For as long as anyone in Salem can remember, the late, great Stefano DiMera looked upon the world as nothing more than his personal chessboard. With a cold, calculating eye and that signature sadistic grin, he spent decades moving pawns and queens across his sprawling empire of manipulation. Men like John Black were his pieces. Women like Marlena Evans were his obsession. Enemies, allies, lovers — all of them mere figures on the board, pushed and pulled at his whim.

But now, from beyond the grave, the Phoenix is preparing to play his final game.

In a twist that has sent shockwaves through the corridors of Salem, the recent reading of Stefano DiMera’s will delivered a bombshell that no one saw coming. The patriarch of the DiMera dynasty bequeathed a mysterious chess set — his chess set — to his greatest adversary, his most enduring obsession, the one person who always managed to slip through his grasp: Marlena Evans.

The queen of the night stood in that room as the will was read, her expression unreadable. And then, without a single word, without even touching the cursed artifact, she turned and walked out. The room erupted in confusion. Whispers spread like wildfire. What was Stefano plotting? What final trick did the old master have hidden up his sleeve?

According to Dan Feuerriegel, the actor who brings EJ DiMera to life, the mystery of that chess set is far more than a simple plot device. It is the beginning of a full-blown adventure — one that will pull Salem’s most reluctant players into a dangerous game they never asked to join.

In an exclusive conversation with Michael Fairman TV, Feuerriegel pulled back the curtain on the DiMera family’s latest mind game, offering a glimpse into EJ’s complicated relationship with Marlena, and the bittersweet reality of saying goodbye to several of his co-stars as the show charts a new course.

The chess set, Feuerriegel explained, is the ultimate psychological jab — a final, venomous gift from a man who refuses to let go even in death. It reaches back across decades, touching Stefano’s endless war with John Black — his most manipulated pawn — and his tortured, unrequited love for Marlena. Every piece on that board holds a memory. Every square carries the weight of a lifetime of scheming.

And Marlena wants absolutely nothing to do with it.

But there is one person in Salem whose curiosity cannot be contained: EJ DiMera. The son of the late Stefano, EJ has always carried the weight of his father’s legacy, even as he tries to carve out his own path. The chess set, this final gift from beyond the grave, has ignited something in him — a fire that even his better judgment cannot extinguish.

Feuerriegel described EJ’s view of Marlena with a mixture of reverence and wariness. “She’s the queen bee,” he said. “There are some people in Salem that EJ simply will not mess with — and Marlena is one of those characters.” He respects her. He fears her, in his own way. He knows what she has survived, what she has overcome, and the power she quietly wields.

But that respect is now warring with something else: an insatiable, burning curiosity.

The will reading was tense, yes. The fallout, however, is where the real fun begins. EJ finds himself in an unusual and deeply uncomfortable position. “He’s suspected of having something to do with this,” Feuerriegel revealed, “but in regards to the will reading, he was shut out.” Cut off. Left in the dark. His own father excluded him from the final act of the game.

And EJ DiMera hates being out of the loop.

The irony is not lost on anyone. EJ, a man who has spent years playing his own games, manipulating those around him, clawing his way to power — now stands on the outside looking in. His father’s chess set holds secrets, and those secrets are being kept from him. For a man who craves control, it is an unbearable position.

But Feuerriegel promises that the silence will not last. EJ may have been sidelined in the reading of the will, but he will find his way back into the action. “He’s kept a little bit to the side,” the actor admitted. “But it’s going to lead to some pretty fun stuff.”

Fun for the audience, perhaps. For EJ, it will be a descent into the labyrinth his father left behind. Every move he makes, every piece he touches, every door he opens — all of it will bring him closer to understanding what Stefano truly intended. And in a family built on lies, betrayal, and power, the truth may be the most dangerous