Diane Confronts Michael — and Victor Refuses to Back Down

Abby Talks Devon Around

Devon complains that Damian is too smooth and wants to get close to Lily on a personal level. Abby’s sure Lily’s noticed and is using it to her advantage. Devon appreciates Abby seeing Lily’s point of view, he just really wants Damian to be someone they can trust. They could all use a new family member and friend. He’s not ready to embrace him… they could use some more information. Abby says that’s exactly what Lily’s trying to do.

Abby and Devon decide they should get going and kiss. Abby has to go see her dad at the ranch first. Devon asks her to give him his best. He admires a man who takes a bullet for his family. Abby wishes he didn’t have to risk his life. She wonders if Devon will admit that her father was right to let Lily go and urge her to go back to Winters. Devon doesn’t like how he went about it. It’s his methods that are troubling.
In the jazz lounge, Nate’s glad Audra enjoyed dancing. He says they should go check in on Amy and make sure she made it home from dinner. Audra’s phone rings and Victor’s name is on the screen. Awkwardness ensues. Nate prods her to answer her “boss”, so she picks up. Victor tells her he has good news and wants to meet tomorrow. He reminds her that this is contingent on her making sure Kyle’s relationship with Claire ends. She shouldn’t bother coming unless she can make that happen. Audra reassures him and disconnects. She tells Nate she’s gold.

Amy and Lily Discuss Damian

Lily spots Amy in Crimson Lights and asks how she’s feeling. Amy says the first few days after treatment were rough, but she’s improved now. They get to talking about her having dinner with her old friend Traci Abbott. Amy explains they both sang with Danny Romalotti back in the day. Lily knows they’ve both been dealing with a lot. She worries about Traci’s heart getting broken. Switching gears, Lily says she just had dinner with Damian. Amy assumes she spent the meal grilling her son.

Lily realizes Amy overheard her conversation with Damian at Nate’s and apologizes. Amy is aware she has doubts about her son. She can’t blame her; Damian has done some questionable things. She hopes she can find it in her heart to give him the benefit of the doubt. Lily would love to believe he’s a good person, but she had good reason to believe he was looking into their company. Amy says he denied it. Lily would love to take him at his word, but some of the questions surrounding him may be too serious to overlook.

Amy assures Lily her eyes are wide open when it comes to Damian and his many contradictions. She’s wondered many nights about his rise to success. She knows his heart, but watched him go from a funny, loving young man to a cold, stranger after his father died. One day he was gone. Lily says she must have been so happy to see him again. Amy was glad to see the son she loved so dearly was still in there. Lily is sure that’s due to his beautiful upbringing. Amy was terrified of the reaction he’d have to learning about her lies; she was worried he’d run away again. But now he calls her every day. “My son is a good man, Lily.” She can assure her that he has a good heart.

Lily thanks Amy for being honest with her. She then tells her she knows how devastating a cancer diagnosis can be. Amy asks, “You?” Lily says it was the hardest battle, but she’s proof it’s a fight you can win. They go over Damian still being around and how much he loves his mother. Amy just worries about him being mixed up with Dumas and all the mystery. She doesn’t dare question him about it… they just reconnected. Lily suggests she may be able to get him to open up to him. Amy fears her time there could be short; she can’t risk pushing him away again. Lily understands. Amy nods. They both want him to be the man they need him to be. “But it’s not up to us, is it?” Lily shakes her head, “No, it isn’t.” She tells Amy they need to give Damian a wake-up call about his boss, Dumas. Amy thinks it’s possible he doesn’t know what his boss is up to. Lily counters that he could know, and have been corrupted by Dumas. Doesn’t Amy want to know what her son is involved in. “And don’t we deserve to know if he is?”

Nate and Audra join Amy and Lily, and Amy assures them she’s feeling well. She asks about their special dinner. Audra says it was perfect. Nate raises his brows, “She was full of surprises.” Lily thanks Amy for the talk and hopes she didn’t offend her with anything she said. Nate asks if they were talking about Damian. Lily says Amy asked her to give him the benefit of the doubt. She explains her concerns. Amy doesn’t blame her. Lily promised to try. Nate’s glad they discussed it and are still on good terms. Amy says they want the same thing; to know they can trust her son completely. She laments them using this time to be suspicious when they could be using it to be together as a family. Audra leads Amy out and Lily assures Nate she’s keeping an open mind.

