Sharon Stops Nick From Going off on Ashland — and Jack and Phyllis Make a Startling Discovery in L.A.

Ashland bumps into Nate at Society. Nate is eager to talk to him about his job offer and the possibilities it has and says he’s leaning toward a yes. Distracted, Ashland says it’s good to see him and they will talk another time. He assures the doctor that he is still thrilled by the possibility of him joining Newman-Locke. He thinks they need to have a serious talk, but he can’t do it today. The doctor worries that he doesn’t look okay. With some reluctance, Ashland tells him that some of his old symptoms have returned.

Sitting at the bar, Ashland tries to dismiss what he’s feeling is a bug. Nate doesn’t think he can do that given his situation. Ashland has already made an appointment with his oncologist. That’s who he is going to see now. The doctor offers to go with him. Locke thanks him but turns him down and offers to meet him later in the week.

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At Newman-Locke, Victoria thinks Nick is concerned about her for some reason and demands to know what it is. When he doesn’t open up, she goes into Victor’s office. Nikki is there already. Victoria accuses them of conspiring against her. Her father throws her making Ashland co-CEO in her face. She demands to know what he is keeping from her and accuses her father of spying on her and Ashland. “I don’t need to spy. My name is on this damn building,” Victor says.

Nick and Nikki insist they are all just concerned about her. He was just looking out for her. Victor points out that Ashland had to leave for health issues. They need to leave the titles alone for now. She has assembled a good team to run the company so why change it? Victoria assumes there is something going on that they are not telling her about. Until they do, she’s not having this conversation. She orders them to stay out of her business and leave her marriage alone.

After Victoria exits, Nick vents about Ashland inching his way up the company. Nikki admits it doesn’t look good. Victor isn’t going to tell his daughter that her husband has been faking his illness unless there is no other option. Nick points out she is already furious. His father assures him he will take care of everything. Nick hopes so and walks out.

Nikki sits down and tells Victor that Nick is right to be concerned. Ashland has been trapped in a corner and that makes him dangerous. He’s like Victor and won’t back down from a fight. She’s worried that he has less of a handle on this situation than he thinks he does. “If he tries anything, I will show him no mercy,” Victor says.

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Victoria goes to Crimson Lights and calls Ashland, worried that she didn’t find him at home. Sharon spots her and Victoria orders coffee. She admits she’s worrying about her husband. Sharon hopes he takes care of himself and offers to tell him she’s looking for him if she spots him.

Nick comes in and asks to speak to his sister alone. She agrees to give him one minute. He doesn’t want to get caught up in the middle of whatever is going on. He won’t explain, but tells her she is his only concern. She finds it hard to believe he’s on her side and it breaks her heart that he doesn’t respect her relationship with Ashland.

Ashland appears and interrupts to ask what’s going on. He tells Nick that Victoria speaks for him as well. He wants the family to understand how much he loves her and would do anything to make her happy. Locke says it would mean a lot to her if she knew her brother was on her side. Nick says he’s always on his sister’s side. Ashland suggests they all work together.

Sharon steals Nick away to talk about Mariah. That’s just an excuse. Once she gets him to the patio, she admits that she just wanted to get him away from Ashland. She could see he was a split second away from doing something he could regret. He thanks her for interrupting. He accidentally created a minefield with his sister this afternoon. At least Victor seems to have a plan to get Locke out of the family without Victoria ever finding out the truth.

Ashland and Victoria sit down. She thinks he should be in bed, but he assures her he’s feeling better now. She is a hundred percent committed to going ahead with their co-CEO arrangement. Before he can answer, he gets a text from his contact in Peru saying they have found another doctor. Ashland tells his wife he hasn’t signed their contract yet. “Victoria, there is something I need to tell you about your father,” he says.

More: Is a whodunit in the cards?

Nate bumps into Victor and Nikki at Society. She’s surprised when Victor announces he’s thinking of joining Newman-Locke. Nate assures Nikki he won’t be rocking the boat. When he mentions that he saw Ashland today, they ask how he seemed. He had a hard time breathing earlier. The doctor reluctantly admits that Locke seemed a bit under the weather but insists it’s best not to presume anything.

After Nate takes off, Victor tells his wife that Ashland is lying about everything. She suggests that maybe he just isn’t feeling well. He finds that implausible. Locke has deceived their daughter in a profound way. Nikki wonders if the doctors Michael spoke to were lying for a payout. They need to be certain about this because the stakes are high. They need more information.

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Phyllis and Jack arrive at the house in LA. He’s worried about what is on the other side of the door. After knocking, he tries calling but there is no answer. Phyllis tries the door and discovers it unlocked. Jack didn’t come to trespass. She insists whoever was sending the texts wanted him to go in. He says it is still trespassing. She points out that he might be the only next of kin. They didn’t come all this way for nothing. He needs answers and this is where they start. She opens the door and he takes a deep breath.

With trepidation, Jack and Phyllis enter the house. He calls out but no one is home. The furniture is covered and there are signs that someone was packing things up. Jack would like to think his son had someone close in his life who would do this. It doesn’t make sense to him to come all this way to an empty home. He feels like he is trespassing. Keemo made it clear he didn’t want anything to do with him. He died not wanting to reconnect.

Phyllis can’t possibly know what he’s going through but offers to be there for him for whatever he needs. This is a journey he wanted to take and she’s with him. It isn’t too late for him to reconnect with his son and the man he became. Plus, they can learn who has been texting him. Jack wants to know who reached out to him and whether the life his son built for himself had some happiness in it.

After they search the house, he tries to imagine what the daily life of his son was like. He should know so much more about him. Sitting down, he opens up a box and finds photos and mail inside. Jack is startled to see they are letters to him that were never sent. Phyllis assumes it must have been left there for him to find and offers to leave him alone. He asks her to stay.

Once he has read them, Jack suggests they were never intended to be sent: they were purely therapeutic. He reads parts of them to her, showing how conflicted Keemo was. He was consumed with grief and rage and wondered how different it would be if he’d known his mom was dying. Jack explains that he only found out by accident and never told his son because he was honoring her wishes. Phyllis is sure that was hard.

Picking up another letter, he reads that Keemo took his grandfather’s name and was freed from the conflict of being Jack’s son. That put him on a new path. Jack weeps. Phyllis assures him he’s a wonderful man and incredible father. He could have been amazing for Keemo if he’d let him. Reading from another letter, Keemo wrote that he had forgiven him but can’t have a relationship with him.

Jack hates that his son never felt comfortable enough to reach out to him. He’s glad he found some forgiveness in the end. All the letters were written over the past twelve months. Maybe he was diagnosed with something and that’s why he was working through all this? Phyllis promises they will get answers to questions like that.

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Phyllis checks out the backyard with its orange trees and then tells Jack how amazing it is. Jack wants to leave but she reminds him there are more letters and he can’t stop. Jack muses on trying to make the right choices and make the world a better place. Phyllis finds a photo of Keemo, two women, and a child from Vietnam in June 2012.

Next on The Young and the Restless: Ashland calls Victor’s bluff.

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