Nina Webster grew up poor in Detroit, raised by her mother Flo, a former prostitute who never knew who Nina's father was, just that he had a certain scar on his neck. As a teenager, Nina discovered she was pregnant by a boy named Jimmy who was incarcerated in juvenile hall. Nina ran away from home and was found on a park bench in Genoa City by Cricket Blair. They became best friends. Nina moved into a home for unwed mothers run by Rose DeVille, who, unbeknownst to Nina, headed a black-market baby ring. Just before her son was born, Nina had a change of heart about the adoption. So Rose abandoned Nina on the delivery table, and kidnapped her new son. They did manage to track down Rose, and saw a couple leave with a newborn baby just before they were kidnapped by a man in a van. They later escaped, but by then Rose had disappeared. Cricket, Nina and Danny were unsuccessful in locating Rose or Nina's baby. Even though Paul Williams took on the case several years later, there were no leads to follow.

Three years later, Nina had another son by Phillip Chancellor III whom they named Phillip Chancellor IV, who grew up to be called Chance.

In 2010, a small party was held at the Chancellor estate for Chance and Chloe to announce their engagement. Police detective Chance's new partner, Ronan Malloy, arrived at the party and became friendly with Chloe who was very suspicious of him. Chance and Assistant District Attorney Heather Stevens were working on a drug ring case that appeared to involve dirty cops on the force. Chance had gotten too close to the truth and was set up for drug possession, and he and Chloe had been shot at a few times. Heather had also been the victim of attempted murder when a bomb exploded her car, but she escaped with Chance's help. So Chance was assigned to be Heather's bodyguard. Chloe was jealous and proven right, when after a disappointing turn in their case, Heather and Chance commiserated and ended up making love. Afterward Heather called Pomerantz about her suspicion that Ronan was a dirty cop, and later they found the bug that Ronan had planted in their apartment. Chance tried to arrest Ronan for illegal surveillance, but their boss Sid Meeks intervened and took Chance off the case and replaced him with Ronan as Heather's bodyguard. Meeks was seen talking with D.A. Owen Pomerantz, and they appeared to be the leaders of the drug ring. Later Chance was again arrested for drug possession when he tried to get fellow-officers to turn on Ronan. Ronan admitted to Heather that he planted the drugs to get Chance out of the picture for his own protection, then Ronan got her fired.

Ronan, who was actually working undercover for the Justice Department with Christine Blair. Chris told Ronan that her old best friend Nina and ex-husband Paul were searching for Nina's first son who was stolen at birth. Chris was unable to disclose Ronan's identity to anyone or jeopardize the case, and Chris was afraid that they might discover that Ronan was that son. Chloe figured out that he was Nina's son by his birth date, and she confronted Ronan with his real name, Aiden Lansing. Ronan admitted he was working undercover and shared with Chloe that he was raised by two parents, the Lansings, who sacrificed everything for him. Chloe hoped to get Ronan to warm up to Nina and his half-brother, Chance, after the case was closed. But Ronan was reluctant, saying that working undercover, he enjoyed getting into another persona which appealed to the part of him that felt like something was missing, but there was just too much risk to ever have a personal life. Chloe and Ronan eventually had sex together, but afterward Ronan said it could never happen again.

Meanwhile, Paul tracked down Pete Bender to the prison hospital in Waupun. Pete had been the man who drove the van and kidnapped Nina and Chris when they were teenagers. Bender gave Paul the name of the family who bought Nina's baby, and Paul gave the information to an ecstatic Nina. Paul told Nina that her son had been named Aiden Lansing, he grew up in South Lakeland, went to Lakeside High, was an honor student, senior class vice president, and a football star. Aiden went to college in California, and his parents, the Lansings, were dead.

Ronan convinced Sid Meeks he was on their side which got him a meeting with the ring leader, who turned out to be D.A. Owen Pomerantz. Pomerantz told Ronan they would not trust him unless he killed Chance, and Ronan agreed to do it. Meanwhile Chance confronted Chloe about trusting Ronan enough to sleep with him, so Chloe had to tell him that he and Ronan were half-brothers. At the same moment, Paul and Nina got their first look at an aged sketch of how her son would look grown up which was made from a newspaper photo of Aiden and his grade school football team.

Ronan told Pomerantz that he had set up a meeting with Chance in order to kill him. Later Chance confronted Ronan about their being brothers, and viewers did not see them make plans to trap Pomerantz and Meeks. Just in case things did not go as planned, Chance made sure to spend quality time with his loved ones. Chloe realized what he was doing and begged Chance not to go through with the meeting. Chance left to make amends with Heather. Heather admitted that she loved him, and Chance refused her offer to call her father, Paul, to back him up.

Ronan, armed with the untraceable gun Meeks and Pomerantz had given him, met them with their suitcases of drugs at a warehouse. They checked Ronan for a wire and warned him that if he didn't kill Chance, they would kill both Chance and Ronan. Chance arrived at the warehouse and drew his gun on Meeks, Pomerantz and another dirty cop, telling him they were headed to Internal Affairs.

