Full CBS New Y&R Thursday, December 25, 2025 – Power Shifts, Ultimatums, and Christmas Chaos

By the time Nick Newman reached out again, fear had lost its usefulness. For weeks it had slowed his decisions, convincing him that patience might somehow protect the people he loved. But Nick finally understood that hesitation was exactly what Matt Clark thrived on. Fear was Matt’s currency, and Nick was done paying.

When Nick contacted Matt this time, there was no negotiation left in his voice. The tone was firm, decisive, and unmistakably final. He told Matt the game had reached its end, that whatever leverage Matt believed he still held was rapidly expiring. From this point forward, every move Matt made would determine whether he walked away unharmed—or not at all.

Nick laid out his conditions without emotion. Sienna would be released immediately and unharmed. Noah would be left completely out of the conflict. And Matt would surrender control over a situation he no longer dominated. In return, Nick offered something far from mercy: containment. A narrow exit that spared further damage while allowing Matt’s past to surface without bloodshed.

For the first time, Matt hesitated. He heard something different in Nick’s voice—an unmovable certainty. Nick was no longer speaking as a frightened father. He was speaking as a Newman who had decided there would be consequences if another line was crossed.

While Nick issued his ultimatum, the shockwaves were already spreading through Genoa City. Noah, emotionally drained and unable to keep the truth buried any longer, finally sat down with his family and admitted what he had feared for days. Sienna wasn’t avoiding him. She wasn’t unreachable. She was missing.

The word landed hard. Nikki felt the dread immediately, while Victor absorbed the information in silence, his mind already calculating next steps. Noah explained how long it had been, how every unanswered message confirmed his worst fear. Nick listened, guilt pressing heavily on him. Every secret he had kept now felt like a failure that left Noah exposed and unprepared.

As urgency replaced denial, the Newman family dynamic shifted. Whatever Nick had hoped to shield them from was now unavoidable.

Elsewhere, Traci Abbott moved through a quieter but equally powerful emotional space. In an unexpected moment of reflection, she spoke openly about Diane Jenkins, acknowledging her resilience and determination to rebuild her life despite relentless judgment. Traci’s words weren’t strategic—they were sincere. She recognized the strength it took to survive a past that others refused to forget.

That same clarity surfaced in Traci’s conversation with Lily Winters. Lily spoke tenderly about Colleen, honoring her memory with warmth rather than sorrow. Traci listened with grace, admitting that while the loss never disappeared, gratitude had replaced raw grief. Love, she said, left a permanent mark no matter how brief the time.

The conversation soon turned to Lily’s present struggles. Lily admitted that even her children wouldn’t be home for Christmas and confirmed that Cain remained at the center of her emotional confusion. She described how easily they had laughed together at a recent event, how familiar it felt—and how dangerous that familiarity could be.

Traci responded with gentle wisdom. Life, she reminded Lily, wasn’t meant to be lived in constant restraint. Laughter didn’t erase responsibility, and hope didn’t equal recklessness. Sometimes, moving forward required courage even when the outcome was unclear.