While Stephanie Forrester had stepped in as a motherly figure for Mary, Sheila soon broke out of prison and came to get her daughter. The girl saw her shoot Stephanie and attack Amber Moore (Adrienne Frantz) in the process. Sheila then took Mary and left town, and James also left Los Angeles to try and track them down.

Years later, unaware of Sheila's sordid history and believing her name was Erica Lovejoy as she'd been told by her mother, Mary went to LA and started ingratiating herself into the Forrester family. "Erica" had fallen in love with the world of fashion; in particular, she idolized fashion designer Amber Moore. When she heard that Amber and her husband, Rick Forrester (Jacob Young), lost their baby due to a miscarriage, "Erica" offered to lend Amber any support she needed. She then pretended to be a teacher at the school where Rick's nephew, Zende Forrester (then Daniel Smith), attended. Wanting to get close to Rick, "Erica" also managed to get a job as a nanny to the young "Little Eric" Sharpe — the son of Amber's late cousin who was she and Rick were raising.

One day, "Erica" was confronted by Sheila, who wanted to take her back to Mystic, Connecticut, where they had previously been living. However, when Sheila learned that Mary had gotten in deep with the Forresters as "Erica," she was elated.