We have to hand it to The Young and the Restless’ Cane — he’s nothing if not efficient! Once Damian was, quite literally, stabbed in the back by persons unknown, Cane wasted absolutely no time in declaring him dead. Heck, he seemed almost eager to keep Phyllis from trying to revive him! And while Cane claims that he, too, was woozy from whatever was in that bourbon, he also says that Damian’s death shocked the toxicity out of him. Which is, to be blunt, suspicious.

And all of this has us wondering if Cane really is behind what happened to Damian — but that doesn’t necessarily mean he killed him!

What if the drug that was given to Damian, slowed down his pulse enough to make him appear dead? The knife could have been just a ruse to drive the point home because Damian dropping dead while sharing a drink with Cane would just be too darn suspicious?

Cane rushed to declare Damian dead, then hurried his body off to a freezer. The freezer, of course, would likely actually kill Damian if he somehow still lived, but there was one more piece to the puzzle that we caught. Cane told Carter, “You know what to do.”

That kind of implies that there’s something more about to happen than just tossing him in the freezer. Maybe it’s switching out Damian for a fake? Maybe it’s just making the body disappear.

Call it the Mr. Boddy Effect. In the cult classic film, Clue, Mr. Boddy’s seemingly shot and killed early in the film, when Professor Plum declares him dead. Except he’s not dead, and Professor Plum knows it, wanting to take care of him later.

In this case, Cane is Professor Plum — though maybe not quite so murderous.

Credit: Paramount/Courtesy of the Everett Collection

Damian’s an obstacle in Cane’s pursuit of Lily, but he doesn’t have to actually die to remove him. And if he can convince people that he was the target, and not Damian, not only could his romantic rival be removed, but he could also win over some sympathy.

Yeah, there’s a risk in hiring Chance to investigate the murder, but it also helps Cane to look innocent and create confusion about what really happened. As Devon pointed out, it’s awfully convenient for Cane to have invited Chance along in the first place. With that said, if Damian isn’t dead, eventually, he has to pop up again, despite Cane’s best efforts to keep him hidden away!

And that would just about destroy any chance Cane has of settling back into Genoa City and Lily’s life. Sadly, the only way out for him is for Damian to really, truly be dead — at the hands of someone who really did want Cane gone!