On the December 23 episode of General Hospital, some major developments took place related to Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) trial! Chase (Josh Swickard) took the stand and his testimony ultimately led to Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) suspending the detective, Portia (Brook Kerr) was forced to confess to her affair with Isaiah (Sawandi Wilson) while under oath, Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) received a game-changing tip from an anonymous source, and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) shared her worries with Michael (Rory Gibson). Get the scoop on how it all went down below.

Good Reason To Worry

Portia called Ava to meet her at her office, where she freaked out over her upcoming testimony at Willow’s trial. Ava thought Alexis might want Portia to talk about Drew’s injuries since she was the doctor who’d treated him and urged her friend to calm down when Portia began to spiral. Offering advice based on her own experience testifying in court, Ava told Portia to say as little as possible if Alexis asked her questions about Drew.

Meanwhile, as Willow’s trial picked up again at the courthouse, Brook Lynn gave Chase a pep talk ahead of his testimony, Dante and Justine wondered why the defense added Portia as a last-minute witness, Trina told Curtis she was there with Kai again because the trial was like watching a real-life crime show, and Alexis shared with Drew and Willow that her plan of action was to prove that the police had arrested the wrong person.

Alexis began the defense’s case with Chase as the first witness. He testified that he’d brought up his concerns about the PCPD’s investigation into Drew’s shooting, but when those issues weren’t addressed, he began his own investigation. Justine, Dante, and Brook Lynn were troubled when Chase added that he partly believed Willow was innocent based on the nature of the evidence against the other suspects. Upon Justine’s objection that “unnamed suspects” were not on trial, Alexis explained that the defense planned to explore third-party culprits, and the judge overruled. As Chase continued his testimony, he stated that with a lack of hard evidence against Willow and seven other potential suspects, he felt her prosecution was a miscarriage of justice. During cross-examination, Turner got Chase to admit that his private investigation didn’t uncover any evidence to exonerate Willow. Then, once Chase was dismissed, Dante ordered the detective to meet him at the station immediately.

Learn Your Lesson

While waiting for Laura to arrive, Martin glared across the Metro Court dining room at Tracy and Michael. Once Laura arrived, the siblings rehashed how she was still upset about his role in trying to swindle the mansion from Tracy. But she still loved him, she told her brother before inviting him to Christmas Eve dinner. At another table, Michael picked up the tab for his lunch with Tracy, and she joked that it was the least he could do after she perjured herself for him — something she planned to hold over his head for as long as Monica had held the house over hers. Tracy worried that Alexis might decide to call her back to the stand, and Michael revealed he wasn’t attending the trial that day because he didn’t want Alexis to use him as a pawn again, since some of the jurors were looking at him like a jilted ex out for revenge.

On her way out of the restaurant, Tracy stopped at Laura and Martin’s table, where she congratulated the mayor on winning the reelection and praised her for convincing Sonny to sell his piers… even if it was to Jenz Sidwell. As the conversation turned to Martin’s stunt with Ronnie, Laura put her brother on the spot, forcing him to apologize to Tracy. Tracy replied that if he were truly sorry, he’d stand up to his “despicable boss” and recover the family heirlooms that Drew had stolen. At his sister’s behest, Martin reluctantly agreed to try to reason with Drew, then stormed out when Tracy prodded him to do so immediately… no matter if Drew was currently in court. Once Martin left, Laura confided that she was shocked her brother could do something so spiteful, and Tracy suggested Laura wasn’t as familiar with her brother as she thought she was. But when Laura wanted to know how things got so contentious between the two of them, Tracy brushed it off, claiming she didn’t remember. “But let’s just hope that he has finally learned his lesson,” she declared with a smile.

Upset after Chase’s appearance on the witness stand, Brook Lynn found Michael at the restaurant and updated her cousin on what happened in court. Although he didn’t name Michael specifically, Brook Lynn revealed, Chase’s testimony didn’t go over well with Dante, and she worried that she’d made a mistake by trying to support her husband as he investigated Drew’s shooting on his own. Even though she agreed when Michael pointed out that Chase was sticking up for someone he believed in, Brook Lynn wondered if her principled husband had picked the wrong fight this time. Michael urged her not to let Willow and Drew destroy their happiness the way they had for him.

