Lizzie Spaulding's life started out happily. Born into the wealthy Spaulding family to parents who loved each other, Lizzie wanted for nothing and spent the first five years of her life living happily in Arizona with her parents. Unfortunately, Lizzie's father, Philip, was not happy and moved back to Springfield. In late 1996, Lizzie's godfather, Rick Bauer and his wife Abby arranged for Lizzie to visit Phillip shortly before Christmas. Family and friends arranged for Lizzie to have one of the greatest Christmas parties ever and Marina Cooper gave Lizzie a Greek necklace as a present.

In late 1997, Lizzie and her mother, Beth, returned to Springfield and the family fold. By now, Lizzie was about seven, and encouraged by her mother, she was certain her parents would get back together and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be since Philip was now involved with Harley Cooper. Though resentful of Philip's girlfriend at first, Lizzie came to love her and accept the relationship while she also befriended her grandfather Alan's girlfriend, Annie Dutton. The one thing she couldn't accept however was Carl Stevens's treatment of her mother. Carl was the man that Beth left Arizona to escape from and Lizzie hated him for hurting Beth. One day in April 1998, Lizzie saw Carl threaten Beth with a gun; there was a struggle and the gun fell. Horrified that her mother would get hurt and angry at Carl, Lizzie picked up the gun and shot him. However, Beth was determined to hide Lizzie's involvement to protect her. While Lizzie continued to have nightmares about what happened, Harley began asking questions about Carl's death. Lizzie told Harley that mommy told her not to tell anyone what she saw the night Carl was killed. Just as she was about to tell all, Beth rushed in and told Harley to leave her daughter alone. Lizzie then had a very disturbing tea party, where her "friend" Carl was a guest. Later, Rick told Phillip about Lizzie's imaginary friend and suggested Phillip seek professional help for his daughter. Meanwhile, Beth feared for Lizzie's ability to deal with all the trauma without her mother and decided that her only option was to flee Springfield with Lizzie. But Rick spotted her at the airport and called Phillip to stop her. Phillip and Harley gently talked to Lizzie and the little girl broke down and said she made Carl dead. Lizzie was sent to camp to get therapy. She came back from therapy a better-adjusted little girl and finally accepted the fact that her parents would not get back together again and it wasn't her job to protect her mother.

In 1999, Lizzie and other kids were kidnapped by Nursery Rhyme Stalker Holly Reade. Luckily escaped convict Annie Dutton found the children and had them returned to their families. Annie would have taken off and save herself, but Lizzie got scared and Annie stayed to comfort her. Despite objections from Phillip, Lizzie befriended Annie (who was her grandfather Alan's old lover) who she called her "secret friend". Feeling neglected because Beth seemed to be focused on her new relationship with Jim Lemay and his daughter Susan, Lizzie put her trust in Annie. When Lizzie overheard Phillip talking about getting rid of Annie and took him literally, she sought out Annie out and warned her that Phillip is trying to kill her! Annie reassured Lizzie that Phillip didn't really mean to kill her, but she guessed that Phillip planned to send her back to prison. Annie stole Alan's money and jewels in preparation for running away. Lizzie begged Annie to take her, too. Annie agreed, and they left together. On the run with Annie, Lizzie called her family to assure them that she was okay. Alan and India von Halkein used the call to determine Lizzie and Annie's location. Alerted when Lizzie admitted to calling home, Annie decided to leave for the ranch earlier than expected. A knock on the door revealed Sam, a cowboy they met at a fair earlier, who assumed that Annie was Lizzie's mom. However, Lizzie corrected him. Later, Alan and India arrived, having tracked down Annie, and ran into Sam. Alan offered Sam money and told him that he was Lizzie's grandfather. As Sam privately called the police, Annie and Lizzie left their room to find India. India leaded Lizzie away, and Annie turned to escape - but Alan stopped her. Sam interrupted and allowed Annie to flee as Alan called after her. Alan blasted Sam for letting Annie get away, and Lizzie was devastated when she learned that Annie was gone.

In 2000, Lizzie started getting sick. Though her soon to be stepsister, Susan Lemay noticed Lizzie's cough, Lizzie begged Susan not to tell anybody because she had to see her mom get married. While getting ready to leave for her date with Max, Susan panicked when Lizzie told her that Beth and Jim were coming home early from their honeymoon. Desperate, Susan stole Lillian's car. When Lizzie unexpectedly emerged from the back seat, Susan swerved off of the road! Harley and Phillip then found Susan and Lizzie in Lillian's crashed car and, luckily, they're not hurt. When Rick arrived, he examined Lizzie's bloody nose and was concerned to find several bruises on her arms. Rick informed everyone that he needed to take Lizzie to the hospital. After giving Lizzie another blood test, Rick informed Phillip and Beth that Lizzie had leukemia. Lizzie put on a brave face when Beth explained the side effects from the chemotherapy. When Lizzie refused to go to chemotherapy, Phillip was unable to convince her, but Jim used reverse psychology to get Lizzie to go. Later, Dr. Noah Chase noticed a problem with Lizzie that could lead to cardiac arrest. Phillip authorized Noah take over and he saved Lizzie from any further complications. Noah revealed that Lizzie's chemotherapy wasn't working and questioned Rick and Harley about Beth and Phillip's family tree. Lizzie might need a donor and the ideal candidate would be another child of Beth and Phillip's. Noah revealed that Lizzie had poor test results and he wanted to increase her chemotherapy. Later, Noah was pleased to report that Lizzie's new chemo treatments were working better, but he still wanted Phillip and Beth to make a list of potential bone marrow donors.

Phillip and Beth reacted when Harley suggested that they test Beth's unborn child. Phillip learned that Beth's baby was the ideal match for Lizzie and he informed Beth. Unfortunately, Noah didn't think Lizzie can hold out for much longer and they believed that they might have to resort to Edmund Winslow donating since he was a match. However, Phillip didn't want to deal with Edmund and Beth underwent induced labor. Immediately after her son was born, Noah implanted the baby's marrow into Lizzie. Later, Beth named her baby James and Alan revealed to Lizzie that Phillip was the father of Beth's baby and when Jim and Beth discussed their plans to leave town. Lizzie overheard their conversation and faked a recurrence of her illness, hoping to change their minds. When Rick examined Lizzie and asked her if she was pretending to be sick, Lizzie confirmed that she was faking to avoid moving. As a result, Jim and Beth stayed in town. Not long after, to Lizzie's dismay, shortly before Christmas, the Christmas tree caught fire and Jim, after saving Lizzie and James, was tragically killed in the fire.

In 2001, Phillip visited Lizzie in San Cristobel and was disturbed by her closeness to Edmund. Having never trusted Edmund, Phillip told Beth he was taking Lizzie and James back to Springfield and would fight for sole custody. But to his shock, Beth demanded that the children stay in San Cristobel. Later, Beth married Edmund but was soon kidnapped when she found out that Edmund was holding Cassie Winslow captive. However, she was able to escape and to return to Springfield. In July, Lizzie, was saddened to learn that her mom was divorcing Edmund and she accidentally revealed to him Beth's plans to go to Mexico to get the divorce. Although Beth was presumed dead in a washout in Mexico while trying to escape from Edmund, months later, she miraculously returned to Lizzie's delight. Later, Beth and Phillip set out on their vacation with Lizzie and James, unaware that Edmund had stashed himself in the trunk of their car. Their car broke down when they were pretty far from any civilization. Phillip realized that they were close to the Moon Lake cabin. Lizzie and James wandered off to play Hansel and Gretel. Later, the adults panicked when they realized that the children were missing. Harley, Rick, Phillip and Beth searched for Lizzie and James. Luckily the children were found safe and sound.

