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Nikki welcomes Jill into the ranch and surprises her by saying they have unfinished business. “I just want to say thank you.”

It turns out she’s thanking her for Chancellor. She’ll never take for granted what an honor it is to follow in Katherine’s footsteps. Jill admits she lost her relationship with her son over it, but it feels good to know Katherine would approve. Switching gears, Nikki tells Jill the entire town feels threatened by Cane. She’d better damn well tell her right here and now what she plans to do to stop him.

Jill claims she has no influence over Cane’s business decisions. Nikki demands to know his plans. Jill feels interrogated and attacked. Nikki complains about her knowing that Cane was Dumas and not telling them. “Your complicity allowed Cane to turn into a monster.” The argument turns heated as Nikki warns he’s targeting Katherine’s precious Chancellor Industries.

Jill reminds her that Katherine left Cane in charge of Chancellor before he left; he’s a decent man. “Not anymore,” Nikki asserts. Jill trusts he’ll make the right decision. Talk turns to Jill visiting Cane and seeing Billy. She fears she went too far this time and made her son feel like Katherine made her feel… unworthy. Nikki tells Jill that Kay loved her very much. Jill chokes, “But I wasn’t you.” Circling back to the threat of Cane, Nikki tells Jill that since she went to see him first, she doesn’t trust her.

Jill insists that Cane is deeply conflicted, not cutthroat. Nikki insists he’s ruthless, and now that Lily and his kids have rejected him, he’s out for blood. “You have to stop him!” Jill may be their last hope. Jill snarks, “No pressure there.”

Phyllis’ Run-Ins

Phyllis spots Victor at Society and she’s weirded out when he engages with her. It’s not long, however, until he accuses her of being attached to Cane Ashby’s hip. Why would she need to connive with the lowest of the low? Phyllis sees this is an insult and explains that Cane hired her for her expertise. Victor warns about blind loyalty. Phyllis thinks he’s rattled. Victor denies this, of course, but the redhead’s not buying it… he’s trying to get information out of her. Victor wonders if it’s occurred to her that Cane could do a lot of damage to Nick and Summer, and calls her “desperate”.

Phyllis thinks Victor is the one in trouble. She warns his days of being the most intimidating are coming to an end. Victor snark that she and Cane are a perfect fit… they’re both cravenly ambitious and want respectability. They deserve each other… and their eventual fall. Phyllis whispers that she brings a helluva lot to the table. She’s grabbing the brass ring, and no one is stopping her. Victor says, “We’ll see about that,” and leaves.

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Outside, Victor meets Nick and informs him that he can’t go to L.A. right now. He also warns him to think twice about having breakfast there. Nick walks inside and joins Phyllis, who asks if he and his dad are playing good cop, bad cop. Nick gets up to speed on her run-in with the Mustache, and warns they’re going to handle Cane. Phyllis thinks Ashby’s handling them… he has Victor rattled and it’s awesome.

Nick argues that Cane is diabolical and lots of people will get hurt. Phyllis doesn’t give a damn about his dad being upset about someone doing to him what he’s done to so many others. Nick says it’s not just him; it’s the family. “It’s me.”

They get into it about Phyllis feeling judged, like Nick has a choke chain on her. Getting all therapy-speak, Nick tells his ex that she’s “enough”. She doesn’t need to do this to prove something. This leads to talk about her father… Phyllis didn’t get lucky enough to be handed everything… she just got guilt and shame.

Nick reminds Phyllis that she did the right thing by turning her dad in, and she can do it now too. Does she want work for someone that’s just like her father? Phyllis suggests Nick has a choke chain on her. Nick warns she could go to prison… this is her life they’re talking about. As he persists, she snaps, “Are we done?” and warns him to get the hell out of her way.

What Will Tessa Tell Sharon?”

At Crimson Lights, Esther tells Sharon how happy she is that she and Nick are going to see Noah. As Esther heads to the back, Daniel and Tessa come in looking grim. Sharon asks if they found out anything about what happened to Mariah. Tessa intones, “We did.” Sharon rambles on a bit and then Tessa tells her, “You’re not going to like what we have to tell you.”

Moving to the patio, Tessa and Daniel tell Sharon that the bartender at the hotel remembered Mariah. Sharon learns that Mariah had an instant connection with a man in the hotel bar. They were getting intimate and left the bar together to head upstairs. Sharon tells Tessa she’s so sorry. Tessa warns it’s far worse than them sleeping together.

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Sharon doesn’t understand. Tessa and Daniel explain they got the man’s description and name… Will Hensley. Sharon looks at his photo and wrinkles her nose… he’s older than she expected. Daniel reports that Hensley checked out a few hours later… he seemed shaken, scared, and almost forgot his credit card. Tessa explains that the last thing Mariah told her before leaving is that she tried to kill someone. She thinks Hensley is the man she almost murdered.

Sharon can’t get her mind around this. Tessa says Mariah explained that she got drunk because of Ian Ward memories. Hensley looks similar to him… maybe he triggered the memories. When Daniel says he has a theory, Sharon’s almost afraid to hear it. Daniel recaps that Mariah didn’t kill Hensley, but she tried to. Given how chummy they were earlier in the evening, he probably knows Mariah’s name and that she’s from Genoa City. Is it possible she’s in danger?

Who Will Prevail?

At the ranch, Jill suggests Nikki may be over-reacting to the threat of Cane. Victor comes in and thanks Jill for coming. Nikki warns their guest is ready to give Cane the benefit of the doubt. Victor thinks he’ll change her mind about that. Jill intones, “Don’t count on it.” Victor smirks.