Rafe Throws EJ for a Loop—Will He Regain Control of Arnold Before Holly Finds Tate with Sophia?

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Aghast, EJ finds Arnold wearing his silk robe and noshing on a croissant and strawberries in the DiMera living room. EJ orders him to get dressed and out of his house. Arnold is unfazed by EJ’s threats of him going back to prison, considering EJ is the D.A. EJ reminds Arnold he raped Sami by sleeping with her when she thought he was Rafe. Arnold calls it a grey area. EJ adds that he killed Fey Walker, for which he would for sure be prosecuted. Arnold says he’ll just offer to testify against EJ again. He then reminds EJ that he and Stefano arranged for his plastic surgery to switch him out with Rafe so EJ would also pay for Arnold’s crimes. EJ offers him good money to leave, but Arnold is staying put.

In the Hernandez kitchen, Jada and Rafe set their wedding date for Rafe’s birthday at the end of January. After Jada leaves for work, Paulina drops by to yell at Rafe for interfering in the Hattie investigation. They bicker over his demotion in favor of keeping Jada on as commissioner, and then Paulina offers him a job as rat czar. Eradicating rats is vital to her administration, and it’s well-paid. Rafe assumes she’s only offering him the job to keep him out of Jada’s way. He loves Jada and won’t let a professional rivalry come between them. Therefore, Paulina can shove her job, and someone else can deal with her rats.

In his Salem Inn room, Leo reads Lady Whistleblower’s latest column, which taunts Leo over not knowing their identity. Doug comes by for news on the necklace. Leo says he found someone who will sell it for him. Doug is thankful but regrets doing this to Julie. However, he needs the money to pay people off. Leo gasps. This would be a great idea for the show. He jots notes and then suggests Doug pay off his debt and put it behind him.

Sophia comes to the townhouse while Marlena and Brady are out. She wants to get on the road with Tate so they can get this over with. Holly knocks on the door, and a panicked Tate sends Sophia to hide. She eavesdrops from the hall as Holly gives Tate lemon squares she made him for the plane ride. Sophia rolls her eyes, cringes, and maybe even looks conflicted. Tate returns the concert tickets Holly gave him that he can’t use because of his “trip to see his grandparents.” They express their love, and Holly leaves. Sophia emerges and curtly says, “Sorry to be an inconvenience.” She snarks that Holly gets “I love you” while she gets to have an abortion.

In the Square, Holly hangs up with someone who is too busy to meet up tonight. She then runs into Doug and offers him the concert tickets. She doesn’t want them to go to waste. He suggests they go together. When she mentions her boyfriend, he insists he wasn’t asking her on a date. It’s just that there are two tickets, and he doesn’t know anyone in town. He suggests she run it by her boyfriend first.

Tate misses Holly’s call as he apologizes to Sophia for overhearing him with Holly. They get their cover stories straight, and Tate goes to get his bag. Talking to herself, Sophia takes solace in the fact that Holly won’t be having any fun either. She wonders if Holly got anyone to take the tickets.

In the Square, Holly plans to run by Tate’s place. She gets Doug’s number to let him know what he says.

At the police station, Jada learns Belle got Hattie released from custody since EJ tried questioning her without counsel. They move to her office for coffee as Jada rants over EJ’s botching of recent cases. Plus, whenever he has a conflict of interest, he declines to prosecute the guilty party. It makes her look bad when EJ doesn’t put away the criminals she catches. She’d rather work with someone like Belle. Belle balks at becoming D.A., but Jada raves over her recent wins and thinks they’d make a good team. She’s confident she can sell the idea to Paulina. Belle hesitates because Shawn is back on the force and because she has a history with EJ, whose job she doesn’t want to take away. Besides, she’s not even sure how long she’ll be in town. Jada thinks Paulina would agree to hire her for a set amount of time, like a transitional move. She asks Belle to consider it.

Leo meets Doug in the Square and hands him an envelope. The necklace was sold, but it wasn’t as much money as he thought it would be. It’s the best Leo could do, though, and he won’t even take his usual 10% fee. Disappointed, Doug says he’ll have to figure out where to get the rest of the money he owes.

As Paulina meets with Jada about EJ, EJ answers the DiMera door to Rafe — while Arnold lounges behind closed doors in the living room.

At the townhouse, a concerned Tate asks Sophia, who eats the lemon squares, if she’s really okay with this. Sophia knows he doesn’t want a baby, so it’s what they have to do. As they head out, they open the door to a stunned Holly.

Next on Days of Our Lives, Sophia wants answers from Ava, and EJ loses control of the situation.