Marty Saybrooke was orphaned at an early age and grew up alone in her family's mansion in the same neighborhood as the Lord family home, Llanfair. In 1992, Marty was hospitalized for lupus and became the roommate of Megan Gordon Harrison, Viki Buchanan's daughter, who was dying of the disease. Marty's condition had become exacerbated because her hard-partying lifestyle. After Megan passed away, Marty became close to Viki and became infatuated with one of Megan's closest friends, the Rev. Andrew Carpenter. When Andrew rebuffed Marty's advances, she launched a smear campaign across Llanview and accused Andrew of carrying on an illicit relationship with gay teen Billy Douglas, who attended Andrew's church and was a friend of Viki's son Joey. Andrew eventually was cleared of any wrongdoing, and Marty's reputation was severely tarnished.

While attending Llanview University, Marty met football quarterback Todd Manning and had a one-night stand with him. Marty rejected his subsequent advances, however, and Todd began to resent her. Marty became his tutor, but after failing a course because he didn't study, Todd blamed Marty and plotted to get even with her. During the Spring Fling party on campus, Marty became drunk and passed out upstairs in the fraternity house bedroom of Kevin Buchanan. While the party raged on, Marty was gang raped by Todd and two of his fraternity brothers, Zach Rosen and Powell Lord, III. Marty reported the rape and all three men are arrested, in addition to Powell's distant cousin Kevin, whom Marty mistakenly believed had raped her. Due to Marty's checkered past and wild behavior, most people in town didn't believe Marty, including attorney Nora Gannon, who was hired to represent Todd in court. When another woman, Carol Swift, came forward and revealed that Todd had raped her as well, Nora realized her client was guilty and intentionally caused a mistrial.

While awaiting another trial, Todd cornered Marty and Luna Moody in an alley and threatened to rape both of them. Luna hit him with a lead pipe, permanently scarring Todd's face. Marty managed to trick Todd into confessing to the rape on a hidden tape recorder and he was sent to jail.

Marty finished medical school and briefly flirted with Andrew Carpenter, who decided not to risk his marriage to his wife Cassie. She then grew close to Luna's brother Dylan Moody and even married him, but it didn't last. Marty then was in a car crash with Jessica Buchanan and youngsters C.J. and Sarah Roberts. Todd, who had escaped from jail, happened upon the scene and freed all of them. Todd subsequently was pardoned and set free. Todd and Marty forged an uneasy truce, and Todd even encouraged Marty to confront her Aunt Kiki, who had been raiding Marty's trust fund to finance her extravagant lifestyle. Marty traveled to Ireland, where her aunt was staying, and severed ties with her. While in Ireland, Marty met and fell in love with poet Patrick Thornhart, a former Irish terrorist who was trying to evade his former associates in the terrorist group Men of 21. However, back in Llanview, a young AIDS patient whom Marty had cared for was dying. Todd flew to Ireland and offered Marty his private jet to fly back on, while Todd remained in Ireland to help Patrick. Todd however was mistaken for Patrick and was seemingly shot to death by the assassins. Todd's pregnant wife, Blair Cramer, harbored great resentment toward Marty for her part in Todd's apparent death. Meanwhile, Patrick used Todd's passport to get to Llanview, where he found solace in Blair's arms. Todd, who was not dead after all, caught them and vowed revenge on Patrick. In his revenge attempt, Todd set up an explosion that killed a man and made Patrick look guilty. Patrick was arrested for murder but later cleared of all charges when a videotape revealed he wasn't in Llanview when the explosion occurred.

Over a period of time, Marty and Patrick reconciled and were in the process of planning their wedding when Mahoney, a terrorist from Ireland, arrived in Llanview. Mahoney believed that Patrick would implicate him in a bombing death in Ireland and tried to kill him. Mahoney's bullet missed Patrick and hit Mel Hayes. Patrick followed Mahoney to Todd's where more shots were exchanged and Mahoney was killed. Patrick also appeared to have died, but while en route to the hospital Patrick's body began to stir and it was revealed he wasn't dead after all. Marty didn't reveal that Patrick was alive but instead got him out of the city to recover. Eventually, Marty and Patrick returned to Ireland and sent a note to Bo and Nora telling them that they were fine and were expecting a child.