In 2002, the Spaulding family was shocked to learn that the woman they thought was Beth was actually an imposter named Lorelei Hills. Lorelei was forced to admit to a suspicious Phillip that she wasn't Beth--it was all a con to get Beth's money. But Lizzie refused to believe them. Lizzie turned out to be right when it was discovered that Lorelei and Beth were one and the same! Meanwhile, Lizzie was thrilled when it appeared that her parents were getting back together. Later, Phillip and Beth broke the news to Lizzie that they were splitting up but Lizzie refused to move out of the mansion with Beth and stormed out. At Company, Tammy encouraged Lizzie to patch things up with her mother. So Lizzie headed over to see Beth, unaware that her mother and Bill Lewis were making love. Lizzie walked in on Beth and Bill in an intimate moment and rushed out. Upset, Lizzie explained to Phillip what she witnessed, and Phillip reprimanded Beth on her reprehensible actions. Meanwhile, Lizzie overheard Alan admit that he faked his recent heart attack. Alan pleaded with Lizzie to keep his secret as Phillip and Olivia approached Alan's door. Lizzie agreed to keep quiet and in appreciation, Alan offered to buy Lizzie a new car. Later, Phillip told Lizzie his plans to move out of the mansion. But Lizzie was upset and, determined not to move out, she demanded that Alan figure out a way to insure that won't happen, or she will be forced to tell Phillip and Olivia that Alan faked his heart attack. In 2003, Lizzie came to Beth and expressed her desire to go to boarding school and she and Phillip reluctantly agreed.

Months later, Lizzie was sent home from boarding school after a suspicious fire had destroyed her room there, a fire the headmaster was concerned that Lizzie set. Though Lizzie's grandmother, Lillian, believed it to be possible, Beth wouldn't acknowledge the possibility. Now back in Springfield, Lizzie started hanging around Marina and Tammy again. Now somewhat of a troublemaker, she "accidentally" got Marina in trouble with her father by spilling to him about Marina's new car that her boyfriend Ben had bought her for her 18th birthday and later concocted a plan to steal back the car after Frank had it impounded. Unfortunately Lizzie, along with Marina and Tammy, were caught in the act and though Frank was willing to let them go after a night in jail, the new district attorney, Jeffrey O'Neill, decided to press charges. Later, when he learned that the car was not officially impounded, Jeffrey dropped charges and let the girls go. About this time, Lizzie was also trying to break up her father's relationship with Olivia Spencer so her family can be happy again. At the same time, she developed a huge crush on Shayne Lewis. Jealous of his relationship with Marina, Lizzie decided to sabotage the relationship by getting Marina's old boyfriend, Ben, back in her life. Convincing Ben that Marina still cared for him, she arranged for him to meet with Marina at the high school prom. Though Marina rejected Ben, Lizzie again convinced him that she was lying and continually pushed him to go after Marina, first at the Bauer barbecue and later at the Bauer cabin where an unbalanced Ben would end up kidnapping Marina. Though Marina was returned uninjured, Ben ended up committing suicide. Lizzie's jealousy didn't stop at Marina however; she was also very disturbed to learn that Olivia Spencer, Phillip's old lover, was pregnant with his baby!

Resentful of having to share Phillip with Olivia and the baby on the way, Lizzie made plans to cause Olivia to lose her baby and thus release Phillip's obligation to her. Pointing out to Olivia a tear on the carpet on the Beacon staircase, Lizzie later pulled up the carpet after it had been fixed in an attempt to cause Olivia to fall down the stairs. Though she appeared to change her mind after a last minute talk with Beth, Lizzie was too late and Olivia took a horrible tumble. Though she and the baby turned out to be all right, Olivia was convinced that Lizzie (who'd been behaving maliciously toward her for weeks) purposely caused her fall. Not long after, a concerned Beth and Lillian would whisk Lizzie away to a cabin where Lillian confronted Lizzie with the same accusation. Cornered, Lizzie continually denied that she did anything wrong regarding Ben and Olivia and got exceedingly defensive. Finally, desperate she grabbed a broken shard of glass and threatened to kill herself. Luckily, Harley arrived to diffuse the situation and drove a highly defensive and agitated Lizzie back to Springfield. Back in town, she was essentially placed under house arrest by her family who were determined to break through Lizzie's hostility and she was placed under the care of psychiatrist, Christopher Langham. Though Lizzie, knowing that Alan was funding some of Christopher's research, tried to convince Christopher to just certify her as healthy and just take the money, he informed her that he wasn't for sale and would evaluate her honestly. Continually angry and defensive, Lizzie used every trick she could think of to get rid of Christopher, including kissing him.

However, Christopher was always one step ahead and nothing Lizzie said or did fazed him. Though she thought she could threaten him into compliance by telling him that she'd say he had molested him, he saw through her and informed her that all their sessions were recorded--she had nothing on him. Throughout the sessions, Lizzie's anger and resentment toward Olivia was growing and one day in a show of anger, she broke the head off her old baby doll. Things finally came to a head the night of Olivia's baby shower when Lizzie snuck out of the house on the pretense of giving Olivia a gift. When a frightened Olivia refused the gift and asked Lizzie to leave, Lizzie continued to push the gift on Olivia and finally was escorted home by Christopher. That night, Olivia found something in her baby crib--a doll's head! Though Lizzie tried to deny it and pleaded with her family to believe her, she was unable to convince her family of her innocence.

Several weeks later, in an effort to make amends for the pain she caused, Lizzie apologized to Marina and Shayne for her part in Marina's kidnapping. Later that year, Lizzie tried to go on with a normal teenaged existence by auditioning for a school play, a production of Romeo and Juliet. Wanting the part of Juliet, Lizzie was extremely jealous when Tammy was given the role instead. Late that year, Lizzie was unnerved when Olivia, who had left town after the crib incident, returned claiming to have lost her baby. Still very suspicious of Olivia, Lizzie was certain that she was out to hurt Phillip, who was now in a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown. In 2004, Lizzie was convinced that Olivia was planning to kidnap Phillip. Although she turned out to be wrong, she and the other Spauldings learned something equally unsettling--Olivia married Phillip! Although no one in the family was happy with the hasty marriage, Beth tried to convince a disgusted Lizzie that, like it or not, she'd have to accept Olivia as her stepmother. Reeling from Phillip's new marriage, Lizzie tried to act out by drinking, but was caught by her new friend, Sandy Foster, who harshly instructed her to straighten up.

