While the Deveraux-DiMera family implodes over a secret romance, another storm is brewing elsewhere: JJ Deveraux – Jennifer and Jack’s son – is battling his own identity.

After years of service on the police force, JJ is in crisis.

He’s exhausted, sleepless, and starting to question whether he’s still a good person.

In a haunting opening scene, JJ looks into a mirror, his face pale, his eyes sunken, and mutters, “Am I a protector… or a destroyer?”

When Jada Hunter – a close colleague – comes to visit, she finds JJ sitting in the middle of the room, a disassembled gun in front of her. “What are you going to do?” she asks. JJ looks at her, smiles wryly: “Just testing… to see if I can still control myself.”

Despair peaks when Theo, once a friend but now a rival, appears. “You live for the name, but inside you’re just scared,” Theo says. JJ replies, “Maybe you’re right. I don’t know what I’m fighting for anymore.”

The final scene leaves the audience breathless: JJ walks out of the headquarters, stands in the middle of the pier, and looks down at the black water. A strong wind blows, and his police cap falls into the sea. He whispers, “Maybe it’s time for me to disappear from their lives.”

JJ – the hero of Salem – is no longer fighting crime, but fighting the wounds in his own heart.