At Josslyn and Trina's new apartment, Carly carried in a box and set it down as she spoke to Diane on the phone. Carly was eager for an update on her legal issues because she was worried. As Carly turned, she saw Josslyn. It was clear that Josslyn had overheard, so Carly ended the call and opted for the truth. Carly revealed that the FBI had a recording of her attending a meeting with other mob bosses and announcing that she was the head of the Corinthos organization. Carly explained that it had been necessary to protect the family after Sonny had been presumed dead.

Carly shared that someone at the meeting had been wired, and there was a good chance that she would be charged and sent to prison. Stunned, Josslyn asked what the FBI had on Jason. "Nothing," Carly said. Carly explained that Jason had cooperated with the FBI to protect her. Josslyn wasn't surprised because Jason had once gone to jail to safeguard Michael. Carly admitted that she had wanted to turn herself in, but Jason had been furious because it would have meant that he had wasted the past two years of his life.

Josslyn agreed with Jason, but Carly warned Josslyn that the FBI could charge Carly, even if Jason held up his end of the bargain. Carly confessed that she couldn't stand the fact that Jason had done it for her. Josslyn appreciated that Carly was willing to go to jail for Jason because Jason and Carly had been through things that others couldn't understand, but she insisted that Donna needed Carly more than ever. Josslyn reminded her mother of Sonny's recent alarming behavior.

Josslyn opened up about her own efforts to help Dex by appealing to Anna not to hire him. However, Anna hadn't listened to her, and Josslyn was glad. Josslyn assured Carly that she didn't excuse what Dex had done, but things had changed. Carly could tell that Josslyn was much happier. "I am," Josslyn said. Carly smiled as she reached for her daughter's hand. "And I'm happy for you," she told Josslyn.

In Maxie's office, Maxie agreed with Lucy that they needed to make it clear that Deception didn't support Natalia's views, but Maxie refused to fire Blaze. Lucy questioned what message that would send, so Maxie explained that it would show the world that they stood behind Blaze's right to define herself. "Which means coming out on her own terms in her own time," Maxie said. Lois agreed, but Lucy reminded Lois that Lois was a spokesperson, not a business partner. Grudgingly, Lucy agreed that Maxie was right.

Scott suggested moving on to damage control. Just then, Nina knocked on the door and entered. Nina shared that she'd heard the recording, and it was a disaster. "And what does the Invader have to say for itself?" Maxie asked. Nina promised to get to that. "Right now, I'm here regarding your company," Nina explained.

Nina revealed that she had held off the print run of the two-page ad in Crimson featuring Blaze because the timing of the ad would have been disastrous. Maxie agreed. Lucy suggested that they run a short history of Deception instead, and she volunteered to give an interview, but Maxie shot down the idea because of Lucy's ratings bomb on the Home & Heart shopping channel. Lois proposed giving ad space to Blaze for a statement, but Maxie, Lucy, and Nina nixed the idea. Maxie thought a simple message on the two pages would be effective. "No one cancels love" Maxie said. She suggested the message be written in white block letters with a black backdrop. Everyone agreed that it was perfect.

Scott wanted to know the next step, so Nina informed everyone that Adrian DeWitt would answer for what he had done. A short time later, Adrian entered the office, full of confidence because the story had boosted traffic to the newspaper's website. Nina quickly tossed cold water on his victory by informing him that she was not pleased. Adrian suggested it was the wrong venue to discuss office business, but Nina disagreed because Adrian's lack of judgment had affected Deception. Nina demanded to know where Adrian had gotten the recording and why he hadn't consulted her before running the inflammatory article featuring doctored footage.

Adrian denied the recording had been doctored. "It was edited," he clarified. Adrian insisted that only Natalia's comments had been relevant, but Nina reminded him of Kristina and Blaze. She asked if it had ever occurred to Adrian that running a hit piece that was detrimental to Nina's ex-husband's daughter might be perceived as if Nina were using the newspaper to lash out at Sonny. Adrian claimed that he had assumed Nina's reputation was above reproach. "Please, Adrian. Even I know that my reputation is far from sterling," Nina said.

Nina threatened to fire Adrian unless he gave her the name of his source. "Ava Jerome," Adrian blurted out. Lucy immediately turned to Scott and made it clear that she expected him to drop Ava as a client in the custody case. Nina warned Adrian not to say anything and promptly fired him because no good journalist would have divulged their source. Maxie advised Nina to reconsider because Adrian still had much to offer. "His complete obedience," Maxie explained.

