Diane reveals her secret deal with Martin, leaving Jack in tears The Young And The Restless Spoilers

Diane paced across the marble floor of her lavish Genoa City estate, each click of her heels a frantic metronome of anxiety.

Martin’s incarceration weighed heavily on her. He was supposed to be her ally—the weapon in her vendetta against Phyllis Summers. Now, he sat behind bars, holding secrets Diane never intended to see the light of day.

If Martin talked, everything would unravel.

Diane could still remember the years of rivalry with Phyllis: the sharp barbs at charity luncheons, whispered rumors in boardrooms, and the occasional social sabotage. But never had either dared a fatal strike—until now.

Fearing the loss of her reputation, fortune, and the hard-earned respectability she’d clawed back, Diane had made a desperate choice.

She hired Martin, a fixer known for making problems disappear. Her instructions? Scare Phyllis. Discredit her. But don’t kill.

Martin went rogue.

Instead of intimidation, he escalated—kidnapping Sharon Newman, Phyllis’s closest friend and occasional ally. Diane’s pulse now pounded with dread. If Martin named her as the mastermind, everything would collapse. Including Jack Abbott’s fragile trust.

Jack had warned her—stay out of Abbott business. He’d protect Phyllis with everything he had. If he learned the truth, he’d relish Diane’s downfall.

And what if the evidence pointed directly to her?

Bank transfers. Cryptic phone logs. Offshore accounts.

Martin’s arrest had opened a floodgate. Investigators were digging into his finances—and every trail led straight back to Diane.

At night, she lay awake, haunted by the imagined headlines:

“GENOA CITY SOCIALITE LINKED TO SHOCKING ABDUCTION PLOT”
“DIANE JENKINS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR CONSPIRACY”

Her only move? Silence Martin.

She summoned her high-powered attorney, Helen Crawford, who had seen Diane through more than one scandal.

“You’re not directly tied to the crime scene,” Helen said, tapping a pen against her notepad. “But if Sharon or Phyllis testifies Martin acted on your orders, the jury will connect the dots.”

Diane’s lips drew into a tight line. “We need Martin to plead guilty to a lesser charge—and keep my name out of it.”

Helen’s expression darkened. “He’s already cooperating. He’s looking for a deal. Your best shot might be cutting one of your own. Negotiate immunity. Twist Sharon’s story. Say the whole thing was a PR stunt. Ridiculous? Yes. But believable in a town like this.”

Diane flinched at the absurdity—but also saw the sliver of hope. If she could get Sharon to muddy the waters, maybe she could escape indictment.

But Sharon wouldn’t lie. Not without a push. Only one person might influence her: Phyllis.

And Phyllis would never help. Not unless her own future was in jeopardy.

Martin sat alone, grinning.

He knew Diane had cut him loose. But he still held the trump card: her secrets. If he talked, she went down. And he had no plans of going down alone.

Word began to spread.

“Diane’s name came up in Martin’s hearing,” a board member whispered over martinis. “They say he’s singing like a canary.”

Diane overheard. Panic surged through her like a tidal wave. She fled the club, her silk gown swishing like a wounded animal’s cry.

Phyllis stared at Diane’s message, hands trembling.

“We must meet. Lives are at stake.”

A trap? Possibly. But if Diane held information that could save Sharon, she had no choice.

Under the glow of warm pendant lights, Diane and Phyllis sat across from each other—two rivals, now desperate co-conspirators.

Diane laid it out: a joint press conference. They’d spin the kidnapping as a PR stunt for Phyllis’s new novel.

Insane? Yes.

But in Genoa City, insanity often worked.

Phyllis thought of Sharon’s frightened voice. Jack’s fury. And then the unthinkable: Could she work with Diane?

In silence, they clasped hands.

A pact formed. Not of trust. But survival.

Jack sat alone at a corner table. His eyes clouded with sorrow. When Diane entered, she paused, summoning strength. Then she sat.

“I need to confess, Jack,” she said, voice barely steady. “I’ve done things I never imagined. I tried to control everything… and I nearly destroyed it all.”

Jack leaned forward, heartbreak flashing in his eyes. “Why? Why Phyllis? Why any of it? We had a life…”

Diane’s eyes glistened. “I was afraid. If she exposed me, it would all fall apart. I thought I could outmaneuver everyone.”

He shook his head, stunned. “Do you think anyone will forgive you?”

“I’m not asking for forgiveness,” she whispered. “I’m trying to stop it from getting worse.”

But Jack wasn’t sure it could be stopped.

Not with Phyllis convinced that Martin was part of something bigger. That Diane wasn’t the only player.

That someone else—someone silent—was pulling the strings.

And Jack feared she was right.