Phyllis Summers has orchestrated an elaborate double-cross on The Young and the Restless, using a stolen AI weapon with secret backdoor access to target Newman Enterprises instead of Jabot Cosmetics, fueled by her decade-old grudge against Victor Newman over the horrific Marco Annicelli scheme.

The residents of Genoa City think they know what’s happening in the escalating corporate war between the Newmans and Abbotts. They think Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) is either joining Team Abbott or helping Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) destroy Jabot Cosmetics.

They’re wrong. Both sides are being played.

What we’re witnessing is the culmination of a revenge plot ten years in the making—one rooted in the most traumatic violation Phyllis has ever endured. And when the truth finally comes out? Newman Enterprises might not survive.

Is Phyllis Summers Really Helping Victor Newman Attack Jabot?

No. Phyllis Summers is absolutely NOT helping Victor Newman destroy Jabot Cosmetics, despite what The Mustache believes.

Here’s what’s actually happening. Phyllis stole a powerful AI weapon—originally developed by Tucker McCall and acquired from an increasingly unstable Cane Ashby—and approached Victor with what seemed like an irresistible alliance. She convinced him she’s motivated by hatred for Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) and his new wife Diane Jenkins, making her attack on Jabot seem plausible. Victor, blinded by his lifelong obsession with destroying the Abbott family legacy, bought the story completely.

But there’s a critical detail Victor doesn’t know about. The AI program contains a SECRET BACKDOOR—a hidden control feature that allows someone with the access codes to redirect the weapon’s target at any moment. And guess who has that access? Not Victor Newman. Phyllis Summers.

She’s been playing him from the very beginning.

What About Billy Abbott’s Offer to Join Team Abbott?

Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) genuinely believes he’s recruiting Phyllis for the Abbott family’s corporate defense. At Jack’s behest, Billy extended an olive branch to his former lover, offering her a place within the Abbott structure to fight their common enemy—Victor Newman.

The problem? Billy’s offer is transparently self-serving and rooted in spectacular naïveté. This is the same man who slept with Phyllis’s daughter Summer as an act of revenge. The same man whose affair with Phyllis destroyed her marriage to his own brother. The idea that they could suddenly unite as some happy Team Abbott alongside Jack is laughable.

Phyllis is keeping Billy on the hook, though. She’s feigning consideration of his offer while ensuring her real plan with Victor moves forward. Why? Because Billy serves as the PERFECT distraction. While everyone watches him stumble around trying to defeat The Mustache (as he always does), Phyllis is quietly positioning herself to pull off the ultimate corporate heist.

Billy’s desperation to finally beat Victor—his all-consuming need to prove he’s not the Abbott family screw-up—makes him blind to the fact that he’s being used as cover for a much bigger game.

Why Would Phyllis Target Newman Enterprises Instead of Jabot?

The answer lies in one name: Marco Annicelli.

A decade ago, Victor Newman orchestrated one of the most monstrous schemes in soap opera history. He arranged for Jack Abbott to be kidnapped and replaced by a violent Peruvian drug lord who happened to be Jack’s doppelgänger. The result? Phyllis Summers was unknowingly and repeatedly raped for months by an imposter while her real husband was held captive.

Let that sink in.

Victor’s plot didn’t just cross a line—it obliterated every moral boundary that exists. He didn’t steal from Phyllis or ruin a business deal. He was directly responsible for her prolonged sexual assault and psychological torture. And when Jack was finally rescued and refused to pursue revenge against Victor, Phyllis was left with trauma, rage, and absolutely no justice.

That grudge has been BURNING for ten years.

Now compare that to her relationship with the Abbotts. Sure, there’s bad blood—her affair with Billy, her complicated history with Jack. But nothing the Abbott family has done to her comes CLOSE to what Victor did. Her deepest, most righteous hatred is reserved for The Mustache, and this AI weapon represents her chance to finally make him pay.

There’s also a practical consideration. Phyllis’s daughter Summer works for Marchetti, a company housed within Jabot. Her son Daniel just joined her new business venture with Billy. An attack on Jabot would devastate both of her children professionally and personally. Phyllis has made selfish choices before, but burning down her kids’ careers for revenge against Jack? That doesn’t track.

No, her target has always been Victor Newman and Newman Enterprises.

How Will Phyllis Execute This Double-Cross?

The mechanics are actually quite elegant. Victor believes he controls the AI weapon and is meticulously planning his attack on Jabot Cosmetics. He’s positioning his pieces, timing his strike for maximum damage, savoring his anticipated victory over the Abbott family.

What he doesn’t know is that Phyllis will let him launch that attack. She’ll let him believe he’s finally won his forty-year war. And then, at the critical moment when the AI weapon is fully deployed and causing what Victor thinks is devastation to Jabot, Phyllis will activate that secret backdoor.

In a single command, she’ll redirect the AI’s full destructive power away from Jabot and straight at the heart of Newman Enterprises.

Imagine Victor’s face when he realizes his own weapon is destroying HIS empire instead. When he understands that the woman he thought he was manipulating has been pulling HIS strings all along. When he experiences the same powerlessness and violation he’s inflicted on so many others over the decades.

That’s not just revenge. That’s poetic justice.

What’s Next for Phyllis, Victor, and the Corporate Landscape?

If Phyllis succeeds in this double-cross, the fallout will reshape Genoa City for years to come. Victor Newman will mobilize every resource at his disposal—and that includes his children Victoria, Nick, and Adam—for total war against the woman who humiliated him. The Newman family’s unified vengeance would be devastating and unending.

The Abbotts won’t be forgiving either. When Jack and Billy discover they were used as pawns in Phyllis’s scheme, their fury will be just as intense. Phyllis will find herself isolated, facing enemies on all sides with very few allies remaining.

And the corporate landscape itself? We’re talking potential devastation to Newman Enterprises, destabilization at Jabot, and ripple effects throughout companies like Chancellor-Winters. The economic structure of Genoa City could be fundamentally reshaped.

Could Victor discover the plot before Phyllis executes it? Possibly. He didn’t build his empire by being stupid, and his arrogance has never quite managed to override his cunning completely. But right now, all signs point to The Mustache being so blinded by his obsession with destroying Jabot that he can’t see the knife aimed at his own back.

One thing’s certain—this AI gambit represents an escalation from which there’s no easy return. The deployment of this digital weapon will leave permanent scars on families, companies, and relationships throughout Genoa City. Phyllis Summers is betting everything on this one move.

And after what Victor Newman did to her with Marco Annicelli? Can anyone really blame her for wanting to watch his empire burn?