Laura and Kevin sat at the Floating Rib, and Laura suggested that Ava's plan wasn't as crazy as Kevin thought. He believed that it was "reckless," but she thought it was worth a shot to try to draw Ryan out. She added that, in order to sell that Kevin and Ava were really together, Laura and Kevin would have to end their marriage.

At Metro Court, Curtis apologized to Julian that he wasn't able to help Ava. Julian reasoned that Curtis couldn't help someone who didn't want to be helped and handed Curtis a check. Julian assured Curtis that it was what Curtis was owed, "and then some." Ava entered and relented that Julian was right about Ryan being dead. Just then, her phone went off, and she walked away to answer it. She was surprised to answer it to Kevin, who informed her that he and Laura had reconsidered Ava's plan. "We're in," he told her.

When Ava was gone, Julian wished she would stop obsessing over Ryan, but he figured that she wouldn't be happy until she saw a corpse. Curtis hoped to find proof either way and told him that he was about to follow up on a lead in Canada. Julian asked if Curtis could keep him in the loop. Curtis reminded him that he wasn't the client on this case but added, "You could be." "You're hired," Julian stated.

Ava arrived at the Floating Rib and asked Laura and Kevin what had changed their minds. Laura revealed that all that mattered was that she and Kevin had decided together. Ava decided to go to the bar for a celebratory drink, and Laura followed. She wanted to make sure Ava knew that her relationship with Kevin was only for show, "nothing more," and that he would still be married to Laura. "Remember, you answer to me" if the lines between real and pretend got blurry for Ava, because, Laura warned, Ava didn't want to be on Laura's bad side. Ava insisted that Laura had nothing to worry about, not least of all because Ava only saw the man who'd murdered Kiki when she looked at Kevin. Both hoped the plan would work.

Laura returned to Kevin and dejectedly suggested that they stage a public argument to kick off the plan. Kevin had a better idea about how to spend their last night together, so they went home. A short while later, they shared a kiss in their bedroom and began to undress each other. Later, they embraced under the covers, and Laura sighed that their relationship would become a secret the next day. Kevin reminded her that they had a lot of time before the next morning, and he kissed her.

Julian called Ava and asked what she was up to, as he was suspicious that she'd suddenly dropped her vendetta against Ryan. She assured him that he had nothing to worry about. She told him to relax, as she had everything under control.

T.J. found Jordan at the hospital and asked for honest conversation. He confessed that he'd seen her medical records, and he knew that she was in danger of losing her remaining kidney. He reminded her that she would die if she went into kidney failure before she got a transplant, and she begged T.J. not to say anything to Curtis. "Let me handle this my way," she said. Curtis entered to pick Jordan up for dinner and asked T.J. for a favor. He explained that he would be in Canada for a while, and he asked T.J. to look after Jordan for him. Jordan spoke up that she was a "big girl," but T.J. agreed.

Willow refused to forgive Shiloh or Harmony, and she accused Harmony of failing to protect Willow as her mother. "You are nothing to me now," Willow stated. Harmony countered that she was the only friend Willow had, as she hadn't told Shiloh that Willow had been pregnant when she'd run from Dawn of Day. She admitted that she'd found Willow's pregnancy test, and she wanted to meet her grandchild. Willow claimed that she'd been pregnant with a boy, but she'd miscarried.

Harmony thought that Willow should have "come home," but Willow vowed to never return to Dawn of Day. Willow wondered why Harmony hadn't told Shiloh about the baby, and Harmony replied that she'd wanted to give Willow the opportunity to make the "right decision" on her own. "That's exactly what I did," Willow shot back. She continued that she would be happy if Shiloh forgot all about her, as she'd only been on Shiloh's radar to "score points" for Harmony, who'd become jealous over how much Shiloh had liked her daughter. Willow admitted that Shiloh made her skin crawl and yelled at Harmony for "pimping out your daughter," and she stormed out. A few minutes later, Willow returned to Kelly's to retrieve a book she'd left behind, and Harmony was gone. Willow sat at a table and cried.

Outside, Neil advised Alexis to go easy on herself, and Alexis figured that things with Kristina could "only go up from here." Alexis thought that she should call Molly, who was good at "talking sense," and she thought Neil would like her "level-headed" daughter. She reached for her phone but realized that it wasn't there.

Inside the house, Kristina begged Valerie to answer the phone, and she did. A grateful Kristina told Valerie that she needed help and told her to listen. Just then, Alexis grabbed the phone out of Kristina's hand and ended the call as Valerie was left asking for Kristina on the other end of the line. Kristina demanded to leave, or she would have everyone, including Neil, arrested when she did get out. Alexis demanded to know who Kristina had called, but Kristina refused to tell Alexis "a damn thing" and stormed upstairs.

