Y&R Spoilers Shock Audra gives Holden bad news – Victor will be poisoned to 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 by Aristotle

The Young and the Restless — Prologue

Under the flickering neon of the Rusty Anchor, Genoa City’s secrets simmered in dim corners and whiskey-soaked booths. It was here, amid murmured confessions and old regrets, that Clare Ferrell and Holden Mercer crossed paths again.

Clare arrived on Kyle Abbott’s arm, the picture of elegance — a tailored dress, diamond studs, and a carefully composed smile.

To strangers, she was the patient girlfriend, waiting as Kyle finished a call upstairs. But beneath her polished exterior stirred a restless hunger. Her eyes darted to the doorway, her heart racing at every clang of the bar’s bell.

Across the room, Holden sat alone, untouched scotch in hand, haunted by memories of Audra Sinclair, the woman who vanished and left his world in shambles.

When Clare entered, Holden felt a familiar ache — not longing, but a reckless curiosity.

Their last encounter had been marked by a defiant martini — Holden pressing a Bond-style cocktail into Clare’s hand.

She’d never seen a Bond film but drank it anyway, savoring the burn of rebellion. That single act awakened something in her: a dangerous thrill she couldn’t forget.

Now, every glance across the bar reignited that spark. Clare pretended to text Kyle but was really drafting unsent replies to Holden’s unspoken invitation. Holden, torn between past and present, saw in Clare a temptation he hadn’t anticipated.

Kyle, sharp and calculating, noticed the tension but trusted the boundaries would hold. Still, jealousy stirred as Holden raised his glass in silent salute and Clare, moments later, mirrored the gesture — a fleeting connection beneath the weight of civility.

By midnight, Clare had slipped back to Kyle’s side, her flirtation neatly disguised. Holden left a note on a napkin: “Until soon.” Clare pocketed it, pulse pounding.

Later, lying awake beside Kyle, Clare’s thoughts returned to that martini and the untamed self it revealed. She vowed next time, she wouldn’t play the patient girlfriend. She would be the woman who chased the fire.

In Genoa City, hearts and empires alike hung in the balance — and for Clare and Holden, the real story was only beginning.