John asked her to do it again, that little breath she took, that little smile crossing her face. It had been a long time, he said, and he had missed seeing her happy. Marlena laughed softly and told him she felt like she had gotten her life back. A wonderful life, she said, with the most wonderful man to share it with.
Then she reached out and touched the brand on his arm, the mark that tied him to Stefano DiMera, and her smile faded. John promised to have it removed. The last thing he needed was a constant reminder of his connection to that man. Marlena wished it were that easy to get rid of Stefano.
Across town, Vivian DiMera fussed over a flower arrangement, demanding more wisteria, more orchids. She adored orchids. A servant promised to fix it right away. Nicholas watched her with quiet concern.
She was going all out for this party, he observed. Why not, she answered, since Stefano was footing the bill. He certainly was not going to refuse one of her last dying wishes. Stefano had tried his best to talk her out of it, Nicholas pointed out.
Vivian smiled, saying his guilty conscience over nearly killing her had forced him to give in. Nicholas warned her that the theory had a flaw: that man did not have a conscience. Vivian acknowledged the truth of that but declared she had every intention of making Stefano regret trying to control somebody like her. Bo stopped by the town house, telling Vivian he was certain it held all the answers.
He was going to find out what had happened to Hope, to them. Vivian asked if he had invited Hope for the evening. Bo said he had, without telling her why. Vivian approved.
Considering how chummy Hope had gotten with Stefano, they could not risk her confiding in him. Bo noted that Hope’s moods swung up and down faster than a roller coaster lately. He left to check on the caterers. Nicholas pulled Vivian aside.
He was still not entirely on board with this plan. Were she and Bo sure they could pull it off? Who knew what Stefano would do if they tried to expose him. Vivian told him she was willing to risk anything to get Victor back into her life.
And when she did, she could not wait to see the blood drain out of Kate’s face. At Stefano’s, Gina arrived for a morning visit. She asked how he planned to get compensated for all his efforts on Sami’s behalf, all those pleading phone calls, the begging, the foot stomping. Stefano insisted Marlena did not need to know he was not the one who had helped Sami.
Gina promised she would not hear it from him. Stefano asked if the paintings were completed. Gina admitted not quite. He reminded her the paintings had to be finished before Vivian’s party at the town house that night.
Gina demanded he stop Vivian from holding the party. He asked why she objected. Fretting over the unfinished painting, she assured him she just had a few finishing touches left and would take care of it. He reminded her he could not risk having one of those masterpieces on the wall.
Gina told him to relax. Vivian was not going to die tonight. The phone rang. It was Vivian, calling from the town house, making sure everything was set for the party.
Stefano told her he would handle all the details and ordered her home to rest if she planned to be hostess. She promised to be there soon. As she hung up, she thought to herself that the only thing worrying him was why it was taking her so long to kick the bucket. Gina, in her own mind, realized she could not let Stefano discover she had not even started copying the last original.
Then she hit on what she called a brilliant idea, the perfect way to get his mind off his precious paintings. Later, as Marlena tried to leave for a newspaper, eager to read something positive about Sami, John stopped her. He had a surprise. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, he handed her a date book.
They could finally set their wedding date, and on the pages before that, appointments for caterers, florists, bands, and stealth fighters. She laughed and told him she loved him. John promised to make up for all the days they had lost together. She told him she only needed him to love her.
Kate showed Lucas the headline. Sami Brady had been granted a last-minute reprieve after a deathbed confession by reputed mobster Roberto Barelli. Kate complained that the press was practically canonizing her, that she was playing the victim to the hilt. Lucas tried to calm her down, pointing out that maybe Austin was right, maybe Sami had changed.
Kate refused to believe it. She was still the same manipulative little evil thing she had always been. Lucas asked what they should do. Kate told him the only thing they could do: keep playing the hero, make his confession to Franco’s murder seem like the ultimate gesture to save the one he truly adored.
Because if Sami ever found out the truth, she would stop at nothing to destroy them. Out with Will and Austin, Sami could not believe how close she had come to never seeing her son again. Austin assured her it was over, that she was safe, that he could not imagine life without her. Sami asked why he always changed the subject when she brought up Carrie.
Austin brushed it off, claiming he needed his morning coffee. Then he spotted Lucas’s father, Roman, and Eric approaching. Eric got into a heated argument with Roman over Nicole. Roman insisted Nicole had been using Eric, pointing to her faked fall down the stairs at Kate’s place, right when he was about to get Lucas to confess to Franco’s murder.
Eric refused to believe Nicole had been covering for Lucas. Roman reminded him she had married Lucas to help him get custody of Will. Eric insisted Nicole was forced into that marriage, that she did not love Lucas, that she loved him. At her place, Nicole called Brandon, an old friend, desperate for him to come.
