Days of our Lives Recap July 9: Distraught Holly Denied Taking Drugs, Cat Laid Out Her Honey Trap

On the Thursday, July 9, 2026, episode of Days of our Lives, Sarah once again accused Holly of taking drugs, Cat put her plan into motion, Paulina shouted at Abe, and Lexie nearly told the truth.

Cat Plays Her Game

Rita and EJ toasted to Holly's health | Image: Peacock

Cat stopped by the Hernandez house to see Rafe, where he made it clear that he was not happy with her Andrew-approved "honeytrap" operation to ensnare EJ. In fact, he was going to get the FBI to pull the plug on the whole case. They knew what EJ was up to in the lab, and since EJ seemed to have no interest in selling the drug on the black market, their work was done.

Cat argued that she was ISA, so he could shut down the FBI side of the operation, but not hers. Cat then oddly accused Rafe of being jealous of her close relationship with EJ. Rafe denied the accusation, claiming that he just wanted to keep Cat safe. That didn't stop Rafe from acting jealous over the idea of Cat "getting into bed" with EJ. Cat assured him that she knew where to draw the line.

In the DiMera living room, EJ handed Rita a mimosa to celebrate manipulating the water sample test results to not show coriseal. Rita was concerned that EJ took such a risk, but EJ argued that he couldn't allow Holly to die. However, he didn't care if Sarah assumed Holly had relapsed and taken the coriseal herself. He even said he'd send her to a posh rehab.

Rita chastised EJ for setting up the poor girl to look like she was using again and wanting to send her away for something she didn't do. EJ was just exasperated and didn't want to think about any of this anymore. He had the Lexie fire to put out. He couldn't believe that Lexie had the gall to be angry at him for bringing her back to life. Rita made herself scarce through the tunnels when Cat arrived.

Cat quickly told EJ that she had lied when she'd told him that she had been hypnotized by Marlena. She claimed she hadn't wanted to remember painful events, but now she'd been hypnotized and remembered reading to EJ and him squeezing her hand. She had even kissed him. That prompted EJ to kiss Cat in the present and tell her she was worth waiting for.

Hard Accusations

Brady approached Sarah at the nurses' station. She was still confused about the water sample containing arsenic, but not coriseal. Brady was sure Holly had to have taken the coriseal, despite her denials. Brady knew from experience that denials meant nothing. Sarah decided that she had to talk to Holly again.

In her hospital room, Holly woke to see Tate by her side. She claimed she was feeling better, but still in disbelief that she had arsenic poisoning. Holly and Tate were joking around when Sarah walked in and asked to talk to Holly alone. She told Holly that the Horton well water didn't contain coriseal, so Holly asked how it got in her system. Sarah wanted to know the same thing.

Holly once again denied taking drugs. Sarah insisted that she just wanted to help, but Holly grew hysterical. How could nobody believe her? Every time she tried to do the right thing, something went wrong. Sarah tried to calm Holly, but the girl kicked her aunt out of her room.

Back at the nurses' station, Tate defended Holly to his father, who once again claimed he knew best. Brady even managed to convince Tate that it was a possibility. When Sarah returned, she told Tate that Holly needed her, so Tate ran to her room. Sarah relayed to Brady how angry Holly had been when she'd implied she might be using again.

They discussed things again and realized something was up. Someone purposely left that book open in Sarah's office, plus Xander said that the DiMera files on Coriseal were missing.

Tate found Holly in tears. She knew by the way Tate looked at her that he also thought she had taken drugs. Holly made Tate look her in the eye and swore on their love that she was not lying. She had not been taking drugs again. Holly was relieved that Tate believed her.

Hard News For Paulina

Paulina told Abe to go away | Image: Peacock

In her mayoral office, Paulina argued with a contractor on the phone as Abe walked in. He joked about remembering those days, but Paulina was cold. Abe still insisted that they talk. He needed to tell her that Lexie's death certificate had been revoked before she heard it from the records department. That meant that their marriage certificate would also be revoked.

Hearing that her marriage would be revoked as if it had never happened was a hard pill for Paulina to swallow. Now, Abe was free to be with the love of his life. She was clearly pained and asked Abe to go.

Lexie's Ready to Confess

Lexie almost told the truth | Image: Peacock

A dazed and devastated Theo walked into the Carver apartment and immediately asked his startled mother why she didn't tell him that "Nono" was responsible for her brain tumor. Lexie insisted that she never blamed Stefano for what had happened, but Theo did. He also now understood why Abe never wanted him involved with DiMera.

Theo was reeling, claiming he ignored every bad thing anyone had ever said about Stefano, but now he knew that the man was a monster. As Theo melted down, Lexie brought him back by reminding him of how strong he was as a child and what an accomplished grown man he was now.

Once Theo was calm, Lexie insisted that Theo not blame Stefano for what had happened to her. They couldn't change the past and she didn't want his memories to be poisoned. Theo was hurt that Abe hadn't told him the truth sooner. Lexie agreed and said that Theo deserved the truth about something else, too.

As Lexie prepared to tell Theo that she was dying again, Abe walked in. Theo didn't waste any time telling Abe that he knew Stefano had been responsible for his mother's tumor. Abe wasn't surprised that Kristen had opened her big mouth. Abe apologized for not telling Theo the truth, but Theo had loved Stefano and Abe hadn't wanted to hurt his son.

Theo begged Abe to tell him if there were any more secrets, but Abe kept quiet about conspiring with EJ to have Theo step down from the CEO position. After Theo left, Lexie told Abe that she knew he was hiding something from Theo. Abe confessed that he'd made a deal with EJ.

As for Theo, he ran into Paulina in Horton Town Square. She told Theo that she had noticed Abe wasn't wearing his wedding ring. She took hers off and told Theo to give it back to his father.

Does Rafe have a feeling for Cat? Does Cat have feelings for Rafe? Does Cat have feelings for EJ? Were Brady and Sarah wrong to accuse Holly? Sound off in the comments.