The Young and the Restless Recap for Thursday, December 26, 2024: Chance reopens the case, and talks to Summer

At Society, Phyllis and Summer discussed Sharon’s new defense. Summer noted that Phyllis called her on Christmas Eve to discuss it as well. Phyllis ranted about Sharon getting away with murder and Michael helping her do it. Summer told her mom she needed to stay out of it and suggested she think about her future and where she wanted it to take her. Phyllis saw Billy walk in and said, “Maybe you’re right.”

Billy came over as Summer left to take Harrison to hockey practice. Phyllis thanked Billy for coming as she’d asked. Phyllis told Billy about Sharon and her “team of doofuses” thinking of a new way to get her off the charges. Billy said that was news but didn’t see why he needed to come meet her to be told about it. Phyllis said she needed to put her son first.

Phyllis explained that she had to deal with Sharon but it was difficult while having to do that for Daniel. “It sounds like a long way of saying you’re making a mistake,” Billy said. Phyllis said she supported him in going after Chancellor, but Daniel couldn’t work. Now that Sharon’s making a bait and switch, she couldn’t commit to a full-time gig if it didn’t benefit her son. Billy admired Phyllis for the way she puts her family first but wanted to know what she wanted to do. Phyllis said she couldn’t let the case be reopened. Billy warned that obsessing over something she had zero control over would drive her nuts. Phyllis said Sharon had always managed to boo-hoo her way out of everything and so she had to do it her way. “And what, you’re going to go after Sharon yourself?” Billy asked. With Ian listening nearby and smiling, Phyllis told Billy that she wasn’t personally going to go after Sharon. Grinning, Ian got up to leave

Emotionally, Phyllis said that she’d had visions of payback just from seeing Sharon walking around town after what she did to her family. Billy said she didn’t need to explain the need for revenge to him; he got it. Phyllis said it didn’t have to be gruesome, just something in case the courts failed them. “It doesn’t have to be you,” Billy noted. Billy warned that if Phyllis followed through with her extreme thoughts, it would solve nothing.

Billy suggested that Phyllis wait to see what happened, but Phyllis couldn’t sit idly by. Billy reminded her of the last time she tried framing Diane and then ended up faking her own death, and that didn’t work out for her at all. He added that she’d finally got her kids back in her good graces and this would wreck it all over again. Billy suggested she channel all of that passion and energy into working for him instead. “Are you saying your vengeance is valid, but mine is out of line?” Phyllis cried. Billy said his way kept her out of jail for vigilante justice so she could support Daniel.

“Being part of your fight is going to get justice for Sharon?” Phyllis asked. Billy told her that going after Sharon was a losing battle, but going after Chancellor was a better deal. She could help him get back Chancellor, get revenge on Victor, and make a place for them and a safe place for Daniel to land professionally with all of his talent. Phyllis admitted she’d thought about that a lot, but Sharon’s new play got her attention. Billy told her the time was now, and they had to make a move.

Outside of Society, Billy reiterated that obsessing about Sharon’s case wouldn’t get Phyllis anywhere. He added that taking back Chancellor was something they could do together, and there was no one he trusted more to do it with. “So what do you say?” Billy asked.

At Crimson Lights, Daniel approached Nick at the counter. He told him how they tried to honor Heather on Christmas. When Nick asked how Lucy was doing, Daniel told him that the worst part of the day was hearing his daughter say that if she enjoyed any part of the holiday, she’d be betraying her mom. Daniel noted that Summer and Phyllis were a huge help, but he was having trouble wrapping his head around Sharon changing her confession. He asked Nick what was really going on.

