but] not anymore," Deimos replied. Deimos pointed out that Kate should have at least shown due diligence before trying to use his disappearance to her advantage, but she insisted that she had searched for him before concluding that he had died, and she had been heartbroken over losing him.
Deimos skeptically noted that Kate's heartbreak hadn't stopped her from stealing an engagement ring that had never been meant for her, prompting her to angrily insist that it should have been hers all along, since they had made plans to elope to Las Vegas just before his disappearance. "And that's one mistake we avoided. Which reminds me: time to get rid of this piece of garbage," Deimos said as he grabbed the fake marriage certificate and prepared to rip it in half. Kate stopped Deimos and sweetly urged him not to be hasty, pointing out that they didn't have to ruin a good thing.
"Only you would call a fake marriage a good thing," Deimos mused. Kate reasoned that she and Deimos could easily turn it into a real marriage, but Deimos pointed out that there would never be anything real about it because he didn't love her. "You never did, so when you look at it that way, nothing would really change. But we could still be the power couple that you talked about," Kate countered. Deimos said he already had enough power, but Kate argued that one could never have enough power -- or money. "[That's] the one thing that I've learned to count on, and I want to swim in it," Kate added.
Chuckling, Deimos insisted that Kate would have to achieve that particular aspiration without his help. Guessing that Deimos was still hung up on Nicole, Kate warned that even if he eventually managed to get Nicole into his bed, he would never truly be able to trust her. "[But] with me, you know what you get. There's no subterfuge; everything's on the table. In it to win it -- to benefit each other," Kate continued.
"How soon can you pack?" Deimos asked after considering the matter for a moment. Pleased, Kate assured Deimos that he would never regret his decision. Deimos warned that he and Kate would no longer be able to share a bedroom because he couldn't completely trust her not to stab him in his sleep, and she agreed to that condition, noting that the mansion's guest bedrooms were quite lovely.
After packing and booking a flight to Las Vegas, Kate urged Deimos to quickly change out of his pajamas, warning that their flight would be boarding soon. "Then you'd better get going," Deimos suggested. "What about you?" Kate asked. Deimos said he was planning to go to bed early. "I've got a very big day tomorrow," Deimos explained. "A busy day putting a ring on my finger and saying 'I do,'" Kate agreed.
"But I don't," Deimos stressed, adding that he wouldn't marry Kate even if his life depended on it. Kate angrily warned Deimos not to play games with her, but he assured her that he wasn't. Deimos explained that tricking Kate had been an easy way to get her out of the mansion in a hurry. "You're all packed. Now all you have to do is walk out that door," Deimos continued.
Kate protested that she and Deimos needed each other, but Deimos maintained that they were over for good. "I never should have encouraged anything with you in the first place, especially after..." Deimos started to add before letting his voice trail off. Believing that she knew just where that sentence had been headed, Kate insisted that Deimos was a fool for still being hung up on Nicole. "Well, I'd rather be a fool than a man that spends his entire life punishing the world for disappointing him, and I sure as hell wouldn't spend another second with a woman who thinks nothing about destroying another person's life to save and benefit her own!" Deimos countered.
Chuckling, Kate argued that Deimos would cut down an opponent in the blink of an eye if he believed that doing so would be beneficial to him. "Yeah, but, you see, the difference, Kate, is that I choose my opponents wisely. [When] you [went] after Nicole, you [went] after me. You try that again, and I will shred every little pretty body part of yours all at once. Now get the hell out of my house before I get tired of being lenient!" Deimos spat.
Kate refused to leave, but Deimos warned that if she tried to test him, he might just decide to tell the police the truth about what had happened at the river instead of protecting her. Deimos guessed that if he did that, Kate would definitely go down for attempted murder and spend at least the next twenty to thirty years in prison. "You just made the biggest mistake of your life," Kate told Deimos through gritted teeth before storming off.
At the Horton Town Square, Jennifer ran into Ciara and seized the opportunity to question her about Chad. Ciara assured Jennifer that Chad wasn't hiding Abigail, but Jennifer wasn't convinced, arguing that Chad's defensiveness and cynicism seemed to suggest that he was lying about something. Ciara insisted that she would be able to tell if that were the case because she had gotten to know Chad really well over the previous few months. "Everyone is so quick to judge Chad [and] condemn him because he's a DiMera. You don't even know the man that he's become," Ciara continued.
