The Young and the Restless fans wonder whether Damian is really dead

Even though The Young and the Restless' Damian died back in July, fans are still reacting to his shocking death and wondering whether there is some way he could still be alive.

Is there a chance we could discover the murder wasn't real and Damian is still out there, alive, and may return to the Y&R canvas one day?

Damian's murder on The Young and the Restless

In July on The Young and the Restless, Cane (Billy Flynn) invited all the Genoa City business leaders to his private estate in Nice, France. He operated under the secret identity of Aristotle Dumas for six years, and he invited everyone to his home for the big revelation that he was really Cane Ashby. Damian (Jermaine Rivers) was one of the two guests who, unfortunately, was murdered by Cane's assistant, Carter (Vincent Stalba). The other murder victim was Chance (Conner Floyd).

Recently, Y&R fans have spoken up on Facebook with their thoughts about Damian's death:

"Maybe just maybe...Damian isn't dead! LOL it could happen bc this is Y&R!" proposed one user.

Another user agreed, saying, "I've always felt like that. The 'murders' were a staged part of Cane's original plan, and the victims are still alive. Just a hunch I have. Especially since the funerals were off-screen non-events."

Still another user suggested that perhaps the person who was killed wasn't Damian, speculating that the victim was "his twin brother, who he didn't know he had."

Fans have differing opinions about Damian's character, as one Facebook user stated, "I actually miss him. I was just starting to like Damian."

Another fan responded, "Agree, I just don't know why we painfully searched for him for months, watched him become a member of his family & start a romance with Lily, just to be killed off! WTH!"

Another user felt the same way, saying, "His character death seemed so pointless and mean, after all that buildup."

One fan remarked, "I really liked Damian, actually more than Holden."

Still another user added, "I hope he is still alive."

But one user disagreed and said, "I thought he was creepy. I don't miss his character."

Most of the Facebook fan comments, though, are Team Damian. Y&R fans are disappointed that he was killed off.

Damian was Lily's new love interest

Before Damian arrived on The Young and the Restless, Lily (Christel Khalil) hadn't been romantically involved with anyone since Daniel (Michael Graziadei) left her for Heather (Vail Bloom). She was just starting to connect with Damian on a romantic level when he was killed.

Some Facebook users miss their connection. One user gushed, "I miss Damian. I miss the romance for Lily. I love the on-screen chemistry. They were right with this one."

More users agreed, one saying, "I really wanted [him] and Lily to make a go of it. I liked their chemistry."

Another user added, "They totally messed up by killing him off. She was melting him like butter. They really dropped the ball. They could have been GREAT together."

But another user believed "the romance with Lily felt very contrived and not at all natural or believable."

Was Holden in cahoots with Carter to kill Damian?

This may be a stretch, but if Damian is dead, then what if Holden (Nathan Owens) had something to do with it? What if he and Carter were in cahoots? Holden has a sketchy past, and he still doesn't want Claire (Hayley Erin) to know the truth about what happened between him and Audra (Zuleyka Silver) in L.A.

Holden works for Cane, and they've had a few mysterious meetings and phone calls since Cane was revealed to be Aristotle Dumas. Cane didn't mean for anyone to be killed in Nice. But what if Holden was working behind the scenes with Carter? Perhaps he wanted Carter to target Damian because Holden and Damian had a falling out the last time they spoke. Lily offered Damian a job at Winters Industries, which meant Damian had to sever his business ties with Holden. What if Holden felt betrayed, so he conspired with Carter to murder Damian?

We know soap writers tend to rewrite or tweak history. So who knows what really happened to Damian? Maybe one day, when we least expect, he will resurface in Genoa City -- and maybe Lily will be the one who finds him. By that time, will she and Cane be back together?

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.