Victor’s Behavior Raises Suspicions — and Phyllis Complains to Diane About Kyle

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In Chancellor Park, Harrison is happily chattering with Claire while Summer turns to her mother to vent that this is exactly what she does not want. “They’re feeding ducks. Maybe it’s harmless,” suggests Phyllis. This isn’t the point to Summer. They march over and Harrison says they are having fun. He hugs his mom and grandma. Harrison happily says he was kidnapped by a witch with Claire and she says he’s the bravest boy. He wants to get Claire a lucky charm. Phyllis makes a point of introducing herself to Claire as “Harrison’s very protective grandma.” Claire says it’s nice Harrison has so many people to protect him. Kyle watches as Phyllis starts sniping about how people don’t listen to warnings. Harrison wants to play, but his mom says they need to get home for lunch. He wants to bring Claire but Summer says they have other plans. As Victoria and Claire leave, Victoria asks Kyle to think about what they discussed earlier.

Phyllis and Harrison go off to the playground and Summer asks Kyle, “How could you do this to me?” He says this was unplanned and Harrison was happy to see Claire. Summer rehashes the kidnapping. Claire may have been a victim but she is also a reminder of the trauma. Kyle thinks today was a step to getting back to normal. She adds that every time she sees Claire, she is traumatized and accuses him of not respecting her wishes and keeping that woman away. He doesn’t think what happened today is a big deal and treating Claire as a villain won’t help their son. When he asks if they can be done talking about this, she asks him what Victoria was talking about when she left. Kyle claims she just wants people to give her daughter a chance. “it doesn’t have to be us,” she says. Kyle thinks she’s just trying to protect Claire but Summer doesn’t think that he needs to get dragged into this when her new cousin has the whole Newman family. She accuses Kyle of ignoring all the boundaries she’s set up. Harrison and Phyllis return. Kyle offers to make grilled cheese for his son and Summer insists on going along in case Claire shows up.

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At the Abbott manse, Jack is shocked when Diane says that leaving may be the only way for her to deal with the anger she has at him. She worries about him relapsing thanks to the risks that he took for Nikki. Thank God Nikki was sober enough to call the EMTs for him. They argue about his choices. She’s sure that people at AA would tell him he made a horrific mistake. He’ll own that but explains he made a desperate choice in the moment and it worked. He wishes he could make it up to her. Diane is sure he will say whatever it takes to keep her from leaving. When Jack keeps apologizing, she reminds him that he put Nikki first and she doesn’t know what to do with that. She doesn’t want her anger to cause him to relapse. Jack insists the only thing he’s craving is her trust. Diane still worries that he wants to be high. He insists he is strong but she’s convinced that the best thing is for her to remove herself from this situation so he won’t risk cracking. Diane needs time to think about what’s happened and think about what’s ahead. “I want the two of us to find a way to work through this together,” he says, taking her hand.

Diane hates that they are even having this discussion. She wants him to go to meetings. He agrees to that for the sake of their happiness and his well-being. It kills him that he’s hurt her this deeply. His wife makes it clear that it will take a lot more than an apology for this to be okay. Jack begs her not to leave. It crushes his heart that he did anything to destroy what they have. This is all too much for her and she wants to go to work. Before she can go, he asks her to assure him they are in a slightly better place. Diane still needs time.

After Diane leaves, Summer and Kyle bring Harrison home. They are surprised to see Jack there. He pastes on a smile for Harrison and they talk ducks until Summer leads the boy away for grilled cheese.

Kyle senses something is wrong with his father. Jack says Diane is stressed and on edge. His son is grateful that they didn’t lose him last night, but his mom’s anger seems next level. If there is a bigger issue, he hopes that his father can tell him about it. Jack admits that his wife thinks he went too far but he felt like he had no options. Kyle can see how broken up his mom is. Jack hopes she will eventually understand why he did what he did. Kyle asks, “What if that doesn’t happen?” Jack changes the subject by asking about Kyle’s issues with his mom. Kyle admits she’s been accusing him of undermining her. Jack thinks Kyle still resents her getting the position he wanted.

