Joel Deering has been arrested! Earlier this week, the soap hinted that

Joel was in serious trouble when Dii Bailey and Detective Lisa Swain discovered

he had purchased a forbidden substance intended to induce labor in Lauren.

What they didn’t know was that Joel had reluctantly received help from Betsy Swain, Lisa’s daughter, to obtain the drug. Tensions escalated when Joel physically attacked Betsy after she attempted to blackmail him.

In the episode that aired on September 20, Betsy was conflicted about coming clean to her mother. She had visited Lauren’s hospitalized son, Frankie, but fled before Lauren could identify her. Later, while talking to her friend Max, Lauren revealed that a small girl had been lurking around Frankie’s hospital bed, and Max quickly deduced it was Betsy.

When Max and Lauren confronted Betsy outside the factory, she was taken aback. They pressed her for answers, but Betsy refused to explain her presence. Just then, Carla Connor, Betsy’s supervisor, intervened, sending Max and Lauren away. Alone, Betsy broke down and confessed to Carla that she had done something terrible.

Later, Lisa visited the workplace, giving Betsy the chance to admit her role in Joel’s alarming scheme. Viewers saw Betsy reveal that Joel had coerced her into ordering the labor-inducing medication, falsely claiming it was for a vulnerable customer. With this revelation, Lisa finally connected Joel to the dangerous substances he intended to use against Lauren.

In a dramatic turn, Lisa showed up at Joel’s apartment with an arrest warrant. Although he protested, Lisa had the evidence: a tape recorded by Betsy where Joel instructed her to purchase the drugs under a fake identity. This damning evidence was enough for Lisa to take action.

Joel’s unscrupulous behavior didn’t end there, as he managed to post bail shortly after his arrest. He was led out of jail under strict conditions, leaving viewers wondering if this marks the end of his manipulative schemes.