You’re listening to Soap Dirt—the latest buzz in television entertainment—and tonight, the air in Salem feels razor-sharp. Because right now, Kristen Deira isn’t just angry—she’s focused. Her mind is locked on revenge, and the target is clear: EJ Deira. But Kristen doesn’t plan to do it alone.

She’s roped in Sophia Choy, a girl with the kind of hunger and nerve that makes trouble feel inevitable. And the more Kristen thinks about what EJ has done—what he’s hidden, what he’s ruined—the more she convinces herself of one thing: EJ doesn’t get to walk away from the damage he’s caused. Not after Rachel’s situation. Not after the fallout that’s brought more pain and danger back into the orbit of their lives.

And if Kristen has anything to say about it, Sophia is about to become the blade that cuts EJ down.

The unsettling part? Kristen isn’t just aiming for revenge in the emotional sense. She wants revenge with teeth—revenge that can’t be argued away, won’t be dismissed, and won’t fade like a rumor. She wants proof. Exposure. Public consequences. The kind that changes everything.

So the first stage of the plan is deceptively simple: let Sophia dig.

Kristen understands EJ better than most people probably do. She knows that when EJ wants something, he doesn’t just take it—he maneuvers for it. He uses systems. He uses influence. He uses loopholes like a man who’s spent years learning how the law can be bent before anyone even realizes it’s being pulled out of shape.

Because EJ isn’t some reckless thug who gets caught in the act. He’s smarter than that. He’s learned crime the way others learn languages—step by step, lesson by lesson—following in the shadow of someone who taught him how to survive by exploiting every crack in the world. And the worst part is that EJ doesn’t just do illegal things. He does them with plausible deniability polished to a shine.

That’s why Kristen’s revenge can’t rely on anger alone. It has to rely on discovery.

Now, there’s history between EJ and shady operations—history that has made the people around him uneasy for reasons they may not even be able to fully explain. EJ has been tangled up in dishonest dealings with Gwen Rise, with those under-the-table experiments that don’t belong anywhere near daylight. And if Kristen’s thinking strategically, she’s also thinking about what those “not-so-secret” lab discoveries could mean.

Because if Sophia can uncover something concrete—something that links EJ to criminality, something that proves the existence of wrongdoing—then Kristen doesn’t just get to claim EJ is guilty. She gets to make the world watch him fall.

But Kristen doesn’t stop at theory.

EJ has already shown—again and again—that he’s willing to go too far. He’s been siphoning massive amounts of electricity from the city of Salem, feeding systems that power something far more dangerous than most people realize. That wasn’t just a crime—it was a power move, the kind of move that tells the city, “I can take what I want and you won’t stop me.”

And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the shadow EJ has kept close: the infamous Dr. Ralph.

Dr. Ralph isn’t just a name people whisper. He’s a criminal scientist with too many ties to disappearances and wrongdoing—someone who’s now wanted in connection to the kidnappings of Stephanie and Jeremy. What makes it even worse is that Dr. Ralph didn’t just participate. When he saw something unfolding—when he had the opportunity to make the right choice—he turned a blind eye.

And now? Someone has been hiding him.

Someone like EJ.

When the situation hits Kristen’s radar, it becomes more than just a betrayal—it becomes a ticking clock. Because the longer Dr. Ralph stays hidden, the harder it is for the truth to surface. And Kristen wants the truth to surface now—preferably with the right witness standing at the center of it.

That’s where Sophia comes in.

Kristen could put Sophia in motion, sending her into the tunnels under the Deira mansion—into those hidden spaces where secrets aren’t meant to be found by ordinary people. If Sophia can track down Dr. Ralph there, then EJ’s entire foundation—his credibility, his clean façade, the legal authority he likes to pretend he respects—gets ripped out from under him.

Because harboring a fugitive isn’t a misunderstanding. It’s not a technicality. It’s not something EJ can talk his way out of if the evidence is solid and the timing is right.

Imagine what it would mean if Sophia returns with proof—if she brings something tangible back into Kristen’s hands. The kind of discovery