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At Ashley’s apartment in Paris, she’s determined to stay awake as long as it takes. Alan references Traci having gone to sleep and remarks on her support. Ashley says her sister’s love and loyalty is fierce. Alan admires her. He worries about Ashley becoming exhausted. She’s determined to see this through and can’t take the chance of falling asleep and the alters taking over. Alan argues that the weaker she is, the easier it is for them to take control. Ash worries that it could happen at any moment, and she doesn’t know when she’d get control back.

Alan says the alters can come out at any time, but now they can recognize it. She’s clearly stronger than when they began this process. Ashley doesn’t know why they appeared in the first place. Alan concedes they need to discover the trauma, but with each memory they get closer. Ashley admits she’s afraid to find out. Alan asks her again to rest, but Ashley refuses. Alan remarks that Martin’s a dangerous man and he’s worried what they’ll find out. For him to come back into his life like this… “Knowing how dangerous Martin can be, it’s not unreasonable to think he’s behind your trauma.” He apologizes for putting her in this position. Ashley wants to talk it through. “It’s just a blank. How do I remember more?” Alan says they could try hypnosis, but he seems reluctant. Ashley asks if he’s afraid they’re moving too fast. Alan warns it is not without risk. Ash feels they’ve everything to gain and nothing to lose. “Please. Let’s do this.”

Alan insists she needs rest, but agrees to hypnotize her. Hopefully, they’ll get some answers. He tells her to start with slow, deep breaths. He’ll count backwards from ten and she has to imagine going to a safe, peaceful place. Alan tells her to picture the bar where she met Martin and try to describe it to her. She says there is music playing, people are enjoying themselves. She orders a glass of wine and thinks he’d like it, so she calls him to join her. Traci appears and watches silently as Alan asks what happened when Martin joined her. Ashley recalls toasting their friendship and catching up. She talked to him about Tucker and her marriage. It felt comfortable. “I asked him if he wanted another glass of wine.”

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Ashley can’t remember what happened after that. Suddenly, she recalls Martin whispering something in her ear. Alan asks her to focus only on what Martin is saying. She remembers, “I have a new piece of art I’d like you to see. I think you’d find it fascinating.” Ashley gasps, “I remember!” Alan brings her out of the hypnosis. Ashley tells them he wanted to show her a piece of art. He paid the bill and they left. She insists they go to Alan’s townhouse. There, she’ll remember the rest. Traci frets, but Ashley insists she’ll be fine. Ashley notices Tucker called and listens to his voicemail saying he ran into Alan and he didn’t recognize him. She tells Alan, who says he never saw him. Ashley wonders, “Was it Martin?”

Ashley calls Tucker and asks where he saw Alan. Tucker tells her it was on the Rue de Marc. He looked in his eyes but seemed to have no recognition of him. He asks if she’s OK or needs help. Ashley says she’s fine and tells him he didn’t run into Alan, “You’re mistaken.” She tells him to focus on Glissade and leave her alone, and disconnects. Agitated, Ashley tells Alan and Traci that Tucker ran into Martin. Alan marvels that he’s been trying to find him for two years. Traci thinks the conversation with Tucker upset her and suggests they stop. Ashley needs to see this through. Alan says if Martin is off his meds, he’s a danger to himself and others, but she needs to look after herself. Ashley says she needs to do this… now!

Ashley, Traci, and Alan arrive in his town home and he asks if anything looks familiar or strikes a chord. Ashley identifies the painting that Martin wanted her to see. She asks Alan to hypnotize her again. Alan balks; they should try to remember naturally. Ashley recalls sitting on the sofa. Martin brought brandies and they talked some more. As she pictures them on the sofa, she hears a noise and yelps, “What was that?!” Alan doesn’t know. No one is supposed to be there. He goes to investigate.

Traci holds her head. Her nerves are frayed, and she can’t imagine how Ashley’s feeling with no sleep. Ashley’s just trying to focus. Traci tells her she’s brave and strong. “I’m just in awe.” Ashley couldn’t do this without her. They chat about Alan being so helpful and loyal. Ashley looks back at the painting and gets a chill. “Something shifted.” She has a buzzing in her head and the voices aren’t as loud and clear as they were before. They decide she must be getting stronger. Ashley looks at the painting and then the sofa. She recalls Martin saying that Tucker was a narcissist who doesn’t deserve another chance. Ashley remembers defending Tucker, and Martin, pretending to be Alan, becomes agitated and says she’s too fascinating a subject to be held back by such a man. Ashley’s offended and asks if he’s psychoanalyzing her.