Angry about the Olivia situation and about still being under a doctor's care, Lizzie found the perfect opportunity for some excitement when a kid name Blade invited her to a rave. Desperately wanting to get out from her family's watchful gaze, Lizzie sneaked out and went to the rave on Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, things would end up taking a terrifying turn. Knowing how dangerous those raves could be, Nico Costaña (who met Lizzie a few months prior at Christmastime), went to the rave to talk her into leaving and guzzled her untouched drink. Suddenly feeling the high, he pulled Lizzie into a sexy Latin dance. Realizing something was wrong with Nico, Lizzie called her limo, risking getting into trouble with her family, to get Nico to the hospital. At the hospital, Lizzie was startled to learn that Nico had ingested a drug called Delirium, since she realized her own drink must have been spiked with the drug. Although Lizzie tried to tell Lillian, who was on duty at the hospital, that she just happened upon Nico wandering around, it was apparent to Lillian that Lizzie was lying. Fortunately, Nico recovered and thanked Lizzie for talking care of him. Days later, Lizzie was incredulous when Nico's guardian, Danny Santos, suddenly started accusing Lizzie of selling the drug "D". Angry, Lizzie lashed out and gave Danny what he'd wanted all along--Blade's name.

Weeks later, Lizzie was startled when while visiting Phillip at the hospital, he claimed that his baby girl was actually alive. Although Beth was convinced Phillip was merely in denial, Lizzie suspected Olivia was hiding something when she suddenly put a stop to their visit. Wanting to know what Olivia was hiding, Lizzie tried to sweet talk Olivia's brother, Sam Spencer, into letting her clear the air with Olivia at his place (convinced that she'd find what Olivia was hiding there) Although she wasn't totally successful with Sam, she was able to talk Tammy into getting her Sam's address. With the address in hand, Lizzie snuck off and discovered something amazing--a baby! Realizing that Olivia had lied all along about losing her baby, Lizzie took drastic measures and kidnapped her sister! After taking take of her sister, Emma, all night, Lizzie took the baby to Ravenwood and presented her to Phillip. Knowing what she did was wrong, Lizzie asked Phillip to forgive her and pointed out that she had taken good care of Emma. At that point, Olivia busted in demanding her daughter and threatening to lock Lizzie away. At the same time the rest of the Spauldings arrived. As Olivia continued to rant about Lizzie, Phillip tried to get her to calm down to no avail. Finally, Phillip saved Lizzie by stating that he'd asked her to bring the baby to him. when Lizzie confirmed the story, Gus ruled it a domestic dispute since Phillip was the baby's father. However, it was clear to Olivia, and even to Beth, that Phillip was covering for Lizzie.

In the midst of all of that, Lizzie, along with Tammy, and Tammy's boyfriend, Joey Lupo, were in rehearsals for their high school production of Romeo & Juliet. Throughout the rehearsals, Lizzie found a friend in Joey, who she believed could do better than Tammy, who didn't seem to appreciate him. Lizzie finally found her chance to nab Joey the night of the big performance when she spotted Tammy kissing her mother's boyfriend, the older Edmund Winslow! Soon after, Lizzie came across Joey who told her of his grand romantic gesture to serenade for Tammy and asked her to watch out for Tammy. Though she did, in fact, see Tammy, Lizzie let her slip out, leaving Joey disappointed. The next day, Lizzie came across Tammy's journal, which she had just thrown out. Seeing it contained passionate entries about Tammy's crush on Edmund, Lizzie arranged for Tammy's mom, Cassie, to find the journal. As Lizzie hoped, the situation created a crisis in the Winslow family when Tammy railed at Cassie for reading her diary. Continuing to act as Tammy's friend, Lizzie encouraged her to milk the crisis for what it was worth but kept Joey away. Although Lizzie tried to keep the couple apart, it was obvious that Joey wanted to be with Tammy. Just when the crisis with Tammy's family was over and she and Joey felt secure, Lizzie dropped the bomb and "innocently" revealed to Joey about Tammy's kissing Edmund.

As Lizzie expected, Joey was disgusted and angry, since he'd known Tammy wanted him to be like Edmund, and he broke it off with Tammy. With that, he started spending more and more time with Lizzie, who encouraged him in his goals for the future. Seeing that Lizzie was trying too hard to make him like her, Joey assured her that he did, although it was evident he meant it in a platonic way. In the meantime, Lizzie convinced the teens of Springfield to participate in the Spaulding intern competition (a project that she thought up, which would have the teens compete for a college scholarship and an internship at Spaulding) Seeing this as a way to spend more time with Joey, Lizzie convinced Joey, Tammy, Marina, Shayne (who were a less than enthusiastic crowd) into participating. She then asked Alan to make sure she, not Tammy, was partnered with Joey. Later, when Joey considered dropping out of the Spaulding intern contest (where he was a partner with Lizzie), Lizzie tried to convince him that the prize was too important--he had the opportunity to win a college scholarship and an internship.

However, Joey was a lot more pragmatic that the wealthy Lizzie and realized that he needed money now, not just a chance to get money. Although Lizzie promised him a job as the Spaulding pool boy (despite his lack of experience), Joey went for a better job--working at the Jessup farm where Tammy was. Just when it seemed that Tammy and Joey were moving toward reconciliation, an unfortunate mishap (unintentionally set into motion by Lizzie) reminded Joey that he will never be equal to Edmund in Tammy's eyes, and so Joey asked Lizzie to the summer dance. Meanwhile, Lizzie happened upon Tammy venting to Sandy about Joey and managed to catch her rantings on tape. Later, at the summer dance, Tammy arranged for her and Joey to share a dance. Again, Joey started to soften toward Tammy. Wanting to break the moment, Lizzie went outside, covered herself in dirt and pretended that she had just been attacked. Taken home by Joey, Lizzie failed in her efforts to take Joey's mind off of Tammy; she succeeded in turning him against her by showing him a tape she recorded of Tammy railing against him. Finally convinced Joey that Tammy was the wrong girl for him, Joey kissed Lizzie. Soon after, Joey was surprised when Lizzie offered to help him in his dream of a music career by giving a record executive a tape of his music. But although he did like Lizzie, it was clear that Joey's heart belonged to Tammy.

Meanwhile, Lizzie met two people, Marina's uncle (who wasn't much older than Marina) Coop, a man she instantly disliked. and a dark brooding drug dealer named JB. Seeing a way to snare Joey, Lizzie purchased a drug from JB to loosen Joey up. In return, JB asked to be introduced to Tammy. By summer's end, Joey and Tammy had grown closer, and when Joey ended up winning the Spaulding intern contest, it was Tammy, not Lizzie he wanted to celebrate with. Worried that she was going to lose Joey, a conflicted Lizzie ultimately decided to use the drug and tricked Joey into believing that he had a meeting with Spaulding executives. An unsuspecting Joey went to the meeting and was shocked to find himself alone with Lizzie in the hotel room. Alone in the hotel room, Lizzie declared her love for Joey. When Joey told her that he and Tammy had gotten back together, Lizzie feigned acceptance and offered Joey a celebratory drink, laced with the drug. As expected, Joey passed out. With him unconscious, Lizzie got him into bad and undressed. The next morning, Joey woke up in bed next to Lizzie! Lizzie then lied and told him that they'd made love. Unfortunately, the plan would backfire.