In 2004, Todd was accused of raping his estranged wife Blair. Marty, who had been working as a psychiatrist in California, mostly with sexual offenders, returned to provide her expert opinion on the case. Marty testified that recent events of Todd's past had affected his life so much that he would never rape again. Blair, as it turned out, was suffering from a brain tumor and was wrong about Todd raping her.

Marty again left Llanview but reappeared as a figment of Todd's mind in 2005 after his own rape at the hands of Margaret Cochran.

Marty returned to Llanview in November 2006, shocked to discover that her and Patrick's son, Cole Thornhart, was being accused of attacking Todd's teen-age daughter Starr Manning. Feeling pressured to lead his high school team toward a championship, Cole had turned to steroids and had an uncontrollable outburst of rage while at a party. Marty explained that the source of his problems stemmed from the mysterious death of his father.

Marty immediately became the lead psychiatric consultant in the case of Dr. Spencer Truman, who was accused of murder. Marty's defense of Truman incurred the wrath of Llanview police detective John McBain and Blair and Todd Manning. However, Marty's work with Truman ended when he was murdered at the hospital during an assault on Blair. Later, Marty herself sought therapy after having flashbacks of blood and a scalpel in the hospital room where Truman was murdered.

Overwhelmed by her flashbacks, Marty insisted that she had murdered Truman. In the meantime, Marty was stalked by Miles Laurence, whom she gently rebuffed while attempting to maintain a cordial friendship. But Laurence would not be easily dismissed. He began following Marty and repeatedly showed up unexpectedly at her door. At one point, he arranged to have her attacked so that he could rescue her and become her hero. However, his efforts were thwarted by John McBain, who had recently become Marty's friend. Laurence finally resorted to eavesdropping on her while she was in therapy and orchestrated a theft to obtain the audio-taped confession of the murder between Marty and her therapist. He then used the tape to blackmail Marty into marriage. But John McBain detected that something was wrong with Marty's marriage and speculated that Laurence might have damaging information. She finally told John what she believed she had done and her own confession led her to be arrested as a prime suspect in the murder of Spencer Truman. John continued to uncover the facts and eventually found conclusive evidence that led to Lindsay Rappaport as the real murderer.

After being cleared of murder, Marty annulled her marriage to Miles. Marty and John continued their friendship, which soon blossomed into love. In the fall of 2007, Cole was abducted from his home and Marty was taken from a hotel room that she and John were sharing. Their abductor was Simon Ryerson, who Marty believed was Patrick's friend but as it turned out was the one who had killed Patrick. He held Marty and Cole captive in Ireland and threatened to kill Cole if Marty didn't hand over Patrick's list of names of the Men of 21. Marty was unaware that the list had been hidden on a microchip in a book Patrick had given to her.

John began his search for Marty and Cole at her apartment and found the book with the microchip. He and FBI agent Lee Ramsey flew to Ireland and contacted Simon with plans to exchange Marty and Cole for the microchip. An impatient Ramsey fired shots into the van holding Marty and Cole and the van rolled down a cliff into a quarry. John raced to the scene and found Marty alive but Cole missing. He struggled to free Marty from the wreckage but she insisted that he first locate Cole. Thrown from the van, Cole was seriously injured but alive. As John returned to rescue Marty the van exploded and Marty was presumed dead. John and Cole returned to Llanview, where Cole was taken in by Nora Buchanan. Cole entered grief counseling sessions while his relationship with Starr Manning grew closer.