Alexis looked at her phone and saw that she didn't know the number that Kristina had called, only that it had a Port Charles area code. Neil took the phone and looked it up, but he only found that it was a cell phone in New York. Neil advised her not to answer if the number called back. In the meantime, he suggested that Alexis had purposely left the phone where Kristina could get it because she was subconsciously sabotaging the "deprogramming" as a way to save Kristina from pain.

Alexis denied it, but she did ask Neil how to save her daughter. "Trust the process," he replied. She understood why her family was trying to help Kristina, but she wondered why Neil was taking the risk to help. He replied that he didn't want to lose "someone else" to a cult, but he refused to speak about it when Alexis asked. She wondered if Kristina would recover, and he answered that he thought Kristina had all the resources to do so. As Kristina spied, Alexis was distressed that she hardly recognized her own daughter. "I just want my daughter back," she cried, and Neil hugged her.

Shiloh led Sam into the attic, and he instructed her to remove her "physical barriers" and then her spiritual ones. She began to slowly unbutton her shirt, and she assured him that she trusted him. They heard Valerie knock on the door, but Shiloh told Sam to ignore it. Valerie entered the house and called out for Kristina, so Sam and Shiloh went downstairs as they buttoned back up. Valerie was surprised to see Sam, and she asked to see Kristina. All three said that they didn't know where she was, although Sam added that Alexis had said that Kristina had taken a trip to clear her head. Valerie asked Sam to tell Kristina to call Valerie, and she left.

"You did great," Shiloh said to Sam of her "shedding" of barriers. He believed that she was ready for the "next level," and she agreed. "You're so willing," he purred with a hand on her face, and he thought that she would make a "wonderful addition to the family." He advised her to go home and wait for him to let her know what the next step was. "I can't wait," she replied, and she left. Outside the house, she sighed in relief to be out of the situation, and she walked away.

A short while later, Harmony returned to the Dawn of Day house, and she described Willow as "hostile and defensive." He wondered what they'd talked about, and Harmony replied that Willow had a new life and no room for Harmony in it. Shiloh expressed his sympathy, but Harmony thought the experience had given her clarity about her purpose. She thought that it was time for her to go back to Beechers Corners.

At the Floating Rib, Chase demanded to know what Michael's family had done with Kristina, but Michael insisted that she'd left town to clear her head. Chase thought the timing of Michael's visit to Chase's apartment was a coincidence, but Michael reiterated that Alexis had spoken to Kristina and said that she was fine. "Would Kristina agree?" Chase questioned. He hoped that the family hadn't taken Kristina against her will, because doing that would give Shiloh a weapon that he wouldn't hesitate to use. He added that kidnapping and false imprisonment were accompanied by criminal charges.

Valerie entered the bar, and Michael got up and left so that she could meet with her partner. "He couldn't get out faster," Valerie observed, and Chase agreed. Valerie updated Chase on her experience at the Dawn of Day house, from the phone call from Kristina to seeing how "close" Sam and Shiloh had gotten. Chase suggested that Kristina, who liked Shiloh, had "bailed" after seeing Sam and Shiloh grow closer. Regardless, Chase stated that they still had a missing person and needed to investigate.

Jason met up with Sonny at Metro Court, and Sonny updated him on how little progress had been made with Kristina. Jason informed Sonny that Brick had found residue of narcotics in the cup Kristina had drunk from. "I'm done. Eliminate him," Sonny stated. Jason urged Sonny to reconsider the timing, as Kristina would blame Sonny, and he could lose her forever.

A few minutes later, Jason was gone, and Michael entered. He told Sonny about his meeting with Chase, but Sonny assured Michael that Chase had no proof and wouldn't find any.

Jason met up with Sam outside Metro Court, and he found her crying. He pulled her into a hug as she sobbed that she didn't know how much longer she could keep up her charade at Dawn of Day. Jason told her about his experience with Shiloh at the gym, and Sam admitted that she'd found where the pledges were kept. He asked where they were so he could get Kristina's, but Sam thought it was too dangerous. She continued that Shiloh had shown her the attic, and she briefly told him about her "lesson revealing myself."

Jason made sure that Sam hadn't drunk anything and told her about the narcotics found in the Dawn of Day cup. He regretted that there was no way to track it back to Shiloh. Sam tearfully realized that she needed to keep going and "get enough evidence to take down that sleazy bastard."

• "Are you ready to put our plan into action?" Ava asks Felicia.

• Kevin thought the best way to fool Ryan was to have Ava "take up" with Kevin.

• Josslyn talks to Oscar about the Nurses Ball.

• Carly meets with her doctor about possible complications for the baby.