Mere days later, Joey overheard Lizzie talking to JB about a drug and put two and two together. His suspicions were confirmed when he looked into JB's bag and saw a vial with a drug. Incensed, Joey confronted Lizzie about what she'd done. Backed into a corner, Lizzie was forced to admit what she'd done, leading a disgusted Joey to announce that he could never love her and walk away. Unfortunately for Joey, Lizzie went straight to Phillip and told him everything. Immediately, Phillip summoned Joey and, to Lizzie's shock, blackmailed Joey into leaving town. That day, Joey left Springfield for Boston University. A few days later, as she was out driving, Lizzie spotted Tammy outside of a bar and, in a pique of anger, sped up to scare her. Suddenly, Sandy pushed Tammy out of the way and was sideswiped himself while Lizzie sped away without ever looking back. The experience left Lizzie deeply troubled, especially when she learned that Sandy was in critical condition with a damaged liver. Feeling enormously guilty, Lizzie confessed her problem to Phillip, who urged her to keep quiet while he took care of everything.

In the midst of this, Phillip was entrenched in his personal mission to destroy the Cooper family. After Phillip demolished Harley's house, Coop (who at this point had had many clashes with Lizzie) bulldozed through the Spaulding gate. Though faced with jail time, Phillip offered another form of punishment--he was to work as Lizzie's driver, despite Lizzie's protests. Over the course of the next few weeks, Lizzie and Coop's relationship became more combative, though there were times she lowered her guard and showed him another side of her. Meanwhile, Lizzie's guilt continued to gnaw at her and she confessed the truth to her Aunt Alex who urged her to confess to the police. Heeding Alex's advice, Lizzie went to the police station to confess. Although Phillip tried to stop her by demanding that she keep quiet, Lizzie openly defied her father and admitted the truth. After being released on bail, Lizzie was ordered by Phillip to meet him at the airport so they could flee town. Although she wanted to stay, Phillip told her that she wouldn't get a fair trial in Springfield and they had no choice but to leave everything behind. When Coop arrived to drive her to the airport, he saw how visibly upset she was and realized that she was running from something, Coop refused to take her anywhere lest he'd be an accomplice.

Finally, he figured out that she was the one who hit Sandy Foster. When he lambasted her for running away instead of facing her punishment, Lizzie revealed that she had confessed but her father was forcing her to leave. Seeing how conflicted she was, Coop tried to convince her to do the right thing and stay. Afraid of jail time, Lizzie tried to offer Coop money to be her alibi, but he refused. Nonetheless he was able to convince Lizzie that if she didn't want to leave town, she shouldn't. Buoyed by Coop's encouragement, Lizzie then met with Phillip and shocked him by informing him that she wasn't going with him. That same day, Lizzie was shocked to learn that Phillip had kidnapped all of his other children! Realizing that her father was out of control, Lizzie, against Beth's wishes, decided to meet with Phillip to get him to tell her where the children were. Unfortunately, Phillip saw through her words and believed that she was betraying him. Believing he was protecting her, Phillip had Lizzie kidnapped but she was rescued by Coop and again she refused to go with Phillip. Not long after, Phillip ended up dead from a gunshot wound. Not long after, Lizzie received a shock when she learned that Phillip had bequeathed Company to her. (Buzz had sold it to Phillip just prior to his death) Basking in her new role as restaurant owner, Lizzie re-named the place "Lizzie & Company" and lorded her position over the Coopers whom she retained on the payroll. While clashing with the Coopers at every turn, mostly Coop, Lizzie decided to get a measure of revenge by making Coop fall in love with her and then yanking the rug out from under him. However, despite her trying to "play" Coop, their relationship would continue to be antagonistic, though with periods of genuine closeness.

By 2005, however, the pair had grown tired of their little game and they both confessed that they'd been playing the other. By this point, Harley had been arrested and was awaiting trial for murdering Phillip. Convinced she was innocent, Gus investigated to see if someone else had killed Phillip--perhaps a Spaulding. Suspecting Lizzie, Gus grilled her about her father's death. Although Lizzie begged him to drop his investigation and let her father rest in peace, Gus was adamant that someone besides Harley had committed this crime. Later, Alan confused Lizzie by warning her not to speak to Gus because Gus was out to get the family in order to clear Harley. Later, when Coop starting to grill Lizzie, she decided to put some doubts in his head about Gus by scratching her own arms and then claiming that Gus did it. Days later, Lizzie repeated her accusation to Alan and Alex and showed them her bruises but Alan surprises everyone by remaining calm and insisting that Lizzie was overreacting. Later, Lizzie called Coop, determined to make him believe that Gus attacked her again but Coop remained suspicious. Soon after, Lizzie stuck Coop in the middle of the family feud when she demanded that he step up as a witness to Gus's first attack on her.

The night before Harley's trial, as the Coopers tried to rally around Harley, Coop had to contend with Lizzie who was intent on staying in Company. Later, as Harley was looking more and more guilty, Coop and Lizzie found themselves in a serious kiss after he kept her from accidentally falling off Company's roof. Days later, to slight Coop, Lizzie showed up at Company with a preppy guy. When Coop witnessed the guy two-timing Lizzie the minute she turned her back, he sent him packing. Lizzie accused Coop of undermining her and her new boyfriend and Coop proved to Lizzie that he was more her type by kissing her. Although the pair were becoming closer, when they had an argument, a hurt Lizzie decided she wanted to expand the restaurant and vindictively threw the Coopers out of the apartments above Company! Although Alexandra tried to reason with her, a stubborn Lizzie would not change her decision. In the meantime, Harley's trial ended and she was found guilty.

However, by this time, Lizzie had begun to wonder if Harley was actually guilty. Meanwhile a fed up Coop announced that he was quitting Company, prompting Lizzie to give him a reality check. She brought him to Phillip's tomb and reminded him that she was also hurting from all that has happened in the past few months. As they shared a close moment, Alan appeared and demanded that Coop get away from Lizzie, unwilling to let another Cooper interfere with their lives. Some time later, Lizzie threw a party at Company but nobody showed up. Feeling sorry for her, Coop secretly recruited some guests. Lizzie felt humiliated when she realized what he did but when they began to argue, they shared a genuine emotional moment and Lizzie asked Coop not to leave Company after all. Later, as Harley was languishing in prison, Lizzie overheard Gus tell Buzz that he imprisoned Alan at the mansion after Alan had held him captive. After dragging Coop along to seemingly rescue her grandfather, Lizzie startled both Coop and Alan when she didn't let Alan out, fearful of what a man who would imprison his own son would be capable of. However, unable to stand a claustrophobic Alan's pleas for help, Coop quickly released him. Lizzie then surprised both Alan and Coop by angrily condemning the actions of the Spaulding family.

In the meantime, thanks to Alan, Harley was being transferred to a dangerous prison called Hell Hole. Although Lizzie learned of the transfer, she was forced to keep quiet when Alan threatened Coop. Later, when Coop learned that Lizzie lied for Alan in order to protect him, they shared a sweet moment. However Lizzie's mother, Beth, warned Coop that getting involved with Lizzie could ruin his life since Alan had a vendetta against the Coopers. Although both Coop and Lizzie initially balked at this, they soon realized that they were a bad idea and attempted to part ways. But when Lizzie left him a letter saying goodbye before flying off to Switzerland, Coop stopped her from leaving. When Lizzie stood up to her grandfather, his response was a threat against Coop. However, the couple wouldn't be deterred and saw each other in secret. Meanwhile, by mid summer all of Springfield was shocked to learn who really killed Phillip--Alan! in an act of gratitude for their friendship, returned Company to Buzz. A few weeks later, Lizzie's family, namely Beth and Alan, decided to strong-arm Lizzie into moving back into the mansion by cutting her off financially. However, Lizzie refused to back down and got a job at Company and moved in as well.