"And you do? Just how close have the two of you become since you've been living there?" Jennifer wondered. Jennifer suggested that Ciara had developed feelings for Chad and was trying to protect him as a result, but Ciara vehemently denied the accusation. Jennifer stressed that she wasn't trying to pick a fight; she simply wanted her daughter back. "And maybe if you trusted Chad a little bit more, you'd see that that's all he wants, too," Ciara countered before walking away.
At the DiMera mansion, Chad apologized to Andre for his earlier behavior. Andre suggested that the apology might just be a ploy to try to dig more information out of him, but Chad insisted that he had let go of his suspicions about Andre's role in Abigail's disappearance, reasoning that Andre simply wasn't smart enough to trick her. "Oh, isn't that splendid? Being insulted and relieved at the same time," Andre mused with a laugh.
Chad asked Andre to help him locate Abigail. "If you do, I'll give you anything you want," Chad promised. "Even your brotherly love?" Andre asked with obvious interest. Nodding, Chad wondered if he could count on Andre to help him. Andre said he was touched, and he reiterated that he had his finger on the pulse of Salem and might be able to track Abigail down if he made a few inquiries. "[But] are you willing to accept whatever information I may find out, even though it may not be to your liking?" Andre wondered, pointing out that there was a possibility that the news wouldn't be good.
"Well, I'd like to not think that, but if somebody hurts her, then I'll hurt them worse than they could ever imagine," Chad vowed. Andre casually steered the conversation back to the matter of compensation, and Chad confirmed that if Andre succeeded in getting him the answers he was looking for, he would happily hand over everything he owned. "You really do love her, don't you?" Andre observed.
Nodding, Chad insisted that he would give his life for Abigail's without hesitation, prompting Andre to suggest that it would be best to hope that Chad wouldn't have to resort to such drastic measures. As Andre started to leave, Chad wondered if he could trust Andre. "As much as I can trust you, brother," Andre replied. Once the coast was clear, Chad placed a phone call to someone. "He's leaving now. Follow him. I want to know everywhere he goes and everything he does," Chad said before ending the call.
When Chad turned around, he saw a vision of Stefano, who suggested, "You know, if you think that you can trust Andre, then maybe you are the one who is mad." Grinning, Chad conceded the point, acknowledging that he was talking to dead people, after all. "But you know that I am just a voice in your head -- the voice of reason," Stefano replied.
Stefano warned that Chad was playing with fire. Chad argued that he needed to protect Abigail because he would never be able to live with himself if the police found her first and carted her off to an even worse psychiatric hospital than Shady Hills. "So you trust your conniving brother to help you?" Stefano asked. Chad clarified that he didn't trust Andre at all; he was simply waiting for Andre to slip up. Stefano suggested that Andre could be playing Chad the same way Chad was playing Andre, but Chad insisted that he would ultimately get the upper hand because he was smarter than Andre.
"You're certainly more stubborn," Stefano countered with a laugh, prompting Chad to wonder what that meant. "What kind of mother do you think she'll be if you do get her back?" Stefano wondered. Chad confidently declared that Abigail would be a fantastic mother once she got better. "What if she never gets better?" Stefano suggested.
Before Chad could respond, Ciara arrived to tell him about her earlier encounter with Jennifer. Chad said he sympathized with Jennifer but didn't have time to worry about her because he needed to stay focused on finding Abigail. Ciara wondered if Chad had talked to Andre yet. Chad confirmed that he had but added that he didn't know if he could trust Andre -- or anyone else, for that matter, except Ciara. "Count on it," Ciara replied.
Chad hesitantly revealed that he sometimes had visions of Stefano, who seemed to manifest to show him different ways of handling situations. Ciara admitted that she had imagined conversations with Bo when he had been missing in action. "Which makes sense because you loved your father. I hated mine half the time," Chad pointed out. Ciara argued that Chad hadn't hated Stefano; he had simply hated what Stefano had represented.
Reluctant to believe that Stefano had been right about Abigail, Chad asked for Ciara's take on the matter. After warning that Chad might not like her answer, Ciara suggested that Abigail might have taken off because she had feared that she might not get better anytime soon and had believed that, in that case, it would be best to spare Chad and Thomas from having to watch her mental health continue to deteriorate.
