Days of our Lives Recap for Monday, February 10, 2025: Aremid receives a new unwitting guest

At the DiMera mansion, Jada insisted to Belle that EJ had set her up. Belle wondered if Jada had proof, and Jada couldn’t believe that the woman she had advocated to become DA seemed to be defending EJ. Jada asked Belle about EJ’s whereabouts. Belle repeated the lie that she had only come to see Johnny and claimed she didn’t know the location of EJ. Jada huffed that she would track him down herself and started to leave

Jada noticed the entrance to the secret tunnels was ajar. Belle told Jada about the supposed construction work, but Jada believed EJ was possibly hiding in the tunnels and trying to avoid her. Despite Belle’s protests, she rushed through the entrance.

In the DiMera tunnels, EJ needled Rafe about the events at the wedding. Rafe raged at EJ for breaking Jada’s heart just so he could be reappointed as DA, but EJ countered he had done Jada “a favor” in the long run and had also helped Rafe by keeping Arnold away from Jada. Rafe was certain Jada would see through Arnold’s act eventually and realize EJ’s culpability. EJ called Rafe’s faith in Jada touching but reminded Rafe that Jada wasn’t a cop anymore. Rafe grew more irate and pledged that someone would eventually find him.

EJ gagged Rafe and made his way out of the secret room. He ran straight into Jada. An uneasy EJ asked Jada what she was doing there. With a smile, Jada informed EJ that she was looking for him because “I know exactly what you’re up to.” Jada accused EJ of arranging to have her fired for revenge.

Before EJ could respond, Jada heard the commotion coming from the secret room. EJ promptly stopped Jada before she could enter the room and blamed the noise on construction work. He told Jada it wasn’t safe down there and reached for her arm. Jada jerked away and commanded EJ not to touch her. She reluctantly followed him back upstairs.

Then, Jada confronted EJ about his hiring Rafe to dig up dirt on her. EJ claimed that the swift turnaround in the police department’s cleared cases had made him suspicious. While he hadn’t been certain that Rafe would find anything, the news of Rafe’s discovery had pleased him. When Belle reentered the scene, Jada left in anger but not before promising EJ that she would soon return with handcuffs. EJ snidely reminded her that she had been relieved of her handcuffs and her gun.

Once Jada was gone, Belle scolded EJ about his treatment of Jada and directly asked him if he’d had anything to do with Jada’s predicament. EJ would only admit to hiring Rafe but balked at the idea he had set Jada up. He managed to convince Belle and the two parted ways with a kiss.

Later, EJ returned to the tunnels and proclaimed he needed to do something about all the close calls. When Rafe questioned what he meant, EJ pulled out a syringe.

At the police station, Paulina wrapped up a call with Chanel and then thanked Shawn for handing over the file on Jada. Shawn noted Paulina’s business-like approach to talking about Jada. Paulina could understand Shawn’s warm feelings toward Jada since they had been partners. Paulina, however, expected Shawn to remain professional and to assist with the “transition.” Shawn questioned Paulina’s comment, and she revealed that she had already appointed a new commissioner: Rafe.

Shawn considered it “a slap in the face” to Jada that Paulina would appoint Rafe. Paulina defended her actions and reasoned that since Jada’s own fiancé believed the allegations, she had to take them seriously. Shawn let Paulina know that he believed “100 percent” in Jada’s innocence. Paulina hoped Shawn was right but reiterated that the investigation must run its course in an impartial manner. Shawn had one request of Paulina: let him deliver the news of Rafe’s reinstatement to Jada.

Later, Belle arrived at the station and met with Paulina, who made it clear she would not defend her actions to Belle as she had just done with Shawn. Paulina told Belle that she would need to be prepared to prosecute Jada if the evidence merited a criminal case.

At Rafe and Jada’s house, Shawn arrived to check on Jada. She invited him inside and told him she was doing as well as could be expected. Shawn sympathized and hesitantly told Jada that he had more news concerning Rafe. As Jada and Shawn sat down for coffee, Jada reacted to the revelation that Rafe would resume his role as police commissioner. She lamented losing both her fiancé and her job.

After Jada mentioned that Rafe was acting like a “completely different person,” Shawn theorized that Rafe might be suffering lingering effects from his coma. Jada acknowledged the possibility but feared the real reason Rafe had betrayed her: he didn’t love her as much as she had believed. Shawn reached for her hand in comfort.

At Aremid, Ava told Kristen that someone named the Woman in White had helped Rachel. Ava’s claim confused Kristen until the woman appeared behind her and announced, “Kristen, my love, is that you?” A shocked Kristen turned and replied, “Mother.” The woman invited Kristen to touch her. Kristen complied and gasped.