Soon after, Lizzie was sickened to learn that Beth married Alan! Although Beth tried to convince Lizzie that she did it to protect the family's interest (since she was convinced Gus would destroy Spaulding Enterprises), Lizzie refused to listen to her mother's excuses and decided to live on her own. Soon after, Lizzie met a young woman named Ava Peralta. During their conversation, Ava mentioned her recent problems with a dangerous loan shark. That gave Lizzie an idea and she approached the loan shark, Dean, who gave her money to buy a new dress. She then kept the details of the new dress a secret from Coop, confident that she'd be able to pay back the loan when the time came .Although Dean quickly began pressuring Lizzie to pay back the money, she was confident she'd find a way out of it. A new window opened when an old prep school friend, Quinn, entered the picture with a very fat wallet. Lizzie didn't want to step on Coop's toes, but when money became an issue for a dance that Lizzie wanted to go to, she became tempted. Later, Quinn gallantly gave her a large sum of money to pay off her debt. In the meantime, Lizzie was becoming increasingly jealous of Coop's new friend, Ava, and made it clear to her that the (perceived) interloper wasn't welcome around her boyfriend. Afterwards, Lizzie asked Quinn for another loan - feeling a strange compulsion to buy Coop a really expensive gift for Christmas.

Quinn gave Lizzie the money, telling her she didn't need to pay it back as long as she agreed to have dinner with him. Lizzie stressed that this wasn't a date and Quinn agreed. The two ended up having a wonderful time, sharing a dance – and a kiss. Later, Quinn gave Lizzie even more cash and assured her it meant nothing – just one old friend helping out another, Then after Lizzie confided that she wished she and Coop had some place to be alone for Christmas, Quinn gave her the key to his condo, complete with river views and two Jacuzzis. When Lizzie wondered what Quinn expected in exchange for all of his more-than-friendly generosity, Quinn seemed hurt and walked off without answering - or taking his key back. Soon after, Lizzie took Coop to the condo (telling him it belonged to her family) and attempted to seduce him. Although Coop wasn't sure if she was ready, she convinced him she was and they made love for the first time. As she continued to accept money from Quinn, Lizzie became continually jealous of Coop's friendship with Ava, Lizzie told Ava a sob story about how Coop was so busy right now, and he really didn't need yet another person leaning on him. Ava got the message and, when Coop invited her to the Cooper Christmas party the next day, she politely begged off. Things got sticky in 2006, when Coop narrowly missed a naked Quinn who was lounging about the penthouse.

A few weeks later, Quinn started having qualms about letting her have his penthouse. To show her appreciation, Lizzie rewarded him with a kiss--which was witnessed by Ava. When confronted, Lizzie tried to convince Ava that it was nothing--that she and Quinn dated a long time ago. She then accused Ava of wanting Coop for herself. Both women were forced to lie when Coop came out to ask what they're talking about. Things nearly blew up in Lizzie's face when Coop and Ava saw the owner of the store at CO2 and approached her. Luckily, Quinn saved Lizzie by paying the woman to rave about her best employee: Lizzie. Unfortunately, a vindictive Quinn betrayed Lizzie weeks later when he informed Coop that Lizzie didn't own the penthouse--he did! Confronted by an angry Coop, Lizzie confessed to Quinn funding her lifestyle. When Coop asked if Lizzie slept with Quinn, too, she denied it, insisting she only kissed him a couple of times, Lizzie tried to explain that she couldn't handle being poor but Coop was unsympathetic. He railed at her for all her lies and told her they were through.

Knowing that Coop was getting closer and closer to Ava, Lizzie tried to play on Coop's sympathy by telling him she had nowhere to stay. Unfortunately, Coop refused to help her. That same day, Lizzie got a lucky break when Beth, unexpectedly, gave her her money back. As the weeks went by, Lizzie was more and desperate to get Coop away from Ava and back with her. Though she paid an escort, Brian, to woo Ava, that plan backfired when Coop found out who Brian was. Coop confronted Lizzie about hiring an escort to date Ava, and she accused him of jumping into bed with Ava. At the same time, Jonathan Randall and Tammy had broken up. As the two commiserated, she agreed to help him to get Tammy back, if he helped her get Coop. Meanwhile, Lizzie saw her own opportunity when she learned that Joey Lupo was visiting. Lizzie attempted to get Coop to "rescue her" by calling him and telling him that she needed protection because Joey was stalking her. Lizzie faked like she was being attacked, and Coop ran right over but when he asked him to stay, he refused. However, when she unclothed, he quickly gave in.

Unfortunately, later Joey arrived and exposed her lie. Disgusted, Coop walked out. Later, Lizzie was furious to see Coop enjoying a romantic dinner with Ava on Main Street, Lizzie saw Frank cuffing Jonathan and dragging him away. A curious Lizzie followed and saw that Jonathan was in jail. Later, after having some drinks, Lizzie bailed Jonathan out wanting to raise some hell. Jonathan agreed and the two later ended up seeing Coop and Ava on Main Street. After a confrontation between Jonathan and Coop, Lizzie and Jonathan ended up at Outskirts where they had a one-night stand. Afterwards, Lizzie suggested that he help her get Coop back and she'd help him win back Tammy. However, Jonathan refused the offer which became moot when Tammy returned ready to reunite with him. Meanwhile, Lizzie placed a call in order to get some dirt on Ava. Later, Lizzie asked Jonathan to help her get rid of Ava, but again he refused. He did suggest that to get Ava away from Coop, she needed to get rid of Coop, not Ava.

Seized with an idea, Lizzie arranged for Coop to be offered the fellowship in England--thinking he'd leave town and Ava would find someone else. Unfortunately, that plan backfired with Coop asking Ava to go with him. Furious, Lizzie called Jonathan and told him to meet with or she'd tell Tammy they had sex. Jonathan met her, and then menacingly warned her not to blackmail him because he'd fight back. In the meantime, Lizzie kept experiencing periods of nausea. Soon after, Lizzie threw a surprise party for Coop - without telling any of the guests she was the one behind it. Coop agreed to go along, and then pointedly kissed Ava. At this point, Lizzie let it slip to Ava that she and Coop made love recently but since Ava and Coop weren't an item then so she didn't care. Lizzie then locked Ava in the elevator but Ava escaped and made a grand reentrance just as Lizzie was making another bid for Coop. The women fought, ending with Lizzie falling in the cake. Beth came to take her daughter home after Ava decided not to press charges. At this time, Beth was pregnant and began talking about her morning sickness; Lizzie suddenly realized what her own symptoms might be. The next day, she took a pregnancy test and was shocked to see that it was positive! Refusing to believe it, she took a dozen more but they all had the same result. Horrified, she later ran into Lillian who, without realizing her granddaughter was pregnant, told her how rewarding being a mother was. Later, it dawned on her that the baby could be Jonathan's. However, after a conversation with Jonathan, in which they agreed to act like that night never happened, Lizzie swallowed her doubts and announced to Coop that she was having his baby. The news put an abrupt end to Coop's trip to England. Meanwhile, Jonathan learned about her pregnancy from Tammy but Lizzie lied that she knew she was pregnant when they made love.

