The Inside Story Of Jack Abbott And His Lookalike Marco
It's no secret that Victor Newman and Jack Abbott have been at odds for decades on "The Young and the Restless." So, when Victor (Eric Braeden) discovered a man in a Peruvian prison in 2015 that looked uncannily like Jack (Peter Bergman), he saw an opportunity (via Soaps). When Jack's ex-girlfriend, Kelly Andrews (Cady McClain), kidnapped him, Victor hired lookalike drug lord Marco Annicelli to secretly take over his life. After months of learning how to speak without his Spanish accent and studying video footage of Jack, Marco was able to switch places with the other man shortly after his wedding to Phyllis Summers (then Gina Tognoni).
Marco took full advantage of his new life impersonating Jack by sleeping with Phyllis, spending extravagant amounts of money on flashy clothes and cars, and worked behind the scenes with Victor to merge their two companies. When Newman Enterprises and Jabot Cosmetics became Newman-Abbott, everyone in Genoa City was shocked by the newfound truce between the two longtime rivals. However, it didn't take long for their whole scheme to go off the rails.
Fake Jack meets Fake Adam
While being held captive on the island of St. Barts, Jack Abbott managed to get a hold of a phone and tried to call his son, Kyle Abbott (then Lachlan Buchanan), for help (via Soap Opera Spy). Unfortunately, Kyle was driving around in a brand new Ferrari with Marco (whom he believed to be Jack) at the time and his surprise upon hearing his father's voice caused him to lose control of the vehicle and crash.
Marco ended up in a brief coma following the accident and Victor was prepared to kill him to tie up loose ends, but was stopped by Gabriel Bingham (Justin Hartley), an old boarding school buddy of his presumed dead son Adam Newman (via Soap Central). Eventually, Marco came to learn that Gabriel Bingham was actually Adam who had undergone plastic surgery after an explosion and took over his friend's identity, then partnering up with the real Jack to take his father down. Marco informed Victor that Gabriel was really Adam in order to gain his trust, but was secretly planning to double cross him, per Soaps.
Marco frames Victor for embezzlement
Eventually, Jack Abbott was able to escape captivity and smuggled himself onto a ship headed for Peru. However, everyone there believed him to be the dastardly drug kingpin Marco Annicelli and put a bounty on his head (via Soaps). Marco had $10 million transferred into a fake account to pay the bounty and have Jack killed. However, before he could send the money, Jack was presumed dead in an explosion, along with Marco's ex-lover, Marisa Sierras (Sofia Pernas). Marco then decided to use the $10 million in his scheme to frame Victor Newman for embezzlement and recruited Kyle Abbott, Chelsea Lawson, Billy Abbott, Ashley Abbott, and "Gabriel Bingham" to help him.
It was during a confrontation in Victor's office that Marco told him about Jack's death and revealed his plot, according to Soap Central. Victor reached into his desk for his gun so he could shoot Marco, but Marco had already swiped it. Victor pointed out that the gun wasn't loaded and Marco pulled the trigger in his face several times, nothing happening. The pair began laughing and temporarily called a truce. However, both were convinced that the other could be planning to take them out at any time.
Adam helps Marco fake Jack's death
Around this time, Adam Newman (still posing as Gabriel Bingham) became increasingly suspicious of Jack. He asked him a series of trick questions and Marco couldn't answer them and was forced to admit that he was really Marco Annicelli (via Soaps). Adam threatened to go to the police with the information, but Marco informed him that Jack was dead and he wouldn't be able to prove anything. Marco then countered by threatening to expose Adam's true identity if he didn't help him fake his own death.
Now that the real Jack was dead, Marco planned to fake his own death so he could flee and have his real life back. He also intended to have Victor "kill" him unknowingly, so he could frame the other man for murder, killing two birds with one stone. For his trouble, "Gabriel" would be given full control over Newman-Abbott (via Soap Central).
Victor was lured to a location where he acted to type, shooting Marco. "Gabriel" then stepped out as a witness and blackmailed Victor into handing over the company. However, just after Victor left the scene, the real Marco arrived. He and Adam suddenly realized that Victor had shot the real Jack, who had somehow survived the explosion and had made his way home.
Marco's ladies turn on him
Jack Abbott thankfully survived the shooting, but Marco Annicelli went to Marisa Sierras for help. She had also survived the explosion and had come to town with Jack. Marisa's loyalties were with Jack but Marco convinced her to run away with him (via Soap Central). When she realized that he was planning to kill her, Marisa caused the car they were in to crash. They drove into a lake and Marisa believed Marco had drowned when she couldn't locate his body.
In reality, Marco was alive and went home and tried to continue pretending to be Jack with his "wife" Phyllis Summers. Phyllis had finally come to realize that something was off with the way her husband was behaving and that he was not really Jack after all. She attacked Marco, briefly knocking him out, but he managed to flee yet again. Marco went into hiding with the help of his accomplice Detective Mark Harding (Chris McKenna), per Soaps.
Detective Harding admits to murder
Detective Harding had gotten caught up with Marco months earlier when a simple hacking job turned into a double murder (via Soaps). Austin Travers (Matthew Atkinson) had been filming a documentary when he inadvertently filmed both Marco and the real Jack in the park at the same time. Marco then hired Detective Harding to delete the footage. The officer knocked Austin out during a party but the young man awoke and caught him on his computer so Harding killed him.
Later, Courtney Sloane (Kelli Goss) saw footage of Marco (whom she believed to be Jack) attacking Abby Newman for investigating Austin's death. Before she was able to share the information with anyone, she was also killed by Mark Harding.
Later, Tobias Gray (Jeffrey Christopher Todd), a former Jabot spy for Victor, was in a severe car accident and died from his injuries at the hospital. Marco took the opportunity to frame the man for Austin and Courtney's murders so that police would have no reason to further investigate. Detective Harding eventually revealed that he was also responsible for Tobias' death (via Soap Central).
Harding was overcome with guilt over what he had done and refused to help Marco when he was asked to kill Jack. He returned all the money Marco had paid him and then left.
Jack finally takes his life back
Jack Abbott was determined to find Marco Annicelli and make him pay for everything that he had done. He teamed up with Marisa Sierras to lure Marco to a remote location, which she accomplished by seducing him. Once they had Marco held captive, Jack was able to confront the other man face to face for the first time, per Soap Opera Spy. Marco taunted Jack by telling him intimate details about his wife and claiming that Jack's children had liked him better. Jack was tempted to murder Marco, but couldn't go through with it.
Jack then went to confront Victor about his part in the whole scheme and asked him to kill Marco as penance. Victor refused to "resort to violence," but unfortunately Phyllis Summers had overheard their conversation and knew where Marco was being kept (via Soap Central). Distraught over the violation she had endured at his hands, Phyllis went to the cabin and was also prepared to kill Marco. However, Jack and Victor arrived and were able to stop her.
Victor was able to convince everyone that they were better off sending Marco back to the Peruvian prison where he'd found him, rather than turning him into the police (via Soaps). None of them could risk having their untoward actions revealed to law enforcement. Victor then had his men cut off Marco's ear so that they would be able to tell him and Jack apart if he ever tried to return. Months later, one of Marco's loyal men came to Genoa City to get revenge but Victor ended his vendetta before it even got started — by having Marco killed in prison.