Days of our Lives recap for February 21, 2025: Brady and Steve free Ava

At the cafe in the square, Javi told Jada that Rafe had cheated on her before the wedding. “Rafe has done some seriously messed up things lately. But he would never be unfaithful to me,” Jada said. “I didn’t want to believe it either. But I am telling you the truth,” Javi stressed. Javi told Jada about the incident with Savannah and Rafe at the Salem Inn. “[Rafe] didn’t think it was a big deal. I don’t even have words to explain it. But all I can say again is I am so, so sorry,” Javi said. As Javi attempted to hug Jada, she pushed him away.

“You found out about this the morning of our wedding?” Jada asked. Javi nodded yes. Jada asked Javi why he had not told her about the incident sooner. “I wanted to, but [Rafe] begged me not to,” Javi said. Javi argued that Rafe had bullied him about their family connection until Javi had agreed to keep quiet. “God knows that I’ve covered for my sister more than once, so I understand why you didn’t tell anyone,” Jada said. Javi admitted that he had told Leo everything. Jada gasped, and she worried aloud that Leo would use the story for a gossip column.

“In the moment, [Leo] was just being a good friend,” Javi said. “Wait, is this why Leo stood up [at the ceremony] when Paulina asked if anyone had any objections?” Jada asked. Javi explained that Leo had known how upset Javi was about the secret, and Leo had decided to help everyone and blurt it out. “That’s kind of considerate of him. But then you stood up and you said that you had something to say,” Jada added. Javi explained that he had realized that he needed to be the one to spill the secret.

“But then Rafe stopped the wedding before I could,” Javi said. “Yeah, then he ruined my life with all those trumped-up allegations. You know, every time I feel like your cousin can’t do anything more to hurt me or humiliate me anymore, he finds a way to prove me wrong,” Jada said. Javi stressed that he had decided to tell Jada the truth finally, because he had hoped it would help her get over Rafe. “The way Rafael treated you was shameful,” Javi said. As Jada sniffled back tears, she told Javi that she had dreamed that Rafe had apologized and proposed to her again.

“Even after all the outrageous behavior that Rafe did, I was still holding out hope that we would get through this,” Jada said. As Javi nodded yes, Jada said that Javi had helped her understand that her relationship with Rafe was over. Javi’s phone beeped. Worried, Javi offered to stay longer to talk, but Jada encouraged Javi to return to work. “I’m fine,” Jada said. Javi hugged Jada.

At the DiMera mansion, Kristen showed EJ a vial of a drug that Dr. Rolf had sent her. “This is the answer to our prayers,” Kristen said. Kristen reminded EJ that the drug CRS-17 caused memory loss. Unconvinced, EJ noted that when it had been used on him, he had recovered his memories through hypnosis. Kristen argued that Ava and Rafe would have no memory that she and EJ had been responsible for their kidnappings.

“But as I just said, you and I couldn’t remember why we were kidnapped, but we did remember who did it,” EJ said. Kristen stressed that Rolf had perfected the drug. “You don’t like my solution, then you propose a better one,” Kristen yelled. EJ remained silent. Kristen noted that she did not want to depend on Rolf for help, but it was their best option. “The only other alternative is to get rid of the captives permanently,” Kristen said. “No!” EJ stressed. Kristen told EJ that they needed to administer the drugs to Rafe and Ava before Brady and Steve located them first.

Brady and Steve rushed into the Blake house, and they were shocked to see Ava tied to a wheelchair in the living room. Brady ungagged and untied Ava. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” Ava said. Ava asked how they had found her, and Brady explained that Steve had been able to enhance Ava’s voicemail. “Once my guy cleaned it up, we knew that Rachel had called you and you were on your way to this address,” Steve said. Ava confirmed that Rachel had lured her to the house.

“It was part of her grand plan to keep us apart. And when she failed, she stepped up her game,” Ava explained. Confused, Brady asked Ava to clarify. “[Rachel] knew that you never heard my message and that it was all garbled and that you didn’t hear me say that I was here,” Ava said. Ava informed Brady that Rachel had taken her phone, and she had sent a text from Ava’s phone about leaving for China.

