Beyond the Gates Spoilers: Vanessa McBride’s Carjacking Blindsides Joey Armstrong as Nicole Erupts

VANESSA MCBRIDE WAS CARJACKED, AND JOEY ARMSTRONG’S PROMISE TO KEEP HER SAFE JUST CRASHED

TL;DR: Vanessa McBride was carjacked on Tuesday’s episode, hours after she brushed off Heather. On Wednesday, Andre comes to her aid, Nicole turns on Joey, and Joey swears the person responsible will be dealt with.

A Carjacking, Hours After a Snub

The newest Beyond the Gates spoilers put the carjacking of Vanessa McBride front and center on Wednesday, September 30, and the fallout lands hardest on the man who swore he could keep her safe. Tuesday’s episode ended with Andre Richardson arriving at the hospital and telling a stunned Dr. Nicole Dupree Richardson that Vanessa had been carjacked.

On Wednesday, Andre helps Vanessa through a traumatic ordeal, and Nicole is livid with Joey Armstrong. In the preview for the week, Vanessa insists, “This wasn’t random. I was targeted.” Joey’s answer is short and cold: the person responsible will be dealt with. Nobody on screen has said who that person is, at least not yet.

Hours before the news broke, Vanessa blew off Heather Armstrong, Joey’s younger sister, right in front of him, and Heather was not pleased. That’s the same Heather our readers already suspect of clearing the board in Fairmont Crest to get Andre back. She’s also the one heard musing in that preview, “Luck does have a habit of running out.”

Is Nicole right to blame Joey for what happened to Vanessa? Write to our editor at amber@soapoperamagazine.com and tell us why.

Joey’s Protection Plan Had a Hole in It

Here’s why Nicole’s anger lands. Joey has treated his sister as a threat for weeks. On September 16, after Heather was revealed as the buyer of Uptown, he told her, “Don’t make me hurt you.” On September 21, he warned Vanessa McBride to stay away from Heather. By September 25, he had one of his men keeping an eye on her.

He’s been building a case, too. Joey kept the phone Andre brought him on September 23, and on Tuesday he sat down and watched the video from Andre. Going by the audio, it sounds as if Heather either slit someone’s throat or ordered someone to do it. Vernon Dupree had already warned Joey that if anything happens to Andre, Joey is the first man he’ll come looking for.

So Joey had the warning, the watcher and the video, and Vanessa still got carjacked. We flagged the cold war between Joey and Heather heading into this week, and it just claimed its first casualty. For the man Andre and the Duprees run to whenever Heather crosses a line, this is a humiliating miss.

Who Carjacked Vanessa McBride on Beyond the Gates?

Nobody knows yet, because the show hasn’t named a carjacker. Vanessa McBride believes she was targeted, and the timing points straight at Heather, but for now that’s a suspicion, not a reveal. Here’s the detail most fans are skipping. Friday’s official line from CBS says “Heather’s in the catbird seat while Joey plots to protect Vanessa.” That reads like a man playing defense, not a man striking back.

Heather also knows the one secret that could cost Vanessa everything. On September 3, she accused Joey of killing Dr. Doug McBride, Vanessa’s late husband, to steal his wife. Vanessa has since admitted to Randy Parker that she was in Puerto Rico with Joey the night Doug died.

Elsewhere in Fairmont Crest on Wednesday

The rest of the day is loaded too. Bill Hamilton‘s decision stuns his family, one day after Bill revealed he’s arranging to drop Hayley’s charges. Leslie Thomas ingratiates herself with his wife, Hayley Lawson, who finally lets her in.

Meanwhile, Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne and her husband, Jacob Hawthorne, give her sister Chelsea Hamilton a reality check. After Chelsea traded blows with Hayley over lunch on Tuesday, she needs one.

My Money Says Heather Isn’t Done

My gut tells me Joey’s promise is the most dangerous line of the week, because he never says who he means. If he aims it at Heather without proof, he hands his sister exactly the fight she seems to want. If he’s wrong, the real attacker is still out there, and Vanessa McBride is still a target.

If I know these writers, that catbird seat line is the tell. Heather heads into the weekend holding the upper hand, and Joey, the man everybody calls when Heather gets out of hand, is suddenly the one scrambling for a plan. Don’t be surprised if Heather lets him sweat.

Who do you think was really behind Vanessa’s carjacking? Tell us in the comments and make your case.

Every twist headed for Joey, Heather and Vanessa is waiting in everything coming up on Beyond the Gates.

Nicole Is Right, and Joey Knows It

Joey warned Vanessa, and he put a man on her. None of it stopped a carjacking, and Nicole lets him have it on Wednesday. A man who promises protection doesn’t get graded on effort.

We say the carjacking traces back to Heather, and we say Joey waits too long to prove it. Team Joey says he’ll handle it his way. Team Nicole says he already had his chance. Pick your side on our Facebook page.

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