Salem is about to erupt.

Every storyline, every family conflict, and every buried secret collides in a breathtaking two-week storm that transforms the town into a psychological war zone. A disappearance spirals into a full-scale mystery. A young girl’s mental health crisis becomes a weapon in the wrong hands. A seductive trap unfolds inside the DiMera mansion. And a stalker who thrives in the shadows prepares to strike again.

This isn’t just another preview — this is Salem on the brink of collapse.

Below, we break down every twist, every danger, and every shocking connection that ties these explosive storylines together.

EJ & Theo’s Alliance Cracks Under Pressure — The DiMera Family Is Being Hunted

December opens with a scene that feels deceptively controlled: EJ DiMera and Theo Carver seated across from each other, quietly analyzing numbers, timelines, and emerging threats. It looks like a simple DiMera Enterprises meeting — but the crisis simmering beneath the surface is far from corporate.

Three members of the DiMera family are missing: Tony, Kristen… and now Chad.

EJ pretends to be calm, but the façade is cracking. Salem has taught him one thing: three disappearances are never a coincidence. Someone is targeting the DiMeras with precision.

Theo becomes the surprising anchor to EJ’s spiraling panic. His logic, clarity, and emotional distance help EJ see patterns he overlooks. Together, they connect security gaps, strange messages, and chilling inconsistencies around the mansion.

But the alliance comes with a deadly price.

Theo has no idea the enemy has already marked him as the next target — and the alliance he forms with EJ will soon lead him straight into a trap he cannot escape.

Chad’s Underground Nightmare — A Custody Battle Destroyed

While EJ strategizes above ground, Chad faces a grim reality in the DiMera crypt — a place meant for the dead, not the living.

Dragged underground, Chad awakens in darkness beside Tony and Kristen. No windows. No clocks. No escape. Just the suffocating truth: someone orchestrated these kidnappings with chilling precision.

But Chad’s dread deepens as he realizes what he’s losing above ground.

His custody hearing.

His disappearance makes him look irresponsible, even uncaring. Jennifer believes he’s dodging responsibility. The judge sees him as unreliable. His silence — forced as it is — becomes damning.

This storyline is emotionally brutal because when the truth finally emerges, the damage may already be irreversible. Chad’s freedom, his reputation, and even his relationship with his children hang in the balance while he lies trapped beneath Salem.

Cat Green’s Web of Manipulation Begins to Unravel

Meanwhile, Cat Green is busy launching a charm-offensive campaign to salvage her standing in Salem. But her mask begins to crack.

Her tense confrontation with Jennifer Horton explodes into accusations that cut deep: Jennifer calls her a predator, someone who preys on emotional instability and uses seduction to manipulate outcomes.

Cat flees the encounter shaken, but not defeated.

She pivots her strategy — toward EJ.

Inside the DiMera mansion, Cat makes a critical mistake. A literary reference slips from her lips… one EJ remembers from his coma in Italy. Too specifically. Too intimately.

That memory should be impossible.

Cat knows instantly she made a catastrophic slip — one that threatens to expose her ties to Italy, to the disappearances, and to secrets EJ is only beginning to recall.

This is the moment her downfall quietly begins.

Rachel’s Mental Health Crisis Turns Dangerous — Sophia Emerges as a New Villain

Amid corporate wars and kidnappings, Days plunges into one of its most emotionally devastating arcs: Rachel Black’s unraveling.

Still tormented by the night she shot EJ, Rachel becomes a ticking emotional time bomb. Brady agonizes as he makes the ultimate parental sacrifice — admitting her to Bayview.

But Bayview isn’t the end of Rachel’s danger. It is the beginning.

Enter Sophia Choi.

A girl who pretends to have a communication disorder. Harmless. Timid. Weak.

All lies.

Sophia moves like a shadow, slipping into Rachel’s room at night, whispering validation and poison in equal measure. She twists Rachel’s trauma, reshapes her memories, and positions herself as the only person Rachel can trust.

If Sophia’s influence continues to grow, Rachel may leave Bayview not healed… but weaponized.

Owen Returns — Stephanie’s Living Nightmare Begins

Elsewhere, Alex Kiriakis makes a decision that ignites a chain reaction of terror: he shows Steve the disturbing fan letter sent to Stephanie.

Stephanie begged him to drop it. He didn’t.

Their trust fractures — and tragedy strikes.

Because the letter wasn’t harmless.

Stephanie begins noticing shadows that move too quickly, doors left ajar, reflections that linger too long.

Owen Kent, her former kidnapper, has returned.

Not to attack.

Not yet.

But to reclaim her.

As Stephanie travels to Chicago for her book tour, Owen stalks her every move. Calm. Controlled. Patient. Waiting for the moment to strike.

The terror is only beginning.

Bioterror in Salem — And Alex Becomes the Target

The second week explodes with one of the most shocking twists yet.

A letter arrives at the Kiriakis home.

When Alex opens it, a cloud of white powder bursts into the air — triggering a full hazmat lockdown. Police fear the worst: biological warfare.

Is it from Owen?

A warning?

Or the first step of a larger attack?

Whatever the truth, Alex becomes the center of a terrifying investigation.

Theo Kidnapped — And a Bone-Chilling Discovery in the Crypt

The DiMera nightmare worsens when Theo is dragged into the crypt and thrown beside Chad, Tony, and Kristen. Their captor is getting bolder, more aggressive, more reckless.

But then comes the most terrifying discovery yet:

Human bones.

Old. Hidden. And intentionally concealed.

The crypt isn’t just a prison.

It’s a graveyard for DiMera secrets someone is willing to kill to protect.

Cat Crosses the Line — Drugging EJ to Access the Mansion’s Secrets

Desperate and cornered, Cat makes her most dangerous move.

Under the guise of comfort, she kisses EJ — and slips a drug onto his tongue.

He collapses.

Cat tears through the mansion, searching for documents tying EJ’s coma, Italy, and the family disappearances together.

But Rafe Hernandez intercepts her, exposing the truth: she’s far more involved than anyone realized.

The DiMera mansion becomes a battlefield of shadows, lies, and resurfacing memories — and EJ is finally beginning to remember what happened to him in Italy.

Cat’s time is running out.

A Fragile Love Story — And the Spark of a Dangerous Triangle

Amid all the chaos, Days drops a rare moment of softness: Brady and Sarah forming an unexpected emotional bond.

Two wounded people.

Two broken hearts.

One fragile connection.

But Xander watches from the sidelines — and jealousy is starting to boil. His heartbreak is turning into volatility, and a dangerous confrontation is brewing.

NEXT: Salem’s Collapse Is Only Beginning

By the time December 12 arrives, Salem is on fire.
EJ’s memories are resurfacing.
The DiMera captives are close to uncovering the truth.
Sophia intensifies her hold on Rachel.
Owen prepares his next move.

And one final twist — still hidden — threatens to blow every storyline wide open.