He arrived, joking about the money she now had. She admitted she was afraid she had made the worst mistake ever. She had married a man she did not love so the man she did love would never find out the truth about her past. Brandon asked what she wanted him to do, help her get a divorce.
She asked him to stay in Salem, the only person she could trust. She handed him two hundred dollars, telling him not to worry about paying it back. Brandon pressed her about Lucas. She told him Lucas needed a wife to get custody of his son, Will, after his mother was sent to death row.
And Lucas had confessed to murder, then claimed the confession was bogus, just an attempt to buy Sami more time. Nicole admitted she did not believe him. Brandon doubted he would confess to a murder he did not commit to save someone he hated. He told her he had a feeling she did not know the whole story either.
As Brandon left, Eric appeared at the door. He had figured she would be there and not with her husband. Nicole said she could not talk and had to go. Eric begged her not to go to Lucas, to come away with him instead.
Lucas showed up at Nicole’s door carrying a picnic basket, hoping to surprise her with breakfast for two. Instead, he found Austin waiting for him. Austin had come to talk. Lucas told him it was not a good time, but Austin said he did not care, he was not going anywhere until they had a chat.
Back at the town house, Vivian rehearsed her plan. She would gather everyone around her and, smiling through her tears, announce she was not going to wait until her death to give away her paintings. She was giving them away tonight. Bo asked what Stefano would do when she made that announcement.
Vivian said his reaction would be worth more than all the paintings combined. Nicholas worried she was underestimating Stefano. He feared that if she angered Stefano enough tonight, he would kill her for real. Vivian insisted her real motive was getting Victor back into her life and Kate out of it forever.
Stefano’s downfall was just an added bonus. Stefano, meanwhile, told Gina he could not even consider bringing John back. He had to focus on reclaiming his masterpieces before Vivian died. He ordered her to get to the town house and make sure no one saw her.
Gina promised to take every precaution. But as she left, she thought to herself that she had something far more important to take care of first. Gina went to see Marlena. She said she was not looking for John.
She came to talk, to clear the air. Marlena stared at her, uncertain. John, in the meantime, walked into Stefano’s office, brushing past the assistant who tried to stop him. Stefano dismissed the assistant.
John put him on notice. He had manipulated Marlena’s life for the last time. Stefano said nothing, but inside his mind a thought turned: if he granted Gina’s request and turned John back into the old John, the one loyal to him and only him, he would never have to deal with this again. Gina pressed her argument to Stefano later.
The old John would not pose a threat, she said. But this John was a walking time bomb, especially with Marlena hypnotizing him to remember his past and the two of them planning to get married. Did Stefano honestly want to lose his precious Marlena forever? Stefano admitted there was a time he was desperate to have Marlena in his life, but now everything had changed.
Gina insisted his feelings had not changed, they had just been put on hold. She urged him to bring back Father John, who would be completely loyal to him, leaving poor Marlena alone and vulnerable, with Stefano right there to comfort her. She called it a good plan. Stefano said nothing, but the thought lingered.
At the park, Sami played with Will, lifting him up, laughing. She asked if he wanted to play ball or feed the ducks the leftover muffins. Across the way, Carson Palmer approached, apologizing for having wanted her dead. He admitted he had been wrong and told her he admired her grace under fire.
Austin dismissed him. Too little, too late, he said. In the salon, Kate got ready for the evening. She told Lucas she had to get a new dress.
Victor was feeling well enough to leave the rehab center for the night, and she had gotten special permission to take him out. She hoped the best surprise would be if he would move back into her house. Lucas wished her well, reminding her not to obsess over Sami. Kate left, promising she would try.
Vivian raised a glass in a toast to her imminent rise and Kate’s fatal fall from Victor’s grace. Nicholas watched her, still afraid she was underestimating the man they were up against. No one had ever brought Stefano down before, he reminded her. Vivian smiled, saying that was exactly why their success would be so sweet.
But Nicholas would not let it go. He warned her that maybe it was time to stop keeping the secret of her health from Stefano. Vivian asked why he would suggest such a thing. Because, he said, he was afraid that if she angered Stefano enough tonight, he would kill her for real.
Roman sat alone, waiting, promising himself he would be there when Kate slipped up. Nicole walked through her apartment, telling herself she better go play the dutiful wife before Kate sent her private investigators after her. Gina stood in front of Marlena, waiting for an answer. Marlena finally spoke, unsure what the two of them had to discuss.
Gina stepped closer, holding her gaze. Somewhere across town, John finished his confrontation with Stefano and walked out, the threat still hanging in the air between them. Behind him, Stefano stayed perfectly still, his mind already turning toward the idea Gina had planted, the possibility of having the old John back, loyal to him and only him, and leaving Marlena all alone. The party was coming.
And everyone had a plan, an agenda, a secret. But only one of them was going to walk away with what they truly wanted.
