Episodes 1×1-1×26

Notable Events:

Deaths: Steven Kincaid, Carla Luciano, Dante Gonzales, Kendrick Watkins, Gideon Morrison and Rachel Morrison

Arrests: Ronan Madden, Jamal Delacroix

Marriages: Selina Delacroix and Braden Fraiser

Engagements: Zach Fraiser and Dante Gonzales, Jackson Devonshire and Danielle Fraiser

Divorces: Max Devonshire and Hunter Kincaid

Pregnancies: Danielle Fraiser and Scarlett Nichols

The year began with a party held for Steven Kincaid, his biggest one yet thrown by his wife Brenda. Only by the end of the pilot episode it was revealed that he had been murdered in the Kincaid mansion with a bullet to the head along with Carla Luciano naked inside with him.

Lowell Devonshire started off the year looking for one thing in mind to find his replacement at DGI to take over the company and adjust his estranged daughter with Tess Blsston, Bliss Devonshire into the family fold. He however faced opposition from all his children bringing Bliss into the family and his wife Jackie when the two began to grow apart. His mistress Tess arrived back in town as well taunting Jackie about their affair and she was crushed when Tess revealed it never ended. As the year progressed his health began to decline to the point he was hiding the condition from his children and he had yet to name an heir. Towards the end of the year he brought Jackie into his secret that he had Parkinson’s disease and they went in search of a cure. Bliss’s arrival in Atlas Falls was met with resistance from her stepmother and her half sister Max leading to her drawing close to Hunter Kincaid, Max’s estranged husband. As the two grew closer they began an affair leading Bliss to finally open up to both Jackie and Lowell about her true reasons to become a part of the family she wanted custody of her son back Foxworth who was in Isla Del Cruces with her abusive ex husband and the crown prince Dimitri Kavanagh.

Chauncey meanwhile was eager to please his father at every turn he could including marrying Selina Delacroix when he was instead falling hard for Greer Westwood and he began to seduce her. Selina caught onto the affair and struggling with her own reservations about marrying Chauncey and sleeping with Braden in return. She ultimately got her revenge tricking him into signing adoption papers for Maddie with her humiliated him at their wedding and instead married longtime love Braden Fraiser instead. Chauncey was furious at her and Greer encouraged him to lash out at her and then turn his targets into his younger brother trying to oust Jackson from contention at DGI he even went as far as encouraging Greer to release Dani’s medical records to break them up and pushing Jackson emotionally to relapse on cocaine. When everything fell apart at the end of the year he had everything right where he wanted Selina out at the company, his brother on the outs at DGI and Greer by his side. She however had the the ultimate advantage as she had been working with her father Pierre LeClerq to turn Chauncey against his family in order to take DGI back for Lowell sending her father to prison years prior.

Jackson returned to Atlas Falls fresh out of rehab and intent on not doing much to change his life only for a run in and a night with Dani Fraiser to change his mind. Knowing their fathers hated each other they oth acted on long time feelings for each other. The two grew close over the year starting a relationship that for once in his life he felt he could balance both drugs and stability. It worked for a while until she caught him, forcing his hand and a chance at sobriety which he took decided to see a therapist at the hospital to deal with his drug habit. The two got engaged and decided to keep the truth from their families. He was able to close a massive deal at DGI and start his own division DGI Energy with Natasha Hassan when Dani blackmailed her at their meeting they retained her oil company SandStar to produce solar panels. He eventually found out about her past and a missed pregnancy at the same time learning she was pregnant he was furious at her as she neglected to tell him about her entire past with Lex Hessington. The two hit an impasse over it and eventually reconciled only for him to be dragged into Jamal and Yasmine’s dealings with Kendrick Watkins and Ronan Madden. After Kendrick kidnapped Dani over the deal going bad and a slip in using, they discovered they were having twins and tearfully agreed that he needed to go to rehab again if they were ever going to make it as a couple.