Back at the Chancellor mansion, Nina, Chloe and Heather were gathered with Paul to trace Chance's location by his cell phone's GPS. Nina expressed her distrust of Ronan, so Paul decided it was time to tell her the truth; that Ronan was an FBI agent working undercover in Genoa City, and that Ronan would be there to protect Chance. Heather added that they had not told Nina before because they'd been sworn to secrecy. Chloe then exposed to everyone that Ronan was Chance's half-brother, and Nina's stolen son. Nina was stunned as Paul received word of Chance's location, and they all left to find him.

At the warehouse, Ronan appeared behind Chance, his gun pointed at his brother, and Paul and Nina burst in just as Ronan shot Chance in the chest. Medics arrived and pronounced Chance dead. Heather and Chloe sobbed while a grief-stricken Nina attacked Ronan for killing his own brother. Meeks and Pomerantz directed the police to arrest Ronan for Chance's murder. As Chance was being wheeled out, Nina realized that he had been saying goodbye to everyone all that day. Back at the mansion, Nina ran upstairs in tears and Paul was left to break the news to Chance's father, Phillip; his grandmother, Jill; Kay; and Murphy. Phillip comforted Nina as she realized that Chris must have known that Ronan was her son all along. When a stunned Chris arrived at Nina's door, Nina slammed the door in her face. Chris tried to justify her actions to Paul, but he rebuffed her as well. Later a uniformed Army officer arrived at the door to help the family make arrangements. He showed Nina his prosthetic leg, and credited Chance with saving his life in Afghanistan.

At the police station, Heather confronted Ronan who claimed he had shot Chance in self-defense. Then Heather demanded that Pomerantz rehire her so she could prosecute Ronan since it was due to Ronan's claims that she had been fired.

Katherine's son, Brock, returned to Genoa City to officiate at Chance's funeral. As the service was ending, suddenly Nina cried out, "How dare you!" as Christine arrived with Ronan. Ronan showed his FBI credentials and arrested Pomerantz, Meeks, and their cohorts, explaining that Chance was the one wearing the wire, The FBI arrived and took Pomerantz and Meeks away. The funeral turned into a screaming match with Nina calling Chris and Ronan disrespectful as she tried to send them away.

Meanwhile back at the Chancellor Estate, the stress got to Kay, she fainted, and was taken to the hospital, but after a few tests she was declared okay, and they let her return home. After the Attorney General heard Pomerantz on tape giving Ronan orders to "End this, kill him now," he began an investigation of cases in which Pomerantz was involved and made Heather Interim District Attorney until the next election.

Christine arranged for Phillip and Nina to be taken by an FBI man to an out of the way location where they met her and Ronan. Then Chance emerged from the shadows, very much alive. Nina and Phillip hugged him while Chris and Chance disclosed that it was all a setup, and that Chance would be going into the witness protection program, very possibly to never be seen or heard from again. But this was the only way to protect him and keep him alive, and Nina and Phillip had to keep the secret, and no one else could ever know the truth.

Nina and Ronan exchanged some heartfelt words as Ronan told her that he had found out she was his mother back when his FBI background check disclosed his illegal adoption as a black market baby, and he had read her book and knew of the ordeal Nina went through ever since. Sadly, Ronan told Nina that he had to leave with Chance and would be going back undercover, so would be unable to see her, but he promised to keep in touch by phone. Phillip told Chance he was very proud of his son, and hugged him goodbye. Chance and Nina parted, agreeing to keep in touch the way they had when he was deployed, to look at the moon at 9:00 PM each night, and know that the other was safe and missing them. Ronan and Chance drove away, and Nina, Phillip, and Christine returned to the Chancellor mansion, and did not say a word about what had happened. But later, thinking that Katherine's health was endangered because of it, Christine told Katherine the truth.

Ronan later returned to Genoa City, assigned to help the police department uncover its corruption. Ronan visited Nina at the Chancellor estate and began to get to know each other. Nina gave Ronan the copy of her book she had found among Chance's things which contained notes that showed that Chance had been actively searching for Ronan for a long time. Chloe walked in on their goodbye embrace, she refused to forgive Ronan for killing Chance, and was unable to understand how Nina could forgive him either.

Heather noticed how much trouble Ronan had grasping objects, that he took medication, and nearly fainted a few times, but Ronan refused to admit that anything was wrong with him. Nina invited Ronan to spend Thanksgiving with her and Paul at the Chancellor mansion, but he claimed he had to work. So Heather coerced Ronan into attending by threatening to expose his health problem to Nina. Days later, Ronan blacked out and Heather took him to the hospital where the diagnosis he'd gotten in Boston of hereditary amyloidosis was confirmed; the same disease his father had died of at about the same age. Heather began to care more and more for Ronan, showing up at his dingy hotel room with food, encouraging him to eat, and to get close to Nina and fight his disease. They became lovers, as Ronan found out that his only hope to live would be a liver transplant. Heather convinced Ronan to accompany her to the Chancellor estate to spend Christmas with his mother Nina, and Nina, who was missing Chance, was overjoyed to see her other son.

