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University Hospital

Everyone is in shock and disbelief after hearing the bad news that Tony is dead. “My son, my Anthony,” desponds Stefano. “What have you done?” he asks Philip, who expresses how sorry he is. A grieving Stefano stares at Philip with bewilderment in his eyes. Philip insists that it was an accident. E.J. takes Stefano to see Tony.

Nearby, Hope asks Nicole if what happened to Tony was an accident or not.

“I just need to be sure,” replies Nicole. Hope wonders what kind of a deal she struck with Philip. Brady arrives and asks Nicole what’s going on. Hope affirms that it’s a private conversation. Brady asks Nicole what she did.

Philip tells E.J. it was an accident and expresses how sorry he is. “Like father, like son. Winning and losing, that’s all that matters. Nothing else,” says a bitter E.J. Victor affirms to E.J. that his family is exactly the same way, and laying the blame isn’t going to make it any easier to bear.

Meanwhile, Nicole insists to Brady that she didn’t do anything and wonders why he would say something like that. Brady claims it’s just because Hope was asking her questions, as if she was a suspect. Nicole informs Brady that Tony and Philip got into a fight. Brady surmises that it was an accident, since Philip would never hurt Tony. “Was it an accident or not?” asks Hope for the hundredth time. “He’s dead. My brother is dead,” announces E.J. as Nicole embraces him. “Philip Kiriakis killed my brother,” sneers E.J.

Brady insists that it’s not true and implores Nicole to tell Hope it was an accident. Nicole asks if Tony talked. E.J. informs her that Tony didn’t say anything, but he left a message. Hope wonders how Tony was able to leave a message if he couldn’t speak. E.J. points out that the letter ‘B’ is all that is on the note. He surmises that Tony was desperate to tell him something.

Nicole encourages E.J. to go home with her. “I want Philip Kiriakis arrested and charged with murder,” demands E.J. Brady says it’s not his call. E.J. implores Nicole to tell them what she saw between Philip and Tony. Hope threatens to charge Nicole with perjury if she’s not truthful about what happened.

Nearby, Victor urges Philip to keep his hand elevated and tries to assure his son that he didn’t do anything wrong. Philip quietly admits to Victor that it wasn’t an accident that he and Tony fought, and now he has to deal with having a hand in Tony’s death for the rest of his life.

A grieving Stefano is in Tony’s room. He laments toying with his own son and being in complete control of everything. He sits beside his dead son and expresses sadness that he’s never going to see Tony’s smile again, hear his laughter, or hear Tony call him “Father.”

Stefano admits that he knows he’ll pay for his part in this. “I am going to live the rest of my life every day, knowing how I treated you, and what happened because of that,” he laments. He takes Tony’s hand and vows that the people who did this will pay. He assures Tony that his death will be vindicated. Stefano breaks down over losing his son.

Victor later tells Philip that he’s proud of him for trying to be so honest with himself. He hopes that Philip is on good terms with Nicole, since what she says to Hope will determine whether or not he goes home tonight or goes to jail.

Hope asks Nicole why she hid on the pier. Nicole recounts how Tony went up the stairs and the railing gave way, then he fell and broke a pallet. She confirms that Tony’s death was accidental. “Wrong answer, Nicole,” retorts Stefano as he emerges. Nicole insists that she told Hope the truth, reiterating that Tony’s death was an accident. “An accident that was planned. An accident, that solved a lot of problems for that sniveling little piece of......” he sneers. Philip angrily approaches Stefano, but Victor holds him back. Stefano begins to lay into Philip, but Hope calmly tells him that it’s not the time. He points the finger at Nicole and warns that he’ll never forget her lies.

Brady approaches Philip and encourages him to sit down, noting how pale he’s looking. He tries to assure Philip that it wasn’t his fault. A guilty Philip believes otherwise. Brady wonders what Nicole was doing at the pier, but Philip has no idea.

Nearby, E.J. proceeds to go find Stefano, but Nicole tries to convince him that his father needs time alone. E.J. is dubious that Philip had nothing to do with Tony’s death. Nicole insists that she told the truth, even though she knows that Stefano will never forgive her. E.J. kisses her on the forehead and tries to assure her that Stefano is lashing out. She asks if he’s mad at her. E.J. says he’ll never get mad at her for telling the truth. “It’s lies that kill,” he warns.

Victor approaches Hope and asks if there’s any case against Philip. Hope affirms that forensics and Dr. Jonas have both confirmed that Tony’s death could’ve been accidental. With Nicole’s statement, she can’t see the D.A. pressing charges. Victor is relieved to hear this.

Brady suspects that Nicole was going to make sure Tony never told E.J. about Sydney, but Nicole insists otherwise. Brady gives her the third degree and remarks how lucky she was that Philip was on the pier and took care of things for her. Nicole insists that she told the truth. “The whole truth?” questions Brady. Hope overhears their squabble and wonders if there’s something she should know. Brady and Nicole keep mum.

After Hope walks off, Nicole refers to her as a nosey bitch and insists that she needs to talk to Philip alone. Philip thanks Nicole for telling the truth after knowing how he feels about her. “I want you to never even think about blackmailing me or Brady again. You owe me that!” she asserts. Philip apologizes for being wrong about her and Brady. Stefano demands to know what the hell she’s even doing talking to Philip. Nicole claims Philip was apologizing. “My God, Nicole. I can’t believe you,” responds a disgusted Stefano.

E.J. is in Tony’s room and pulls out the piece of paper with the letter ‘B.’ He vows to find out the truth until he knows what Tony was trying to tell him.