In the spring of 2008, John became suspicious about Ramsey's shady activities since he became Police Commissioner of Llanview. Banding together with fellow police officers Antonio Vega and Talia Sahid, John worked to expose Ramsey as a dirty cop and avenge Marty's death. During the course of their investigation, the trio learned about a mysterious woman Ramsey was keeping hidden away in his high-rise penthouse, tended to by a private nurse named Janet Ketring. John became convinced the woman was the key to unraveling the mystery behind Ramsey's double dealings. John was correct: Ramsey masterminded the theft of the crown jewels of Mendorra from Lindsay Rappaport's art gallery in order to fence them and pay for his houseguest's costly medical care. Ramsey's mystery woman not only was bedridden but also mentally impaired. John discovered X-rays in Ramsey's office that detailed the severe physical trauma of an unidentified female patient.

John had a surveillance device planted inside Ramsey's penthouse. John, Antonio, and Talia staked out the building, waiting for Ramsey or his guest to come into audio range of their "bug." On June 11, 2008, the officers listened in as Ramsey spoke to the woman, who said only two words on tape before the surveillance device went out of range: "Help me." John struggled to identify the familiar voice, but he was unable to figure out that the mystery woman being cared for by Lee Ramsey was none other than Marty.

Ramsey, meanwhile, planned to sell the stolen jewels to none other than Viki and Todd's sister, Tina Lord Roberts, who was masquerading as the Crown Princess of Mendorra. When Tina arrived at Ramsey's penthouse for the jewels, two thugs hired by U.S. Ambassador to Medorra, Jonas Chamberlain, showed up and shot Ramsey dead. Tina, who was hiding out in another room, escaped unharmed with the jewels. Todd followed his sister Tina into the apartment and discovered Ramsey dead upstairs and a very-much-alive Marty upstairs. Todd quickly realized Marty had no idea who he was - she had amnesia, and also was unable to walk. Todd whisked her away to his new home and began nursing her back to health. He even hired the woman who was nursing Marty under Lee's care, Janet Ketring, to continue caring for her at Todd's home.

Todd led Marty to believe they were old college friends and did not tell her about her past or about his part in raping her. He also lied to Marty and told her that John had left her to die. He claimed John had stolen his wife and family from him. Marty came to rely on Todd as a caretaker and friend during her slow rehabilitation, and she soon found herself growing close to him. Isolated from his own children and newly divorced yet again from Blair, Todd also began to lean on Marty as his only confidant. In several dreams, Marty had interactions with John, who urged her to question Todd's motives. But Todd managed to convince Marty that the dreams were not reality and that she should fear for her safety from John.

Todd's niece Jessica, who was under in the influence of her alternate personality Tess, discovered that Marty was alive and living with Todd. But Tess agreed not to say anything, in exchange for Todd keeping quiet about her reemergence. Over time, Marty and Todd's new "relationship" intensified, and Marty began to express romantic feelings for her caretaker. When Todd helped Marty walk for the first time since her accident, they shared a passionate kiss. They later nearly had sex, but Todd backed off. Soon however, Todd began to fantasize about a "clean slate" for himself and for Marty, free of all the "mistakes of the past." In a manic outburst, Todd offered Marty a shocking proposition: Run away with him and raise his daughter's unborn child with him. Todd claimed that Starr wanted him to have the baby, when in reality Starr wanted nothing to do with her father and planned to give the baby up to Todd's nemesis Marcie McBain. Making matters worse, Marty had no idea that the baby's father was none other than her son, Cole. Marty ultimately agreed to start a new life with Todd and the baby and gained the strength to begin walking more confidently for the first time since the accident.

Caring for Jessica's baby, Bree, Marty began to have flashbacks of caring for a young boy whom she did not recognize. Marty felt a deep connection to this child, but Todd dismissed the visions and urged her to focus on the baby that was about to be theirs. John McBain, meanwhile, obtained definitive proof from Todd's old bodyguard that Marty was the woman being cared for in Todd's home. At the same time, Todd began to have misgivings about his plan to steal Starr's baby and raise her with Marty. He ordered her to leave him, but Marty refused and admitted that she loved him and wanted to be with him. Todd said he loved her too. Marty guided Todd upstairs to her bedroom and encouraged him to make love to her. Todd initially resisted and had visions of Marty in the same outfit she was wearing the night of the infamous Spring Fling. But convinced by an unsuspecting Marty that he had changed from those college days, Todd gave in to his temptation and he and Marty had sex.

