At the Brady Pub, Will refused to believe that Stefano had been involved in Sydney's kidnapping. He honestly believed that Stefano had changed. Caroline found her great-grandson's naïveté appalling. She asserted that when Will had moved into the DiMera mansion, Sami had followed to protect him, "Because over and over again, those people make people trust them-like Stefano made you trust him." Caroline maintained that E.J. could not have pulled off the kidnapping without Stefano's help, but Will countered that she had no proof of that.

On the pier, a very drunk E.J. asserted that Nicole would pay for betraying him. Nicole pointed out that E.J. was glossing over what he had done to his own family, but E.J. bellowed that he'd protected his family. Taken aback, Nicole challenged, "You protected Sydney by taking her away from her mother? Did you protect Johnny by telling him that his sister was dead?"

When E.J. insisted that he'd assured Johnny that everything was fine, Nicole argued that Johnny had still seen that his mother was heartbroken and grieving. "Is that how little boys are raised to be DiMera men?" she demanded angrily. "By making them watch the people they love suffer, and teaching them not to care? Is that how you become big, strong men-by kicking a little baby out of your house because she didn't have the right documents?" E.J. shouted at her to shut up.

E.J. then lowered his voice and apologized, but as Nicole tentatively began to sit next to him on the bench, he suddenly put one hand around her throat while shoving an accusatory finger in her face. As she was struggling to free herself, Daniel appeared and pulled E.J. off of her. E.J. bitterly warned Daniel that helping Nicole would only lead to hell. Unfazed, Daniel ordered E.J. to go home, and cautioned, "I have got no qualms about putting drunks out of their misery-as a matter of fact, I actually enjoy it." With a cynical laugh, E.J. left.

Nicole lowered herself onto the bench slowly, and as Daniel sat next to her, he asked what had happened to George, Nicole's FBI bodyguard. "E.J.," Nicole replied, beginning to shake with terrified sobs. "He was going to kill me!" she cried. She added that she'd never seen E.J. drink like that, until he was drunk and out of control, and she'd been afraid that if he'd seen how frightened she was, he might really have lost it. She was utterly relieved that Daniel had returned then.

"I just threatened a DiMera," Daniel noted. "Don't you think I might want to know why?" Nicole told him about how E.J. had paid Anna DiMera to kidnap Sydney-and Nicole had found out and blackmailed E.J. "So you blackmailed E.J., and then you handed over the evidence to the FBI?" an incredulous Daniel asked when she finished. "You're right; he is going to kill you." Daniel called to check on George's whereabouts, and promised to stay with Nicole until the bodyguard returned.

Nicole asked Daniel why he'd gone back to the pier, and he admitted that he hadn't felt right leaving her alone until he was sure George was there. "I see you fall into the 'good guy' category," Nicole noted. "I don't have a lot of experience with them. Chloe's lucky to have the love of a man like you." She began to cry again, as she worried that she never would know that kind of love if E.J. killed her.

Daniel suggested that blackmailing a mobster might not have been the best idea. Nicole agreed, but admitted that she'd enjoyed sticking it to E.J. As she started to sob in earnest, Daniel put his arms around her and just let her cry. Once she'd calmed down some, she complained dejectedly that Brady was also a "good guy," but she'd ruined things with him.

George showed up just as Daniel was trying to convince Nicole that they should leave before E.J. returned with a gun. As Daniel started to head for home, George cautioned that the FBI would keep watch over the building, since Nicole was staying with Daniel and Chloe. Daniel didn't really like the sound of that, but George persuaded him that it was the right thing to do.

Soon, the three of them arrived at Daniel and Chloe's apartment, where Daniel found a note indicating that Chloe had gone out. As he resumed his post outside the door, George apologized to Nicole because she'd had to deal with E.J., and promised that it would never happen again. When Daniel offered Nicole something to drink, she requested something alcoholic. He got a bottle and some glasses from the kitchen, while she expressed her gratitude to him for allowing her to stay there, despite his reluctance.

Daniel joined Nicole on the sofa, and asserted that she was probably safe from E.J. for the night. He wished her a good night, and then headed for bed. "It's not over," Nicole told herself anxiously, remembering how desperate and frightening E.J. had been. "Not while E.J.'s still alive." She went into the kitchen and poured some more vodka into her glass, and then took a swig straight from the bottle.

At the DiMera mansion, Kate angrily admitted she was scared that Will would find out Stefano had been covering for E.J., and then Will would assume that Kate had also covered for Stefano. "When the time comes, you need to make clear to Will that I knew nothing of what went on here, nothing," she demanded. "And I was appalled by your son's behavior. And if that doesn't happen, not only will I walk out of that door, I will bring down this house!"

Just then, E.J. arrived home with a loud slam of the front door, and ordered Kate to get out so he and Stefano could discuss family business. Kate observed that E.J. was drunk. "Yep, I'm drunk!" he roared defiantly. "Get her out!" After reiterating her warning to Stefano not to let "that drunk" get between her and Will, Kate left, but hid in the foyer to eavesdrop.

