John Black, who was nearly put to death for the murder of Tony, was obviously enraged. He went to attack Tony, but was restrained by Bo and Roman, who wanted to hear Tony's explanation. Tony explained that his cousin Andre had switched places with him and that Andre had been the one that died. At the grill, Tony reunited with his sister Lexie who was thrilled to have her brother back. But Lexie's excitement was short-lived as Tony dropped a huge bombshell--Stefano was dead! A grief-stricken Lexie cried out. John, of course, did not believe that the evil Stefano could really be gone. When Stefano's ashes were delivered to the DiMera mansion, John insisted on analyzing them and Tony agreed. The ISA was not able to make a positive match on the ashes.

Upon searching the DiMera mansion, John found a mysterious object-a three-pronged blue key. Tony became furious when he realized the key was missing. Meanwhile, Tony continued experiencing fugue-like states. Tony told Shawn Brady's nephew, Colin (who had been working with Tony) about the fugue states and that they had become more frequent over the past few years. Tony also confided in Colin about the key and asked for his assistance in retrieving it from John. John later revealed to Bo that the key was made from a special metal intended for space. Many of Salem's residents received invitations to the reading of Stefano's will. Everyone was quite shaken up when the will was read. Kate was given a jar of kippers, which brought up an unknown bad memory. Celeste was left with a string of paper dolls, each containing the letter "C" and the phrase, "We must reclaim our youth." Next, Roman received a Roman gladiator, which he interpreted as meaning he will fight to his own death. Grandpa Shawn was given a toy boat, connecting his troubled childhood to his rocky future. Grandpa Shawn found a toy doll inside the boat, which caused him to stare at Colin. Hope received a knotted scarf and the advice to "keep her eyes open, even in the darkness." Marlena received a pillow, embroidered with the phrase, "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood," in French, and some stars on the back. Lexie was left with a bronze family crest, in which she later found a letter with her father's last wishes. John was given a chess board with a special message from Stefano: "Prepare for checkmate." Finally, Tony was given a miniature replica of the DiMera Mansion. Later, John noticed that the queen was missing in his set; he recalled how Stefano used to call Marlena his "Queen of the Night." Tony discovered the queen in his mini mansion.

Tony continued his attempts to get the key back from John. When Marlena held the key, she was gripped with an anxiety that made her realize they must keep the key from the DiMeras. Later, Belle introduced her mother to the Gemini Twins and Marlena had a huge reaction to seeing them. She then saw that their key was identical to the one John stole from the DiMeras! Marlena told John about the twins. After having their DNA tested, the Blacks learned that the twins were not aliens after all, but humans with genetically engineered DNA. In addition, John discovered that the key unlocked their bracelets-underneath each bracelet was a tattoo of a wing. When John put them together, they formed a Phoenix. John was convinced the twins were part of the DiMera's plan against them all! As a result he refused to let Marlena have custody of them when they were released from the hospital.

As John and Marlena continued to try to get to the bottom of Tony's secrets, Tony decided to get revenge on John by taking Marlena away from him. He was even more determined after reading in Stefano's diary that years ago the Bradys committed a crime against the DiMeras and Tony's legacy is to get revenge. Also during this time, Marlena found herself haunted by strange dreams. At the DiMera mansion, John and Marlena found photos of an island and planned to make a trip there. On the island they found a letter which contained shocking information-it claimed that John and Tony are brothers! John refused to believe it, but was forced to when DNA results proved that they were, in fact, brothers. John ordered more tests so that he could find out if Stefano was his father! As it turned out, John and Tony shared a mother-Daphne Dimera. And that's not all the Blacks have in common with Tony. It has also been revealed that Tony and Marlena are the parents of the Gemini Twins, Cassie and Rex. Needless to say this has put quite a strain on the once rock-solid marriage of John and Marlena.

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