The same night Todd and Marty had sex, Starr went into labor and delivered a healthy baby girl. Todd went to the hospital and told Dr. Joplin that he had changed his mind about stealing Starr's baby. While he was gone, John broke into Todd's house and came face to face with Marty. Marty was at first scared John was there to hurt her, and John realized that Marty was suffering from memory loss. He told her that Todd had not told her the truth about himself, and told Marty that Todd was the one who had led her gang rape all those years ago - just as Todd walked in the bedroom! Marty was devastated when Todd admitted the truth, including the fact that she had a teenage son, and watched as John beat Todd to a bloody pulp. Marty then took John's gun and pointed it squarely at Todd, threatening to pull the trigger. But John convinced her that the authorities should take care of Todd, and she reluctantly agreed. Marty was taken to the hospital, where she came face to face with a stunned Cole, who had just learned that his child with Starr had supposedly died. Nora, who was alerted to Marty being alive, came to the hospital and helped Marty try to sort through her conflicting feelings about Todd. Marty took the morning after pill, to ensure that she wouldn't get pregnant from her encounter with Todd, and went to stay with Nora at the Buchanan mansion.

Marty soon grew frustrated with Cole and everyone else because she couldn't remember anything about her life before Todd, and she secretly began researching everything she could about Todd so she could get even with him for what he had done to her. Nora promised Marty that Todd would pay for what he had done and Marty agreed to press charges of rape and kidnapping against him. During the court hearing, however, Todd's attorney Tea Delgado forced Marty to testify under oath that she had consensual sex with Todd. The judge dismissed the charges, and Marty set out to get even with Todd another way. She lured him to the Palace Hotel on New Year's Eve and convinced Todd to jump from the roof to make up for all that he had done to her. Marty was relieved when Todd jumped, only to be angered when John pulled Todd from the river below and Blair revived him.

Marty struck up a friendship with former Navy SEAL Wes Granger, who had come to town several months earlier to look after his friend Brody Lovett. She even moved out of Nora's house and began staying with Wes at the Angel Square Hotel, although their relationship was platonic. Marty began drinking heavily again, reverting to her old ways as "Marty the Party Girl." She rubbed John's nose in the fact that she was hanging out with Wes, who happened to be working for John at the Rodi's Tavern, which John had recently purchased. She distanced herself from Cole, who secretly turned to drugs to escape his miserable life.

Marty still held out hope that Todd would be put away for plotting to kidnap Starr and Cole's baby, especially when Janet came out of hiding and agreed to testify against Todd. But when Tea had Todd run a front-page story in the Sun, outing Janet as a con artist with many secret aliases, Janet got scared and escaped from the safehouse where she was being kept awaiting Todd's trial. Marty was shocked to learn that back when she was known as Lee, Janet had seduced Wes' father and left his family fatherless and penniless. Hours later, Janet turned up stabbed to death at Todd's home. After Starr lied on the stand and claimed her father had not told her about his plan to kidnap her baby, Todd was set free. But when Nora threatened to arrest Starr for perjury, Todd admitted he had planned to kidnap Starr's baby and admitted that the sex he had with Marty in November had amounted to rape.

In February 2009, Marty dragged Wes to the Go Red Ball, one of the big social events of the year, and proceeded to get drunk and make a scene in front of everyone. The event devolved into a drunken free-for-all, with Todd and Wes exchanging blows and Tea punching Marty after Marty egged her on. Wes pulled a knife on Todd, but Antonio Vega broke it up. John publicly accused Wes of murdering Janet, and back in his hotel room Wes and Marty argued about what had occurred at the ball. Marty woke up the next morning to find herself covered in blood, and was horrified to discover Wes lying in the bed beside her, stabbed to death with his own knife. John heard Marty scream and broke down the door. Marty told John she didn't remember anything after getting in an argument with Wes. As John and Marty discussed what to do, Blair walked in on the scene and called the cops. Marty was taken into custody and arrested for Wes's murder. Marty was freed for a lack of evidence, and she realized she needed to get her life back in order and reconnect with her son Cole. But when she went to see Cole, she discovered a letter addressed to her saying Cole was flunking out of school. She then discovered the drugs Cole had been abusing for months. Cole walked in and they had a vicious argument and Cole stormed off. She called John, just as John and Blair were about to make love, and John went after Marty.