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In the present, Alan returns, without the coat and vest he had on before, and says there was no sign of Martin or anything else. Ashley tells him what she remembered and he says Martin became obsessed with how he was treating his patients. His brother believed he had a better understanding of the psyche than he did. Traci can’t believe this. Alan admits he began to question how he treated his patients, and muses that maybe he should have listened to Martin more. “Martin, he lived through what I only observed through my patients.” He thinks he should have showed him a path forward instead of controlling him. He mistreated him and he suffered for it. Ashley tells Alan he’s being too hard on himself. Alan says, “We’re here for you, so, after he said you were a subject, what happened after that?” Ashley says it’s just a fog. Alan wants to try hypnosis again. Traci’s confused. He just said earlier that it could be harmful to her. Ashley says it’s alright and submits.

Under hypnosis, Ashley recalls Martin advising her to use his expertise. He wants to recreate the argument she had with Tucker, so she can respond and stand up for herself. Ashley frowns. Martin wants her to see the confrontation for what it was, because she deserves more. “Let’s change the dynamic. Recreate the fight. This time we’ll put the power in your hands.” Ashley snaps out of the hypnosis and Traci notices she’s trembling. Alan asks what happened. She says Martin wanted her to recreate the argument with Tucker, but she didn’t want to. Traci wants to stop, but Ashley says she won’t. She can’t.

Traci protests. She knows Ashley is desperate to find out the truth, but she’s exhausted. Ashley insists she’s OK. Traci keeps arguing with her. “Take some time to process everything you’ve learned. Alan, wouldn’t that be healthier?” Alan respects Traci’s point of view but they need to continue on. “I promise you, she’s in very good hands.” Traci relents.

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Alan wants Ashley to try and remember what happened next with Martin. He starts to hypnotize her again and suddenly, Ms. Abbott is in Ashley’s head warning her to stop. She doesn’t know what she’s doing and she’s too weak. She’s the only one who can face the truth. Ashley grimaces that her alter is trying to take over. Alan warns her not to let it happen. Ms. Abbott implores, “Let me help you. Let me take over. It’s the only way.” Ashley fears she can’t stop her. Alan keeps telling her to fight; only she can see this through. The alter says, “He’s lying to you. Listen to me. Let me out.” Ashley groans, “No.” Alan tells her this is good. It means she’s getting closer to the truth. They’re scared, but she’s not scared. She doesn’t need them anymore. Ashley thinks they’re gone. Alan prompts her to think hard, “What do you remember happening after that?” Ashley shakes her head in frustration. Alan asks Traci to make them a pot of strong coffee. Traci gawps, “Coffee? Now?!” She begs Ashley to stop, but she insists she has to get answers.

In his suite, Tucker thinks about his strange phone call with Ashley and wonders what’s going on. Looking at his watch, he grabs his coat and leaves.

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At Alan’s place, he warns that they can’t lose momentum. “Traci, even a loving and supportive sister can be a distraction for Ashley right now.” Her very presence could be impeding Ashley’s progress. Ashley is certain about this, so Traci steps out of the room. As Alan tries to hypnotize her, the alter wants to stop him. Alan rails about not letting them derail their progress. The alters tell her not to listen to him. Ashley yells, “I don’t need you to protect me. Please just go!” The alter goes and Ashley tells Alan she’s bought some time, but she doesn’t know how much.

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Alan declares they need to take the next step. Martin wanted her to recreate the argument with Tucker, but she didn’t want to. He feels they need to reenact that night. They move to the sofa and Alan tells her to close her eyes and take deep breaths. “Let’s go back to that night.” She remembers Martin telling her this is the only way to fix her conflict with her husband. “I’ll be Tucker. You just speak to me as you would to him.” Ashley agrees and says, “Tucker, I know we were planning on building a company together, but I can’t just back away from my family.” Martin reminds her of his rage… the way he threw the wine glass and kicked that chair. Ashley shakes her head, “But he didn’t.” Martin tells her to look beyond what she saw and see the underlying rage. Tucker wanted to punish her. Ashley pictures Tucker throwing the wine glass and the chair. Martin says, “This is where we change the narrative, Ashley.” She must show her power and then take it back. He places his hand on her shoulder and says she’s strong and beautiful. Tucker didn’t know what he had, but he does. “I can be your Tucker. A better version.” He’ll give her everything she wants and needs. As Martin goes in for a kiss, Ashley was flashing to seeing Tucker’s face.

In the present, Ashley tells Alan that she somehow blended Martin, who was aggressive, with Tucker. Alan asks, “And then what happened.” Ashley doesn’t know. It’s a complete blank. It’s a wall. She wonders if that’s when the alters came in to protect her… but they were protecting her from Tucker and not Martin. Alan smiles and says, “Well done. I knew I could do it.” Ashley asks, “Do what?” He says, “Crack the code. Solve the riddle.” He chuckles that his brother thought he had all the answers. Played God with his patients, let them think he knew best. “But I knew best. I know best, and you helped me prove it.” Ashley asks, “Prove what?” He says if she figures it out, she’ll be his favorite subject. Ashley cringes, “You’re Martin.” She gets up to run but he grabs her. She screams, but he covers her mouth.

Next on The Young and the Restless: Ashley makes a shocking discovery, while Tucker takes matters into his own hands.