Max on top of having to deal with Bliss’s turn to the family and her crumbling marriage to Hunter was revealed to have been having an affair with Philip Montgomery for over a year. Philip’s need for revenge and the dark secret he harbored with Scarlett Nichols quickly flamed his relationship with Max to turn into an obsession and Max pushing him away. Philip became so obsessed to the point that he showed up at DGI threatening Max with the truth of their affair. Max pushed back and broke into Philip’s condo while he wasn’t there unknown to her that he and Scarlett had been playing shadow games with each other all year. Philip pulled a gun on Max only for Hunter to arrive followed by Bliss where the two fought for the gun. Philip was shoot into a pool of blood, the police were called. Max, Bliss and Hunter decided to lie and cover up what happened and their reasons for being there. Max tried to make amends with Philip when he was out of his surgery only for Cassie to tell her off and then Forbes arrived back in town threatening Max’s life and reigniting the feud with her family.

Rory entered into the rings of the Atlas Falls underworld when he began hanging around Club XES a lot and eyeing the strippers there much to his parents chargins. Eventually he would catch the eye of a stripper named Diamond, he also met a girl named Yasmine Kohl while doing his masters at Atlas Falls University. He quickly put together that Yasmine was in fact Diamond from the club when he brought her to a charity event that his parents were throwing. From there they shared a tempestuous relationship where she was too afraid to go to the police and get out from Ronan Madden’s thumb. It also strained his relationship with Jamal Delacroix when he found out he liked Yasmine too, the two split for a brief time and in his grief he ended up sleeping with Tess Blisston. When Kendrick took matters into his own hands after Ronan’s arrest he was beaten outside the club and was horrified to learn that she and Dani had been kidnapped and his brother’s involvement in it all. Grappling with the fallout of Kendrick’s death he and Yasmine nearly reconciled only for Tess to show up and tell Yasmine about their night together he was crushed when she left.

Jamal Delacroix started off the year living a double life one as Jamal Delacroix and one as Jamal Baptiste. Jamal Delacroix was of course Tony and Ophelia’s well off son from the other side of the tracks that grew up with the Devonshire family. Jamal Baptise on the other hand was supposed to have grown up in Philly on the southside and was one of Ronan’s newest and most eager drug dealers. Jamal loved the double life that he led and moved through the ranks of Ronan’s organization with women, drugs and the men he even witnessed Ronan kill Benny Ruzzio. He got close to Ronan Madden, Kendrick Watkins, Money and Ivan running the streets and gang banging, he even developed a huge crush on Yasmine. Ophelia worried for her son enough to tell Tony and the two were horrified when they discovered a gun inside of his condo. They called his cousin Devin who agreed he would look into it, before he knew what happened his alter life and his real life collided when he was arrested and put under house arrest thanks to Devin and the police. Jamal also become interested in Rachel Morrison when he failed with Yasmine. He was petrified to testify against Ronan and Kendrick and hid drugs with Yasmine leading to Kendrick kidnapping both Yasmine and Dani.

Ronan Madden continued to run the town with his drugs and various criminal activity he had his trusted right hand man Kendirck by his side.  He encountered Brooke at the ski resort upon her arrival in town and even consoled her about her issues with her parents and her heartbreak in Europe. After fighting their feelings for one another, Ronan was shot when he found her near Steven’s grave months later and the two began a relationship. Kendrick was increasingly jealous of his growing relationship with Brooke and Ronan was under constant fear for her life. Ronan was arrested shortly after the two first made love at the now Crestwood hotel and for Steven’s murder. Ronan lied to Brooke telling her that he did murder her father for her protection while in jail leaving her heartbroken, Kendrick made a grab for power as well. Brenda was determined to keep Brooke and Ronan apart to the point she met with Kendrick and demand that he make an attempt on Ronan’s life it nearly succeeded only for Kevin Nixon to arrive as a guard under disguise the last minute. Braden and Jon realized Roan was innocent of the crime of murdering Steven and released him unknown to Kendrick. He and Brooke reunited only for it to be short lived when Kendrick went on his crime spree, Ronan took back his power blackmailing Lowell to make him a casino partner and ordering a hit on Kendrick if he was taken alive by police, after the shooting he also planted the narrative that Jon shot an innocent Kendrick to the crowd starting the rioting downtown.

