The Claire (Hayley Erin) and Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) storyline on The Young and the Restless keeps on giving some entertaining moments on daytime television. Although the Newmans are freed from their captors, things are far from being over.
For example, in the episode airing on December 5, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Cole (J. Eddie Peck) visit Claire in an Oregon jail to get answers surrounding the possibility that she’s their presumed-dead daughter Eve. After hearing Claire’s trying tale of growing up in Aunt Jordan’s care, being force-fed lies, Victoria and Cole agree to help Claire with her legal predicament provided she takes a DNA test. We as viewers will have to continue waiting on pins and needles for confirmation that Claire is Victoria’s daughter, which seems likely.
Then there’s Nikki. Throughout this whole ordeal, she’s arguably been the one most impacted. Not only did Claire target Nikki, deceiving her for months with the sweet innocent act, but Claire and her aunt pumped the Newman matriarch full of vodka, effectively destroying Nikki’s sobriety.
Despite Nikki professing that she’s fine and recovering from the forced relapse in her addiction journey, again in the episode airing on December 5, it becomes very obvious she is not okay.
While at the Newman Ranch and with Victor (Eric Braeden) in the kitchen, a struggling Nikki sneaks a shot of alcohol. Her choice to drink could signal she’s headed for a downward spiral, which may make room for a surprising person to play Nikki’s hero.
But before we get on the other side of Nikki’s relapse, let's zero in on the idea of her spiraling. Before she takes that secret drink, she receives a phone call from an unknown number. When she answers, the only thing she hears is music playing. The music sounded like a generic tune you’d hear playing at a strip club from a movie in the 70s or 80s. Although no one ever said anything on the call, the peculiar incident appears to leave Nikki a bit rattled and confused.
Could Aunt Jordan be the mysterious caller? We think so.
It’s important to remember that Aunt Jordan was never captured in Oregon and is adamant about getting revenge on Nikki and Victor for the death of her sister Eve Howard (Margaret Mason). So it’s easy to picture Aunt Jordan doing things to taunt Nikki from the shadows to attack Nikki’s psyche.
Additionally, Aunt Jordan has been plotting revenge on the Newmans for years and is very familiar with their past. Before Nikki became the face of high society in Genoa City, she lived a very different lifestyle as a stripper at a club called The Bayou. In fact, she first met Victor while working there. Aunt Jordan presumably knows this information and calls Nikki, playing the music to torment her about her past.
If our hunch proves correct about Aunt Jordan, then we can easily see her going beyond just phone calls to attack Nikki. We wouldn’t be surprised if Nikki started receiving mysterious packages with mementos that remind her of dark times in her past, which are likely to only fuel her desire to drink. So far Nikki appears to be keeping the phone call a secret from her family, but if more sinister things begin to happen, how long will she remain mum?
Unfortunately for Mrs. Newman, it doesn’t look like she’ll be ending 2023 on a good note, so stay tuned to see what happens next.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus.