Chad revealed that he had devised a plan to help guarantee that Abigail would recover: after finding her, he would build a room in the secret tunnels and hold her there so she could receive treatment from a psychiatrist Stefano had sometimes employed -- someone who was willing to break whatever rules he had to break in order to make a patient better. "It kind of sounds like you're gonna keep her prisoner," Ciara noted.
Chad stressed that he simply wanted to keep Abigail safe. "It's not ideal, but it's the only thing I can think of," Chad added. Ciara suggested that Abigail might not want to return to Salem until she believed that it was the right time to do so. Changing the subject, Ciara invited Chad to accompany her and Thomas to the town square for some fresh air and ice cream, but Chad declined.
Ciara warned that Chad would drive himself crazy if he sat around all day, waiting for someone to call with news about Abigail. Chad snapped that he was sick of people second-guessing him and looking for psychological explanations for Abigail's behavior. "If and when [something] does [happen], I'm not gonna be out eating ice cream like a child; I am gonna be here, in my home, waiting for my wife!" Chad added. Nodding, Ciara apologized for being selfish then rushed off with Thomas.
Chad followed Ciara to the town square and apologized for taking his anger out on her. Ciara assured Chad that she understood. "Good, 'cause I would really hate to scare you off and lose our friendship. You're the sanity in that house right now. If I lose you, then [Thomas] is gonna have a pretty tough go of it, 'cause I don't think I can handle being alone with him," Chad replied. Ciara grasped Chad's hand and promised that he would never lose her. Meanwhile, Jennifer watched from the other side of the town square.
In his room at the Salem Inn, Andre read an article about a small charter plane that had recently gone down in the Gulf of Mexico, claiming the lives of all the passengers. Intrigued, he immediately began formulating a plan.
In the park, Summer ran into Dario and dropped her purse. Dario saw the money in her bag and asked her what she planned to do. Summer grabbed the bag and walked away.
In their apartment, Brady asked Theresa to take the day off from work. Theresa was defensive, but Brady assured her that he was not judging Theresa's parenting. Theresa invited Brady to join her and Tate at the park. With a grin, Brady said he would meet her in the park after he finished a couple phone calls. After Theresa left, Summer sneaked down the hallway and knocked on the apartment door.
When Brady answered the knock, Summer handed him a paper bag full of $50,000. Brady warned Summer that money would not fix the damage that Summer had caused. Brady asked Summer how she had collected the money. Summer stated that she had borrowed the money from a friend. As Brady groaned, Summer argued that she had changed because of Brady. He did not believe her. Brady ordered Summer not to visit Maggie and to just disappear.
"You think I can never change," Summer said. "I think you didn't," Brady countered. Summer said she could help Brady, but Brady told Summer he did not think she could help anyone but herself. Summer grabbed Brady and kissed him. Brady pushed her away. "We could have been so good together!" Summer yelled. Brady firmly told Summer that he had not felt anything for Summer because he loved Theresa.
"I tried. Remember that. Even if you think I didn't have it in me," Summer said menacingly. Summer tossed the bag of cash aside and stormed out of the apartment. Brady returned to the couch to work, but his mind drifted. Brady picked up the paper bag and locked it in the desk drawer. Brady then left to meet Theresa.
In the park, Theresa met up with Anne to handle some work. Anne noticed that Theresa appeared to be tired. With a sigh, Theresa told Anne about her fight with Victor. Theresa added that Brady was worried that she had been working too hard. On Anne's questioning glance, Theresa said she knew that they had to work to meet deadlines. As Anne handed Theresa paperwork, a gleeful Theresa told Anne that she had been right about Summer.
Theresa stared at Tate. With a furrowed brow, Theresa mentioned that Summer had told her to take care of Tate. Anne made light of the comment, but Theresa countered that Summer's tone had been creepy. Seeing Theresa's droopy eyes, Anne took the paperwork from Theresa and ordered her to take a break. When Theresa complained about the need for a distraction, Anne urged Theresa to work on the design for her wedding dress. Anne collected all the DJ Wear work materials and left.