Blair screamed at him to never come back, and soon after she was stabbed and nearly killed by an unknown assailant. While John and Marty were out searching for Cole, they heard a car accident and were shocked to discover that Cole had wrecked his car and nearly hit Gigi Morasco and her son Shane. Marty, summoning unknown strength, managed to lift the overturned car and free Cole, who was pinned underneath. Marty went with Cole to the hospital and was relieved to learn he was going to be OK, after having his stomach pumped. But when Cole asked about Matthew Buchanan, who was riding with him in the car, Marty realized that Cole wasn't alone in the car and called Bo. Matthew was found alive but paralyzed from the waist down, and Nora let out her rage at Cole and Marty. When Nora decided to press felony charges against Cole, Marty hired Téa to represent Cole. After Matthew told Nora he forgave Cole, Nora decided not to press charges against Cole so long as he entered a drug treatment program.

Marty confided in Jessica Brennan that she was attracted to John, and Jessica urged her to follow her heart. But as Marty was about to let John know her feelings, he told her that he had married Blair so she wouldn't lose custody of her children to Todd while she was in the hospital recuperating from her stab wounds. Marty was disappointed but said she understood. Police thought they had found their serial killer after one of Marty's former attackers, Zach Rosen, showed up in town and took Starr and Cole hostage after Todd refused to give him money. But when Police Officer Talia Sahid was found stabbed to death at La Boulaie, while Zach was still in custody, it was clear that the attacker was still out there. John was arrested after authorities found the knife used to stab Blair in his apartment, with his fingerprints on it. John escaped jail and realized Marty was the next target after finding a picture of Marty in his apartment with a knife through it. John went to Marty and warned her to be safe, but Marty said she was going to go with John to find out the truth. They ended up outside Rochester, New York, where Marty's third attacker, Powell Lord, was being held in a sanitarium. Using false names, Marty and John got in to see Powell. Powell pretended that he didn't remember Marty, but in fact he was colluding with one-time love Rebecca Lewis to get back at Todd. Rebecca was even posing as Marty so she could get access to the sanitarium. When John returned to the sanitarium to see Powell, he found an administrator dead and Powell gone and soon was locked in the room by Rebecca. Marty, meanwhile, received an invitation to a "spring fling" reunion slipped under her motel room door. The invitation was laced with a chemical that made Marty pass out. Powell and Rebecca then kidnapped Marty and took her to the KAD house, where Powell Lord had reconstructed the room in which Marty was raped in a twisted attempt to make Todd pay for his crimes. Todd, Blair and Tea were kidnapped and brought to the KAD house, and Powell urged one of the women to kill a bound Todd as payback for all of his crimes. Tea tried to kill Powell instead and ended up locked in the boiler room downstairs with Blair. Alone in the room, Todd helped jog Marty's memories about the fateful night when he raped her and all of Marty's forgotten memories came flooding back to her. Rebecca then showed up with Jessica's baby Chloe and told Powell that the baby was in fact Todd and Marty's granddaughter John showed up and shot and killed Powell, freeing everyone.

Todd and Marty were stunned to learn they were grandparents and eventually broke the news to Starr and Cole, who were reunited with their baby. Once Marty had her memories back, she wanted to explore her relationship with John again. John got a divorce from Blair and he and Marty tried to renew their relationship. But Marty was unable to have sex with John, instead having flashbacks about her time with Todd. Marty was reinstated as a psychiatrist at Llanview Hospital and was stunned to learn that her first patient was Todd, whose was undergoing court-ordered therapy. During the session, Marty told Todd he needed to leave his past with Blair behind in order to move forward with Téa, and Todd told Marty she needed to do the same.