Maxie pointed out that Adrian would be in a position to print whatever Nina wanted because -- if he disobeyed -- everyone would find out about the role he had played "in today's horror show." Maxie was certain that once Adrian's ethics were exposed, he would be ruined. Nina approved of the plan.

At Metro Court, Alexis told Ava that they needed to have a conversation. "One that won't be recorded," Alexis said. Ava started to close the door, but Alexis pushed past Ava and entered the suite. "Hurting me is one thing; hurting my daughter is another. That was a big mistake," Alexis warned. Alexis confronted Ava about the article in the Invader, but Ava denied any involvement. Alexis revealed that Adrian had named Ava, but Ava accused Nina and Adrian of being in league and framing her.

Undaunted, Alexis threatened to subpoena Ava's phone records. "Based on what?" Ava asked. Rather than answer, Alexis shared that she would soon be practicing law again, and she would be joining Diane's law firm. She disclosed that she wouldn't be taking on clients because she would be too busy working a big case that promised to be a "bloodbath." "Care to guess what it is?" Alexis asked. Ava reminded Alexis that it was not illegal in the state of New York to record someone. Alexis agreed that a public person had a limited expectation of privacy, but she informed Ava that Natalia was a private citizen. "Even so, not illegal," Ava argued.

Alexis threatened to file a lawsuit against Ava on the basis of intentional malice. "You know, how you intentionally tampered with recorded files, negating all the legal protections you just mentioned," Alexis said. Ava suggested whoever had leaked the audio recording had done a public service by exposing Natalia as a bigot. Alexis accused Ava of being a homophobe, but Ava denied it because Ava encouraged everyone to live their truth. Alexis smiled because she looked forward to Ava's confession of "that certain murder." "Unless, of course, that's a truth you don't want to live," Alexis added.

Ava denied killing anyone, but Alexis doubted Connie Falconeri would agree. Alexis was frustrated that Ava would hurt Kristina to get to Alexis, but Ava argued that not everything was about Alexis. Alexis looked around and asked where Avery was. Ava assured Alexis that Avery would be with her soon. "Permanently," Ava said. Alexis advised Ava not to put that one remaining egg in Ava's big empty basket.

"Look around. You are alone, and you have no friends. You wreak havoc on everyone's lives, and you never stopped to consider that the life you'd be ruining would be your own," Alexis said. Ava told Alexis that it was time for Alexis to leave, so Alexis took the opportunity to suggest that she had recorded their conversation. Ava was confident that the recording wouldn't help Alexis' case. Alexis agreed, which was why she hadn't recorded Ava. "Or did I?" Alexis asked.

Shortly after Alexis left, Scott arrived to talk to Ava about the article in the Invader. Ava assumed that Alexis had talked to Scott, but he admitted that he hadn't talked to Alexis in a year. He complained that Alexis had always looked down her nose at him, but she was no longer a lawyer. Ava shared that Alexis would soon be practicing law again, so Scott warned Ava it was bad news for Ava because Alexis was a tough opponent. Ava had confidence in Scott's ability, but she switched gears because she wanted to know how things were going building a case against Sonny.

Scott explained that Ava's latest stunt wouldn't help Ava's case, but Ava argued that she had exposed a bigot. Scott pointed out that Ava had also outed Kristina and Blaze to the world, so Ava conceded that it hadn't been her intention. Scott warned Ava that she was "kinda screwed" unless Sonny killed someone on camera and in front of witnesses -- or Sonny had a public nervous breakdown. Ava's expression turned calculating.

At Kristina's apartment, Kristina snatched "Allie's" phone out of her hand to keep Allie from reading all the hateful comments directed at them. Allie was upset and filled with regret because she had wanted to come out about her sexuality, but she had allowed her mother to pressure her into staying in the closet. "And now, my weakness ended up hurting you," Allie said. Kristina told Allie to stop apologizing because Allie's life was her own, and Allie was not obligated to share her personal business with anyone. Kristina insisted that Allie owed her fans great songs and shows, but Allie didn't owe them anything beyond that. Kristina explained that the people who wanted her to step down from the center that she had built from the ground up and the people who called Allie a hypocrite didn't know why Kristina and Allie had made the decisions they had.