Ronan refused to tell his mother of his condition, so Heather told Nina. Nina went to Ronan and assured him that they would fight this together. Because Heather was subpoenaed to be a witness at the former D.A.'s trial, she and Paul listened to a copy of the tape made the night that Chance was killed. Paul recognized the gunshots as blanks, and further investigation revealed that the paramedics who took Chance's body away were fakes. So Heather went to Ronan with their theory that Chance was still alive, which caused Ronan to admit that he was in witness protection. When Christine found out that Heather knew, she fired Ronan for mishandling the case. After Nina was tested, but was not a match to donate part of her liver to help Ronan, she convinced Chris to tell Chance. Paul was telling Nina that he was not a match either, when Christine and Heather arrived, so Nina told Paul that Chance was still alive. Christine said that Chance was being tested, and if he was a match the donation would happen after Chance testified at the former D.A.'s trial. Ronan tried to leave town, but Nina caught him at the bus station and talked him into staying and fighting this together with her, Heather, and Paul.

Ronan and Heather went ice skating with Paul and Nina. Ronan told them about his adoptive mother, an amateur figure skater who taught classes, and that he played hockey so he had learned a few tricks like a back-checking Salchow from her. Then Ronan passed out, and was taken to Genoa City Memorial, where he was told that he needed the liver transplant soon or he would die. Christine showed up to announce that Chance was a match, and that he was in town to testify. Meanwhile, Jill, who was mourning the death of her "son" Cane, was taken to her room to rest by Nina, and there stood her bearded and very much alive grandson, Chance. Chance said he was there to help Jill get over Cane, and to help Ronan. Jill was miffed that everyone seemed to know that Chance had never died but her, but was just relived to have him back. Heather was thrilled to see Chance again, but made it clear that her love was with Ronan.

Nate Hastings, a Rheumatology specialist practicing in Boston, returned to Genoa City to perform the partial liver transplant on Ronan, using part of Chance's liver. In the waiting room were Jill, Paul, Heather, Nina, Phillip who had arrived from his home in Australia, Kay with Murphy who had just been told about Chance, and Chloe, who was told when she arrived wondering why everyone was there. Chance came through the surgery fine, but as soon as Ronan's surgery was finished, Ronan was taken away by an unmarked helicopter under orders from the FBI. Nate was shocked and very concerned for his patient, saying it was very dangerous for Ronan in his condition. Chris knew nothing about the transfer, and her superiors were not answering their phones. Chance was released from the hospital and was taken back to the Chancellor Estate to recuperate. After Chris got confirmation that Ronan had ordered his own transfer, only Nina still had faith in Ronan.

In August 2011, Nina returned from Los Angeles announcing that Chance was missing. Although she had been getting regular emails, she suddenly stopped hearing from him, and had alerted Phillip in Australia. That same day, Paul was shocked when Ronan showed up as an investigator at the crime scene where Diane Jenkins had been murdered. Paul asked for an explanation of why Ronan had disappeared and where he had been, but Ronan said he had been rehired by the Genoa City Police, and that was all Paul needed to know. Nina was stunned when she ran into Ronan at the police station while looking for Paul. Then Ronan hurt her feelings when he refused to give her any explanation for why he had disappeared or hadn't told her that he was back. Nina called him cold-hearted and told him that he was dead to her, and no longer her son. Nina lamented that her missing son was on a classified mission, and the other wanted nothing to do with her, but was consoled by Paul. Later, Ronan was convinced that there was a leak in the police department, as these clues and the murder scene photos had gotten out to the public. Ronan called in Paul for help, saying that he was the only person he knew that he could trust. Heather tried to get Ronan to tell them why he had disappeared and was shutting everyone out, but Ronan refused to talk about it. And although Chloe enticed Ronan into bed, he would only admit that his disappearance had something to do with the FBI.

The Diane Jenkins autopsy results were that she had been hit over the head ten times with a blunt object, an impression of a Harvard ring was found on Diane's arm, and a small key was found in Diane's mouth.

One by one, the suspects who had received Diane's text were questioned by Ronan. Adam said nothing, but recalled meeting Diane at the stream, and how they had set up the scene to frame Victor, emptying the contents of Diane's purse, creating drag marks, putting her blood on a rock, and placing Victor's stolen watch under it. Diane had told Adam she didn't trust him and had taken precautions; that Gingerman, the man who photographed the ambulance leaving the ranch, would be naming Adam as his source for the "Victor stroke story" if she did not make it safely to Switzerland. Ronan showed Adam Diane's exoneration letter which they had found with Diane's purse. Adam gave an alibi as being at the Athletic Club bar, and tipped them to suspect Jack, as he left. When questioned, Jack claimed he had never gone to the park, but recalled how he had met Diane on the footbridge and confronted her about Kyle's whereabouts, accused her of not changing at bit, and using their son. Jack tipped Ronan to suspect Victor.