Kyle Stuns Jack

Kyle knocks on Jack’s suite and offers a nightcap to celebrate their day at work. He asks, “Where’s mom?” They chat about the big reveal coming up at the house. Jack tells Kyle he told her how proud he was of him today with the Mathison thing. They toast. Kyle points out there are more spies from Glissade. Jack says they’ll be prepared to stop them before any attempt at sabotage. Jack asks about Claire, and Kyle gushes that every moment he spends with her makes him happy. Jack asks why he’s not with her. Kyle says she claimed to need rest. He admits he may have said something to put a damper on the evening. Jack’s appalled to hear that Kyle told her they found Victor’s spy at Jabot, and exclaims, “Kyle!”

Kyle had no choice. Jack has to accept that and move on. Kyle’s trying to get her to see the truth about her grandfather, but it’s a hard sell. I have to get through to her. Jack’s sure Victor will do or say something that will make his true colors crystal clear to Claire.

Diane Confronts Michael

At the Club bar, Diane walks up to Michael and asks point blank if he’s helping Victor go after Jack and Jabot. Michael balks. Why would she even ask that?! Diane tells him to stop. They’re alone and he can tell her. Michael denies being Victor’s hatchet man. Diane’s not so sure he wouldn’t take the hatchet out and wield it at Victor’s command. Michael cracks jokes, but Diane says this isn’t a laughing matter. Michael can’t discuss this with her due to attorney-client privilege. She argues she’s a good friend. Michael tells her the Victor-Jack rivalry has gone on for decades. He doesn’t like that and has made it clear to Victor. Turning the tables on her, he asks why he’s undergoing this line of questioning.

Diane tells Michael that Victor’s already dragged him into his plan to make Jack pay. Michael complains about Jack helping Nikki’s battle with alcohol. Diane agrees if was foolish, but Victor should be grateful Nikki’s alive thanks to Jack. Michael says that’s never going to happen. Diane asks how far this is going to go this time. They just managed to rescue Kyle, and now his boss has gone on to Plan B. The company is the least of her concern, however. Victor has made it clear he wants to ruin Kyle and Claire’s relationship. Michael thinks she’s making assumptions, but Diane disagrees. “I know Victor. I know how far he’ll go to get revenge.” She’d like nothing more than to stop that bastard dead in his tracks.

Michael warns her not to go there. If she tries to take Victor on herself it will not end well. Diane can’t promise that. Does he expect her to sit back while he goes after her son and husband? She’ll do whatever it takes to protect them. Michael warns she’ll only dig herself in deeper. She accuses him of caring more about Victor than her. Michael says he’s done a lot for him. Diane bets he’s done a lot more for Victor than he’s done for him. Michael grits that he’s trying to be the guardrail to keep this from getting out of hand. It’s an impossible place to be in. Diane tells him he put himself there. She hopes when it comes down to a choice between the Newmans and Abbotts, he’ll make the right choice.

Victor Updates Abby

Abby arrives at the ranch and hugs Victor. “I missed you so much!” she gushes. They sit, and he asks about her trip to Europe. She tells him Dom picked up some French phrases. Victor asks about Ashley, and they go over the whole Martin nightmare. She and Traci are going to New York for a bit. Abby hopes it will be calm for a while. Victor wishes it would be so, however, someone potentially more dangerous for their business is lurking. Someone they’ll have to keep an eye on. Talk turns to Dumas and Damian Kane. Victor says they may have an eye on Winters, and Dumas may be interested in Chancellor. Abby asks why he’d be interested in two Genoa City-based companies at the same time. Victor doesn’t have the answer to that yet. He’s heard of him, and they’ve been involved in some big deals, but he’s crafty. A rather mysterious fellow. He asks Abby to tell him if she hears anything about Dumas. She replies, “Absolutely.”

Suspicious Minds

In Jack’s suite, he tells Kyle he drove Victor crazy earlier by talking about how well the Abbotts were doing. Diane arrives and warns Kyle that Victor can be dangerous. Kyle’s sure they can handle anything he throws their way. He exits, and Diane tells Jack there’s a potential bright spot. “We might have someone on the inside looking out for us.” Jack’s alarmed to hear she spoke to Michael. Diane insists she spoke in vague terms. Jack asks what she said. Diane says she told Michael she suspected he would know what Victor’s up to. He didn’t deny the smell of vengeance was in the air, and claims he’s against the feud. Jack argues he’s an integral part of Victor’s latest move. Diane insists he’s acting as a guardrail to keep Victor from going to far. Jack scoffs, “We’re supposed to believe that?”Michael arrives at the ranch as Abby’s leaving. Victor asks what he’s doing there at this hour. Michael says he ran into Diane, who immediately started hurling accusations that they were initiating moves against Jack and Jabot. Victor asks where she heard that from. Michael doesn’t know, but it’s clear the Abbotts are suspicious. Michael’s concerned they’re on high alert and suggests they withdraw the spies from Jabot. Victor warns him to remember who he works for. “I don’t cave! Ever!” he hollers.