Scarlett Nichols was engaged to Mason Delacroix who was hiding his sexuality from his father while being in a relationship with Simon Rutherford. Scarlett was also carrying an affair with Zach Fraiser as well who claimed to be bi-sexual and seeing Dante Gonzales. Scarlett was also being stalked and wound up pregnant by Zach threatening to tell Dante numerous times about their affair. Both Mason and Zach tried to calm her nerves and tell her that Dante wasn’t responsible for her stalking. The night of the fundraiser for the hospital she however continued to confront Dante ina. Fit of rage and pushed him down the stairs killing him. Zach found the body hours later and was devastated she denied any wrong doing and the police opened the investigation as a homicide. Mason meanwhile continue his secret life only for a mysterious recorded of him Scarlett and Simon to surface with Tony to reveal he was gay. Tony was enraged and Simon dumped him when he accused him of releasing the tape. Mason spiraled almost killing himself only to be stopped by a grieving Zach and the two began to get close as they lived their truth. At the end of the season it was revealed that Scarlett was the one that recorded and released the tape and with the help of Zerick Westwood and Forbes Montgomery she fled the country with her mother six months pregnant and a wanted fugitive.

On the police front Jon confronted long time feelings he had for Dani Fraiser to be publicly rejected when she chose Jackson instead he was heartbroken. Taking things out with his partner Devin Thompson who was secretly dating his sister. One night led him to Club XES where he and Cassie Montgomery had a spark that quickly led to a flame. They were very on and off till she pumped the brakes and Skye Morgan popped back into wltoen where he slept with her numerous times as well. His sister Miranda was then assigned to go undercover at the club to befriend Yasmine and turn her from Ronan for the DA. It started to work for a while till she showed up for work one night to the club ransacked blood on the floor, Kendrick guards out front and a missing Yasmine. Someone was also keeping an eye on Miranda and her daughter Quinn saving Miranda when someone tried to run her over done at Christmas. When all was said and done they answered the call to Kendrick kidnapping Yasmine and Dani with Jon ending it by shooting a non compliant Kendrick.

Zerick Westwood and his wife would arrive in town on the eve of Steven murder. A young and vibrant couple from Europe that Lowell had hired to help with DGI to transition a few departments to his children would prove to be his undoing. Zerivk and Greer both worked to sabotage a deal in Egypt with Natasha Hassan to play into Chauncey’s need for power in order to try a takeover. Greer seducing Chauncey to try to overthrow his father and Zerick ripping up Chauncey’s contract so Natasha never saw it thanks to his friendship with her lawyer Noah. Zerick began to have feelings for Talia Rose enough so that they finally slept together, unknown to him she was digging into his past. Lowell kept questioning him about his obsession with his family and would be brushed off. At the end of the season it was revealed that Greer was the daughter of Pierre LeClerq a man Lowell had framed for investment fraud and sent to prison. Zercik revealed himself to Talie when he felt like he could trust her that he was the son of Katie Davis and Lowell Devonshire, shocking Talia.

The murders at the beginning of the season were revealed to be Zerick who had snuck back into the country before he and Greer arrived. Killing Steven in his sleep and Carla, Steven for not arresting Lowell who he believed to have raped his mother and Carla for supplying her cocaine years ago. Gideon was also his victim as he sent a poisoned laced bottle of scotch to the police chief for helping Steven cover up his mother’s tape, he also turned up the gas in Gideon home what he didn’t count on was Rachel being there too. Both were found dead at the scene and the case was ruled a case of carbon monoxide posing instead of poisoning thanks to payment to a crooked medical examiner by Forbes Montgomery. He tossed the gun he used to kill Gideon and Carla into the lake while he and Forbes looked out at the water vowing to destroy his father for everything he had done to him. Tess nearby in the mansion coming forward once Zerick left where she vowed to fo her part to protect Katie’s son where Forbes warned her to not double cross him as he’d hate to expose a final secret while he watched the stick of DGI plummet when Zerick went public with his claims of Lowell raping his mother shocking the entire town.