Days of our Lives: Gabi, Gwen & Leo Crack the Fake-Bag Riddle

Days of Our Lives still has Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) and Gwen Rizczech (Emily O’Brien), with help from Leo Stark (Greg Rikkart) investigating the stolen Gabi Chic handbag designs. But are they looking for the right culprit at DiMera Enterprises? Gabi’s now convinced the culprit isn’t at Titan, but at DiMera, and that it is EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel). But is she right, or is she just making assumptions based on nothing?

Days of our Lives: Gabi’s Shocking Realization

Now, let’s dive in. Earlier this summer, Gabi ran into Gwen in Horton Town Square, and Gabi noticed Gwen was carrying a new Gabi Chic bag, and she was excited. But it didn’t take Gabi long to realize that Gwen was carrying a knockoff bag, not a true designer purse. Later, Leo came along, and he wanted in on the action. And so, right now, he and Gwen really want to help Gabi.

And of course, she’s desperate to get to the bottom of the design theft. Rafe Hernandez (Galen Gering) talked it through with Gabi from a law enforcement perspective, but it looks like the FBI can’t really do a lot about it right now. A lot of this stuff is happening overseas. Phony designer purses also are not really a high priority for crime fighters. Even so, Rafe promised he’d do what he could, but nothing’s come of it.

Gabi Flips on Xander & Philip on DOOL

So, we all wondered if Gabi, Gwen, and Leo would circle back around to this case after the kidnapping drama. If you recall, Gabi was floored when she learned that knockoffs of her designs have been sold worldwide on a bunch of fake sites run by counterfeiters.

And she initially accused Xander Cook (Paul Telfer) and Philip Kiriakis because she assumed Titan stole her creations because the company needed funds and also to punish Gabi for spying on them. But as Xander and Philip both pointed out, there was no proof of this. Plus, it made no sense for them to do this to Gabi when she’d pledged them a chunk of her inheritance from Stefan DiMera (Brandon Barash).

So, she was actually going to help bail out Titan. So, as Philip said, stealing from Gabi made no sense. And then later, Arianna Horton (Vico Escorcia) revealed somebody got hold of the prototype bag she took with her to work at her DiMera internship. So, she told Gabi it was missing, but Ari later found the purse in the employee break room, but it had been moved.

Everything was still intact. So, she didn’t think much about it, at least until Ari learned Gabi was dealing with counterfeits. So, now the signs point to somebody at DiMera as the possible culprit. And all somebody would have to do is grab the bag, take photos from all sides, then they could just copy the design.

Days of our Lives: Gabi Teams Up with Leo & Gwen

So, Gabi was advised to send cease and desist letters to the counterfeiters. And she did that, and it did no good. These are lawbreakers. A letter isn’t going to stop them. So now Gabi is investigating with help from Leo, and Gwen’s neck deep in it, and Leo is planning to do a big exposé on the sordid world of fake designer fashions and accessories because Chad DiMera (Connor Floyd) gave him the green light.

So, Leo’s already got a meeting set up, and he’s pushing for hard proof rather than assumptions. He wants evidence, and Gwen’s teamed up with Leo, and now her good pal Gabi is on the case. They’re all three working together because Gwen’s angry that she spent big bucks and got a fake instead of a Gabby Chic original.

But the question is, who’s behind the fake bags? Well, maybe EJ’s longtime henchwoman, Rita Lesley (Maggie Carney). She’s got direct access to the company office. She’s been involved with the DiMeras behind the scenes ever since Stefano was alive. Rita is very loyal. She takes orders. And she runs things in EJ’s absence. She has access to everything, including the areas where Ari’s unattended purse was left. So, she could have taken photos and returned without it being noticed. Rita is very loyal to EJ and all the DiMeras.

Rita Targeting Gabi on Days?

So, Rita’s motive may be to punish Gabi for doing the DiMeras’ dirty work. Just various things: the divorce, the inheritance, not taking the CEO job like Tony wanted. So Rita might have a revenge motive. She might be looking for a side profit for her retirement fund. But if it is her, there is a chance she may be doing it on orders from EJ. And it’s not about money.

Rita could be funneling Gabi’s designs to a DiMera manufacturing factory overseas to make cheap copies to sell worldwide just because EJ wants to punish her because he’s mad about the inheritance. Plus, this week’s spoilers say Rita doesn’t follow EJ’s orders exactly. So, we’ll see if this has something to do with that case or something else that she’s doing for EJ, other dirty work.

And we could see Leo finding a trail that leads back to DiMera and to somebody with influence and access like Rita, because access to Ari’s bag and manufacturing and shipping facilities makes Rita a prime suspect for who’s left holding the bag and counterfeiting the bag. Also, another possible culprit that I’ve talked about before is Kate Roberts (Lauren Koslow).

I think she’s a prime suspect. Not only does she have ties at both Kiriakis and DiMera, but Kate could definitely have accessed the designs when Gabi’s bags were shipped at Kiriakis facilities. And Kate being around wouldn’t have raised suspicions. And if you recall, she suggested Ari seek that DiMera internship. So, Kate might have pushed Ari to place her there to implicate them in the design theft while Kate was stealing the designs off the loading dock at Titan.

Days of our Lives: Kate Targets Gabi?

It would be a huge slap in Ari’s face if Kate is the design thief and was using her. However, Kate always has a way to rationalize the bad things she does on Days of our Lives. Most of the time, it’s to protect one of her kids. And this might have been about revenge on Gabi. Kate might have wanted to punish her for breaking Philip’s heart because he was crushed when he found out Gabi was spying on Titan.

And now the company is hurting because of the domino effect of the forged letter, Gabi spying, and the merger falling apart. Plus, Kate’s very well-versed in the fashion industry. So, she could have set up a counterfeiting ring. She might even be using Titan Associates, but not Titan itself, to manufacture and move the goods around and throw Gabi off the trail. Kate might have done all this without leaving any fingerprints.

DOOL: Gabi Taking Off to Monte Carlo

So, Gwen or Leo may dig into Kate’s recent contacts, her finances, and any sudden interest in overseas fashion. Gabi’s leaving for Monte Carlo soon with Philip. So, I think this is a good time for Gwen and Leo to start looking into Kate and other people while Gabi’s out of town. So, Gwen and Leo may be able to investigate while Kate’s busy moving back into the pub and dealing with Titan drama and Kiriakis family mansion drama.

Now, one last possible culprit is Javi Hernandez‘s now ex-boyfriend, Gus (Michael Ocampo). I don’t know if we’ve seen the last of this guy because, if you remember, through Javi, Gus was living in the same house with Gabi where she kept work materials. So, Gus could have accessed hers or Javi’s computers.

He could have stolen the designs directly, like stolen the actual blueprints for the bags. And that could be because Javi has access to Gabi Chic servers from when he was her assistant. And by living in the same house as Gabi, Gus could have seen the prototype bag that Ari was carrying and maybe some others that Gabi had around.

Days of our Lives: Gus the Culprit?

So, just because the person went missing around the DiMera offices doesn’t mean that the design was stolen there. You know, somebody might have just picked it up and moved it. Gus’ motives could be financial. Maybe he owes money, or maybe he’s greedy, or maybe he wanted money to buy him and Javi a house. Gus might have had more than one motive. But if Leo finds a link back to Gus, that could cause problems because Javi might think it’s a false accusation made out of jealousy. Gabi, Gwen, and Leo definitely have their work cut out for them, but I suspect they’re going to be shocked when they find out who stole the Gabi Chic Designs.