Nick explained that there were always gaps in Sharon’s memory from the night Heather died, so she went under hypnosis. Nick shared that Sharon remembered feeling a hand on her shoulder but no name, voice, or face, and it couldn’t have been Heather as she had been across the room. Daniel wondered about Sharon being drugged and suggested it was another one of her hallucinations. Nick insisted it was real. Daniel asked why she wasn’t sticking with her insanity defense or the tampered drugs, why the new, convenient memory? Nick said the “why” was because Sharon didn’t do it. Nick hoped that the police would find evidence aside from the security footage from the building because, apparently, it “couldn’t be salvaged.” Nick knew it would take some detective work but thought maybe the police could find some evidence in the neighborhood. “You know what I think? I think this all sounds ridiculous. I think I should go and see Sharon and hear it all from her mouth,” Daniel told him.

At Sharon’s, Michael and Sharon told Chance about her hypnosis therapy. Chance noted that Sharon had confessed, and he had seen every piece of evidence in the case. Chance said there was zero evidence that anyone else was in the apartment that night. “You, Sharon, are still the main suspect,” Chance declared.

“Hearing a sound as you’re passing out isn’t going to clear you,” Chance said. Sharon noted that Chance had seen her blackout before and knew what it was like. Chance noted that Sharon still framed Daniel. Michael said that was a separate charge, and they’d deal with it another time, but this took precedence. He asked Chance to reopen the investigation.

Sharon told Chance she wasn’t exploiting their friendship, noting that Michael and Nick believed her. Chance said that Michael was her attorney and Nick needed her to be innocent. Sharon insisted she didn’t kill Heather. “We’re talking about a woman’s death; we’re talking about another woman’s freedom,” Michael pleaded. Sharon added that whoever did kill Heather was still out there. Michael reminded Chance of everyone else’s safety. “You’ve heard it all. So are you in or are you out?” Michael asked.

Chance told Michael that even his best private investigators wouldn’t be able to find something that wasn’t there. Chance asked for details about her memory but concluded that Sharon had none. Michael pointed out that Chance knew the approximate time that someone was at the apartment, and that was enough to get started. They told Chance that he was not only the best but he was the only one who could help. Sharon asked if not for her, then for Chance to do it for Heather.

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Sharon noted it was probably Nick and opened the door to find Nick and Daniel. “I don’t want to be here. You don’t want me here. But I gotta know, Sharon, what are you trying to pull now?” Daniel asked.

Nick said he ran into Daniel at the coffee house and that he’d already heard what was going on from Phyllis. “She told me that her best friend was cooking up a new defense, and the cops were probably going to buy into it,” Daniel elaborated. He said he wanted to hear it for himself. Chance told Daniel that he didn’t know what Phyllis had told him, but it didn’t give him the right to come over. Daniel snapped back, and Sharon interrupted. “I’m the one you’re upset with, and I’m so sorry you had to think about this at Christmas,” Sharonh soothed. “Yeah, Sharon, we ‘had to’ think about this at Christmas,” Daniel said sarcastically. Daniel said they were forced to think about Heather and her death, but Sharon playing games again was news. Michael apologized to Daniel for how it all unfolded. “But not for your new defense,” Daniel snapped. He asked Chance if he was just “doing his job” again. Chance said he was giving the benefit of the doubt and reopening the case. Daniel was shocked, but Chance ignored him and left.

“Heather’s gone, and she’s not coming back, and I can’t even tell my kid that justice is done because of all of you,” Daniel said to Michael, Sharon, and Nick. Michael asked him not to jump to conclusions until they knew more. Nick told Daniel that he felt bad for him, but coming at Sharon wasn’t going to make him feel any better. Sharon interjected to empathize with Daniel’s feelings and understood his skepticism of her. “Can you blame me, Sharon?” Daniel asked.

Sharon pleaded with Daniel that she understood his feelings but needed to know the truth. Daniel recounted the “truths” that Sharon had already confessed to. Nick told Daniel that he and Michael had been there during the hypnosis and saw Sharon remembering the gloved hand on her shoulder. “It was real,” Nick added. Daniel told him that Nick needed Sharon to be innocent. He went off on Michael for changing the defense, but Michael told him it was because he believed in it. Michael wondered if it was all tied together — the murder, the drugs in the medication, Phyllis’ car being run off the road — and it scared the hell out of him. “Somewhere out there is the person that killed the woman you love, and we need to find them,” Michael implored.

