On the Thursday, October 1, 2026, episode of \u201cBeyond the Gates,\u201d word of Bill\u2019s decision spread through town; Caroline\u00a0(Ellie Wang)\u00a0dropped a bomb on Naomi\u00a0(Arielle Prepetit)\u00a0and Hayley\u00a0(Marquita Goings), and Smitty\u00a0(Mike Manning) wouldn\u2019t be silenced.<\/p>\n
Da Art Of Storytellin\u2019<\/p>\n
Bill\u00a0(Timon Kyle Durrett), who had been discharged from the hospital since there was no more evidence of poison in his system, was escorted into his office by Dani\u00a0(Karla Mosley). Dani revealed that she had gathered Hayley\u2019s belongings at both the firm and Bill\u2019s house. Bill said that he hated how Hayley had pulled one over on him and added that he wasn\u2019t noble for dropping Hayley\u2019s attempted murder charges in exchange for her keeping quiet about him, Vernon, and Ted covering up Martin accidentally killing the hate crime perpetrator.<\/p>\n
Dani knew that Chelsea and Kat, especially, would want to know why Bill had let Hayley go free, as they didn\u2019t know what Martin had done; Bill decided he could say he was saving his reputation as a lawyer. Then, announcing he was still \u201cThe Fixer,\u201d Bill shared his plan with Dani to structure the language of his divorce papers, so Hayley would think she was getting a generous settlement, but in reality they would include legalese Bill could use against her later.<\/p>\n
Bill thanked Dani for being his ride-or-die during his latest ordeal and sensed that Andre couldn\u2019t be too happy over the support his wife was giving her ex-husband. Dani waved away the concern, saying that Andre wasn\u2019t petty like that \u2013 but privately, she thought back to having sex with Bill in the elevator during the aftermath of the tornado. \u201cDammit, Dani,\u201d she cursed herself. Meanwhile, Bill caught sight of his framed photos of Hayley and smashed them against his desk.<\/p>\n
Beat The Case<\/p>\n
Chelsea\u00a0(RhonniRose Mantilla)\u00a0ran to Madison\u00a0(Kenjah)\u00a0at Garland Memorial, insisting that Madison run more tests on Bill, since the poison had clearly distorted his thinking. Madison told a distressed Chelsea there was no medical reason to keep Bill at the hospital and wondered if Chelsea being upset had more to do with Allison than Bill. Chelsea denied the claim, saying she just wanted to protect Bill the way he had her growing up.<\/p>\n
At Orphey Gene\u2019s, Kat\u00a0(Colby Nixon)\u00a0tried to apologize to Tomas\u00a0(Alex Alegria)\u00a0for assuming the worst when he\u2019d taken on Hayley\u2019s case. Tomas didn\u2019t seem to get what Kat was saying, but Hayley interrupted them, purring that she was no longer facing charges. Kat spat that she was tired of evil bitches like Hayley and Leslie getting away with trying to kill people, but Hayley smirked that Kat would have to add Dani to that list \u2013 then taunted Tomas about Naomi likely becoming Bill\u2019s right hand at the office.<\/p>\n
With Hayley gone, Tomas fretted that Bill would take out his frustrations on his staff, which prompted Kat to say Tomas should leave if that became the case. She was certain Bill would keep Tomas in his position and expressed her belief in him; the two smiled that they\u2019d needed a common enemy like Hayley to finally get them communicating. Tomas left Kat with the arriving Chelsea, who told Kat about Bill dropping the charges against Hayley. Kat surmised that Hayley had to be blackmailing Bill and offered to team up with Chelsea to find out what Hayley had on him.<\/p>\n
Guilty Until Proven Innocent<\/p>\n
Elon\u00a0(Malachi Malik)\u00a0approached Jacob\u00a0(Jibre Hordges)\u00a0at the precinct, wanting an update on the Impaler investigation. Jacob replied that he\u2019d had his hands full with Hayley\u2019s case and couldn\u2019t understand why Bill had refused to press charges against her. Elon reminded Jacob how damning the video was, showing Smitty accepting the pouch from Max, especially since the pouch had been found in Lia\u2019s cell.<\/p>\n
When Jacob poked holes in the appearance of wrongdoing, Elon asked if he would be trying to confirm innocence so easily if Smitty wasn\u2019t family \u2014 then stressed that Jacob needed to go all in on the case and not worry about how Naomi and the others would react. Later, Jacob got the results of a toxicology report involving the pouch and decided that Smitty needed to be questioned again.<\/p>\n
Friend Or Foe<\/p>\n
Naomi sat down with Caroline at Uptown and learned that, despite being Hayley\u2019s maid of honor, Caroline had never liked or trusted Hayley. Caroline knew Bill could be a bastard, but she gushingly called him her \u201cfavorite bastard.\u201d Naomi felt Caroline was the only one who could talk some sense into Bill about not prosecuting Hayley, while Caroline reasoned that Dani had far more pull with Bill than she did.<\/p>\n
After Naomi got a text from Jacob and had to leave, Caroline found Hayley at the bar and warned her to be careful, else someone would poison her drink. Hayley said that, whatever else had gone down, she liked Caroline and would rather be friends with her than with Leslie. Caroline retorted that she\u2019d sooner \u201chave a flock of vultures peck [her] eyes out\u201d than resurrect a friendship, adding that she had only pretended to like Hayley.<\/p>\n
After Hayley called Caroline a glorified secretary whose act wasn\u2019t that good, Caroline told Hayley to watch her back \u2013 because she might take matters into her own hands to make sure Hayley paid for hurting Bill.<\/p>\n
I Can<\/p>\n
Martin\u00a0(Brandon Claybon)\u00a0met with Kendra, his assistant campaign manager, about his opponent learning that Smitty was being interrogated by the police. Martin was willing to make a public statement about Smitty\u2019s integrity and trust that his constituents would vote for him anyway, but Kendra called that a bad strategy, particularly with the midterms only a month away. Smitty was summoned to the police station. Though discouraged from accompanying him, Martin husband was adamant.<\/p>\n
Once everyone gathered at the department, Jacob explained that the pouch Max had supposedly slipped him had tested positive for a powder residue, which matched the drug Lia had died from ingesting. Both Martin and Naomi protested, but Jacob wanted Smitty to confirm he hadn\u2019t brought the pouch to Lia when he\u2019d visited her in jail. However, Smitty insisted the video was fake and that he was certain The Impaler was framing him in revenge for the articles that had exposed \u201chis\u201d organization. Elon watched the entire cross-examination intently.<\/p>\n
Beyond the Gates: Clip Of The Day<\/p>\n
Check out a clip from today\u2019s episode below.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n