Victor told Ronan he did not respond to Diane's text, but recalled to himself how they had met at the stream, and Diane had convinced him that Adam was setting him up for her murder by showing him that Adam had planted Victor's watch under the blood-covered rock. Diane narrating "from the grave," told how she asked Victor to help her, and when he refused, she attacked him. And how Victoria watched from the shadows as Victor raised the rock as if to strike Diane with it. Later Victor ran into Adam at the Athletic Club bar and presented Adam with the watch. Victor told Adam that he was going to use it to prove that Adam murdered Diane, and that try as he might, Adam would never outsmart him. Later Victor recalled seeing Diane floating in the stream. Diane, narrating "from the grave", admitted that she didn't even know who killed her.

Abby recalled meeting Diane at the park where Diane taunted her with the key to a safe containing Abby's confession video. Diane, "narrating from the grave" told how they fought over it. Eddie the Athletic Club bartender told police that Abby got drunk that night and he cut her off, but he did not recall the exact time. Abby left and blacked out afterward. Adam offered that they could give each other an alibi since he was also at the bar that night with a woman he picked up, but Abby declined.

Tucker recalled confronting Diane about Abby's video and Diane's exposing their one-night-stand to Ashley. Tucker grabbed her by the neck and said he would kill her. But in his weakened condition, Diane was able to shove him to the ground and walk away. Tucker later came up with a rash which he probably got there since the area was full of poison sumac.

Nick recalled meeting Diane, and her threatening him with bringing the Newman family to their knees. They struggled, and his phone fell to the ground calling Ashley and recording Nick threatening to kill Diane on her voicemail.

Ashley recalled meeting Diane, and how Diane taunted her about having sex with Tucker. Diane told her she was the worst mother ever for not believing her own daughter about Tucker's infidelity. Ashley knocked Diane to the ground, and lost her cell phone, saying, "I'm not finished with you", as Ashley followed her into the bushes. The next night Ashley went back to the park looking for her phone, and was surprised by Nick. They shared their experiences with Diane the night of her death, but did not find the phone which could get them both in a lot of trouble. Afterward, Nick began receiving calls from a blocked number playing back the recording of his threatening Diane. Nick informed Ashley that someone had found her phone and knew that the two of them had met Diane the night she was killed.

Phyllis had met Diane, who threatened to post online for their kids to see, the photo of Nick and Phyllis having sex on the office desk. They slapped each other, Phyllis picked up something from the dirt, and one of Phyllis's acrylic nails broke off. During questioning, Ronan noticed that Phyllis had recently had her nails done, and later he accused her of being the owner of the nail found at the crime scene. Deacon upon seeing Phyllis, told her, "I saw what you did."

Since Adam's Harvard ring did not match the imprint on Diane's arm, Ronan got a search warrant to check out Jack's. But after Kyle overheard Ronan, Kyle stole Jack's ring so that Jack would not be implicated by it. Ronan later let Adam know that they had evidence that the gouge in Adam's ring which had disqualified it from matching the mark on Diane's arm had been made since the murder.

Ronan questioned Victor about the guardianship papers which could have been a motive if he felt that Diane had double-crossed him by sending Kyle to Switzerland. Victor responded by giving Ronan his watch asserting that Adam had stolen it to frame him. Since Adam was the prime suspect, Ronan said he would be happy to check it for Adam's prints.

Following Diane's funeral, Ronan had Kyle removed and announced that he knew he'd been lied to by most of them, and that there was physical evidence that all of them were at the crime scene that night. That since they obviously didn't conspire to kill Diane, each must be hiding something else that is only making them look guilty, so he suggested they correct their lies.

More clues turned up during the murder investigation:

Victoria, Phyllis, and Deacon were seen by police surveillance at the crime scene the day after the crime.

Abby told Ashley and the police of her suspicion that Tucker had killed Diane, and that he had a rash from poison sumac.

The fish and game department discovered their surveillance camera was stolen from the park. Viewers saw someone watching its video from the night of the crime on a laptop.

Abby recalled washing mud off her hands.

Pillows with sayings embroidered on them turned up in Diane's suite that Kyle said he'd never seen before.

There was a leak in the police department, as these clues and the murder scene photos had gotten out to the public. Ronan called in Paul for help, saying that he was the only person he knew that he could trust.

Cell phone GPS records showed that Nick called Ashley the night of the murder from the park.

Footprints at the scene matched a pair of shoes that Victor had recently bought. Although a search warrant turned up nothing at the ranch, Ronan showed Victor a photo of Victor wearing them hours before the murder.

