The recently rekindled rivalry between Genoa City titans Victor Newman and Jack Abbott has taken an explosive new twist. After Jack’s dalliance with Victor’s wife Nikki at a hotel, the Black Knight is plotting a multi-layered attack designed to metaphorically and professionally destroy his lifelong rival.
While viewers are already hip to Victor’s plan to acquire the cosmetics company Glissade and mold it into a Jabot-crushing juggernaut, there are even more devious machinations in the works. First off, Victor is determined to install his son Adam back as CEO of Newman Media, where he can use the powerful platform to launch public relations attacks against the Abbott family’s company.
Adam has been reluctant so far, not wanting to betray his former friend Jack. But Victor has a way of getting what he wants from his offspring. Expect Adam to eventually take the reins and greenlight scathing exposés about Jack’s struggles with pill addiction and the corporate in-fighting that’s left Jabot rudderless.
As for Glissade, the sale to Victor hit a snag when owner Tucker McCall claimed a mysterious health crisis, likely just a stalling tactic. Once the Black Knight bull-dozedly acquires the company, he’ll install his ally Audra Charles as CEO…with a shocking co-CEO to truly twist the knife into Jack.
None other than Jack’s own son Kyle Abbott!
Victor has been grooming the restless younger Abbott for a power position after sniffing out his discontent playing second fiddle to his barely-qualified mother Diane as Jabot’s COO. The Mustache knows Kyle has intimate knowledge of Jabot’s operations and vulnerabilities after years rising through the ranks.
Who better to help topple the mighty Abbott empire from within than the CEO’s own flesh and blood? Picture Jack’s torment as his son leads the Glissade onslaught while Newman’s media empire rakes his battered reputation over the coals.
The ultimate checkmate may be waiting in the wings too. With Jack distracted by tanking poll numbers and his son’s stunning defection, Victor could have his lackey Michael Baldwin covertly coaching Diane on a Jabot power-play. Michael has always enabled Victor’s most unscrupulous schemes when called upon.
He’d undoubtedly advise Diane that with Jack’s escalating PR crisis, she should convince him that the company’s only hope is if she takes control as the new CEO. Michael knows all of Jabot’s legal loopholes and could map out a coup for his old friend’s wife. Betrayed from all sides, Jack’s downward spiral back into addiction seems inevitable.
Some may question whether Kyle would actually turn on his own father so ruthlessly, even for a massive career opportunity. But the younger Abbott’s history tells a different story. When Victor launched his last assault on the Abbott empire years ago, Kyle didn’t hesitate to join his subversive team as a mole.
Plus, there’s always the chance Victor puts his toadie Cole on the case to pour poison in Kyle’s ear about the benefits of regime change at dysfunctional Jabot. The Mustache has all his pieces strategically surrounding Jack on the chessboard.
By the time the dust settles, Victor’s scorched earth campaign of revenge will leave Jack’s company in ashes, his son a turncoat under Victor’s control, his wife potentially conspiring against him, and worst of all, Adam’s media empire eviscerating what’s left of his public reputation. Jack Abbott never saw this multi-pronged attack coming, but he should have after crossing the Black Knight decades ago.
For once, bygones won’t be bygones for Victor. He’s obliterating everything Jack Abbott has spent his life building, using the people closest to him as sacrificial lambs. The only justice is that such a devastating fall from grace may be exactly what the arrogant, self-destructive Abbott scion deserves.
