The Young and the Restless Recap, December 17, 2025: Nikki questions her future with Victor as Jabot clings to life

Here’s the full recap of what happened on The Young and the Restless on Wednesday, December 17, 2025.

What happened on The Young and the Restless

Sally met with Audra at Society on the morning after Abbott Communications' launch success. People raved about the event, but Sally was more focused on Audra missing the event. Plus, Newman Media's attack on Jabot Cosmetics took some of the spotlight away. Audra asked if the rumors were true, and despite Sally not confirming, Audra felt like Victor's timing was suspicious. She asked if Sally would use the new company to defend her boyfriend's family business.

Audra wondered why Sally wouldn't leap into action to defend Jabot, and Sally explained all of Billy's reasons why that wasn't the best option. Sally didn't want to spend their entire breakfast breaking down what happened at the launch party. She understood that Sally was in a relationship with Billy, so she was forced to support them. That said, Audra didn't care if Kyle suffered because of the downfall of his family's company.

Sally understood how Audra felt about Kyle. Audra believed this was karma doing its best work. Sally defended the idea that some Abbotts are good people, even if they have some sizable issues. Audra thought that the entire demise of Jabot was everything Kyle deserved. Sally called it harsh, but Audra persisted. Audra admitted that Kyle had a few good qualities, and they bonded in France. However, now he's backtracking, claiming he was playing her the entire time.

Sally pointed out how fixated Audra was on Kyle. She never stopped speaking about him. They were involved several years ago, so maybe some feelings lingered. Sally reminded her that her life has been in the dirt lately. It's possible that her obsession with Kyle was less about revenge and more about feelings she may have for the Jabot co-CEO.

Audra said Sally was the one who was involved with Abbott, so she shouldn't talk. Kyle destroyed Audra's life on numerous occasions, so Audra wasn't interested. Sally joked that targeting each other's lives was their twisted love language. Sally was adamant that the two flirted with each other in this warped way. Audra didn't want to hear it anymore. She was focused on finding a way to fight back against Kyle and his family.

Audra felt as if she was entitled to enjoyment about the demise of Kyle and Jabot. She wanted him to suffer. She wouldn't rest until Kyle lost everything that he held dear. Sally thought the conversation was too rooted in negativity and asked to talk about something else. Sally wanted to focus on finding a way to bring Audra into Abbott Communications. The goal was for Audra to use her talent and charm to win over the secret funder.

Since Audra was going to uncover their identity regardless, she asked Sally to reveal who they were a bit early, so she could properly prepare. Sally couldn't tell her who it was. Audra already had a hypothesis about who it might be. Audra said, "It's Jill Abbott, isn't it?" It killed Sally not to tell her everything, so it was better than she guessed on her own. The ball was in her court to impress Jill when they finally spoke.

Sally had one final cautionary measure for Audra before she had a meeting with Jill. She needs to let go of her grudge against Kyle and Claire. Sally worried that an attack on them would cause too much explosive drama and further sour Jill's opinion of her. This was one final life raft to save Audra in Genoa City. This was it.

At Crimson Lights, Kyle encountered Claire, and he missed seeing her at the launch party. She was caught up in Katie's dance, but unlike what Kyle assumed, she didn't avoid the event because of him. She apologized for missing the launch, and she agreed to send her regrets to Billy and Sally.

Claire asked Kyle how he was handling the situation at Jabot, and although it sounded serious, he didn't go into much detail. Claire still considered herself and Kyle friends, so if he needed someone to open up to, she was all ears. She asked if Jabot was truly in such dire straits.

Kyle sat down to talk with Claire and told her he appreciated her concern. He wanted to tell Claire everything, but they were in a better place following Thanksgiving, and he didn't want to ruin it by coming clean. She was confused as to why it would cause any issues between them, but she quickly recognized the link between his sour mood and the Newman Media article. He told her that it wasn't her fight.

She asked what else Victor had done, and Kyle revealed everything about Cane's AI program and his belief that Victor was behind the attack. She asked for proof that Victor was responsible, but he didn't have any concrete evidence. Claire wanted Kyle to explain his thought process and how they settled on Victor. Kyle refused to walk her through it, but he opted to fill her in on Jabot's plan to counter a potential attack stemming from Victor.