Forced Time Off

In the interrogation room at the PCPD, Dante and Chase got in a shouting match about his testimony, with Dante claiming that his former partner had undermined the entire department and Chase maintaining he’d only told the truth because Willow shouldn’t be on trial anyway. Dante accused Chase of not being worthy of the badge, and he retorted that the acting commissioner didn’t deserve to wear it either since Dante had used his position to steer the investigation away from his brother. When Dante swore that he’d been objective, Chase calmly countered, “I think that you screwed up Michael’s life once before and got him sent to prison. Now, consciously or not, I think this is your way of making sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

When Dante declared he was out of line, Chase apologized for bringing up Michael, but maintained that while acting as commissioner, Dante had been determined to point the finger at Willow. He argued that Dante should have paused the trial while the PCPD investigated Curtis, and Dante rebutted that the traffic footage they had of Willow was damning… and conveniently corrupted. After challenging Dante to ask him about the video, Chase declared that he didn’t tamper with the footage. Not satisfied, Dante revealed that Internal Affairs was going to question Chase about the corrupted camera footage and rogue investigation. With that, Dante suspended him!

No Turning Back

Ava accompanied Portia to the courthouse, and Curtis and Trina were surprised to see her called as the defense’s next witness. As Portia was sworn in, Drew questioned why Alexis had brought the doctor in, and the attorney proclaimed that it would help Willow’s case. Under oath, Portia had to confess that she’d used her position as G.H. co-chief-of-staff to falsify test results for Heather Webber. Although Justine objected to the relevance, Alexis soon established that Drew had found out about the test-tampering and blackmailed Portia. Once she’d established that Dr. Robinson had a motive (being blackmailed) and means (access to the Quartermaine house during meetings with Monica), Alexis asked Portia where she’d been during the time when Drew was shot.

Proclaiming she hadn’t been the one to shoot Drew, Portia tried to skirt around giving a direct answer. When the judge ordered her to answer or be in contempt of court, Portia cried to Alexis that she wasn’t going to get the answer she was looking for — and stunned the courtroom with her tearful admission that she’d been in a Metro Court hotel room with Dr. Isaiah Gannon. Humiliated, Portia tried to explain how she’d been leaning on Isaiah while her marriage fell apart and wept an apology to Trina and Curtis that she never meant for them to find out that way. Kai followed after Trina when she raced out of the courtroom, and a devastated Curtis stayed behind as Justine took over questioning Portia. Confirming Portia’s whereabouts during the time frame, Justine accepted the alibi. She offered to subpoena Dr. Gannon to corroborate the claim, but Alexis agreed it wasn’t necessary, and Portia was dismissed.

Once Alexis tried to call her next witness, Judge Sullivan adjourned until after the new year. After Justine informed the congressman that her office would be in touch regarding Portia’s accusations, Drew fumed to Alexis that he was now facing extortion charges because of her. He also accused her of ruining Portia’s life. Alexis contended that she’d been trying to cast reasonable doubt, and Willow worried whether the jury would still believe it if Alexis tried to point the finger at someone else. Fired up, Drew spat that Alexis wouldn’t get to spend time with Scout over the holidays. Willow was shocked by her husband’s declaration and gave Alexis a sympathetic look.

Anonymous Tip

Out in the corridor, Trina sobbed to Kai about how her mom betrayed her father and didn’t want to speak to Portia when her mother approached. Curtis interjected when Portia tried to apologize to her daughter and asked Kai to take Trina home. Bracing herself, Portia then turned around to face Curtis, who only wanted to know if the baby was his… or Isaiah’s. When she said she wasn’t sure, Curtis blasted her for lying yet again. “I’m really sorry about this,” Portia sobbed. “Now that, that I believe,” he sighed. “I just don’t give a damn,” he added before walking away. As Portia wailed about the way her life had imploded, Ava sat down to offer her friend a comforting hug. In Kai’s car, Trina sobbed that she was so convinced her dad had cheated on her mom that she never thought it could be the other way around, and came to the realization that the baby could be Dr. Gannon’s.

A throng of reporters was waiting for Drew and Willow to leave the courtroom and asked the congressman and his wife questions about Portia. Replying that he had no comment, Drew led a shell-shocked Willow through the crowd. Meanwhile, back inside the courtroom, Alexis was on the phone with Suzanne when a man approached her and handed her an envelope. Opening it up, she took out an unsigned, typed letter that read that Michael had been at Drew’s house the night of the shooting — and Tracy had seen him there!

Did Chase deserve to be suspended for what he’d said in court? Should Portia have come clean about the baby’s questionable paternity before she was forced to do so under oath? Who do you think sent the letter to Alexis?