Johnny Saves Kristen From Steve’s Attack, But Steve Walks Away With What He Ultimately Came For

At the hospital, Brady gives Tate an update about his Grandma Marlena over the phone. After he hangs up, Gabi rushes off the elevator. She’s anxious to see Marlena so she can reverse Stefan’s brainwashing. Brady wonders if she’s out of her freaking mind. Stefan isn’t a priority right now. Gabi tells him this affects him and Chloe too. When that doesn’t help her case, she asks if he even loves Chloe anymore. Of course, he does, he responds, as Chloe walks off the elevator.

Gabi informs Chloe it’s only a matter of time before Stefan walks away from her because true love always wins. Gabi stomps away. Brady assumes Chloe’s there to see Marlena, which she is, but she also wanted to check on him. He starts to ask if that means she changed her mind about him, but stops himself. He won’t push, but it sounded like she still cared. Chloe does, but rehashes the reasons why things have changed. She tears up, not knowing what to think or feel. He grabs her face and kisses her. She responds, but then pushes him away and runs to the elevator.

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On the phone in his Salem Inn room, Li assures his father he won’t go down for his misdeeds and that his position at DiMera is intact. He can handle Stefan. He hangs up when a scowling Stefan comes to the door. Li lets him in, anticipating a conversation among adults. Stefan punches him in the face. Li falls onto the bed and tumbles to the floor.

Stefan helps him up and hands him ice. Li apologizes for the brainwashing, but he was desperately in love with Gabi and was terrified of losing her. Furious, Stefan reminds him he didn’t just brainwash him, he tried to kill him. A calm and collected Li admits to pulling the plug, but he wasn’t in his right mind. He wishes he could make it up to him.

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Stefan says he can do that by helping him find Dr. Rolf. Li insists he has no idea where Rolf is. If Stefan finds out he’s lying, the punch he just got will feel like a pat on the back compared to what’s coming his way. Before he leaves, Stefan tells Li to clear out his desk at DiMera. Li reminds him only EJ can fire him. Stefan is confident EJ will side with him because nothing is more important to his brother than family.

After Stefan leaves, Li calls Rolf on a burner phone. He warns Rolf that Stefan suspects he knows where he is. So, if anyone shows up asking questions — he never heard of him. Next, Li calls EJ to warn him not to fire him — unless he wants Stefan to know about his betrayal.

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At home, Stephanie lies on the couch with tissues and her mom’s note about the apple pie. Joe and Tripp come to the door. The siblings embrace. She tells them Steve, who is in a state, is out. They all agree they need to take care of him, but right now, Tripp needs to see his mom.

After Tripp leaves, Joe sees the note from Kayla. She states they are their mother’s last words to her because someone robbed her of the chance to say goodbye. After she tells him what Alex did, they remark how their mother was always a constant in their lives. Now, they have to find a way to be okay without her.

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At the DiMera mansion, Kristen opens the door to a menacing-looking Steve. Panicked, she shuts the door and rushes to the living room. He follows her and grabs her. “It’s time to answer for what you did to Kayla,” he growls. A fearful Kristen tries to calm him down, but Steve rants at her. “You took away the love of my life. The mother of my children,” he tells a cowering Kristen. “Now, you need to pay.” He grabs her by the throat and pins her to a chair.

At the Pub, Johnny comes down the stairs from checking on his Grandpa Roman. He sees Wendy and hugs her. She notes he’s looking weary and reminds him to take care of himself too. He just can’t stop worrying about his Grandma Marlena. He gets a message and leaves to be with his family.

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Wendy exits the Pub with carry out and runs into Tripp. She offers condolences for his stepmother. He thanks her and, after asking about her family drama, explains he’s there to see Roman. Then, he’s going to see his mom in Bayview. It’s the saddest trip to Salem ever. She offers to go with him, but he declines. He knows Ava’s done terrible things, but she’s his mom. Wendy understands. She can’t desert her brother even after what he’s done.

Johnny runs into the DiMera mansion and pulls Steve off a gasping Kristen. After checking on Kristen, Johnny orders his Uncle Steve out. Steve reluctantly leaves, and Kristen thanks Johnny for saving her life. He didn’t do it for her. He did it so Steve wouldn’t go to prison. Given all the damage she’s done, Johnny doesn’t give a damn if someone damages her.

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Kristen tears up, swearing she didn’t want to hurt anyone. She admits she hid the orchid knowing they’d need more doses of the serum, but she wasn’t going to withhold it if they got sick. She never wanted the women dead. Maybe not, Johnny says, but that’s what happened. He leaves her in tears.

As Stefan leaves the Salem Inn, he sees Gabi in the Square. He relays Li was no help in the search for Rolf. He then reiterates that he loves Chloe and that finding Rolf won’t change that. She tells him she was just trying to get Marlena to deprogram him. He calls her heartless and selfish for going to a dying woman just so they could reconcile. Gabi defends her actions which sets Stefan off even further. As he rants, Li storms out of the Inn, demanding he leave Gabi alone.

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Back at the DiMera mansion, Kristen answers the door to Chloe.

Steve comes home and tearfully embraces Joe. Steve tells him he was just with Kristen. He almost killed her, but it was all an act. He made a lot of noise before he attacked her so someone would come in and break it up. When Johnny did just that and was tending to Kristen, he planted a bug. He pulls out a recorder and says everything they said went to that device. He’ll give Rafe everything he needs to make sure that witch goes down for murder. He plays the recording of Kristen confessing everything to Johnny.

Next on Days of Our Lives: Steve hands over evidence, and Brady is honest with John.

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