Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

We don’t know much about the scheme to kidnap Nikki on Young & Restless — it’s largely a mystery — but one thing that’s certain is that Claire Grace is not working alone. If our hunch is correct, the person pushing her buttons may be none other than a dastardly villain from days gone by, who not only has it in for Nikki, but for the entire Newman family.

Nikki is being held captive at a lake house and is locked in an upstairs bedroom, where she was taken after being served drugged tea by her assistant, Claire. The young woman couldn’t possibly have carried Nikki up to the room herself, so we have to assume there’s a co-conspirator behind the scenes.

Of course, Claire called someone to ask them to get everything ready before she and Nikki left for their trip. The only person that she has been speaking to since arriving in Genoa City, we’ve assumed, has been the great aunt she continually speaks of to her boss, who goes by the name of Jordan. While this person could be the one who made the tea, it’s unlikely an elderly woman helped her drag the unconscious Nikki up the stairs. No, there has to be more to the story — and there has to be someone else involved.

Clearly, Claire is reporting to someone. We have no way of knowing, at this juncture, if Great Aunt Jordan is a real person or a fictional part of Grace’s so-called backstory, but since the name Jordan doesn’t ring a bell, we’re going to assume that there’s another mastermind behind what is clearly a sophisticated plan to take down not only Nikki, but the rest of her family as well.

When Nikki finally awoke and realized she was being held captive, Claire told her through the intercom not to panic because she would be with the rest of her family soon. Chilling. But who would target not only Nikki, but the Newman family as a whole?

The person we’re thinking may be behind Claire’s kidnapping certainly fits the bill in a number of ways. This villain, although fixated on Nikki in the past, has tangled with numerous Newman family members, particulary Victor and Adam. He also has a penchant for taking advantage of young women, which would explain Claire Grace doing his bidding.

We’re thinking the person behind the kidnapping may be Ian Ward — the former leader of a cult Nikki and Paul landed in as teens. The very same villain who not only terrorized an adult Nikki on his visits to Genoa City, but who bought Mariah as a baby and raised her as his own daughter before later drugging her and marrying her!

Ward blackmailed Nikki into giving him money by sending her a photo of him with his arm around her granddaughter, Summer, and later tried to burn down Newman Towers with the family and their guests inside.

Ian left Adam, who he had crossed paths with whilst unleashing the Paragon virus, for dead in the fire, but Adam later caught up with him and returned the favor by leaving Ian for dead in a pile of rubble. Ian was saved by Patty Williams, and later wound up matching wits with Victor in prison.

Ian was last seen in a showdown at the Abbott cabin in 2016 after stealing a guard’s gun at Adam’s trial, and taking Nikki hostage. Victor showed up and held Ian at gunpoint as Dylan and Paul crashed in to take Ward back into custody.

It certainly would explain a lot if Ian has either been released or escaped from prison and resumed his villainy and his vendetta against the Newmans. Claire is definitely serving a cult-y vibe with her unhinged silences, glazed eyes, and creepy smiles.

Do you think Ian Ward could be the mastermind behind Claire’s kidnapping of Nikki? Let us know your theory in the comment section below.