In the maze by the chateau in the south of France, Cane admits to his guests that he’s not surprised that Victor is the one who first figured out that he was Dumas. The Newman demands to know why he brought them there, Jack demands to know why they were lured to meet someone they already know, and Billy asks if the big reveal gave Lily a heart attack. Cane assures them Lily is fine.
Cane realizes some of them feel blindsided but they have now met Aristotle Dumas. He’s relieved that the pretense is now over because it was exhausting. There were reasons for keeping his identities separate, but he’s decided it’s time to retire “Dumas” and return to Genoa City as Cane Ashby. Lily and Billy demand to know what this party has all been about. Cane explains that many of them have inspired him and throwing this party was his way to thank them and give them a good time. “Well, you failed,” declares Lily.
Cane admits he was worried no one would show up if he let them know his true identity. Diane asks if there will be more surprises. Cane expects to speak to each of them alone for some organic conversation. Distraught, Lily runs off. Devon tells Cane he’s a real piece of work and this was all a stupid idea. He trails after his sister and Victor steps up, getting in Cane’s face and insisting they speak alone immediately. The two men leave the guests behind.
Cane’s Guests Keep Wondering
Sharon finds this all to be bizarre. Billy admits he never guessed that Cane was behind this. Phyllis starts probing Amanda about how well she knows Cane. The lawyer says she respects him a lot and she’s seen his books; his fortune is real. This leaves Phyllis wondering what the plan is. Her friend is not about to blurt out any details. “I need to be in on the ground floor,” Phyllis says.
Nikki complains to Nick about Cane having them all “in a tizzy” for weeks. She certainly doesn’t envy him now. As soon as Nikki steps away, Phyllis buzzes over to gossip with Nick. She assures him she has a plan now that she knows Dumas is Cane. He doesn’t recall them being tight in the past. She says they weren’t enemies and she can respect someone who reinvents themselves. She’s flexible on how to handle this and wishes Amanda was more forthcoming with information. Nick assures her he hasn’t had any dealings with Cane either. He came up so fast something big must have changed.
At a table, Audra tells Kyle that their host is easy on the eyes. Kyle assumes Cane hid his identity because he’s afraid of something but she thinks he’s just being strategic. He admits no one saw anything like this coming and fills her in on how messy things were given that Cane’s father was a con man and crime boss. This is all very interesting to Audra, who keeps prodding him for more details. He wonders if she wants to know if he’s single. She insists she’s very happy with Nate… but any information can be useful.
Jack asks Billy how he could have no idea about this. Billy snarks that they don’t have a family group chat. He explains to Sally that Cane once came back as his fake long-lost brother. They may not be blood, but they have sibling rivalry and Jill adores him. So did Katherine. Billy never even recognized Cane’s voice when he thought he was speaking to Dumas. They wonder why Cane went to all this fuss. Billy assumes this is all about Chancellor. “I suspect Chancellor is just the tip of the iceberg,” Jack says. Cane is now a billionaire with an axe to grind and that could affect all of them.
As Billy downs another drink, he expresses his doubts that he and Cane will ever work together again. He admits that he has no idea of whether Jill has been speaking to Cane. As he puts down his next drink, Billy recalls Katherine’s will. She may have left Chancellor to Victor, but she wanted Cane to run it. Maybe he feels like he deserves the company after all.
“Did someone mention Chancellor?” Phyllis asks, nosing in. Diane snaps that she’s shameless and Phyllis claims she’s only mingling. She asks Billy how he never tuned in to the fact that he was talking to his former fake brother and then takes a stab at Sally as the “boo” he brings to work. Sally immediately leads Billy away, leaving Phyllis to ask Jack if Cane is gunning for Chancellor. He doesn’t think they can rule anything out. “Those are wise, wise words,” says Phyllis.
At a table, Sally tells Billy that Jack is right. They got what they came for. It’s time for them to go home and launch Abbott Communications by breaking this story before anyone can beat them to it. Even if he doesn’t want to run this story, she thinks they should get far away from there. He senses more is going on. Billy is determined to find out what it is.
Sharon approaches Nick and they joke about how excited Phyllis seems to be. Her mind is going a mile a minute trying to figure out how to game the new situation. She’s fired up and that’s probably good. Not long ago, he was worried she’d never be excited enough to do anything again. Sharon says they are both bouncing back. Nick’s feeling is that Cane is determined to keep everyone’s attention on him now that he’s caught it. Sharon is sure Phyllis can fit right in with his sense of drama and deception.
Jack wanders over to Nikki and they talk about how Victor managed to predict this. She claims her husband was determined to prove he has the upper hand. Jack is not sure how much longer that can last. To him, it looks like Cane has come a long way in only six years and they’ve barely scratched the surface. If there is a war between Victor and their host, Jack wouldn’t count Cane out.