“I’m alive,” the woman confirmed. Kristen enveloped her in a hug. When she pulled back, Kristen tearfully repeated that she couldn’t believe what was happening. She made mention of her mother’s scars, and the woman said that they had been fixed long ago. An impatient Ava broke in, “I hate to interrupt this little reunion.” “Then don’t,” the woman deadpanned, turning her attention back to Kristen.

Kristen realized that her mother had been hiding when Kristen and Rachel had come to retrieve Rachel. The woman admitted it had been difficult to not reveal herself. Upon her mother’s inquiry, Kristen explained that finding Rachel’s phone had led her back to Aremid. Ava interrupted again and suggested she be released so Kristen and her mother could continue their “mommy and me playdate" in private. Irritated, the woman approached Ava and placed the gag back in her mouth.

Kristen asked her mother how she had survived the explosion. The woman claimed she couldn’t remember the details, and she was stunned to learn that “the Phoenix” had at last died. She had spent years recuperating in a sanitarium in France. Kristen wondered why her mother hadn’t reached out to herself or to her brother Peter. The woman believed she would only bring her children “trouble.” But when she had met her granddaughter, she had considered it “fate” and an epiphany that she could help her family.

The woman gushed about Rachel. She was touched after Kristen revealed that she had always intended to name her daughter after her mother. When Kristen mentioned that she used to be a happy family with Brady and with Rachel, the woman blamed Ava for Kristen’s unhappiness. She considered holding Ava captive as a means of making things up to her daughter. Kristen assured her mother that she had no reason to feel guilty about the past.

Kristen affirmed to her mother that she couldn’t be complicit in Ava’s abduction. She told the woman that they had to let Ava go. Kristen admitted she still felt some empathy for Ava because they used to be friends. The woman reminded Kristen that Ava had stood in the way of her happiness with Brady. Kristen didn’t consider Ava a threat, given Brady’s “track record.”

The woman then tried a different tactic and claimed that Rachel would be implicated in the kidnapping once Ava was free. Rachel could be taken from Kristen or even sent away for professional help. Kristen asked her mother what she would do with Ava long-term, and the woman assured Kristen that she would think of a more permanent method to remove Ava from the picture. To Kristen’s horror, the woman quickly promised that she would not kill Ava.

Kristen was eventually persuaded by her mother’s arguments and apologized to Ava. The woman beamed and declared, “Mother knows best.”

Later, the woman chatted to a still-gagged Ava about how sorry she had been that Kristen couldn’t have stayed longer. But at least she could look forward to her daughter’s eventual return. Just as the woman wheeled Ava out of the room, EJ arrived and pulled a body bag inside. He remarked on how fortunate it had been that Kristen had told him about Aremid. He unzipped the bag, and an unconscious Rafe lay inside.

At the hospital, Steve was puzzled when Tripp informed him over the phone that Ava was not in Hong Kong. After Steve put Tripp on hold, Brady angrily asked Steve where Ava could have gone. Steve handed the phone over to Brady, who was informed by Tripp that Ava hadn’t made contact with her son in over a week. Steve asked for the phone back and assured Tripp that his mother was likely fine and that Steve would “get to the bottom of it.” When Steve ended the call, Brady challenged Steve on whether he truly believed everything with Ava was “fine.”

Steve asked to see Ava’s text to Brady. After reading it, he reasoned that Ava might have used Hong Kong as a cover and had gone somewhere else to put distance between Brady and herself. Brady was unconvinced, as he considered the text message a cold and indirect way of ending things with him. Brady also didn’t think Ava’s supposed lie to him made sense given they hadn’t been seeing each other for that long.

Steve suggested Ava might have intended to go to Hong Kong, but something had stopped her. Or perhaps she had sent the text to Tripp “under duress.” When Steve started to present another theory, Brady finished it for him: “Or maybe someone else sent the text.” Steve brought up the possibility that Ava’s mob connections might have caught up with her again. Brady mentioned that the last time he’d heard from Ava had been when she had left him a garbled phone message.

Steve listened to the message. Brady conceded that the cut-off portion of the message might have been related to her break-up with him. The rest of the message could also indicate her destination, so Steve promised to have a tech expert look into deciphering the message’s entire contents. He admitted that Ava could be in real trouble.

Later, Brady went to the DiMera mansion to wait for Kristen. When Kristen returned, she assumed that Brady wanted to talk about Rachel’s appointment with the therapist. Brady caught Kristen off-guard by revealing that Ava wasn’t in Hong Kong. She had gone missing.

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