“Are you saying that Rachel has been holding you captive?” Steve asked. “That’s ridiculous. She’s a little girl. She couldn’t have done this alone,” Brady said. Ava explained that Rachel Blake was helping Rachel Jr. “Kristen’s mother is dead,” Brady said. Ava explained that Rachel Blake was alive and haunting the house dressed in white. “You’ve seen her?” Steve asked. Ava confirmed that Rachel fed her several times a day and that she had not hallucinated her captor. Brady argued that it was impossible.

Frustrated, Ava yelled, “Kristen’s mommy dearest is alive and well, and she has been holding me hostage in this haunted house!” Steve asked the location of the woman. Ava admitted she did not know where Rachel had gone. “I swear to you on the life of our son that Kristen’s mother has been holding me captive,” Ava said. “I’ll go search the house,” Steve said.

In the Blake house attic, Rachel Blake reviewed the rules of her house to a tied up Rafe, unaware that Brady and Steve were downstairs with Ava. “I heard a woman’s voice earlier,” Rafe said. With a chuckle, Rachel said that the woman would not be able to help him. “You’re not the only prisoner in this house,” Rachel said. Rafe asked about the other hostage, but Rachel refused to answer. Rafe argued that Rachel would go to prison for a long time for her efforts.

“Be smart and let me go,” Rafe said. Rachel refused. “I made a deal with EJ DiMera, and it’s one I intend to keep,” Rachel said. Rafe warned Rachel that she could not trust EJ. Rachel said she had no choice. Rafe promised to help Rachel. When Rafe mentioned that EJ was like his father, Stefano, Rachel perked up.

“In what sense?” Rachel asked. “In every sense. He’s like the second coming of that monster. He’s just as heartless, just as ruthless. He’s only out for himself. I’m telling you, Stefano not only raised EJ, but he molded him into his own twisted image,” Rafe argued. Rafe said that EJ would destroy Rachel and all her loved ones. Rafe promised to make sure the EJ was punished and that everyone would know that Rachel had held Rafe against her will. Rachel declined to help, and she cited the need to protect her daughter and granddaughter.

“You keep bringing them up, saying that you’re doing this for your family. How are they involved in this?” Rafe asked. Rafe peppered Rachel with questions until she gagged him again. As Rachel exited Rafe’s room into the hallway, Steve spotted her. “Well, I’ll be damned. Ava wasn’t seeing things. You must be the infamous Rachel Blake,” Steve said. Rachel asked Steve why he was trespassing in her house.

“The woman you had hogtied downstairs is the mother of one of my sons,” Steve announced. Rachel nodded. “Are you going to come willingly, or do we have to do this the hard way?” Steve asked. In the Blake house attic, Rafe struggled against the rope that bound him to a chair.

In the living room, Brady asked Ava if she was hurt, but she confirmed she was fine. “The Blake women, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Ava said. Brady grimaced, and he apologized for Rachel Jr.’s part in the scheme. “Obviously her grandmother has been a very bad influence on her,” Brady said. “Yeah, her grandmother and her mother,” Ava said. Brady raised an eyebrow.

“Kristen knew that her mother was keeping you hostage here?” Brady asked. Ava explained that Kristen had not known about the kidnapping initially, but she had found Ava’s phone in Rachel’s backpack with the Blake house scrapbook. Brady groaned, and he noted that Kristen had mysteriously opted out of Rachel’s therapy after she had retrieved Rachel’s backpack from the hallway. “Obviously she didn’t tell you that she found me,” Ava said. “Damn it!” Brady yelled. Brady said he had talked to Kristen that afternoon about Ava’s disappearance, and Kristen had not said a word about Ava.

“I can’t believe Kristen actually saw you and didn’t help you get the hell out of here,” Brady complained. Ava noted that Kristen had initially attempted to free her, but Rachel Blake had talked Kristen out of it. “[Kristen] did this to protect her kid,” Ava said. “You’re telling me that three generations of Blake women were responsible for you being kidnapped?” Brady asked. “And one DiMera man,” Ava added. Ava explained that EJ had ignored her pleas for help. Brady asked how EJ had gotten involved.

“I don’t know. But [EJ] seemed genuinely surprised to find me gagged and bound. At first I thought that he was gonna help me. And then he didn’t,” Ava said. “I wonder if this was his idea of revenge for what happened to Susan,” Brady said. With a shrug, Ava explained that EJ had only left after he had talked to Rachel Blake privately. “What could she have possibly said to him?” Brady wondered aloud. Ava argued that it was a question for Rachel Blake if Steve was able to locate her. “Found her!” Steve said as he pushed Rachel into the room.