Daniel explained what it was like for him and Lucy to wake up daily with their thoughts, and now they wanted him to believe another reality. “If you can’t believe me, listen to Nick, Michael, or Chance. She said that someone else had been in his home, taken Heather from this world, and that they could still be a danger to his family. “This is no longer about my case! This is about you and your safety,” Sharon warned.

Daniel didn’t know what to think anymore as the story kept changing but Nick said they couldn’t stop now. Daniel realized that his feelings about it didn’t matter, so he suggested that they keep him posted on everything so he wouldn’t have to find out about it from someone else. “Do you think you could do that?” Daniel snapped before leaving. Michael said life wouldn’t be pleasant for Daniel and Lucy until they found the real killer, and Sharon lamented what they were going through. Nick thought it was great that Chance was reopening the investigation but said he was going to look into it, too. “The more eyes we have on it, the sooner we’re going to find out who’s behind it and pulling all the strings,” Nick said firmly.

Ian came into the motel room, grinning, and let the door slam. Jordan freaked out that he was drawing that type of attention out on the streets as well and would get them busted. Ian told her that things were falling back into place for them. “One problem caused by your fumble is about to be rectified, and we’re going to have some fun in the process,” Ian told Jordan.

Jordan snapped, saying that Ian had called it her fumbling while he was loitering in swanky restaurants. Unlike her, he wasn’t getting any blood on his hands. She wondered when it was her turn for revenge. Ian apologized and said they needed to be on the same page going forward because more blood would need to be spilled.

Ian explained that he had a history with Phyllis. He recounted how he met Phyllis in the woods as a humbled widow and cooked her some trout. Jordan asked what else had happened in his history with Phyllis. She asked if she should be jealous. Ian teased that if jealousy was what she was feeling, he wouldn’t tell her she was wrong as it could be the motivation she needed.

Jordan thought that Phyllis was expendable. Ian said that Phyllis meant nothing to him and that she had abandoned him just like everyone else. Ian explained that Phyllis was a tigress, and her animal instinct was what made her the perfect target for his next scheme. “Now… this is what I need you to do,” Ian began.

At Crimson Lights, Summer was laughing as she got off the phone with Harrison, but her smile dropped when she turned and saw Chance in front of her. They made awkward small talk, and then Summer asked about Sharon’s case. Chance thought that was a dangerous topic for them to discuss. “You and I got close during my mom’s case. Now, this one’s come between us,” Summer noted. She added that taking a break was the right thing to do, but it was confusing. Chance said it was awful not seeing her for Christmas and asked what they should do.

Summer and Chance sat down and had coffee to discuss their relationship. Chance wondered if anything had really changed since they hit pause. Summer said she knew that being a detective was a huge part of who Chance was. She respected that but the case was so personal for her. Chance understood but said his job had rules that he had to follow. Summer said she understood that she expected things from him that he couldn’t give her.

Chance admitted that he did things wrong and wondered sometimes how much he missed. He wondered if it happened again, and Daniel or Phyllis questioned him, if Summer would go crazy doubting him. “If Sharon walks, are you and your family going to hold that against me?” Chance asked. He said it hurt him too, and they didn’t need to go through it again.

Summer said that hearing Chance’s side made sense. Summer said she was upset for Daniel and took it out on Chance. Even though she was sure Daniel was innocent, it wasn’t fair to CHance, and it came from a place of fear. Chance said he wouldn't hold it against her. Summer apologized for how she’d acted. Chance said the case wasn’t over yet and didn’t know what would happen. “But if it works for you, maybe you and I could get dinner sometime,” Chance asked. Summer said she’d like that very much.

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