Marty and John eventually made love for the first time since her accident and subsequent rescue, but then John found himself drawn back into Natalie's orbit when her husband Jared was named the prime suspect in two murders that were tied to the stalking of her sister Jessica. It turned out that Mitch Laurence was behind the evil doings, and he fatally shot Jared as John tried to rescue them. Marty sensed that Natalie and John were drawing closer together. During a therapy session, Marty told Natalie she should stay away from John, and Natalie accused Marty of letting her jealousy taint her psychiatric advice. In a session with her own shrink, Marty admitted her fear that John would fall for Natalie again. After John was arrested for assaulting Mitch and ordered held without bail, Brody Lovett burst into the courtroom and appeared to shoot John after aiming for new Police Commissioner Stanley Lowell. Marty was frantic until she realized that the shooting was all an act designed to free John from custody. Marty railed at John for leaving her out of the loop, and when John and Brody drove off Marty was arrested for being an accessory. After getting out of jail, Marty learned that the van John, Brody and Natalie were in had careened off an icy road and exploded. Marty headed off to look for John and found John and Natalie in a cabin, kissing. Natalie tried to explain that she was confused and thought John was her dead husband Jared, although she failed to mention that the kiss Marty interrupted wasn't their first. Marty expressed her anger at John and refused to give John an answer when he asked if she still wanted him in her life.

Marty suspected she was pregnant and took a pregnancy test that confirmed the news, but Marty was hesitant to tell John because of what had happened with Natalie. After John learned the news from Natalie, John confronted Marty and she admitted she was pregnant. Marty told John she would raise the baby on her own, but John told an elated Marty that he wanted to raise their baby together. After a brief scare, Marty learned her blood pressure was high and was told she would need to take it easy during the pregnancy. John moved Marty into his apartment, and Natalie vowed not to get in the way. John agreed to help Kelly Cramer figure out how her mother Melinda died, and the pair flew to California to investigate. Marty overheard Natalie telling Brody that she felt John would have left Marty for her if Marty hadn't been pregnant, and Marty and Natalie had a verbal showdown. Marty returned to her office at the hospital and got a rude visit from Todd, who blamed Marty for everything bad in his life and encouraged her to leave town. Marty brushed past Natalie on her way out of her office, and then someone pushed Marty down the stairs. John discovered her unconscious, and they were devastated to learn that she had miscarried. Marty told John she believed Natalie had pushed her, but after questioning her John said there wasn't any evidence to arrest her. Marty then remembered the argument with Todd and told John that Todd may have pushed her.

Marty stood beside her son after he was charged with attempted murder for severely beating Todd after his friend Hannah O'Connor told him she saw Todd push Marty down the stairs. Marty went to Todd while he was recovering from his injuries and told Todd he was going to pay for his crimes this time, but Todd told Marty he was innocent. Marty intercepted a letter Natalie had written to John, telling him she was going to leave town forever unless John met her at Rodi's that night. Marty later gave the letter to John and told him she was breaking up with him because it was clear he cared for her but loved Natalie. Starr urged Marty to rethink her accusations against Todd, saying she believed Hannah may have pushed Marty to drive a wedge between Starr and Cole. Todd told Marty the same thing, adding that he suspected she may have been behind the brutal beating given to Robert Ford, a teaching assistant at Llanview University who had dumped Hannah several months earlier. Marty questioned Hannah, who lashed out at Marty for believing the man who had raped her and later told her to back off.

While on the run with Cole, Hannah admitted that she didn't see Todd push Marty down the stairs but knew who did. After a visit from attorney Elijah Clarke, Hannah appeared to have a mental breakdown and confessed to pushing Marty and bludgeoning Robert Ford. Marty visited Hannah at St. Anne's and said her breakdown seemed legitimate. Later, Marty was relieved when Todd told the judge to go easy on Cole for assaulting him and Cole was sentenced to time served and community service.