Diane's cell records showed that all the suspects were sent text messages to meet her in the park

Adam transferred a lot of money to Diane's Swiss bank account.

Police were dragging the creek, hoping to find more clues.

The key found in Diane's mouth unlocked an abandoned lockbox in the athletic club safe which had been Diane's. It contained her diary, and on July twenty-fifth, there was an entry saying that if anything happened to her it would be done by Victor or Adam, and five pages were missing from the days just before her death.

Ronan sent Phyllis a blackmail note so she and Nick met him at a warehouse causing Phyllis and Nick to admit their secrets of meeting with Diane the night she died. Ronan took them in for questioning, but later let them go. Phyllis came on to Ronan, who seemed to be interested.

Victor's shoes were found at a Goodwill store outside of Racine, and a donation receipt was found in his closet. Ronan brought Victor in for questioning, but Victor claimed he had been set up by Adam. Leaving Adam and Victor alone in his bugged office, after each accused the other of the murder, Ronan overheard Adam admit that he had talked to Diane at footbridge but she had not yet spoken to Victor, so Victor had to have talked to Diane later on the night she died about Adam setting him up. Adam left the police station and spoke to an unseen person at a warehouse, and accused them of writing Diane's "bogus" diary.

Ronan began studying the pillows found in Diane's room, deducing that each was connected to a person. "Its Good to Be King" was Victor, "Yes I am evil" was Adam, "Girls Just Want to Have Funds" was Abby. On a hunch, Ronan tore Abby's open and found a memory stick inside which contained Abby's video confession. Ronan confronted Abby with it as motive to kill Diane, but let Abby, Phyllis, and Nick go and had them followed. Abby was later arrested for the attempted murder of Tucker, but Tucker had the charges dropped.

One evening, a text message was sent from Ronan's missing cell phone to all the Diane Jenkins murder suspects except Adam, telling them to meet him at a warehouse. The suspects gathered and the surveillance tape of everyone's encounter with Diane in the park began to play, revealing everyone's secrets from that fateful night. They hid the tape before Ronan arrived. Adam arrived at a pumpkin patch and surmised that Patty Williams had summoned him. Meanwhile, Genevieve's housekeeper, Myrna Murdock, who had been badly burned when Genevieve's house exploded, lay in the hospital covered in bandages except for a cat tattoo; the same tattoo as Patty Williams. Patty had apparently been posing as Myrna, had been tormenting the suspects with information she had gleaned from the stolen park surveillance tapes, and the explosion at the mansion had kept her from joining them at the warehouse.

Chance reappeared in Genoa City several months after he rejoined the military, saying that he had been reassigned by the state department to work with Ronan on the Colin Atkinson case due to Colin's drug trade in the Middle East. After being reunited with Nina, Chance admitted that although he had been working with Ronan, Ronan still had not explained why he had disappeared without a word after the liver transplant.

After catching Nick and Avery in an embrace, a jealous Phyllis called Ronan, and they had sex on her desk. After Phyllis realized that Ronan had also gotten information from her laptop, she paid him a visit at the police station. Phyllis spotted a memory chip in the evidence dredged from the creek for the Diane Jenkins case on Ronan's desk, and they played it. Just as Avery was about to expose Heather for fraternizing with a witness to get a mistrial for Sharon, Ronan and Phyllis burst into the courtroom, and were allowed to present their evidence. After hearing the audio of Sharon trying to save Skye, the judge left it up to the DA's office. Heather dropped the charges against Sharon, and Sharon was freed. Sharon thanked Ronan, but Phyllis made sure that Sharon knew it was her that had found the chip, twice, and had saved her. Phyllis stole the photos from the courtroom and put them up online with a sensational story about the A.D.A. fraternizing with a witness. Heather was fired as A.D.A. as a result. Ricky filed a lawsuit against Phyllis and Restless Style for using work without payment with Avery representing him, and Avery filed a criminal complaint for theft of evidence from an attorney in court. With her career ruined, Paul said goodbye to Heather, who left for New York City to stay with her mother, April, then Paul tore into Ricky for humiliating his sister. Nick was livid with Phyllis for once again doing a sensational story without thinking of the collateral damage to other's lives. Phyllis reacted by having sex with Ronan at the police station, and Nick retaliated by having sex with Avery. Ronan received a phone call which played the voicemail of Nick threatening Diane. Phyllis went to warn Nick, and walked in on Nick and Avery, realizing they had obviously just had sex together. Phyllis had it out with Nick, whom she told to go to hell, and that she would never try to help him again. Afterward, Phyllis sought out Avery who informed her that she was staying in town permanently. They argued, and Avery brought up that their father had been wrongly accused of bilking people out of their life savings through a living facility, and that Phyllis had taken sides against him. Later Phyllis was arrested by Ronan for stealing the photos. Daisy called Daniel from prison to let him know that Avery was his aunt and she was helping Daisy get out of prison and to get their daughter, Lucy, back.

