Gabi Hernandez is left reeling when Philip and Xander hit her with devastating news—Gabi Chic is no longer hers. Thanks to a sneaky business merger and a major betrayal by Wei Shin, the company has been taken right out from under her. Gabi tries to fight back, threatening to walk away from everything, but Philip and Xander barely blink. As far as they’re concerned, she’s just a figurehead now—useful only as long as she plays along. The message is loud and clear: obey, or get out of the way.
Meanwhile at Titan, Sarah walks in on Alex grumbling about Philip’s sudden rise to power. Furious, Alex blames Sarah’s “lies” for the fact that Philip now controls not just one, but two major companies he has “no right” to. Sarah tries to keep him focused on the bigger picture—at least for now, Philip and Xander are playing nice. But it’s clear Alex isn’t ready to let this go anytime soon.
Elsewhere, Johnny DiMera is struggling with his emotions. At Abe and Paulina’s, he reads the latest issue of The Spectator and flashes back to the moment he took Roman’s gun. When Chad drops by, Johnny admits he’s been avoiding EJ—and he’s not even sure if he wants to see him. He’s still hurt and angry over EJ’s history with Sami. On top of that, the adoption he and Chanel were hoping for fell through. Chad urges him not to let pride get in the way, reminding him that this might be his last chance to say goodbye to EJ. Johnny listens, torn but clearly affected.
Back at the hospital, things are boiling over between Sami and Belle. Sami walks in on Belle declaring her love to EJ—who’s lying in a coma. Understandably furious, Sami lashes out, accusing Belle of playing replacement. Belle bites back, saying she’s not the one who came chasing—EJ did. Sami tries to stay calm but can’t hold back. “I am being civil,” she snaps. “But you can’t expect me not to react when I walk in and hear my sister confessing her love to the father of my kids.”
Upstairs, Kate gets a shock of her own. Rex shows up unexpectedly with new information—EJ may not have had anything to do with the recent attack after all. But before they can dig deeper into the truth, Kate’s phone buzzes with a text that catches her off guard: it’s Philip, and he’s sending congratulations. The question now is—on what, exactly?