Stories: EnerNext

EnerNext

Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston)

Victor Kiriakis had given the reigns of his Titan Corporation to his grandson Brady Black in 2014. The company, bleeding money badly, was in financial straits. Victor, fearing the worst, secretly called in fellow businessman Tyler Houston, to forge a merger deal between Titan, and Tyler’s company, EnerNext. Victor’s hope was to see EnerNext’s oil sands project outside Salem come to fruition, helping save Titan in the process.

Unfortunately, many factors were at play to stop him.

First of which being the rapid downward spiral and presumed death of Brady in a drug-fuelled car crash. The scandal surrounding which further tarnishing Titan’s public image.

Sheryl Connors (Jade Harlow)

Second of which being the interference by a group of environmentalists: Sheryl Connors, Jordan Ridgeway, and Jerome Grant. Sheryl and Jordan being assumed identities, they arrive in Salem early on in order to ingratiate themselves in Salem society. However, Kate Roberts, insanely jealous of Jordan’s growing connection to Detective Rafe Hernandez, with whom Kate had been carrying on a steamy affair, quickly learns the ladies’ true identities.

Jordan and Sheryl were wanted for a bank bombing in Ottawa, Canada, and this was enough to convince the ISA to help run a secret operation to stop them before they strike in Salem.

The third encumbrance being interference from a small landowner in the countryside outside Salem: an old British expat named Percy Ruggles had consistently refused to sell his property to EnerNext, and was standing firm, loving watching and documenting the owls and wildlife in and around his property. Percy had a hand from Nick Fallon, whom Percy had rescued from drowning in the nearby river by his property, after being knocked unconscious and dumped in the river by Gabi Hernandez, Kate Roberts, and Sami Brady, after Nick’s attempt to rape Gabi.

Victor deals with the stress of running a failing business, plus trying to spin the oil sands project as a positive despite an intensely hostile media, including from within. Nicole Walker’s critical segments on the project being aired on Titan TV until the Titan board voted to sell the underperforming station to rival DiMera Enterprises.

Increasing tensions in the family, and business exacerbate Victor’s stress. Victor refuses to believe Brady is really dead after police fail to locate Brady’s body in the wreckage of the car crash, and, despite Brady’s father, John, declaring Brady dead, Victor continues to spend tens of thousands on maintaining a search party for his grandson.

Eventually, the stress causes Victor to have a heart attack at a family dinner. He remains in a coma while he recovers, leaving Justin Kiriakis to assume the role of CEO temporarily. However, Nick Fallon has other plans, contrary to the wishes of his partner-in-crime, Percy.

While claiming to be helping Percy, as well as Jordan, Sheryl, and Jerome with their plans to derail the EnerNext oil sands, Nick is secretly working with Stefano DiMera in his attempt to ruin Titan, taking over the rival corporation for a pittance and claiming the lucrative oil project for his own.

Jordan, Jerome, and Sheryl work from within Titan to launch a computer virus which would make copies of all of Titan’s corporate files (confidential and all), then corrupt the originals, effectively wiping out the entire Titan Corporation in the process. However, thanks to Nick’s thorough surveillance of the company’s offices, the plan is thwarted, and Sheryl must go into hiding.

Sheryl’s initial plan involves leaving Salem entirely, but, just before the virus was set to be launched against Titan, Sheryl and Jordan have a major falling out. Partially due to Sheryl’s disapproval of Jordan’s relationship with Rafe, which has become serious, and partly due to Sheryl’s aligning with Jerome Grant against Jordan’s wishes (Jordan and Jerome had been lovers in the past, and their affair ended badly).

Jordan believes she can remain in Salem, doing her work as a physiotherapist and avoid being implicated in Sheryl’s crimes, but Jerome and Sheryl see Jordan as a liability.

