Lynda Hirsch on Soaps

ALL MY CHILDREN: Aidan convinces Opal that her mind is playing tricks on her when she sees Annie on Ryan's terrace. Aidan tries to talk Annie into fleeing. After taking a fall down the stairs and hurting his shoulder, Aidan awakes to find that Annie has tied him up in the basement. Annie tells Aidan she'll come back for him as she makes it clear she's calling the shots. Aidan loosens his restraints and searches for Annie. At Babe's grave, Marissa puts the pieces together after seeing that she and Babe share the same date of birth and demands answers from Krystal, who admits she sold Marissa when she was born but insists she's always loved her. Erica unleashes her fury on Adam when he admits he risked Ian's life in order to save his company. Zach attacks Adam, warning he'll kill him if Ian doesn't make it. Opal can't shake the unsettling feeling that someone's about to die. JR falls off the wagon after Adam informs him that he's leaving control of Chandler Enterprises to Scott in the event of his death. Tad becomes more and more convinced that Adam killed Dixie. Adam's enemies are on the warpath. Kendall, thinking Ian has died due to the defective heart, valve is out to get Adam.

SNEAK PEEK: A heartbreaking death occurs.

AS THE WORLD TURNS: A lawyer overhears Vienna and Henry talking and tells them he handles private adoptions. Henry goes to Brad; Brad talks to Katie; and they agree to meet with the lawyer. The lawyer says he'll arrange a meeting with the prospective mother and they give him a check for $10,000 retainer. Damian proves he is not involved in the gun running. Lucy leaves town. Having been given legal custody of Johnny, Craig agrees to let Dusty stay in contact with the boy. Meg, desperate to be with Eliza, offers to stay with Paul and be his wife again. He's wary but insists she be his wife in soul and body or not at all. Meg's anguished to leave Eliza, but Holden insists her staying with Paul will make him seem less threatening during a custody hearing. Parker quits school.

SNEAK PEEK: Parker is out of control.

BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL: Stephanie intervenes before the truth was revealed to Brooke and Ridge. Taylor is relieved that her sudden outburst was misinterpreted. Refusing to have her marriage ridiculed, Brooke puts Taylor and Stephanie in their place by telling them to butt out. Taylor and Stephanie strategize how to use their secret to their benefit. Rick has a change of heart toward Thomas, only for Steffy's sake. Stephanie reveals to the Jackie M staff that the company will be working closely with Spencer Communications and that she will be writing a series of articles for the publication. Expecting to meet with Karen Spencer, Stephanie finds herself meeting with Bill Spencer Jr. instead. Bill offers Stephanie a perfect opportunity and forum to retaliate against Eric and the Logan sisters. Taylor and Stephanie bask in the misery that the webcast had brought upon on the Logan family and later conspire more about how to utilize the secret they share. Brooke makes a solemn promise to Ridge that she will back him up in the future whenever there may be an issue with Rick. Steffy and Rick have an awkward first encounter since their engagement was broken.

SNEAK PEEK: Brooke is unmarried.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Kate finds Chloe and Lucas' wedding photo and rips it in half. Nicole denies she tried to kill Dr. Baker, but he doesn't believe her and insists on telling EJ about the baby switch. However, he cannot reach EJ and believes Nicole when she says EJ will kill him for participating in the baby switch. Baker agrees to say nothing to EJ if Nicole agrees to stay away from him. Baker writes a letter saying that in the event of his death, Nicole DiMera was responsible. Rafe convinces Baker to leave town. Victor enters the room just as EJ realizes Stefano is alive. Victor has a nurse give Stefano insulin, keeping him alive until EJ signs over all of DiMera Enterprises to Victor. Bo becomes bewildered when he has a vision of finding Ciara's teddy bear abandoned in the woods. EJ makes contact with an inside man, Owen, who has been planted at the Kiriakis mansion by Stefano. Kidnapping Stephanie, Owen seals her in a morgue. Maggie is running the AA meeting attended by Brady and Mia.

SNEAK PEEK: Sami and Rafe make love.

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Nikolas defends Rebecca to Alexis, who comes to realize just how smitten he's become with her. Luke watches closely when Tracy overreacts to Lulu cozying up to Ethan. Lulu tells Ethan that Luke put her up to flirting with him and wonders if he knows the reason behind it.

Jason unburdens himself to a supportive Sam and both are glad they can be friends again. Alexis accidentally walks in on nearly naked Nikolas and Rebecca. After his call to Holly is abruptly cut off, Luke and Ethan come to believe she's in danger somewhere in Singapore and head off to rescue her. Certain that Holly is pulling a scam on Luke, Tracy decides to follow him and Ethan to Singapore. Ric warns Claudia he's going to stake his claim to her baby if it turns out that he's the father. Believing Michael's surgery failed, an anguished Carly collapses.

