Ben and Ciara embrace on Days of Our Lives
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI

What Days of our Lives’ plan could be going forth for this legacy character.

Frankly, we’re still holding out hope that the rumors about Victoria Konefal leaving Days of our Lives — and taking alter ego Ciara with her — are as false as the dentures Kristen used to imitate Susan. But so far, nobody in the know has stepped forward to refute them, leaving us to ask the inevitable question: What kind of exit will headwriter Ron Carlivati pen for the much-loved heroine?

While we don’t think the talented wordsmith needs our help in crafting what’s likely to be one of the biggest stories of the year, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to unleash our inner soap scribe. So without further ado, here are our ideas about how Ciara’s Salem run might come to an end!

1. Ciara Gets Her Happy Ending

Frankly, this is our least favorite option. Why? Because in order for Ciara to ride off into the sunset with the man of her dreams, she has to take Ben with her! We’re still struggling to wrap our heads around the thought of a Ciara-less Salem, so we can’t even begin to contemplate one in which Robert Scott Wilson’s Ben isn’t around to help us mourn the loss! (Thankfully, we’ve picked up not even a whiff of a rumor that this might be the case!)

2. Claire’s Plan Has Deadly Consequences

We’re not certain exactly what Claire is up to, but we’re pretty sure the driver of the cray-cray express is on track to derail aunt Ciara’s life. Although we’d like to believe that Claire is more budding vixen than full-on villain, it’s easy to imagine her cooking up a scheme that has unintentionally fatal consequences. It wouldn’t surprise us at all if Gwen — who may or may not be even loonier than her former Bayview roommate — played a role in Claire’s plot… and its potential cover-up!

3. Bad News Has Ciara Skipping Town

Should Days of our Lives decide to recast the part of Ciara, it might be easier to first put some distance between viewers and their love of Konefal. So why not have Ben’s true fiancée make a shocking discovery which leaves her convinced that he would be better off without her? Would the recipient of her “Dear Ben” letter chase after Ciara (perhaps having a wild adventure along the way) or try to move on, only to have his world rocked upon her eventual return with a whole new look?

4. A Ripped-From-The-Headlines Tragedy Ends Ciara’s Life

First, a chest cold kept Doug from attending Eli and Lani’s wedding. A few days later, a similar ailment was said to have prevented Maggie from being on hand for Justin and Kayla’s non-wedding. What if this was the beginning of an all-too-familiar-seeming disease ripping through Salem… and it claimed the life of our curly-coiffed heroine as her by-then-husband sat at her hospital bedside? There wouldn’t be a dry eye in the house, and theirs would go down as one of daytime’s most tragic love stories!

5. Ciara Simply… Vanishes In The Night

Everybody loves a good mystery, so imagine if one day, Ben awoke to find that Ciara was missing from their bed. At first, he might assume she simply rose early to run a few errands. But when first hours and then days pass with no word, concern would turn to fear as the burning question on everyone’s lips becomes, “Where is Ciara?” (Imagine the ad campaign that could be built around that tagline!) But the bigger question may be how Ben, Salem and viewers would carry on without her!

Assuming Ciara really does leave Salem, how would you like to see her go? Hit the comments with your suggestions, then visit the gallery below to peruse our suggestions of five women who could help a heartbroken Ben move on!