Salem is rocked when Chad tries to do the impossible: create peace for his children in a city that feeds on war.

A mediation with Jack and Jennifer should be a calm, grown-up solution — but calm moments in Salem are always standing on landmines.

And with DiMera chaos escalating, Chad’s attempt at stability becomes the perfect place for heartbreak to strike.

The emotional collapse belongs to Chad, because it’s not just about paperwork — it’s about legacy.

He’s trying to protect his kids from the darkness that swallowed his life, trying to honour a future Abigail would’ve wanted. But when the outside world bleeds into that room — rumours, threats, DiMera pressure, EJ’s return energy — Chad can feel the ground cracking under his feet. The devastation is brutal: even his “safe space” isn’t safe.

And the manipulation runs deep. Who kept Chad in the dark? Who used his grief as leverage? Who disguised control as “family support”? This wasn’t just a custody conversation… it detonated into a fallout of betrayal that shattered trust and rewrote everything they thought they knew, with consequences that will linger for years. Because when family becomes strategy, love becomes a weapon.