Marty was stunned when she learned from John that Elijah Clarke, the attorney she had hired to represent Cole, was responsible for pushing her down the stairs and framing Hannah for the attack. Eli even forced Hannah to take a bottle of pills that would have killed her if Cole hadn't showed up and gotten Hannah help. Marty visited Hannah in St. Anne's and thanked her for being willing to kill herself to save Cole. Hannah confided in Marty that her parents viewed her as a disappointment, which was why they hadn't come to visit her or even call her, and Marty told Hannah that she became obsessed with Cole and Ford because she didn't have her parents' love and support. Marty saw a little of herself in Hannah and began taking a more active interest in Hannah's recovery. Marty testified on Hannah's behalf when she was brought up on charges of obstructing justice, and the judge released Hannah into Marty's care. Marty warned Cole not to get too close to Hannah, stating that it would take some time for Hannah to get over her obsession with Cole.

Brody confided in Marty that he was struggling to accept the possibility that Robert Ford could be the father of Jessica's unborn child. Marty said Brody's feelings were natural, but Marty's curiosity was piqued when Brody said had no right to be mad at Jessica considering the mistakes he had made. Marty witnessed Brody and Natalie engaged in several serious discussions, and at one point she heard Brody frantically tell Natalie she needed to take care of herself because he couldn't let anything happen to her or the baby. When Natalie refused to let Marty through a police blockade after Eli had kidnapped Starr and Hope and threatened to kill them, Marty threatened to start asking questions about why Brody was so interested in her unborn baby. The confrontation took a back seat after Marty learned Cole had been injured in an explosion and ran off to see him. Marty was shocked to find Cole standing over Eli's dead body with a gun in his hand. Marty told Cole to go home and wait for her to call. When Natalie arrived, Marty confessed to killing Eli and told Brody to arrest her.

At the police station, Marty was stunned when Hannah was arrested for kidnapping Starr and Hope and trying to kill them, along with James, so she could be with Cole. Marty told Hannah there was no hope she could be cured and questioned how she could have been deceived. Natalie told Marty the ballistics tests confirmed she was not Eli's shooter and that Cole's fingerprint was found on the trigger. Marty pleaded with Natalie not to turn over the evidence, saying Cole would be sent away for life, but Natalie came clean to John. Marty pleaded with John to let Cole go, but John said he couldn't ignore the evidence because Natalie could go to jail if the truth ever came out. Marty lashed out at Natalie, slapping her and telling her she would regret ruining her family.

Marty was devastated when Cole was sentenced to 10 years at Statesville Prison. While at the hospital, Marty overheard a nurse tell Natalie that she would get the results of her amniocentesis in a couple of days. She told John that Natalie had the procedure, causing him to wonder why Natalie would lie to him. Later, Marty went into Dr. Wright's office and found Natalie's medical files, which showed she was having a paternity test performed. Marty copied the document and tried to get John to read it, calling Natalie a liar to her face. But John said he already had talked to Natalie about the procedure and he told Marty she needed to stop blaming Natalie for Cole going to jail. Privately, Marty vowed that John would know the truth soon enough and said Natalie deserved to lose John, since she had lost her son.

Marty figured out that Natalie had slept with Brody and taunted Brody with the truth by giving Jessica a file detailing Brody's therapy session with Marty, in which he confessed to keeping secrets from Jessica. Brody told Marty to back off, revealing that he had surveillance footage of Marty rifling through Dr. Wright's office and taking Natalie's medical file. But Marty went a step further by sneaking into the hospital lab and copying Natalie's test results, which named Brody as the father of Natalie's baby. She planned to give the results to John but was unable to go through with it because she didn't want to hurt John. When Natalie learned that Marty knew the truth, she pleaded with Marty not to say anything to John. Marty agreed, but later told herself that she would reveal the truth to someone else if she couldn't tell John. On the night Natalie and John planned to marry, Marty interrupted the ceremony with the intention of telling Jessica the truth. But Jessica began having labor pains and had to go to the hospital before Marty could tell her. During an argument with Natalie, Marty slipped and hit her head, knocking her unconscious. Marty woke up at the Buchanan lodge, with Natalie holding a loaded rifle on her. Natalie planned to leave Marty there as she returned to Llanview to tell John the truth, but then Natalie went into premature labor. Marty threatened to leave Natalie alone to give birth.