Phyllis walks into Crimson Lights, spots Diane and immediately sits to declare she had a problem with Kyle. “Stand in line,” says Diane. Phyllis wonders if she shares Summer’s concerns. At first she thought her daughter was just being high-strung but she just saw Claire and Harrison being “palsy walsy” and it’s weird. Diane points out Claire was a victim too. Phyllis worries about someone fresh from the psych ward hanging out with a vulnerable little boy. Diane thinks she’s stirring up trouble and complains that she has no boundaries. There has been enough drama and she should stay in her lane. Phyllis claims her daughter is in her lane and “this girl could be a psycho in training.”

Laughing, Diane points out that people have said the same things about them. Accusing Claire of this is not a good look. Phyllis says she has been “epically demonized” for living her truth and wanted to give Claire the benefit of a doubt but she’s a wild card. The Newmans may have accepted her, but they’re adults. She doesn’t need to be involved with their grandson. Diane is shocked when Phyllis tells her that Kyle wants Claire to be Harrison’s nanny and has been ignoring Summer’s reasonable requests to keep her away. That means they need to intervene. Diane jumps up and loudly declares that they will not be intervening in anything and she won’t be telling Jack about this either. Phyllis frowns, “What is going on with you?!” Diane snaps, “Nothing. I’m late for a meeting at the office.” With that, she stalks out.

More: Will Jack stay sober?

In the ranch dungeon, Jordan says that Victor won’t let her rot in there while he needs her. He insists he doesn’t need her. She offers to do anything he wants. “It will be at a time of my choosing,” he says. His captive would like a hint of what he has planned and assures him that only she can do what she can do. Jordan can smell and weaponize fear. If Victor doubts that, all he has to do is ask his wife about it. He thinks she’s delusional and vicious. Jordan laughs, sure he wants her to do his dirty work. Victor tells her that he will let her know what he decides. When he pulls out another bottle of vodka, she says she needs food and grabs at him. Swatting her away, Victor declares that he will decide what she needs and walks out.

At the ranch, Cole is surprised to see Victoria return so soon. She complains about Summer and how eager she was to get Harrison away from Claire. It didn’t help that Phyllis showed up with her “dragon breath.” He hates that their daughter has to deal with this. Perky Victor strolls in and claims he was feeding a horse carrots. They sit down and Cole and Victoria tell him how much their daughter feels a sense of purpose working with kids. “Wow,” Victor says. Victoria explains that Claire would like to be a nanny to Harrison and Kyle likes the idea, but Summer is being a problem. Maybe if Victor could talk to her and vouch for Claire, it would change her mind. Victor won’t do that. He would like to help Claire but he doesn’t want her “to be subject to the toxicity of the Abbott household.” Jack is a fool and Diane is an opportunist. He doesn’t want any of his family around that. Summer is another story.

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Victor says he has his own ideas for Claire’s future. The best use of her skills would be to follow in Victoria’s footsteps by being her assistant at Newman. His daughter makes clear that she hasn’t even decided to come back. Her father tells her she “should damn well come back for Heaven’s sake” while her daughter is finding herself. Claire’s parents want to help her settle into her new life and find some direction. He doesn’t see how that prevents Victoria from coming back or Claire from working at the company. Victoria wants her daughter to do what makes her happy but her father insists she belongs at Newman not in some pointless nanny job. He won’t have her anywhere near Jack. “Why not?” asks Cole. “Because I say so,” says Victor. His daughter wonders if he’s planning retaliation. Victor denies that he’s planning anything. Jack is “this close” to being addicted again and could start popping pills. He doesn’t want Claire anywhere near that!
More: Peter Bergman teases dangerous times ahead for Jack

After Victor storms off, Cole asks Victoria what that was about. She assumes her father resents Jack pushing Nikki to get sober. He’s clearly planning something and doesn’t want them near the Abbotts when it happens.

More: Disturbing twist ahead for Claire

In the dungeon, Jordan paces, holds her head, and hollers for Victor to let her out of there and tell her what he wants.

More: You won’t *believe* what Victor’s going to do next!

Next on The Young and the Restless: Christine and Danny start a new chapter, Devon and Nate strategize about an exit plan for Billy, and Adam comforts Chelsea.