Dead men’s tales
APRIL
Patch confesses to Ava’s murder to protect Joey, then he asks Belle to represent him in court. Roman helps to frame Andre after Hope confesses that she murdered Stefano and Rafe helped her cover it up. Patch tells Kayla the truth about what their son did, and Chad disowns Andre. Hope admits to Rafe that she might have murdered the wrong man, and Dario Hernandez (Jordi Vilasuso) phones Rafe after Nicole questions him about Summer. Belle warns Marlena that Eric could face a lengthy prison sentence, and Jennifer avoids Eric. Salem says goodbye and good riddance to Stefano forever, and Chad and JJ find out that Ben (Robert Scott Wilson) has escaped from psychiatric care. Elsewhere, Ciara panics when she discovers that Claire has made plans to date Chase.
MAY
Victor admits to Caroline and Maggie that he accidentally killed his fiancée after Deimos seduced her, then he framed Deimos for the crime. DNA testing proves that Maggie is Summer’s mother, Dario reveals his connection to Summer when they arrive in Salem, and Maggie rejects Summer and tells Victor why she gave up her daughter. Deimos tells Victor that he’ll give him the antidote for the poison that Maggie has taken in exchange for Victor’s entire fortune, and Nicole calls 911 when Victor suffers a heart attack. Nicole reminds Deimos of his lost love, and Caroline vows to drive Deimos out of Salem before he’s able to cause more trouble for anyone.
Claire figures out that Chase raped Ciara, and Ciara confides in Hope after her friends confront and attack Chase. Philip and Belle propose a way to make Claire’s dreams of becoming a music star come true, and Ciara runs into Chase after he makes bail. There’s an uninvited guest when Chad and Abby marry, and Abby asks Chad to leave Salem with her when she becomes paranoid about Ben.
John meanwhile finds out that the man holding him and Paul hostage is his biological father, who now goes by the name Yo Ling (Tobin Bell, John Kramer aka Jigsaw in the Saw horror film franchise, 2004- current). Marlena organises a rescue operation to save John, Yo Ling tries to brainwash Paul into becoming an assassin, and Patch’s trial begins in Salem.