Christine returned to town in November 2011, she confronted Ronan about his disappearance following the liver transplant, and why he returned to Genoa City where he knew he'd be questioned. When he still refused to tell them anything, Nina told him she was finished trying to build a relationship with him, but if he ever wanted one, he knew where to find her. Teary-eyed, Ronan smashed his fist into a display board and ran out of his office, even past Phyllis. Over coffee, Chance and Christine congratulated Nina for her decision. Phyllis followed Ronan home, and they connected through their mutual screwed up family lives as well as sexually. Ronan admitted that he owed his family his life, but he didn't know how to deal with it.

On Thanksgiving Day, Ronan received an anonymous tip in the Diane Jenkins murder case that the murder weapon could be found at Newman Enterprises. Following up on it, Ronan found a zippered case containing a syringe and a drug in Victor Newman's office safe. Patty Williams had planted it in Adam's desk to frame him, but Adam had found it and put in Victor's safe so that Victor would be further implicated. Victor was taken in for questioning, but claimed that he had been set up. Ronan ordered Diane's body exhumed for another autopsy which showed succinylcholine, the drug found in the syringe, in her bone marrow. The drug causes short term paralysis, and was only available to someone with hospital pharmacy access.

Nikki was also called in for questioning by Ronan, thinking that she fit the saying on the final evidence pillow "No Place Like Home". Ronan confronted Nikki with the knowledge that she had gone missing from rehab the night of Diane's murder, but when Michael arrived and caught him questioning her without her lawyer, Ronan let Nikki go. Ronan later discovered that Nikki had rented a car and used just enough mileage to go to and from Genoa City and Dubuque. Arriving at the ranch with a warrant for Nikki, the police found Victor in the barn, supposedly drunk. Victor broke down and admitted to Diane's murder, and Adam arrived in time to verify that he had seen Victor murder Diane.

The D.A. was happy, but Ronan and Paul felt that it had been too easy; something was just not right. Ronan interfered during Victor's arraignment claiming that Victor was not the murderer, which caused the judge to postpone and Ronan to be fired from the G.C.P.D. Afterward Victor's fingerprints suddenly were found on the syringe, and it was revealed to viewers that Victor had paid a police detective to bring him the case in jail to put them there.

While still enjoying their sexual relationship, Ronan and Phyllis teamed up as detective and journalist to figure out who really killed Diane. Phyllis told him about the video they had seen at the warehouse, who had been in it, and most notably, that Adam and Nikki were not. Later Ronan received an email that was meant to appear to be from Diane with the missing section of video showing Nikki passed out covered in blood next to the bloody rock. Although Michael and Sharon tried to talk Victor into stopping what he was doing, and Avery tried to find more evidence, Victor's arraignment was rescheduled. But as the judge accepted Victor's guilty plea and had sentenced him to 25 to life, a drunken Nikki broke into the court room and confessed. Nikki was cited for contempt, arrested, and thrown in jail, and Victor was taken to prison. When Nick found out what Phyllis and Ronan were up to, he decided to join them in their quest for the real killer, giving them full access to the Newman jets and any funding that they needed.

Ronan told Phyllis and Nick that he was convinced that the killer was none of the group of suspects, but an unknown person who was messing with them all and him. After hearing that Victor had been sentenced for Diane's murder, Patty Williams was seen by viewers finishing a pillow embroidered with the saying "Alcohol doesn't get you Drunk, Bartenders Do", apparently referring to Deacon. Then she threw it into the fireplace, and watched it burn.

On New Year's Eve 2011, Nick danced with his date Avery, but couldn't take his eyes off Phyllis who was dancing and necking with Ronan while watching Nick. After Phyllis took Ronan back to her place, Avery accused Nick of not being over Phyllis, saying that she had promised herself she would never be second best to Phyllis again, and called off their relationship. Meanwhile Ronan was accusing Phyllis of using him to taunt Nick, and left her alone at her penthouse. Nick arrived awhile later, their eyes locked, and he and Phyllis made love. Ronan went back to Gloworm, where Genevieve asked to hire him to investigate the strange goings-on surrounding her and Jack, suspecting that her husband Colin was behind it. Ronan assured Genevieve that Colin was still in a maximum security prison in Australia, but that he would look into it.

Patty rigged a step on the stairs so that Genevieve would fall, but Jack arrived just in time to catch her. Genevieve called in Ronan to investigate. When Ronan failed to acknowledge Nikki's suspicions against Deacon, she went to Paul for help. Paul and Ronan decided to team up to work on both investigations. Meanwhile Genevieve moved in with Jack for her own safety. Meanwhile Myra stayed at Genevieve's muttering that Genevieve would never be Jack's wife.

