If Chad’s fear of losing his child was real, then EJ’s fear of being exposed was real.

December 12th pushed EJ into the typical panic-driven trap: he saw Leo as a media bomb that could blow up all his secret plans, and instead of handling it discreetly in the typical “DiMera man” way, EJ chose to drag Gwen into the mess, forcing her to step in and clear the way.

Gwen was clearly no stranger to this: she understood Leo was the type who would dig deeper the more he was silenced, and once he suspected something, he would sniff out every slip-up, every inconspicuous word.

But Gwen also understood that EJ was in dangerous mode: EJ wasn’t joking, and if Gwen didn’t do it, EJ would do it himself, and not gently at that.

Gwen finds herself in a dilemma: on one side is the survival of the secret, on the other is the moral boundary and the fear of becoming a true accomplice. Gwen reacts strongly, angrily, and irritably, as if she knows this is a slippery slope and once she’s stepped onto it, it’s hard to turn back. Meanwhile, on a seemingly “secondary” storyline, but with an extremely strong scent of gasoline, Rafe appears with a very controlling attitude when talking to Cat.

Rafe directly tells Cat not to confront EJ on her own, to do whatever she wants according to instructions, and that Cat cannot act on her own initiative. And this “forbidden thinking” makes it even stranger: Is Rafe protecting Cat or afraid that Cat will ruin a pre-planned performance?