Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Nate Hastings (Sean Dominic) arrived at Crimson Lights for breakfast and ran into Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle). Hastings soon realized that his former flame was on her way to Italy.

She told him that her father, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), had a plan that didn’t turn out the way he hoped – so she was on her way to Italy to convince her niece to align with the Newman family – despite objections from her brother, Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow).

Hastings wished her luck and lamented about the lack of answers he had about his missing cousin, Lily Winters (Christel Khalil). He said Winters’ disappearance was completely out of character, to the point that he was ready to contact the police.

Victoria Newman quickly reassured him that everything would be okay, promising, “It will all be over soon.” It was a simple turn of phrase, yet something about it unsettled Hastings. He quickly became suspicious and directly asked his ex if there was something she wasn’t telling him.

After dodging the question, Victoria Newman eventually suggested that Winters might have taken a vacation, but Hastings knew better and disagreed. “Something else is going on. And I don’t like where my mind goes,” he said.

Hastings then laid out his suspicions: the timing of Winters’ disappearance and Victor Newman’s potential involvement. Victoria Newman pretended to be stunned as Hastings recounted his unproductive conversation with her father.

Hastings stated that he and Devon Hamilton (Bryton James) thought that Victor Newman was lying and asked Victoria Newman again if she knew anything.

Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) then entered the coffee shop, heard the tail end of their conversation, and approached. He confirmed that Winters and her children were kidnapped, showing proof on his phone that they were being held against their will. Hastings was furious and confronted him about it, openly angry that Winters’ family had been kept in the dark.

Victoria Newman remained silent, but Ashby was confrontational, asking her if she knew anything about her father’s plan. Victoria Newman lied easily, saying she did not, but Ashby did not believe her. She continued the lie that she was only speaking optimistically, but Ashby still wasn’t buying it.

He demanded more information, badgering her. Hastings stepped in and defended Victoria Newman and demanded that Ashby stop pressuring her for details.

Hastings pulled his former lover to the side and wished her luck again, asking her out for dinner upon her return. She agreed and left to catch her flight. At the sight of this, Ashby exploded in anger, accusing Hastings of being so smitten with Victoria Newman that he couldn’t see her involvement in Winters’ kidnapping.

Hastings chose to focus instead on why Ashby hid the truth about Winters’ disappearance, stating that if he and Hamilton had known the urgency of the situation sooner, it might have helped them find Winters. Ashby defended himself, saying that he was trying to fix things as quickly as possible without interference. It haunted him that his ex-wife and children could be somewhere confused and afraid.

Ashby cursed Victor Newman’s cruelty and hypocritical nature, but Hastings said that the blame laid solely with Ashby. He agreed, stating that it’s part of the reason he’s so furious. Ashby also confided his fear that his children may hate him, but Hastings urged him to hold on to the belief that Winters and the kids would be home soon.

Hastings also stated that he hoped this would be a wake-up call. Ashby promised he would live with guilt and regret for the rest of his life over how things unfolded and declared that the only thing that mattered to him was getting Winters and their children back home.

“The Young and the Restless” airs on CBS at 12:30 p.m. EST Monday through Friday.