Another page from Diane's diary written the day before she died was left by Patty on Ronan's windshield. It told about the sexual encounter she'd had a few days before her murder. Meanwhile Nikki found a video file on Deacon's laptop of Deacon and Diane having sex, and Patty saw Deacon hide something behind a dumpster in the alley behind Gloworm. Nikki took the video to Paul and Ronan who had just invalidated Deacon's alibi when a customer confirmed that Deacon had left Gloworm for over an hour. Since the video was shot on super 8 film, like the video at the warehouse and the one Ronan received of Nikki passed out next to Diane, they were able to surmise that Deacon had a super 8 camera and had made all the videos.

When Nikki caught Deacon attempting to retrieve the camera and film from where he had hidden it, Deacon kidnapped Nikki and took her to the warehouse. Claiming that he had been protecting her all along, Deacon showed Nikki a video of her killing Diane. But Ronan arrived with the police after finding the film that Deacon had hidden behind Gloworm. That film showed Nikki hitting Diane over the head with a rock in self-defense after Diane tried to stab Nikki with a syringe. Deacon was arrested for kidnapping. Ronan showed the film to the D.A. and Victor was released from prison. Ronan got Nikki to remember details from that night. She saw Victor leave Diane, and Diane called Adam. Nikki overheard them plotting to frame Victor for Diane's murder. Diane went after Nikki to stop her from telling Victor. Ronan was reinstated on the GCPD.

Ronan subpoenaed all of the Diane Jenkins murder suspects, and he and the DA questioned them about the evidence that still did not add up. Deacon arrived in handcuffs saying that Diane had come to him when no one would help her, wanting to back out of framing Victor with Adam because of Kyle, so she asked him to videotape that night in the park. Deacon admitted that after he witnessed Nikki kill Diane in self-defense, he had hit her more times to make it look like someone bigger and stronger than Nikki had killed her, and he was the one who put Diane's body in the creek. Deacon said he had taken the syringe, Ashley's cell phone, and the security camera from the tree, and had hidden them in the alley behind Gloworm, but they had disappeared later. When no one would confess to taking Deacon's stash of stolen evidence or having any knowledge of the embroidered pillows found in Diane's room, the DA arrested them all for obstruction of justice.

At Genevieve's invitation, Paul went to her mansion to interview Myrna about the strange goings-on there. But Patty heard him arrive and grabbed a bag and disappeared to her old hideout, the Newman potting shed. Paul searched Myrna's room for clues to why she had left, and took her computer. Later Paul found a photo from the park surveillance camera on it. Paul started putting the clues together and realized that his sister Patty may have been posing as Myrna. Then Deacon identified Patty's photo as being the person who was there in the park helping him clean up after Diane's death.

The suspects were all released in time for Jack and Genevieve's wedding. But it was Patty who walked down the aisle in Genevieve's stolen wedding gown. Jack pulled the veil from her face, and said, "Emily?" Patty replied, "It's Patty, you bastard," and shot Jack. Patty left as the horrified Abbotts rushed to Jack. Jack was taken away by ambulance in critical condition.

At the hospital, the doctors told the Abbotts that Jack had a lacerated kidney, and the bullet was lodged next to his lower spine as he was taken into surgery. Jack's heart stopped during surgery, he survived, but was left paralyzed, just as he had been when Patty had shot him before in 1983. Patty was later captured, and when it was discovered that she had been the missing link in the Diane Jenkins murder, all charges were dropped against all suspects, including Nikki, once Ronan was able to convince the DA that Nikki was not responsible. Deacon remained in jail. Patty was sent to the prison hospital.

With the case wound up, Ronan decided it was time to leave town, and ran into Phyllis on the way out. They shared a tender moment where Phyllis tried to get him to show some emotion and say, "Goodbye Phyllis. I will miss you." He finally did, they hugged, and they both were teary-eyed as he left. Afterward Ronan went to the Chancellor estate and tried to say goodbye to Nina. She hugged him, and as usual he didn't respond, and he left her in tears. Later a box arrived from Ronan. Nina opened it to find another copy of her book about the birth and loss of Ronan, "A Cry in Thin Air", with a note tucked inside. The note said, "I wish I had your gift for words. They seem to come so easily for you. I could never find the right ones to tell you how grateful I am to you for finding me. Thanks, is the best that I came up with. That, and I love you, Mom. Ronan." Nina burst into tears with Paul as Ronan packed his things, including her book, and left town for another secret assignment in parts unknown.