Claire wasn't getting the point, which made Kyle agitated. He knew Victor was responsible, whether his granddaughter accepted that reality or not. Kyle explained that Jack initially came up with the idea, but he and Diane eventually signed on. She wondered if Jabot could recover from the current spiral, and he wasn't certain that they would. Claire didn't think anything Kyle said proved Victor's guilt.

Kyle said, "If we don't take precautions, we will pay the price." Claire used Summer as an example of why Victor couldn't be the person behind an impending attack. However, Kyle gave his ex a quick history lesson on her grandfather's ruthlessness. Even if Victor approved of Kyle, that doesn't change his blood feud with Jack. He was willing to do whatever it took to bring Jack to his knees because of what occurred in the hotel room between him and Nikki.

Victor refused to believe that Jack had good intentions when saving Nikki from the brink of death. He had a vendetta, and nothing was going to get in the way of that. Everything circled back to that moment. Claire had an epiphany that she was the one who forced Nikki to fall off the wagon. If she hadn't injected her with vodka, the truce between Jack and Victor wouldn't have been destroyed.

Kyle didn't want Claire to blame herself for what happened. He was far more concerned about what would happen if Jabot never recovered from their current crisis. Claire hoped there was a way to fix things because she was deeply sorry for not listening to him about Victor. Kyle received a text from Jack, so he had to leave. Before he departed, he promised to get together in the near future to discuss their plans to take down Audra.

Jack met with Nikki at the GCAC, and she immediately expressed her deepest sympathies toward him and his company. She hoped this was Jack following through with his plan, and she panicked that Victor had somehow already unleashed the program on Jabot. She asked where things currently stood. Jack didn't want to drag Nikki further into the mess than she already was. She hadn't spoken to Victor yet, so Jack urged her to speak to him instead.

Nikki wanted the whole truth, so she went to Jack first. Victor hadn't launched the AI software yet, but somehow he learned of Jabot's countermeasure. He told Nikki to talk him down and stop him from committing some sort of regrettable action. Jack didn't know how Victor unearthed their plan, but it didn't matter. The articles did their damage against Jabot. Their reputation was in the gutter because of Newman Media.

Jack asked Nikki if she told Victor about the shutdown, but she promised she hadn't. She revealed that she overheard Victor and Adam discussing it on their own. Nikki planned to sleep on it, but she thought she would wait until the following morning. Jack was hurt. If Nikki ran to him with that information the moment she learned about it, Jack would've been better prepared for Victor's media blitz. She apologized, and he knew that she really couldn't have anticipated her husband's distasteful move.

Jack could bring Jabot back online and find a way to spin it in the press. However, all that would do is put Jabot back in the AI program's line of vulnerability. Jack asked Nikki where Victor was storing the program, so he could get his hands on it and finally destroy it. She figured it would be hidden and not anywhere near the Newman Enterprises server. Nikki didn't think Victor would reveal it to her even if she asked.

Jabot was in extreme danger because of the software. He didn't want to involve her, but they were past the point of no return. Victor started something that Jack was prepared to finish at any cost. Jack warned her, "Things are about to get very ugly."

Nikki raced him and called out to Victor at the ranch. Instead of Victor, the doorbell rang, and it was Claire, also looking to speak with Victor. Claire was worried that Kyle was correct about everything he said about Victor. She pleaded with Nikki to reassure her that there was no way Victor was behind Jabot's downward spiral. Nikki confessed everything. She told Claire that Victor had possession of Cane's AI program and used it to decimate Cane's company from the inside out.

Both women were furious that Victor was taking such nefarious steps to hurt Jack. Claire accepted responsibly yet again, but Nikki assured her that they'd find a way to feud again even if that never happened. Nikki insinuated she was prepared to walk away from Victor if he didn't let go of his insatiable need to ruin Jack.

At the Abbott mansion, Kyle returned home and was hopeful he had got through to Claire about Victor. Jack presented a new way to save Jabot, and an unexpected source would be key to making it work. They needed to procure the program from Victor, and Phyllis was the best choice to make that happen. He asked Kyle to potentially involve Summer and get her to work an angle with Victor and Phyllis. Jack also wanted Kyle and Claire to ignore Audra, despite Kyle's grudge.

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