In her hotel room, Summer feverishly packed the remaining money into a sock in her suitcase. Dario crept into the room and asked her if she had chosen to run away. When Summer noted that she had no choice, Dario suggested they could draw out the blackmailer. Summer said that running was the only option to protect Dario and avoid doing anything illegal. When Summer stated that she was keeping the money, Dario grew alarmed.
Dario warned Summer to be careful. Dario offered to provide Summer contacts in Brazil, and she thanked him. When Dario started to escort Summer to the airport, she asked him to let her leave. Summer hugged Dario goodbye. With a sigh, Dario noted that Summer was not going to call him. Summer patted Dario on the back, and she left.
At the police station, Rafe asked Shawn a few questions about the arson cases. With a raised eyebrow, Shawn asked if Rafe wanted to ask about Hope and Aiden. When Rafe smiled, Shawn said he had not heard anything. Shawn added that he had hoped that things would work out between Rafe and Hope. When Shawn mentioned that it was a relief that Aiden had explained what had happened before the wedding, Rafe questioned the truth of what Aiden had said.
Suspicious, Shawn asked why Rafe believed that Aiden had lied. Rafe said he had a gut feeling. When Rafe asked about Shawn's feelings, Shawn said he had the same feeling. Rafe told Shawn about the rundown property that Aiden had purchased from the DiMeras. Worried, Shawn asked Rafe what else he knew. Rafe told Shawn about Aiden's secret visit to see Andre in prison under an alias. When Rafe noted that Andre had tipped him off about the information, Shawn was worried about Andre's angle.
"My mom is a smart woman, and she's loyal. In all the years that my dad and her were together and after everything they went through, she was never this serious about a guy. Ever. Then Aiden. I mean she married the guy. I mean, technically she didn't marry the guy," Shawn said. Rafe's eyes lit up. Rafe explained that the wedding would be how they could verify Aiden's story. Rafe argued that Aiden would have had his blood drawn prior to the wedding for the marriage license after the time that Aiden had claimed he had been kidnapped.
Shawn coordinated the test to compare blood samples while Rafe headed over to the property that Aiden had purchased. At the abandoned DiMera property, Rafe looked around the basement. Shawn called Rafe. Shawn reported that the blood test for the marriage license was a match for the blood drawn from Aiden when he had returned to town.
"So the same guy that married Hope is the same guy that said he was kidnapped a week before the wedding?" Rafe asked. Shawn confirmed it. Worried, Rafe wondered if the man with Hope was actually Aiden. Rafe promised to track down Hope. After hanging up, Rafe pulled up Hope's phone number on his phone. As Rafe was poised to dial, someone hit him over the head, knocking Rafe unconscious.
At Green Mountain Lodge, Hope fussed over a tray of food that room service had dropped off. Aiden joined Hope when he woke up. Handing Aiden a cup of coffee, Hope said that she wanted to make up for the awkwardness of the previous night. Aiden told Hope not to worry. As Hope smiled nervously, Aiden asked her if she wanted to leave early. Aiden assured Hope that he was happy to have any time alone with her.
When Aiden said he was fine with leaving early, Hope called him a liar. Hope asked Aiden how he had expected their trip together to end. Reluctantly, Aiden admitted that he had hoped that they would lose themselves in romance. Aiden shared with Hope his fantasy in which they had reconnected over the course of the trip and by the end had made love. When Hope asked if there was more, Aiden quietly said he had fantasized that they would have left the lodge engaged. Aiden quickly added that he was happy with the progress they had made on the trip.
"I am not gonna push, and I do have another fantasy. I want to deliver you from all the pain that I caused you. If I could find an antidote for that, then I would be the happiest man in the world," Aiden said. Hope kissed Aiden. Aiden said he knew that Stefano was to blame, but he had allowed Stefano into his life and made that destruction possible. With a nod, Hope and Aiden sat down to eat and talk about the birds outside. With a smile, Aiden suggested that they take a walk around the lake to bird-watch before they left. "Maybe all we need is just some more time together?" Hope asked.
While Theresa sat on the bench and sketched, she sipped her caffeinated drink and struggled to keep her eyes open. Theresa's head drooped to her chest. When Brady arrived, he woke her up. "Who has our boy?" Brady asked. Startled, Theresa jumped to her feet and called out her son's name.
On a plane, Summer stared out the window. A baby started to cry. Summer turned to the seat next to her and stared.
