Y&R 12-26-2025 || The Young And The Restless Full Episode FRIDAY, DEC 26 CBS Y&R Spoilers
As the holidays settled over Genoa City, Michael Baldwin found himself weighed down by an unease he couldn’t ignore. Outwardly, he remained Victor Newman’s sharp, dependable legal shield, always ready to anticipate shifts in power. Yet inside, the glow of the season only made his inner conflict more pronounced. Michael was caught between years of loyalty to Victor and a deeper commitment to justice he had once promised himself he would never abandon.
That tension intensified when disturbing truths emerged about a stolen artificial intelligence system being weaponized against Jabot. What initially looked like ruthless corporate strategy began to feel like something far more dangerous. Michael realized he wasn’t just defending a client anymore—he might be enabling a scheme that threatened the moral fabric of the entire city. The temptation before him wasn’t wealth or influence, but the seductive ease of silence.
Remaining loyal to Victor would have kept Michael safe, insulated by Newman power. But the cost of that silence grew unbearable. The AI wasn’t innovation—it was theft dressed up as brilliance, used to justify dominance and erase ethical boundaries. Victor’s expectation that everyone around him would accept this as inevitable made Michael question not just Victor’s actions, but his own complicity.
The only place Michael allowed his doubt to surface was with Lauren. She didn’t need explanations; she sensed the change in him immediately. She saw his fear—not just of Victor, but of becoming someone who defended the wrong things simply because it was easier. Lauren understood how cruel this choice was. Loyalty to one man now seemed to require betraying the very principles Michael lived by.
As Michael wrestled with that truth, Diane Jenkins entered the picture with impeccable timing. She didn’t demand action outright. Instead, she reminded him of the man he once aspired to be. Diane laid out the consequences clearly: if the stolen AI continued to be used, the damage would spread far beyond corporate rivalry, corroding trust in the law itself. Her argument was compelling—and that made Michael suspicious. He knew Diane had her own motives, and he hated the idea of being used as a pawn in the Abbotts’ war against Victor.
Still, facts were facts. Michael could no longer hide behind uncertainty. Alone in his office, reviewing documents he couldn’t unsee, he realized his greatest fear wasn’t losing Victor’s favor—it was losing his self-respect. Turning against Victor would ignite a war with devastating personal consequences, potentially endangering Lauren and the life they had built. Yet doing nothing felt even worse.
Lauren never pushed him. Instead, she reflected his struggle back to him, forcing him to confront what he was truly protecting. Slowly, Michael understood that staying silent wouldn’t guarantee safety. It would only guarantee regret. When his excuses finally collapsed, the decision came quietly but decisively. He chose justice over loyalty—not out of hatred for Victor, but out of fear of what Victor had become.
Michael began working with Diane in secret, carefully and methodically. This wasn’t dramatic espionage—it was constant tension, meticulous evidence-gathering, and an awareness that a weak strike would destroy him. What he uncovered confirmed the worst: Victor had indeed used stolen AI to launch a calculated attack on Jabot. When the truth eventually leaked beyond closed doors, it exploded into a public scandal.