She then enlisted the help of a girl named Ashlee, whose uncle ran a clinic, to fake records showing her as having been a patient for over a month, in order to fudge her baby's true conception date. Ashlee went along and showed Coop Lizzie's "records", but made it clear to Lizzie that she expected something in return. Lizzie then announced the news to her family. Later, Lizzie got a call from Ashlee, who reminded her that she owed her for fixing the records at the clinic. Meanwhile, Mel showed Lizzie her medical file, which includes the date of conception. To keep Coop from seeing it, Lizzie faked cramps. In the meantime, Lizzie saw Jonathan out with Ashlee and realized he was pumping her for information. Thinking quickly, she had a teacher phone Tammy and tell her Jonathan was out with an underage girl. Later, Lizzie rifled through files at the clinic and attempted to shred the file - just as Jonathan showed up. Confronted, Lizzie informed Jonathan that the baby wasn't his. Soon after, Lizzie found an engagement ring in Coop's pocket and became convinced he was going to propose. Ecstatic, she threw herself an engagement party where she demanded he propose. However, Coop told her he wasn't ready yet. With the ring still on her finger,

when Coop left, Lizzie informed everyone that Coop proposed. That night, Coop learned about the lie and decided to leave. Lizzie then threw a tantrum on the patio, then ordered Jonathan to help her snare Coop or she'd tell Tammy they slept together. Just then, Lizzie was summoned to the hospital--Beth had a miscarriage. That same day, Alan rocked Lizzie with the news that Phillip was alive and in hiding. Lizzie realized that Alan must have been in on it all along and screamed for him to stay away from her baby. Afterwards, Lizzie made up with her grandfather. Later,, Lizzie started ranting about Jonathan Randall trying to ruin her life and blurted out that he wasn't the father of her baby—Jonathan was! Although Beth tried to convince Lizzie to tell the truth (since it would come up sooner or later), she agreed to keep the secret for Lizzie's sake. Unfortunately, Reva overheard the exchange and went straight to Jonathan

Afterwards, Lizzie played Coop perfectly, claiming she wanted to move back home, then defending him to Alan and showing Alan the lovely nursery Coop (actually Ava) decorated for the baby. But when Alan pointed out that a baby needed more than a room above a diner, Coop agreed to move in with Lizzie at the mansion. Later, Ashlee approached Lizzie wanting her help. She wanted Jonathan to love her. Not really interested, Lizzie brushed her off but the girl threatened to tell Coop she forged Lizzie's medical records. Lizzie helped Ashlee by finding out where she could find Jonathan. Shortly after, Ashlee called Lizzie and warned her that in order to get Jonathan away from Tammy, she night have to do something drastic that could get Lizzie in trouble. Knowing exactly what she meant, Lizzie raced to Tammy's. There, she spun a story that Jon was blackmailing her to help him with testimony in Ashlee's case against him since he knew she went to the clinic to have an abortion. Afterwards, Jonathan and Lizzie argued about her lying to him about the baby. In the meantime, Coop continued to have eyes for Ava. At one point, Lizzie hoped to get his attention by pretending to fall, but it was Jonathan, not Coop, who came to her aide.

Later, Lizzie learned that she was indeed having a girl, but again it was Jonathan (set up by Reva) who was with her during the sonogram, not Coop. Immediately after, Coop impulsively asked Lizzie to marry him. He assured Lizzie it wasn't just for the baby--he wanted them to be a family. Although Beth was concerned Ava or Jonathan would ruin things, Lizzie was convinced the wedding would go on as planned. The day of the wedding, Coop couldn't stay away and he and Ava shared a kiss, witnessed by Lizzie. Sure of herself, Lizzie dared Ava to try to stop the wedding. Unfortunately, everything fell apart when Jonathan crashed the wedding and announced that he was the father of Lizzie's baby. Lizzie accidentally confirmed it then tried to claim that Jonathan raped her. However, that lie didn't hold up when Lizzie fainted and Jonathan gently took care of her. Afterwards, Lizzie begged Coop to marry her anyway but he refused. Although Alan and Beth tried to get Lizzie to focus on herself and the baby, Lizzie's mind was on one thing--Coop, who'd reunited with Ava.

Later, Lizzie gave Ashlee a note to give to Coop that was guaranteed to get him up there to see her. When Ashlee left, Lizzie began setting up her fake suicide attempt. With a safety harness and rope, Lizzie began climbing up to the top of Cedars. Unfortunately, the railing she was climbing on suddenly gave way. Lizzie tried to get herself back down to safety but her feet her tangled in the rope-she was trapped! Hanging on for dear life, Lizzie screamed that she didn't want to die and assured her baby that she had at. At that point, help arrived--Gus. Lizzie became hysterical, screaming that she did not want this to happen and crying that she didn't want her baby to fall--this was not her fault. Luckily, Gus got her to safety. Later, Lizzie promised a worried Beth and Alan that she would never do anything like this again. In the meantime, Lizzie became concerned about Alan's obsessive concern about her baby. Later, Jonathan came across Lizzie at the hospital and had a close encounter with the baby, feeling it move for the first time. Afterwards, Lizzie received a visit from a Dr. Baker, a psychologist Alan had hired. When Baker warned that she didn't want to end up in Ravenwood, Lizzie became worried that Alan planned on keeping her locked away. Panicked, she called Jonathan to get her out of the mansion. Jonathan arrived and after bonding some with Lizzie, he confronted Alan about acting like a bully. Meanwhile, Lizzie assured Beth and Alan that she would stay away from Jonathan in exchange for her freedom. That was a lie, however, and Lizzie quickly got out with Jonathan's help.

When Jonathan's car broke down in the woods, Lizzie made a break for it. She ended up on Main Street when Jonathan and Tammy found her. Believing her pregnancy was just messing up everyone's lives, Lizzie told the pair she planned on giving the baby up for adoption when she was born. Though Jonathan thought that was perhaps for the best, Tammy was adamantly against it and insisted that Jonathan wouldn't be able to live with that. Tammy then decided that in order to keep Lizzie away from Alan, she could move in with Jonathan and Tammy. Though Alan tried to kidnap her back home, Lizzie ultimately left again.. Later, Alan again tried to convince Lizzie that Jonathan and Tammy were after her money. When Jonathan told Lizzie that Tammy thought they ought to have a joint checking account, Lizzie announced that Alan was right—they were after her money! She then announced that she was going to Italy with Alan that day. However, unbeknownst to Jonathan and Alan, it was all a ruse and Lizzie got the upper hand and set up Alan by placing a meat cleaver in his briefcase. As she expected, the knife was found by airport security and Alan, after making a fuss, was detained for a while. Throughout all of this, Lizzie's feelings toward Jonathan were beginning to grow and she later decided that Coop was a thing of the past and finally removed her ring.

