Salem enters another week of horror when Stephanie Johnson finds herself in mortal danger during a seemingly peaceful business trip.

The incident occurred in Chicago, where Stephanie was attending a book signing and promotion.

Everything was going smoothly until the atmosphere began to darken when a mysterious fan left a letter with an oddly passionate tone: “You are the light in my darkness.”

Alex Kiriakis — always sensitive to danger signals — immediately turned serious.

He took the letter to Steve “Patch” Johnson, asking him to check it out. Alex was so wary that he called Stephanie’s hotel just to make sure she was safe. But all of Alex’s bad feelings were correct: a stranger was following Stephanie.

The hotel’s hallway camera captured the image of a man in a black coat, wearing gloves, and a face full of criminality. He stood by the elevator for a few minutes, looking around as if waiting for the right moment. When Stephanie opened the door to the hallway to get her things, the man lunged at her from behind—a terrifying jolt, accompanied by a short scream from Stephanie.

The leak said this led to a brief, tense struggle. Stephanie tried to hit him with her bag, but he was much stronger. The situation escalated when he tried to drag her into the elevator—a clear sign of a planned kidnapping.

At that moment, Alex appeared. He ran down the hallway, screaming, “Let her go!” A powerful punch from Alex made the man let go of Stephanie and run. Alex hugged Stephanie, his hands shaking with adrenaline, his face pale. Stephanie burst into tears: “I thought… I was going to die.”

But Salem never let one victim be enough. That night, Alex went through the letter—every wording suggested the writer knew too much about Stephanie’s schedule. This is no ordinary fanboy: he’s been stalking her for days.

Meanwhile, Steve and Kayla notice something unusual: Stephanie’s name is marked in red in a database linked to a stalking incident three years ago. If the attacker is the same person, Stephanie may have been “picked” long ago without her knowing.

The episode ends with the attacker standing in the rain, looking up at the window of Stephanie’s hotel room. He whispers, “No one can save you forever.”

Salem has seen plenty of crimes, but this one sends shivers down the spine of the entire village: someone is hunting Stephanie, and the attack was just the beginning.