Marty instead helped Natalie deliver a healthy baby boy. But when John showed up, Marty suffered a psychotic breakdown and believed that Natalie's baby was her own child with John. Marty was taken to the hospital for evaluation, and Natalie told John that Marty was the one who forced her up to the lodge. Marty broke free of the restraints and tried to steal Natalie's baby but was stopped by John and committed to St. Anne's. After a visit from Starr, Marty remembered the truth about her own baby's death and realized that she knew something about Natalie's baby. Marty snuck out of St. Anne's and visited John, telling him that she knew something about Natalie and Brody but couldn't remember the details. Marty was distraught when the nun arrived and had her taken back to St. Anne's.

John learned before his wedding to Natalie that baby Liam was actually Brody's son and went on a long bender. He visited Marty at St. Anne's and told her that he now knew the truth. Marty acknowledged that she wanted to use the truth to hurt Natalie but said she was unable to bring herself to hurt John by telling him that the baby wasn't his. Marty told John she wanted to tell him something about the baby but was interrupted by Viki, who told Marty and John that Jessica had reverted to Tess. John vouched for Marty, allowing her to be released from St. Anne's. She went to Llanfair to apologize to Natalie and Brody and told them she had something important to tell them, but they refused to listen. Marty later showed up at the hospital with Hope, surprising Starr, who didn't know Marty had been released. Marty went to Statesville to visit Cole and ran into Cristian, who accidentally knocked a piece of paper out of Marty's hands that Cristian realized was the paternity test for Natalie's baby. Marty said she kept it around to remind herself of what she was capable of, but Cristian was worried enough that he told Natalie. After overhearing John schedule a date with Kelly, Marty went to Kelly's office and warned her to keep away from John, adding that she could break them up just like she broke up John and Natalie. Later, Marty confessed to her psychiatrist that she had altered the DNA test results for Natalie's baby to name Brody as the father and not John, who was actually Liam's biological father. The doctor urged Marty to come clean to John and Natalie, but Marty said that John belonged to her and she couldn't go back now.

Marty told John she wanted to be with him and impulsively kissed him, but John told her he wanted to take things slow. After learning that Kelly was going to make John dinner at his apartment, Marty ambushed Kelly and warned her to stay away from John. Kelly grabbed a large kitchen knife for protection, but Marty saw it and went after her with a smashed beer bottle. Kelly ended up in the bathroom, where Marty stabbed her with the knife and left her for dead. Marty went on the roof to plan a dinner for John but Natalie showed up with baby Liam. Natalie told Marty that she knew that Marty had switched the DNA tests, playing her a tape of Marty's session with Dr. Buhari. Marty went after Natalie with the same blood knife she had used on Kelly and the two struggled. Marty nearly fell off the roof, but Natalie pulled her to safety. When Natalie said she was going to tell John what she had done, Marty threw Natalie off the roof, nearly killing her. Brody showed up, looking for Liam, and Marty clocked him over the head. She stole his police-issued revolver and took off with Liam. Marty checked in to the Minute Man Hotel and was nearly apprehended after the man next door reported her to the police. But she managed to escape with the help of Jessica, who was under the influence of male alter Wes.

Marty went to Todd's house and overheard a conversation between Todd and Tomas in which they discussed a secret they shared between them. Marty stole a disc from Todd's computer that detailed the secret, and then forced Todd to let her stay with Liam in his pool house. After Tomas realized that Marty used to be married to Patrick Thornhart, he told Todd that Patrick was alive and he arranged for Patrick to be released from the undisclosed location where he was being held. Todd told Marty that Patrick was alive and showed her a file that offered proof. Marty went with Todd to an air field outside town, where Todd urged her to get on the plane and leave the country with Patrick. Before she left, Marty told Todd that she had changed Liam's test results and that John was the baby's father, not Brody. She made Todd promise to tell John the truth and made her way to the plane, where Patrick was waiting for her.