Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
She’s Come Undone: Terrified by the looming threat of Jordan, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) absconds to a dive bar.
Nikki is sitting alone at her desk in Newman Media when the office line rings. She picks up the phone without hesitation, but she’s greeted by silence on the other end. Unnerved, Nikki takes out her cell phone and sees that she has a slew of missed calls from an unknown number — and she assumes the person blowing up her phone is Jordan. Explains Executive Producer/Head Writer Josh Griffith, “Nikki is doing her best to distract herself from her problems, so she attempts to throw herself into her work. She is doing her best to not let fear rule her life. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for her to realize there is no escaping Jordan when she starts to receive more mysterious phone calls.”
Rattled, Nikki flees her office, which makes her even more vulnerable. Reports Griffith, “After getting the harassing calls, Nikki finds herself no longer being able to fight the temptation to drink, so her first impulse is to drink rather than call Jack for help. At that time, Nikki is not worried about her personal safety or maintaining her sobriety. Nikki makes the decision to go to a dive bar off the beaten track, so she doesn’t run the risk of getting busted.”
Meanwhile, Victor summons Victoria and Nick to his office to share an update on Jordan. He informs his kids that the psycho is not among the survivors of the fire at the Oregon prison, but whether she’s dead or successfully escaped, no one knows for sure. Victor laments that as hard as he tried to keep Nikki from finding out about the fire drama, she now knows that Jordan could be out there — and that looming threat may well push his wife over the edge. “Nick and Victoria are concerned when Victor shares the news that Jordan is still missing,” notes Griffith. “They know first-hand what Jordan is capable of so they are very worried for Nikki’s safety because Jordan will stop at nothing to punish Nikki. This leads Victor to increase security for his family and have Nikki followed to protect her not only from Jordan but from herself.”
As if on cue, Victor receives a phone call from one of his security men, who reports that Nikki went to a bar. Victor immediately rushes to the address. Inside, Nikki is already sloshed and as she emerges from the bathroom, Victor enters the establishment. “Nikki didn’t know that she was followed by Victor’s security team,” Griffith says. “When she spots Victor at the bar, she is too embarrassed for him to see her drunk so she instinctively contacts Jack for help.”
To that end, Nikki ducks back into the restroom and sends an urgent text to Jack, who happens to be with Lauren at that moment, in the midst of a discussion about how they can help their friend. Jack then receives Nikki’s text and, based on the misspellings in her message, assumes that she composed it while under the influence. Meanwhile, Victor is scouring the bar for any sign of Nikki, and realizes that it’s time to take drastic action. Teases Griffith, “Victor will come up with a plan to protect Nikki and end this dangerous vendetta against his family — once and for all.”