Dr. Valerie Grant (Tina Andrews)

In an attempt to retrieve Jordan before it’s too late, Jerome and Sheryl formulate a plan. Jerome spies his grandmother, Dr. Valerie Grant, interviewing a woman via online chat for a nurse’s position at University Hospital. The nurse in question, Crystal Clarke, bears a striking resemblance to Sheryl. Jerome logs video of the online interview, and sends it to Sheryl to study from the comfort of her motel room at the edge of town. Her end goal: become Nurse Crystal Clarke. Jerome hacks into Crystal’s email account and deletes her job confirmation letter that Valerie sent her. Sheryl, meanwhile, transforms herself into Crystal, dying and cutting her hair, replicating Crystal’s makeup, even wearing coloured contact lenses. 

Sheryl sets about sneaking into the hospital, and convincing Jordan, by force if neccessary, to leave the hospital with her, but when Sheryl arrives at the hospital, she's stunned to find the REAL Crystal ready to report for duty. Thinking quickly, Sheryl chloroforms Crystal, and ties her up in the backseat of her vehicle. When Crystal frees herself on the drive out of the hospital parking garage, and attacks Sheryl, Sheryl responds by bludgeoning Crystal to death, and abandoning the car, with Crystal's body barely hidden inside, in the bushes outside Salem.

As Nick is just about to expose Sheryl and Jordan, Tyler rigs a stage light to fall from above the stage, in an attempt to kill Nick. The attempt is unsuccessful, and Tyler, at Victor's request, quickly leaves town. Sheryl and Jordan are free for slightly longer, but another risk once again puts their plans in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, Nick’s surveillance of Titan HQ means he’s able to blackmail the entire Titan executive into handing the reigns of Titan over to him, and by proxy, DiMera Enterprises (though the DiMera connection is currently a secret). Nick calls a press conference, announcing his appointment as CEO, and Tyler Houston, Victor's right hand at EnerNext, as his own right hand. This infuriates Tyler, who feels he needs to take matters into his own hands.

As this happens, Stefano has secretly recruited Anjelica Deveraux to oversee the plan, and Nick's progress, while Stefano takes care of matters at his Italian compound. Anjelica wastes no time in trying to get the Kiriakises onside in Victor's absence, crashing a Kiriakis family dinner and asking for their support for her run for governor. In exchange, Anjelica promises to facilitate the EnerNext oil project, with tax breaks, and by forcing Percy out of his property. The family is reticent to accept the plan, but all is rendered moot once they discover that, through a sketchy trading of shares, Nick now not only is CEO of Titan, but also holds 51% of Titan stock.

Faced with ruin, the family reluctantly accept Nick into their home, where he agrees not to evict the family. Nick quickly moves in his fiancée, Gabi Hernandez. Gabi is not there out of love for Nick, however, but to recover information to use against Nick. She quickly finds it, finding the pictures Nick has been using to hold over Gabi, Sami, and Kate's head for his attempted murder, as well as pictures of EJ and Abigail Deveraux's affair.

Roman Brady (Josh Taylor)

Nick and Anjelica head to WXIR to appear as guests on Nicole Walker's TV show. Anjelica appears as a means to show support for Nick's business plans, as part of her campaign for governor. Nick, meanwhile, is there to reveal his plans to revive his long-forgotten Alternative Fuels project, and to reveal the identities of the Titan Hackers, Sheryl and Jordan. 


Abe Carver calls a meeting at City Hall of everyone involved in the plan to put Jordan and Sheryl away once and for all. Kate, Billie, Lucas, and Roman all convene. Abe requests that Roman provide Det. Rafe Hernandez with police protection while the others complete their plan, as he is romantically involved with Jordan. Roman heads off to meet with Rafe to discuss the plan, but, stricken with increasingly worsening symptoms of dementia, quickly forgets what he must do, and heads out of town, driving aimlessly down the country roads. 

Eventually, Roman stumbles upon the abandoned SUV Sheryl hid in the bushes outside of town. Inside, he finds Crystal's body, but, in confusion, cannot remember how to radio into Police HQ, and instead drives back to Salem, still in a confused state.

The next day, Nick travels to Police HQ, intending to complete what he set out to do the night of Nicole's TV special: expose Sheryl and Jordan. Abe and Hope meet with him, and, once they've confirmed both women as suspects, form a plan to have them arrested that night at the Penthouse Grill gala.