E.J. tersely informed his father about the recording Nicole had made, which Nicole had given to Rafe. Rafe had played the CD for Sami, and Rafe and Sami were taking it to the police. Alarmed, Stefano wondered if they could get the recording suppressed. "I'm not taking any chances," E.J. declared. "I'm doing something I should have done a long time ago: I'm taking my children and I'm getting out of here." An appalled Stefano rose from his chair. "Good God! Haven't you done enough to those children already?" he demanded. In the foyer, Kate heard every word.

As Sami and Rafe lay in bed, he tried to reassure her that although she would feel scared for a while, everything would be all right. Sami was still worried that E.J. would never stop looking for his kids. Rafe pointed out that they knew exactly how to "neutralize" E.J. and get payback at the same time: by threatening to let Sydney and Johnny hear the recording of E.J. confessing to Sydney's kidnapping, unless he gave Sami full custody of the children. Sami agreed that the kids were E.J.'s Achilles heel, because he wanted to be their hero-but she knew she had to keep them away from him at all costs.

Since Sami admitted she might not be able to get back to sleep, Rafe suggested some "medicinal brandy." Right after he left to get it, Kate called Sami's cell phone. Sami was furious, but Kate cut her off. "Just shut up and listen," Kate hissed. "I just heard E.J. tell Stefano that he's going to take the children and disappear tomorrow." She explained that E.J. was worried Sami would use the CD to get full custody of the kids, and warned, "He's very drunk, and he's very scary right now. I think he's too drunk to do anything tonight, but you'd better think about something to do, because he's very, very serious." When Rafe returned, Sami quickly hung up, and claimed that she'd been checking in with her grandmother to make sure the kids were okay.

After Rafe fell asleep, Sami kissed him on the back of the neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "But you've done so much for me; I can't let you get in trouble for me." As she slipped out of bed, she told herself, "I have to do something."

Back at the mansion, E.J. wandered into Sami's bedroom, drink in hand, and found her wedding-night negligee laid out on the bed. He flung it aside, and as he sank down glumly onto the edge of the bed, he spotted one of Johnny's drawings on the nightstand.

Kate returned to the parlor, where she found Stefano sitting with his head in his hands. He told her about the CD, and about how it proved that he knew what E.J. had done. Although Stefano repeated his promise that Kate would not lose her grandson over it, she wasn't convinced. Stefano then suggested that the two of them get out of there and spend the night on the yacht.

As Stefano and Kate arrived outside the Brady Pub a little later, she was admonishing him that if she had only known what was going on, she could have taken Will out of the country before the truth got out. Wounded, Stefano asserted that she didn't care about him, but she pointed out that she simply felt the same way about her family that he did about his. "Now you can fix this," Kate declared. "We can go back to where we were, but the ball's in your court." Stefano conceded that he would do it not because she'd threatened him, but because he loved her, and then went inside. As Kate followed, she noted to herself, "But DiMeras never tell the truth."

Inside, Stefano told Caroline that they were looking for William. "You're late, Stefano," Caroline replied, hands on her hips. "Way, way late." Stefano swore that he'd had nothing to do with the kidnapping, and Kate insisted that she hadn't known anything about E.J.'s involvement until earlier that day. Caroline suspected that Will would never believe a word of either of their stories. "It's over!" Caroline declared. "My Sami's going to be hurt for the last time-and she has Rafe Hernandez to make sure of it."

When E.J. returned downstairs, he screamed at the butler to get out, and then made his way into the parlor. Eyes glassy, he staggered through the room as if looking for something. He grabbed up a decanter of whiskey and sloshed some into a glass, and began to sob while remembering the night he, Sami, and Will had tried to teach Johnny how to play poker. As he set the decanter down, his eyes fell on a grouping of family photographs on a table. He started to leave the parlor, but stopped and opened the drawer of a side table.

E.J. went back up to the bedroom, and he began to weep miserably when he saw Johnny's drawing again. As he lay against the headboard on the bed, sobbing, he remembered Sami placing Johnny in his arms for the first time. She had warned him that his life would be forever changed, because he would always have to put his child's needs first. He recalled her fury upon learning that he'd been behind Sydney's kidnapping, and her vehement pledge to make sure he never saw his children again-and he remembered his father's admonition that he had done enough to his children.

Blubbering, his face contorted in anguish and streaked with tears, E.J. reached down and picked up a handgun that had been on the bed next to him, and twisted on the silencer. He glared bitterly at his reflection in the full-length mirror, and then raised the gun to his temple.

Sami burst through the door at the mansion, shouting for E.J., with Kate's words echoing in her head. Determined not to let E.J. leave with her kids, she stormed through the house looking for him. When she didn't find him on the first floor, she headed upstairs.

By the time Sami got to the bedroom, E.J. had passed out, an empty glass in one hand, the gun in the other. "Wake up!" Sami shouted. "Get up! I am not letting you take my children from me!" He didn't even stir, and suddenly she spotted the gun. Her eyes widening, she started to back out of the room, but then she heard Kate again, warning her that E.J. was going to disappear with the children, followed by the memory of E.J. telling her that Sydney was dead. She walked cautiously over to the bed, took the gun from E.J.'s hand, and looked at it for a long moment. Her face went steely with resolve and determination, and then she aimed the gun and pulled the trigger.