In the latest explosive chapter of Days of Our Lives, the walls of the DiMera mansion tighten like a trap around every character who believes they have control. But no one is about to be blindsided more violently than Cat Green—because EJ DiMera is awake, alert, and colder than ever. What began as a risky mission to expose the truth is now spiraling into a nightmare with consequences that will shake Salem to its core.

THE BETRAYER BECOMES THE PREY

For weeks, fans watched tension simmer through the polished halls of the DiMera mansion. Cat Green, driven by desperation, confusion, and suspicion, finally crossed a line she could never step back from. Believing EJ was hiding secrets about Chad’s disappearance and scheming behind the scenes to destroy the Tom Horton Free Clinic, Cat made a choice she thought would protect Salem.

She drugged EJ.

On the surface, her plan wasn’t malicious. Beneath her fear, Cat wanted answers—answers that she believed EJ kept locked in his office with the same iron grip he holds over the DiMera empire. But in Salem, intentions don’t excuse consequences, and her gamble will cost her far more than she ever imagined.

The scene itself was chilling. Cat approached EJ with a pleasant smile and an elegant glass, masking her anxiety with practiced charm. She believed he suspected nothing—and he didn’t. Their strange connection from their time in Italy made him trust her more than most. And that trust became the perfect weapon.

When EJ slumped into a deep chemical sleep, Cat began tearing through his office, searching for files, evidence, anything that could link him to Chad’s disappearance or the troubling clinic conspiracy. She thought she had all the time in the world. She thought she had succeeded.

But Days of Our Lives never lets a secret stay buried long.

SUSAN BANKS: THE UNLIKELY WITNESS

Just as Cat leaned over EJ—maybe checking his pulse, maybe wavering in guilt—the psychic whirlwind known as Susan Banks stormed into the room. True to form, Susan immediately sensed the wrongness in the air. Cat tried to downplay the situation, claiming EJ was simply exhausted from work. But Susan saw through her. She always does.

Though Cat talked her way out of the confrontation, this encounter foreshadowed one inevitable truth:

Nothing stays hidden in the DiMera mansion. 

EJ AWAKENS – AND NOTHING IS FORGIVEN

Cat expected EJ to wake up groggy, confused, maybe even vulnerable enough to be tricked into revealing the truth she wanted so badly. But EJ DiMera is not a man who wakes up in confusion.

He wakes up calculating.

The bitter taste in his mouth, the heaviness in his limbs, the fog in his mind—EJ realized immediately that he had been drugged. And before confronting anyone, he did what any DiMera would do:

He went to the cameras.

Inside his locked office, EJ rewound the hidden security feeds and watched the betrayal unfold in crystal clarity. The footage showed everything—Cat’s trembling hands slipping the sedative into his drink, her cold focus as she waited for him to fall, her frantic search through his private documents.

EJ didn’t shout, didn’t panic. Instead, a slow, icy smile spread across his face.

Knowledge is power. And now he has all of it.

Cat thinks she got away with it.

And that—EJ decides—is exactly how she will be destroyed.

THE REVENGE BEGINS: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PRISON

EJ doesn’t want to hurt Cat physically. That would be too easy. Too quick. Too merciful.

No—EJ wants a punishment that matches the crime. If Cat insists on being in his world, then he will pull her in so deeply she cannot escape.

1. THE FALSE TRAIL OF CHAD

Knowing Cat is frantic over Chad’s disappearance, EJ plans to deceive her at every turn. He will plant fake documents, forged maps, altered messages—each one designed to lead her somewhere new, somewhere dangerous, somewhere hopeless.

She will run herself ragged trying to save Chad, never realizing EJ is the one controlling the game.

2. THE CLINIC FRAME-UP

Cat wanted the truth about the Tom Horton Free Clinic? EJ decides she will take the fall for everything she tried to expose.

He prepares a legal maze that points every suspicion toward Cat—missing files, falsified signatures, questionable timestamps. When the authorities come knocking, the evidence will lead straight to her.

By the time Cat realizes she’s been set up, EJ’s trap will already be sealed.

3. EMOTIONAL SABOTAGE

The sharpest dagger EJ wields is emotional manipulation. He plans to get close to Cat—closer than she expects. He will lean into their shared Italian past, flirt, confide, charm, and gently dismantle her defenses.

He wants her to trust him.

He wants her to believe she succeeded.

And when she finally feels safe, he will reveal the truth: he knew everything from the moment he woke up.

Her heartbreak will be the final punishment.

RAFE HERNANDEZ: CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE

While Cat spirals deeper into EJ’s trap, Rafe Hernandez is unknowingly marching toward danger. Hoping to help Cat uncover corruption, he has no idea EJ suspects him already. Whether Rafe is directly involved or simply guilty by association, EJ intends to make him pay.

He might sabotage Rafe’s job.

He might manipulate evidence.

He might even frame him to eliminate the threat entirely.

Rafe thinks he’s protecting Cat.

But EJ sees him as another pawn—and Salem knows how DiMeras treat pawns.

THE STORM SPREADS THROUGH SALEM

As EJ sets his revenge in motion, Salem is grappling with crises of its own.

Chad has vanished without a trace.

Marlena faces a frightening medical diagnosis.

Stephanie discovers she has a stalker who follows her to Chicago.

Rachel meets Sophia at Bayview—a girl who pretends to be catatonic but hides a startlingly sharp mind.

Holly spirals into fear when Tate goes silent.

Jack and Jennifer prepare for a custody hearing without Chad, their worry deepening.

And beneath Salem, in the cold, silent DiMera crypt, Chad wakes up to a nightmare controlled by Kristen and Tony.

Every storyline comes back to one truth:

The DiMera legacy is under siege, and every secret connects.

THE FINAL IMAGE: EJ’S SMILE

As part one of this saga ends, EJ leans back in his office chair, watching Cat on the security feed in real time. She moves through his home with the confidence of someone who believes she won.

EJ whispers a single line to himself—chilling, quiet, promising destruction:

“Let the game begin.”

Cat Green wanted the truth.