In June 2012, Ronan was asked to return to Genoa City by Victor Newman to help locate his daughter Abby who was supposedly kidnapped. It turned out to be just a publicity stunt. While he was there, Phyllis asked him to investigate the disappearance of Daisy Carter because her son Daniel had been arrested for suspicion of murder. But when Paul Williams shot and killed his son, Ricky, and was in shock and uncommunicative, Ronan stepped in and got him to explain what had happened. Due to the conflict of interest with Heather and Michael, Ronan took over as the lead investigator for the DA's office on the case. The police were skeptical of Paul's story since no knife was found, and Eden had suffered a head injury so had been unconscious at the time, and later could not even remember why she had been in Ricky's apartment or why she had texted Kevin. The gun was found to be unregistered with serial numbers filed off, so Lauren had to admit to Michael that the gun had been hers and that Paul had taken it away from her. Paul turned himself in, Avery became his attorney, and Paul told his story. Ronan let them know that due to the lack of corroborating evidence, it appeared to be premeditated murder. Before they had to arrest him, Ronan arranged for Nina to fly in from Los Angeles to visit Paul. Nina accused Ronan of being heartless in going after Paul, but Ronan claimed he was just doing his job. Daisy's wallet and cell phone were found to have been dumped by Ricky, but it still did not exonerate Paul. Christine arrived and offered to take a sabbatical from the FBI to defend Paul, and he accepted her offer. Paul was released to attend Ricky's funeral. Afterward, Paul arrested by Ronan for first degree murder and jailed without bail. Michael and Ronan secretly vowed to work to get Paul exonerated.

Among Ricky's belongings Christine found Phyllis' psychiatric file from Dr. Tim including the rental car receipt, and realized that Phyllis had been the driver of the car who run them down in 1994. She showed it to Paul, and Paul told Nina and Heather who were shocked. Roman and Michael found a copy of the receipt in Daisy's wallet, and verified that the VIN number matched the rental car used in the hit and run. Both Chris and Michael confronted Phyllis, who denied trying to kill them. Although the statute of limitations had run out, Christine remembered that she had been working on a federal case at the time, therefore Phyllis was charged with attempted murder of a federal agent. Avery became Phyllis' lawyer. Phyllis was arrested by her friend Ronan at Crimson Lights in front of her family. Avery offered a deal for aggravated battery with two years probation, but Christine refused to consider anything without prison time, and offered five years. Avery got Phyllis released on bail.

Ronan tracked down Tim from Tim's landlady Beth's phone records, and found Tim lying on a beach in the tropics. Tim admitted that Phyllis had paid him to leave town, and that Ricky had stolen Phyllis' patient file. A few weeks later, just before he was to be deposed, Ronan found Tim dead of a heart attack on the floor of his apartment. The coroner determined that the body had been moved after death, so Phyllis became the prime suspect.

Phyllis confessed to Ronan that Tim had died in her apartment and that she and Kevin had moved the body to Tim's place. When the police discovered Kevin dumping Phyllis' stained rug in a dumpster, Ronan intervened, the rug disappeared and Kevin was allowed to leave. Then Michael showed up to seize Phyllis' computer, and when she refused, he sent Ronan for a warrant. But Ronan returned without it, and instead gave Phyllis an alibi saying that she was with him the night of Tim's death, because they were having an affair. To keep Michael from telling Nick about the "affair", Phyllis told Nick everything, and he played along by later publicly slugging Ronan. But later Nick confronted Ronan asking why he would risk his career for Phyllis, and Ronan claimed to be in love with her. Later Ronan caught Summer reacting to news of the "affair" by spiking her drink with alcohol, and he took her home to her mother, Phyllis. Both incidents forced Nick to move out and back to Newman ranch, and Summer left with him.

Just before Beth was to give a deposition naming Kevin as the person she saw outside Tim's door the night he was found dead, Ronan made sure that she received a plane ticket and cash card in the mail supposedly sent by Tim prior to his death, and Beth disappeared.

As Phyllis became more afraid of being convicted, and feeling alone with no one by her side, she gave in and made love with the Ronan who was infatuated with her. When Nick found out, he filed for divorce. After Phyllis' case was dismissed on a technicality, Nick told Phyllis he was filing for divorce and Ronan that he could have her.

Michael guilted Chloe, then Kevin, into telling all they knew about Phyllis and Tim, which also incriminated Ronan. After the trial ended, Michael confronted Ronan with all the illegal things he had done concerning Phyllis, but said he wouldn't turn him in, that he understood that Ronan actually loved Phyllis, and told him to never do it again.

After observing Ronan with a teenage boy at Crimson Lights, Summer quizzed the kid and discovered that he was Jamie Vernon, a juvenile delinquent who was being mentored by Ronan. Using a fake FacePlace profile as "Brittni", Summer friended Jamie and got him to admit he had been arrested for breaking into his dad's girlfriend's house and trashed the place because she ruined his family. When Fen discovered Summer posting it online to get back at Ronan, Fen accused her of bullying and begged her to stop. After confiding in Ronan, Jamie unfriended "Brittni," and Ronan told Phyllis he suspected it was Summer.

Ronan informed Phyllis that he was going back to Washington D.C. to accept a Homeland Security detail job. He asked Paul and Michael to look out for Jamie for him. Things went from bad to worse for Jamie after moving in with the Baldwins. Fen's jealous treatment of Jamie caused him to attempt suicide twice and caused a rift between the Baldwins. Afterward, Ronan was granted guardianship of Jamie and he moved to Washington, D.C. to live with Ronan.