The Shocking Young & Restless Death That Would Leave Someone At Victoria and Ashland’s Wedding Celebration Behind Bars

There will be no shortage of high-profile suspects in *this* murder investigation.

With Gaines locked up in Tuscany and multiple Young & Restless characters realizing he still poses a significant threat to the well-being of Victoria’s happiness and Newman-Locke, it’s a good bet the ne’er do well ex-lawyer will turn up dead, thus kicking off a whodunit. Narrowing down a culprit may not be easy given there are numerous people who interacted with him, and had access and motive — and the suspects will include some very high profile Genoa City residents!

Ashland

While Locke arguably has the biggest reason to want Gaines dead, last we saw he seemed convinced that his blackmailer had been neutralized and that he’d made a good case for them being “even,” since they both had negative experiences with their fathers. That said, we’re assuming Ashland didn’t earn the nickname ‘Locke Ness Monster’ by letting bygones be bygones. Has his new blissful life dulled his instincts, or did he decide to tie up loose ends?

More: Ashland and Victoria’s best wedding in soap history?

Victoria

It wasn’t lost on us that Victoria made a heap of references to containing the threat that is Gaines. If it ever got out that her new husband committed fraud and stole Camilla Rhodes’ fortune it would be catastrophic for her company, not to mention the man she’s madly in love with. If Billy warns her that Gaines is threatening to release a video of evidence implicating her husband, he’d fall directly into her cross-hairs. Victoria is known to be as ruthless as her father, so she’s bound to be a suspect.

Nikki

The mama bear had no hesitation about cracking JT over the head when he was attacking her daughter — and he wound up dead (at least for a while) — so what might she do if she learns Gaines is an imminent threat to all Victoria holds dear?! Given she also killed Diane Jenkins and her abusive father, Nikki would certainly get a second look by authorities if a body turns up.

Nick

The hot-headed Newman was the one who “found” Gaines during the wedding ceremony and locked him up. However, once Adam convinced Nick not to stop the nuptials, the matter of dealing with the interloper was taken out of his hands. So, while he’d seem to be the least likely suspect, he hasn’t been in his right mind in Tuscany, and last we saw, Nick was on the verge of a confrontation with his father, who had taken Adam into his confidence; a fact that infuriated Nick, who was left out of the inner circle. Might Nick have decided to dispense with the threat to his family to prove to Victor that he is just as valuable as his half-brother when it comes to protecting their sister? Again, Nick’s the least likely to wind up with blood on his hands, but he’d still make the suspect list.

More: See Jason Thompson hiking with his kiddos

Billy

While Billy’s interests were aligned with Gaines’ initially, that is no longer the case. Billy deleted his copy of the video containing incriminating evidence even though it would have been “the scoop of the year” for Chance Comm. If he is that invested in protecting Victoria’s happiness, what else might he do to ensure it? Billy is still well aware that Gaines plans to send the video to other outlets — and is only waiting an hour for Billy to opt out before doing so. If Gaines were to turn up dead before that hour is up, thus preventing him from distributing the video, it’s not going to look good for Billy.

Victor

The Great Victor Newman didn’t have a book entitled Ruthless written about him for no good reason. The man will do whatever it takes to protect his family and his company as has been proven time and again over many decades. He’s also been known to take matters into his own hands so that the job is done right and to his satisfaction. Given that he’s leading the charge to eliminate Gaines, based on his (correct) assumption that the man will continue to do harm and cannot be trusted, The Mustache is bound to be eyeballed by the authorities if the man turns up dead.

More: Watch! Billy and Victor square off

Adam

Acting as Victor’s right-hand man in the Gaines matter whilst in Tuscany, Adam has been taking his cues from his father when it comes to “how far” he should go to “stop” the blackmailer who is hell bent on vengeance. Adam has the inside track on where Gaines was being held and is holding the party line on protecting the Newman family. No stranger to the darker side of dealing with those who don’t know any better than to get in his way, it’s less likely he’d be willing to go as far as murder now that he’s working so hard to be a better man. However, if Adam ends up being accused, his counterparts at the wedding are bound to think, “That sounds about right,” and are far less-likely to defend him because of his past.

More: Mark Grossman takes Sharon Case on a wild ride!

Of course, if Gaines winds up dead, it will probably turn out that it was an accident or he killed himself. But that won’t be revealed until one or more of the Genoa City residents above are raked over the coals by the authorities.

Did we forget anyone? Do you think Gaines will be pushing up daisies? Share your thoughts and theories on how the story might play out in the comment section. But first, take a look back on Ashland and Victoria’s love story in the gallery below.