If DiMera’s catacombs were an underground nightmare, Bayview is a more insidious one—a seemingly safe exterior but seething interior.

Rachel is in a sensitive phase, easily influenced, and readily trusting anyone who makes her feel understood.

And then Sophia appears as a “cool” friend, instigating trouble, playing tricks, making Rachel feel like she’s not a patient, but a child with the right to make her own decisions.

It sounds good, but the problem is Sophia isn’t just a friend. Sophia is manipulating things.

A small plan to circumvent rules, sneak into the hallway, steal things, or distract staff… in a treatment environment is extremely dangerous. The more agitated and rebellious Rachel becomes, the more likely she is to fall into a fit of impulsiveness, and the consequences often go beyond a scolding. It could become an accident, a trauma, a psychological breakdown that would undo all previous progress. And Sophia understood that. But Sophia still did it, because Sophia’s power lay in making Rachel obey.

Marlena was now the turning point of the drama. Marlena was sidelined from caring for Rachel because things had gone wrong before, and Brady was extremely sensitive. Brady didn’t want anyone to further complicate Rachel’s situation, not even Marlena. But Salem played his cards: just when Marlena was trying to do things right, she witnessed a scene that made her unable to remain silent. Marlena could see Rachel and Sophia whispering, exchanging information, secretly plotting a plan. And in that one second, Marlena understood: these weren’t two mischievous children; these were a pair of inseparable partners who could drag each other down a cliff.