Belle visited Shawn at the police station in the interrogation room. “Trying to prove your new boyfriend framed Jada,” Shawn said. Belle reminded Shawn that EJ was not her boyfriend, and she asked him if he had evidence against EJ. “What, so you can go warn EJ?” Shawn countered. Insulted, Belle shouted, “Screw you, Shawn!”

Shawn confirmed that he did not have any proof that EJ had framed Jada, but that he believed it was true. Belle reminded Shawn that as an officer of the law, he should know that a citizen was considered innocent until proven guilty. “I wonder if you realize how biased you are,” Shawn said. “Excuse me?” Belle countered. Shawn argued that Belle could not be objective about her lover. Belle countered that Shawn’s judgment was clouded by his jealousy.

“And what happened to my personal life being none of your business?” Belle asked. Shawn argued that it was his business because EJ’s machinations had implicated Jada in crimes she had not committed. “And now the DA is turning a blind eye to what couldn’t be a more obvious frame job because she’s literally still in bed with the guy behind it,” Shawn said. Shawn told Belle that he knew she had lied about the extent of her affair with EJ.

“I didn’t lie. Because when I told you EJ and I were together once, it was the truth. And you know what? Why does who I sleep with have anything to do with you?” Belle asked. Belle argued that Shawn knew her well enough to know that she would never compromise a case over a personal connection. “I thought I knew you. Apparently not,” Shawn said. Belle asked Shawn how he knew about her ongoing relationship with EJ, and Shawn explained that Jada had told him.

“Why would Jada bring up my sex life with you?” Belle asked. “I told her I didn’t believe that EJ was just a one time thing, and she confirmed my suspicions,” Shawn said. Shawn told Belle that Jada had figured it out after she had seen Belle at the DiMera mansion. “I would think you would have better things to investigate than whose bed I’m in,” Belle argued. With a disgusted shake of his head, Shawn asked Belle how she could betray the woman that had helped Belle get her job. Belle reminded Shawn again that there was no evidence that EJ had manufactured the evidence against Jada.

“Do you even hear yourself right now?” Shawn yelled. Shawn warned Belle that EJ would ruin her life next. Frustrated, Belle told Shawn that she was tired of his criticisms of her life, especially since he was willing to consider the guilt of a man without evidence. “Deep down, you know that I’m right. EJ is behind this,” Shawn said. “You hate EJ. You want to blame him for everything that goes wrong in this town,” Belle countered. Shawn argued that in most cases, anything bad that happened in Salem was because of the DiMera family.

As Belle and Shawn continued to yell at one another in the interrogation room, Steve walked in with Rachel Blake. “You think you two can stop arguing long enough to book this woman for kidnapping?” Steve asked. Steve explained that the woman was Kristen’s mother, Rachel Blake. After Shawn booked Rachel Blake, he left the station. Steve asked Belle about her fight with Shawn. “We’re just getting the hang of being divorced,” Belle said. Belle asked about Rachel.

At Salem hospital, Ava sat in an exam room as a worried Brady fidgeted next to her. “I told you, Kristen’s mother didn’t hurt me,” Ava assured Brady. “I would just feel better if the doctor checked you out,” Brady said. Brady handed Ava his phone, and he told her to call Tripp. “I’m sure he’d love to hear from you personally that you’re okay. Thanks to his dad,” Brady said. Ava took Brady’s hand, and she said, “And you.”

In the town square, Jada was crying on a bench when Shawn spotted her. “You all right?” Shawn asked. “No. No I’m not,” Jada admitted. Shawn hugged Jada as she cried on his shoulder.

When EJ and Kristen arrived at the Blake house, no one was in the living room. “Did [Ava] escape?” Kristen said. “How the hell would I know? Where’s your mother?” EJ said. Kristen called out to her mother, but there was no answer. EJ rushed upstairs to see if Rafe was still in the attic.

Rafe was still tied up. EJ breathed a sigh of relief, then he pulled out a syringe from his pocket. “You gonna kill me?” Rafe asked. EJ chuckled. “I’m simply going to wipe out your memories,” EJ said. As EJ bent over to administer the shot, Rafe pulled his right arm free from the loosened ropes, and he grabbed EJ’s wrist. The two men struggled for control. Kristen rushed into the attic and she yelled, “EJ! No!”