Adam’s Announcement Leaves Victor Hollering — and Chelsea Drops a Bomb

Tessa and Mariah arrive at Society, complaining about the adoption agent not wanting to represent them thanks to their sketchy pasts. Mariah won’t let this setback undermine their confidence. They knew this wouldn’t be easy and they can still find someone great to represent them. Tessa suggests that they could change their approach. It would be invaluable to find someone who wants them to succeed… like Christine. They recall how great she was in the Dominic situation and wonder if she would want to represent them.

Imani (temporarily played by Denise Boutte) arrives in the Chancellor-Winters offices and bumps into Nate. She explains her sister is staying with their mom while she came back to keep the legal wheels in motion. Imani is worn out from stress and travel. He hopes she’s taken time to eat. That makes her chuckle so he offers to catch her up while he buys her lunch. Sounds good to her but she needs to take care of a few things first.

Later, Elena stops by Lily’s office to discuss the podcast. Lily is sure that she already has a loyal fanbase from AskMD and tells her how much support she has. They sit down and Lily asks her how she thinks Nate has been doing. Elena admits that Nate feels like he’s not respected or listened to by Devon. Lily has never seen Devon be anything but loving, but feels they each have a different approach to doing business. She just wants to help them find some harmony and asks to hear Elena’s take. After warning Lily she might not like what she has to say, Elena admits she’s encouraged Nate to leave the company because it’s making him miserable. Lily is relieved to hear he rejected the idea as she feels he belongs there. Elena hopes she will tell him that, but warns if she’s hoping for a peaceful co-existence between Nate and Devon, she’ll likely have a long wait.

Imani and Nate have lunch at Society. She asks how things have been since she was away. He fills her in on how the tension with Devon has become worse. Devon put the kibosh on his music festival idea, even though Lily thought it was great. Any idea from him gets shot down. They’ve been keeping things polite and co-existing, but that means he’s always frustrated and tired of biting his tongue. Elena has urged him to quit before his relationship with Devon is too damaged. “But you would never do that, right?” she wonders.

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Adam stops by the ranch to see his father. He informs Victor he has taken a job at Jabot as Jack’s Co-CEO. Victor says he won’t get a rise from him about this. His son just wanted him to hear it from him. “I thought you were done seeking vengeance,” Victor says. Adam claims he is doing this for himself so he can move on. Jack did this for good reasons and is encouraging him to stop his anger. Victor remains confident that going to work at Jabot is a mistake. Not only has Jack tried and failed to take him down in the past, but it’s a family business and he will always be an outsider. Adam doesn’t see how it could be any worse than the way his own family has treated him.

Chelsea sits in the park recalling when she kissed Billy in the podcast studio. He appears and says he’s glad to run into her because there are things he wants to talk to her about. He doesn’t feel great about how their podcast ended. She asks if he informed Victoria of her request to tell Johnny the truth. Billy hasn’t. Victoria is not in a place to have that conversation right now. All he can do is make sure that Johnny and Connor spend some more time together, even if it’s as cousins and not brothers. Chelsea thinks it’s a good first step.

Once again, Billy urges Chelsea to return to podcasting. Chelsea doesn’t know what that would look like without him and admits that she’s feeling adrift. She thought she was going to rebuild her life but everything has been thrown off track. Billy is sure that Adam is to blame for that. “I don’t feel like going down an Adam rabbit hole,” she warns. He encourages her not to lose her faith in herself. Chelsea still questions him trading in the podcast for a suit, which they both know is not who he is. Billy made a commitment to Lily and his mother and opines that perhaps he’s trying to prove something to himself. He encourages Chelsea to keep looking and she’ll find her place.

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Billy returns to the office and Lily fills him in on her conversation with Elena. He tells her she has his full support. She’s glad he had her back. When he mentions that he bumped into Chelsea and had a conversation, he wonders if she has a problem with him spending time with her. Lily just hopes there was no more “miscommunication” and he assures her there wasn’t. Chelsea is just feeling lost and he feels guilty about leaving her high and dry. Billy repeats that being there with Lily is exactly where he wants to be. As they hug, he stares off.

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Nick and Sharon are at Crimson Lights waiting for Faith so they can start their college road trip. She’s very proud and excited for their daughter. Nick wonders if she’s prepared to come back to an empty house. Sharon admits it will be strange and he points out there are still lots of kids around. He tells her that he had a heart-to-heart with his mom. Before that, he got advice from the last person he expected: Adam. That piques her interest so he explains that his brother gets what he’s going through since they endured something comparable. This has given him a deeper insight into his brother. Adam even recommended he see a therapist, which is not something Nick is comfortable with. She thinks everyone could use an impartial stranger but he’s so used to speaking to her. Sharon thinks that if she and Adam are telling him the same thing, maybe it’s worth listening.

Faith arrives. She needs an iced tea before they hit the road. There’s only one thing left on her list. Sharon thinks it will be a quick drive to Ann Arbor and a very long drive home. Her daughter reminds her she will only be on the other side of the lake. “A really big lake,” Nick says. Taking their hands, Faith tells them they are the best. Mariah and Tessa arrive to say their goodbyes. They’re sure she will rock it and give her a gift to open when she gets to her new digs. Faith will love it whatever it is. The three of them hug and promise that Faith will hear from them constantly. Her parents lead her out.

At Society, Nate tells Imani that Elena is just looking out for his happiness and assures her that going back to medicine is not for him. She’s thrilled to hear that and says he needs to prove his worth in a way that Devon cannot ignore. Nate wonders what she’s thinking. Imani encourages him to go with his gut on a big scale. With Devon out of town, he should take advantage of that and show what he brings to the table.

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At the ranch, Adam wishes his father would admit that his leaving is what’s best. “You are my son! I want you in my life!” Victor booms, insisting that he hasn’t treated him any differently from his other children. They’ve always felt like they are part of the family so he wonders why it’s so hard for him. Adam claims he’s just cut from a different cloth. He now understands why his mother raised him away from the “traps” of being a Newman. Pointing his finger, Victor tells him he’s never been disadvantaged. Adam just wanted his father to be happy for him having a new venture but he guesses that’s too much to ask for.

When Adam wanders into the park, he bumps into Chelsea. She stuns him by declaring that she want to go visit her mother in Minnesota — and take Connor with her.

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Next on The Young and the Restless: Billy challenges Jack’s leadership at Jabot.

Look back with fondness on soap actors we’ve lost in 2022 in the photo gallery below.

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