Salem opened its doors this week and the air was filled with unease.

EJ DiMera vanished as if in a daze, without a message, without a decent trace, leaving the DiMera family in utter turmoil.

But the one who broke down the fastest was none other than Johnny.

A man usually tough and resilient, he was now in a state of panic, anger, and helplessness.

Johnny wasn’t just worried about his father in a family way, but also because he knew Salem all too well: anyone who disappears here is usually not on vacation, but has been lured into a trap.

Chanel was literally Johnny’s safety net holder. She had to both comfort him, bring him back to reality, and keep an eye on him to prevent him from impulsively investigating. Because when one’s spirit is broken, they’re prone to reckless actions, and in Salem, reckless actions are like offering your neck to the bad guys. Chanel looked at Johnny as if he were standing on the edge of a precipice: a single strange text message, an anonymous call, or a false rumor could send Johnny into a frenzy, running to find his father without a plan or backup.

And at that moment, Paulina appeared like a warning bell. Paulina didn’t offer comforting words; she warned directly: this might not stop at EJ, but Johnny and Chanel could very well become targets as well. Salem had a psychological manipulator, drawing everyone into a web of fear, and the more connected you were to the DiMera family, the more likely you were to be targeted. The scary thing was you didn’t know what that man wanted: money, power, revenge, or simply a desire to see others fall.