Jack Is Startled by New Cryptic Texts — And a Lurker Watches Allie Sleep

In his podcast booth, Billy talks about how holding onto something you want can drain the life out of it. Your frustration grows because it becomes elusive and you lose control. But he’s landed onto something that helps him: closing his eyes and calmly breathing. This leaves him open to opportunities so the thing he wants most in his life can arrive. He’s talking about meditation. It helps him open himself up so he’s taking a leap of faith and putting it all out there, not knowing where it is going. Billy gives credit for his new approach to Traci. He’s only beginning to dabble in it and says it’s good. He knows this can come across annoying and he’s sorry if it does. He’s had a blessed life, but also his fair share of struggles and pain. So if collectively they can help each other get past the things that hold them back, then all of this is worth it.

Billy continues on to say that losing his daughter was the defining moment in his life. This is a cautionary tale that gets worse before it gets better, he warns. He doesn’t think he will ever entirely heal and he may not want it to. He’s afraid he would lose the memories and his daughter would disappear. But her memory has not been serving him the way it could. The key to it is to love, honor, and celebrate her without letting the pain, grief, and anger drive him. The end of the story is not happy but filled with beautiful memories because he was able to love her and that gives him strength. Even with all the pain, he considers himself incredibly lucky for being able to know her in the way he did, even if it was for way too short of a time.

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After Billy lost his daughter, he built walls around his heart to protect himself. The walls were built with hatred. “They were aimed directly at the person responsible for her death,” he says, before adding they were about him avoiding dealing with his own sense of guilt. This would erupt and he would act out in “troubling” ways. Luckily, he had the love of a good friend and therapy. After backsliding many times, something amazing happened that saved him: pure and simple love.

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Jack brings Phyllis’ luggage into the Grand Phoenix and thanks her. She still wants to do a deeper dive into who has been sending the mysterious texts to him. He’s not ready to deal with that. Red says she can count on him. She wishes they could have gotten to know Allie better. He hasn’t given up the hope that that may still happen.

When Jack gets to the Abbott estate, he pours himself a drink and sits down with Keemo’s box. As he looks at a photo of Allie, he gets a text telling him that he left too soon and should have given her more time. Jack replies to the text, begging them to let him know who they are.

Traci finds Jack, eager to hear about his trip. He warns her that he has a lot to tell. He wants to tell the whole family but will pass it by her first. They sit on the couch and he reads some of Keemo’s letters to her. This is difficult for him and Jack keeps tearing up. Traci is glad he wasn’t alone when he found these and wishes she was there with him. He tells her what a great friend Phyllis was and says he wishes he’d reached out to Keemo one more time. His sister reminds him a relationship is not a one-way street. It will take time for him to make sense of this since it doesn’t make sense. The situation is overwhelming. “You don’t know the half of it,” he says.

Jack explains his son moved on and got married, having a child. Traci is shocked to learn she has a great-niece. He explains that she’s an adult now and had no idea who he was. Whoever has been sending the texts is still a mystery. Jack admits it’s a lot to take in that Keemo never wanted his daughter to even know he existed. Although he wants to hope that they can get to know Allie, he’s sure that if it happens, it will take some time. Allie suggested coffee next time he’s in LA but he doubts much will come of it. He won’t blame her if she just runs off and forgets him. She’s as shocked by his existence and he is by hers.

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Traci finds all of this heartbreaking. Her brother isn’t giving up. He’s convinced he can forge some kind of relationship with the granddaughter. The Abbott’s door is always open to her. His sister doesn’t want him to set himself up for disappointment. Jack assures her he’s aware this might not work out. They discuss Allie’s relationship with her mother. When he looks in her eyes, he sees someone alone and sad. His sister reminds him she’s not the only sad one. She’s grateful that he went all the way to LA to look for answers and is now back where his family can take care of him. Traci tells him he won’t have to work his way through this alone. “I cannot believe my son is gone… but I am determined not to let that happen to my granddaughter,” he says.

Left alone while Jack takes a drive to unwind, Traci listens to Billy’s podcast and sips tea.

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At Devon’s penthouse, he chats with Jill on a video call. She asks him why he is throwing away the chance of a lifetime. Jill and Devon discuss the merger idea. She tells him how inspired it is. With their two companies working together, they will be unstoppable. Devon knows that complications come with such a big power play. He thinks they need to focus on their first joint venture to see how it goes before they make the next step. Jill can see nothing but success coming and she urges him to think of what Katherine or Neil would do. She’s looked at this from every angle and it almost seems like it was written in the stars. They both know how happy this would make Neil and Katherine.

Devon calls Lily over. When she arrives, he tells her about his talk with Jill. The more he thinks about it, the more inclined he is to agree to the plan. But he needs to see a detailed business plan. His sister has one for him. She was really hoping the idea of bringing family together would eventually sway him. He’s been worried about what going into business together could do to them but she is sure that no amount of corporate friction could ever harm their bond. They both promise to step down if things go wrong. He’s ready to take this shot so they can make their father and Katherine proud.

When Lily gets home, she tells Billy that she’s had a breakthrough with Devon. His mom helped but she thinks that assuring him she would never let business get between them clinched it. He congratulates her. They sit down and he explains he took his sister’s advice and started meditating. He also did his first podcast and it was cathartic. He warns her that she features in. He’ll never get tired of telling her she saved his life. They kiss.

Phyllis and Amanda have drinks at The Grand Phoenix. The lawyer is glad her friend could be there to support Jack when he needed it. When she asks if it got romantic, Phyllis insists it wasn’t like that at all. “It was so heavy,” she says. Amanda apologizes for making light of it. Phyllis insists that they are not in the romantic mindset, but her friend suggests their relationship must have reached a new level.

When Amanda gets back to the penthouse, Devon kisses her and tells her his big news on the merger. She’s happy for him but hopes that Lily didn’t push him into this and he thought this through. He assures her he did. In that case, she is ecstatic for him. This will be a complicated deal but potentially groundbreaking. They will also be working together now. He hasn’t been this happy in a long time, what with her, Dominic, and the rest. He says the family legacies will never be the same again.

When Phyllis is left alone at the Grand Phoenix, Jack stops by to thank her again for being there for him. Her kindness and loyalty means the world to him. When he gets a text, he looks baffled. “What does it say? Don’t keep me in suspense,” she asks. He shows it to her. It says, “Don’t lose hope. Let me see what I can do.”

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At Keemo’s place in LA, Allie talks to herself in the empty house with the lights out. She still can’t believe that her father is really gone. Crying, she says she misses him so much. What will she do without him? She always talked to her dad when things were rough. Now she has no one. Or at least, no one like him. Her mom is a million miles away and too busy for her. Now, Jack shows up and she doesn’t know if she can trust him. She doesn’t want to disgrace her father’s memory by doing something he wouldn’t approve of. If he cut Jack out of his life, shouldn’t she do the same?

When Allie goes to sleep on the sofa, the shadow of a figure is cast over her. She wakes up with a start and asks if someone is there.

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