SNEAK PEEK: Michael rejects Carly.

GUIDING LIGHT: Natalia runs into Buzz, who chastises her for breaking Frank's heart. A doctor tells Mallet and Marina that Henry is anemic. Mallet informs Shayne and Dinah. Dinah points out that a blood relative would be the baby's best bet. Out of Marina and Mallet's earshot, Shayne goes to a nurse and offers to donate blood. Marina is about to see Shayne when Mallet calls out to her and announces they have found a match from someone in the hospital. Jeffrey tells Josh that it's time for him to move on and steer clear of Reva. Josh counters that he'll back off when he knows that Reva's out of trouble. Reva rushes in and admits that she was looking. Reva is cancer free. Shayne runs into Josh and offers to go with him to find Edmund. Shayne Josh thanks Shayne for coming to Italy to help him find Edmund. Josh tells Shayne that Edmund is in the hospital and isn't expected to make it. Josh learns that Edmund was caught in a fire. Josh and Shayne think that Edmund is the heavily bandaged figure in the hospital bed, but when the nurse changes the bandages, they're shocked to see it is actually Roc Hoover. Josh and Shayne arrive home worried that Edmund is back in Springfield. Phillip is shocked to learn that James is running a Ponzi scheme and using Bill's name as a front. James asks Daisy to leave town with him. Remy asks Clayton for a loan to help Christina. Clayton admits he might not be able to help because he just invested in a fund that appears to be bankrupt. Returning from his run, Remy is shocked to see a body floating in the water.

SNEAK PEEK: Someone is back from the dead.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE: Stacy takes the opportunity to stick it to Gigi when she decides to be the surprise entertainment at Jared's bachelor party at Rodi's and does a sexy dance in front of Rex. Bo and Clint argue about Bo's renewed closeness with Nora. A remark from Bo results in Clint impulsively proposing to Nora. After questioning Clint's motives, Nora says yes. Jessica has a brief memory of the night she gave birth at the vineyard. Rachel and Shaun have Asher arrested after catching him dealing drugs. Natalie and Jared elope. Jessica and Brody steal some romantic time together. Powell puts the next phase of his macabre plan in motion by holding Todd, Blair, Marty and Tea captive in the fraternity house room where he and Todd raped Marty. Powell torments his hostages while proclaiming he's going to have one of the women kill Todd. Marcie feels the need to be at the cemetery during Hope's exhumation. Langston and Markko tenderly make love for the first time.

SNEAK PEEK: Bess kidnaps Chloe.

YOUNG AND RESTLESS: Adam jabs his eye with the needle as Dr. Lurie waits outside the door for him. A moment later, Victor opens the door and Adam pretends to have been sleeping. Lurie tells Victor that Adam's condition is irreversible and he will eventually go blind. Murphy offers a fellow vet, the governor, a souvenir of war as a gesture. When the governor says goodnight, he tells Kay and Jill that he'll grant amnesty for Kevin and Amber. Nina meets with Kay with a proposition for her: She wants to make Kay's life story into a screenplay. Howard Aucker returns to the gallery and introduces himself to Daniel as an agent from the Justice Department. He asks Daniel for his help in forging a painting in order to draw out black-market thieves. Daniel reluctantly agrees but is especially unhappy to learn that he has to keep this from everyone, including Amber. Nick is stunned to learn that Sharon is moving back in with Jack. Jeff and Gloria run into Jill as they all try desperately to get their holdings out of the Bank of Corozal. Jill calls Victor for help but learns that he was one of the main reasons the bank collapsed. Victor refuses to help them, stating that pulling his money from the bank was a business decision. Upon hearing the reason for Jill's plight, he agrees to give her the money for all of them, including Jeff and Gloria. Billy refuses to give up what he had or could have with Mac for what he has with Chloe and Delia. Karen gives Neil their divorce papers and says goodbye to him and Tyra. Cane and Lily are pronounced husband and wife. Ashley answers the phone only to hear Sabrina's voice on the other end. Ashley crumbles into Victor's arms as she rushes to get out of the house. At the wedding reception, Nina and Jill remember Phillip III, but Jill makes it clear that she thanks God every day for finding Cane. Meanwhile, as happy as Cane is on his wedding day, there is a flicker of guilt in his face as he remembers a conversation with his uncle Langley.

SNEAK PEEK: Ashley is over the edge.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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