At that moment, Lizzie realized that she and Jonathan were far more compatible than Tammy and Jonathan. Later, Lizzie conned Jonathan into going with her to her next sonogram appointment (and standing up Tammy) and then asked the attending nurse to change the name of her baby's birth father to Jonathan Randall. Later, Lizzie was furious when had her credit cards cancelled. When Lizzie complained that she was alone, pregnant, and broke, Tammy assured Lizzie that she was not alone and gave her some pocket money, Lizzie was visibly touched. When Jonathan returned with bruises on his hand, Tammy accused him of going after Alan's henchman but Lizzie quickly covered and told her that Jonathan put his fist through a wall when he learned that Alan closed Lizzie's credit cards. Later, Lizzie asked Alan and Beth to meet her at the Beacon and demanded her money back. When Alan refused, and implied that she was a danger to herself and the baby, Lizzie became hysterical right in front of Beth, Jonathan and Tammy. Meanwhile, Lizzie was becoming more and more paranoid that Alan was having her tailed and later asked Alan-Michael for his help. Alan-Michael gave her a gun but made her promise not to use it. After having a nightmare, she was woken up to see a stranger in her room. Lizzie called out to see who it was but there was no response. Freaked out, Lizzie got the gun out and fired twice. At that point, Jonathan, Tammy, Josh and Cassie (who were in the hallway) came running in and after finding there was no blood, realized the gun was filled with blanks. When the Beacon security guard arrived, Alan apparently suffered a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. At the hospital, Lizzie admitted to Tammy that she knew she was firing at Alan—she wanted to kill him.

Later, at the police station, Jonathan tried to stand up for Lizzie, by stating that he gave Lizzie the gun. Unfortunately that backfired when Doris Wolfe announced that that made him an accessory to second degree attempted murder. Lizzie tried to convince Gus and Doris that Alan was coming after her and her baby, and told them about the nursery at the mansion, and asked them all to come see it. When they arrived at the mansion, the "nursery" was a storage room. Afterwards, Alan arranged to have the charges dropped. However, Lizzie's happiness was fleeting when she was served with papers: Alan was charging her with being an unfit mother. Soon after, Jonathan, and the girls planned on running away, but Reva returned to town and convinced Jonathan to stay and fight Alan. Mel advised Lizzie that if she wanted to keep her baby, she needed to stay away from Jonathan, but Lizzie insisted that she, Jonathan and Tammy were a team. Later, she tried to get Lillian to testify for her, but all Lillian wanted to know is if she was in love with Jonathan. Lizzie was forced to admit she was. Thanks to Tammy's testimony that Lizzie admitted to deliberately shooting Alan, it looked like Alan would win the case. That was until Jonathan stood up before the court and spoke about how he wanted to raise his daughter with Lizzie. Then he asked Lizzie to marry him. Lizzie agreed and Jonathan offered to wed the next day, to prove his sincerity to the judge. However, despite Lizzie's growing feelings for Jonathan, it was clear that his heart belonged to Tammy and he offered to ditch the plan. However, both ladies insisted it was the only way and the wedding went on.

On Thanksgiving, Lizzie's water finally broke. Unfortunately, there was a snowstorm and Jonathan's car was stuck. When he finally got it out of the snow, he was struck by a skidding car. As Lizzie was going into labor, luckily, Tammy and Remy arrived and Jonathan and Tammy delivered Lizzie's baby girl. The day of the baby's birth, Alan served Jonathan with a legal document asking for custody again. Jonathan--fed up with fighting with Alan proposed, for the sake of Lizzie and the baby, to move his new family into the Spaulding mansion. Unfortunately for Alan, Jonathan's offer was an empty one. While Alan's guard was down, Jonathan secretly whisked Lizzie and the baby out of town. Alan immediately sued for custody of the baby and hired Jeffrey to track them down. Though Jeffrey located the Randalls, he softened after seeing the child and kept their whereabouts a secret. Weeks later, Jonathan and Lizzie finally returned to town with the baby, whom they named Sarah. They also came armed with a restraining order forbidding Alan to come near his great-granddaughter. That day, Lizzie tearfully complained to Beth that Jonathan still had not fallen in love with her but soon collected herself and admitted that Sarah was the best trick she had to win Jonathan. Unfortunately, her statement was overheard by Tammy who later accused Lizzie of being an awful mother who was using her baby. Tammy went on to tell Lizzie that Jonathan loved her and threatened to tell him what Lizzie told Beth. However, when Lizzie later called Tammy a selfish home wrecker, Tammy relented. Meanwhile, try as she might, Lizzie tried to seduce Jonathan but he continually seemed distracted by thoughts of Tammy.

In 2007, Jonathan was all set to leave Lizzie. Desperate, Lizzie claimed that she had post-partum depression and took dialogue right out of a movie to make it sound convincing. The plan worked with Jonathan deciding to stay with her until she got better. Then one night, Lizzie drugged Jonathan so Tammy would see them in a compromising position on the couch. However, when a woozy Jonathan suddenly woke up he knew that he had not slept with Lizzie and finally broke things off with her.. At the same time, Tammy had found proof that Lizzie was faking her post partum depression—she found the TV movie called the "The Jamie Walker Story" in which the character parroted Lizzie's symptoms. When Tammy informed Jonathan, he immediately broke things off with Lizzie. Lizzie tried to warn him that with him gone, anything could happen to her and Sarah but he left anyway. Lizzie then used her "bargaining chip" one last time. She placed Sarah in the back of her car, then went to the church acting as if she couldn't rem where Sarah was. Unfortunately, the plan backfired when some teens stole the car and a frantic Lizzie was forced to call Jonathan and tell him what happened. An angry Jonathan found Lizzie at the church and. Father Ray had to keep him back when he lunged at Lizzie. At that point, Frank rushed in with news that they found the car. Jonathan left with Sarah after informing Lizzie that he was filing for custody of the baby. Soon after, Jonathan was granted an annulment and temporary custody of Sarah. At the same time, Jonathan and Tammy got married in a quick ceremony. Afterwards, Lizzie went to Alan and asked him to do whatever it took to make sure Sarah stayed with them and not Jonathan.

Believing that Alan was going to buy Jonathan off, Lizzie asked Jonathan to meet her at Old Mill Road. That day, Tammy would be struck there by a car that was barreling toward Jonathan. Realizing that Alan caused the accident, Lizzie kept quiet and sincerely comforted Jonathan. However, Jonathan was beyond consolation and was suspicious of the circumstances of the accident. After lingering in a coma for a few days, a weak Tammy suddenly awakened and asked Jonathan to get Sarah away from Alan and bring her to the hospital. Beth handed the baby to Jonathan and asked that he not cut Lizzie out of her life completely. Jonathan agreed and then brought Sarah to Tammy who tragically died soon after. The night of Tammy's funeral, Jonathan, with Sarah, got into his car and started following Alan's limo menacingly, the limo driver struggled to lose him but Jonathan stayed on his tail. They drove through the countryside until the limo managed to swerve away from him. At that point, Jonathan went off the road and over a cliff where his car plummeted and exploded on impact with Alan and Reva as witnesses.