"They are the ones in the wrong," Kristina insisted. Kristina was adamant that she and Allie had nothing to be ashamed of, and the person who had leaked the recording had violated Kristina and Allie's privacy. Allie reluctantly agreed. Satisfied, Kristina reminded Allie that all they could do was move forward. Moments later, someone knocked on the door. Allie worried that it might be a reporter.

Kristina answered the door and was surprised to see Sasha. Sasha revealed that reporters were gathered outside, but the doorman had done a good job keeping them out. Sasha explained that she'd been out running errands for the Quartermaines when the news about Natalia had broken, so Sasha had stopped by to give Kristina and "Blaze" the benefit of Sasha's hard-won experience dealing with a public scandal. Sasha advised both Kristina and Blaze to stay offline and to ignore the angry mob with their torches and pitchforks, because they would eventually go away. Kristina and Blaze were grateful for the support.

As Kristina walked Sasha to the door and opened it, Kristina and Sasha were surprised to see Nina standing on the doorstep. Nina smiled when she saw Sasha, but she quickly turned her attention to Kristina and Blaze. Nina apologized and admitted that she'd been appalled when she'd seen the article, but she had wanted to reveal the source of the recording. "It was Ava Jerome," Nina said.

At Pozzulo's, Natalia revealed that Ava had leaked the audio recording to the Invader, and Ava had carefully edited out her end of the conversation. Sonny revealed that there were demands for Kristina to step down from the center because Kristina had been accused of being ashamed of being gay. Natalia felt terrible and apologized. "You may have said the words, but it was Ava who delivered that recording. And now she's gonna pay for it," Sonny said in a menacing tone.

Natalia told Sonny about her visit to his penthouse to drop off a bottle of scotch and her conversation with Ava. Natalia painted herself the victim and suggested that Ava had set her up. According to Natalia, she'd been too arrogant in believing that she could handle anything until that very morning. She couldn't understand why Ava would do that to her. "I never thought that she would come after my daughter like this," Sonny explained. Natalia admitted that she'd been so blindsided by the recording that she hadn't recognized her own voice.

Natalia became choked up with emotion as she talked about the shock and betrayal on her daughter's face and realizing how the recording would completely ruin "Allie's" career. Natalia lamented that all their hard work had gone up in flames, but Sonny asked if she had thought about how Allie had felt. "Of course, I did," Natalia assured him. Natalia insisted that she had never wanted her daughter to hear those things. Sonny empathized because he had gone through something similar with Kristina in recent weeks when Kristina had seen a side of him that he'd never wanted his daughter to see. He confessed that he'd feared he would never see Kristina again.

Natalia felt the same way about Allie. Natalia promised that she thought of Kristina as a lovely young lady. Sonny believed Natalia because he knew how much she loved her own daughter. Sonny also acknowledged that Natalia had treated Kristina with respect and courtesy. "That's all that matters," he said. Natalia was grateful.

Sonny explained that Ava had leaked the recording to hurt him through Kristina, and both Natalia and Allie had been collateral damage. Sonny promised to take care of Ava. Moments later, Alexis entered. The tension was thick as Natalia and Alexis exchanged greetings. Natalia started to explain that the recording had been a private conversation, but Alexis asked if that justified the hatred. Natalia admitted that she regretted that their daughters had heard what she had said, but Natalia couldn't help how she felt.

Alexis disagreed because Natalia could try to open her mind. Sonny reminded Alexis that Natalia was his guest, but Natalia decided it was her cue to leave, and she quickly departed. After Natalia left, Sonny assured Alexis that he hadn't condoned the things that Natalia had said. Alexis revealed that she was there to let him know that Ava had been behind the recording, but Sonny admitted that he already knew. Alexis told him about her plan to file a lawsuit against Ava, but she conceded that the legal grounds were shaky.

Alexis admitted that she would settle for Ava's reputation being decimated in the same way that Ava had hurt Kristina and "Blaze." Sonny vowed to make certain that Ava's life was not worth living. "And Diane will make sure Ava never lays eyes on Avery again," Sonny said.

• Drew announces his candidacy.

• Laura declares, "I'm putting all my faith in the expert's opinions."

• James asks Cody, "Is that okay with you?"

• Sasha insists, "This is the kind of thing that can only end in disaster."