Not long after, Lizzie found one of Sarah's booties at Outskirts. Since it was one that Sarah had on the day of Tammy's funeral, Lizzie began to wonder if her daughter was alive, especially when she learned that Jonathan had cancelled his cell phone service. But when she tried to go with Reva with her theory, Cassie threw her out. Meanwhile, Lizzie and Beth were prepared to move out of the mansion but Alan made a heartfelt plea for them to stay. Not long after, Doris announced that Alan was cleared of any wrongdoing in Tammy's death. The same day, Alan shocked everyone by proposing to Doris right there in front of the entire family. Apparently, Doris got Alan off by getting him to marry her. Though Ashlee was elated at the prospect at joining the family, Lizzie was less than enthusiastic. The day of his wedding, Alan was shot and languished in a coma for weeks. When he emerged, He apologized to Lizzie for ultimately causing Sarah's death and wanted to make it up to her.

Afterwards, Coop, on the pretense of writing a story, started talking to Lizzie about Ashlee. Soon the conversation led to Ashlee's reaction the night Alan was shot. Lizzie responded that she found Ashlee crying which stuck her as odd. Soon after Ashlee's reaction would make perfect sense when she confessed that she was the one who shot Alan. In the meantime, Beth found out she waspregnant. Since there was a good possibility that the child was Rick's (since Beth seduced Rick several times in an effort to get pregnant), Alan asked Lizzie to support him since there could be a custody battle. Lizzie was all too eager to help and became obsessed with the baby Beth was carrying. Meanwhile, Alan was determined that Beth's baby would be raised as a Spaulding and arranged Lizzie to distract Rick while a paternity test was being done. However, after hearing Rick talk about how he wishes he would've been a better father to Leah, Lizzie had a change of heart and told him about the test.

As the days went on, Lizzie had a harder and harder time deal with the loss of Sarah. Then one day she ran into Reva and poured her heart out about how much she missed her daughter. Later, Lizzie mysteriously woke up at the Beacon with a room full of liquor and no memory of the past few days. The only thing she remed was Reva and water. She couldn't even rem getting the butterfly tattoo she now had on her belly. The consensus seemed to be that Lizzie went on a weekend long bender. However, Alan wasn't so sure. When Lizzie revealed that the last thing she remed was talking to Reva on the docks, Alan suspected that Reva drugged and kidnapped Lizzie. Though Alan went to Jeffrey with his suspicions, Jeffrey seemingly believed Reva's story that she and Lizzie went out partying together in an effort to forget about Sarah and Jonathan. In the meantime, Lizzie continued to have dreams where her hands are tied up. Weeks later, Lizzie tried to talk to Reva about opening a charity foundation in Sarah's name but Reva coldly brushed her off by noting that they were not friends and hurried off. Suspicious, Lizzie followed Reva and burst in to find her with Colin. Though Lizzie was convinced that Sarah was alive, she was disappointed to learn she was wrong. Meanwhile, Lizzie was shocked to learn that Beth had married Rick at the Bauer BBQ. Quickly getting over the initial shock, Lizzie called her mother to say that she was happy for her.

Later, wanting a change for herself, Lizzie asked Alan to mentor her at Spaulding. Unfortunately, Alan rejected her since he felt she was too undependable. Discouraged, Lizzie wound up buying Farley's bar which ended up changing her life. The day she bought the bar, Lizzie saw none other than reformed alcoholic Billy Lewis drinking there. Not one to judge, Lizzie told Billy he could drink as long as he didn't cause trouble. That day, it looked like Lizzie was bound for trouble herself when she flirted and went home with a disreputable-looking character who reminded her of Jonathan. Worried she'd get hurt, Billy warned her not to go but Lizzie wouldn't listen. Later, Billy interrupted Lizzie's party with Jake and kicked him out after finding Jake pocketing money. A furious Lizzie ran off and Billy tracked her down to Main Street. Lizzie confided in Billy that Alan rejected her request to work at Spaulding. After Billy told Lizzie that he knew she was lonely and confided that he was just as lonely as she was, Lizzie intercepted Josh before he was able to see a half-drunk Billy; thus saving Billy from having Josh realize he'd gone back to drinking. Afterwards, Billy agreed to Lizzie's suggestion that she work for him. From that point, Lizzie made it her mission to cover for Billy so one would suspect that he had been drinking. Later, Lizzie helped Billy steal a client from Alan by using inside information she obtained through someone on the Spaulding staff. Later, Lizzie learned that Lewis had been using a sub par contractor. Billy explained to her that he had to cut costs and sometimes adequate was good enough. Unfortunately, this time adequate ended up being a disaster when the building the contractor was working on collapsed. Though no one was hurt, there was danger of the company losing its fine reputation. Cassie came up with a perfect solution when she suggested that she publicly announce that she hired the contractor.

After some harsh words from Josh about the entire situation, Billy went on a binge and ended up beating the contractor up. Seeing that Billy's drinking was damaging his reputation, which would damage her new career, Lizzie finally poured his liquor down the drain. Meanwhile, it was discovered that Billy's son, Bill, was responsible for recommending the subpar contractor. Discovering that Bill was responsible for a lot of questionable deals in Venezuela, Billy was forced to fire his son when he wouldn't return his calls. Afterwards, Billy informed Lizzie that he had heard from Bill—he received a text message. Concerned, that Billy had not actually spoken to his son, Lizzie called Bill herself to tell him that his sister, Dinah (now in a mental hospital following a head injury) needed his help.

Meanwhile, her bond with Billy strengthened. He was the father figure she needed and she reminded him of his daughter, Mindy. Later, Lizzie returned home to find a very unexpected visitor—Bill! Clad in only a towel, Bill flirted with a very affected Lizzie. Not long after, Lizzie had a run in with her grandfather who blasted her for stealing the Main Street renovation project from him and warned her that if it failed she would get all the blame. At that moment, Bill suddenly turned up and defended her. Afterwards, the two talked and Bill seemed to understand so much about Lizzie. Deeply touched by his insightfulness, Lizzie let him seduce her. Afterwards, Lizzie woke up to find Bill gone and her late for the Main Street project meeting. At the same time, Bill showed up with her business plans, stole the spotlight from Billy and made the presentation to the press with Nelson. By the time Lizzie got downtown, the meeting was over and Nelson informed Billy that he wanted Bill in charge of the project from now on. Shocked, Lizzie returned to her room and noticed her diary was out. Realizing that Bill must have read it and used it to manipulate her into bed, Lizzie was furious and when Bill returned she railed at him for using her and tried to swing at him with a baseball bat. When he left, Lizzie collapsed in tears.

At that point, Billy arrived and she told him what Bill had done. The following day, Billy's drinking problem was leaked to the press. In short order, Billy was ousted from Lewis and Bill quickly took his place. As time went by, Lizzie remained hostile toward Bill for the most part. However, there was a connection between them that neither could deny and one day while Lizzie was arguing with him, he silenced her with a kiss. Weeks later, Bill agreed to back Doris's run for mayor as long as she backed Lewis for the Main Street project—part of which meant demolishing Company. Lizzie lashed out at Bill for what he was doing to the Coopers and blasted that he was not half the man his father was. That same day, Billy was involved in a drunk driving accident. Lizzie immediately called Bill. Bill rushed to Cedars to see his father but after another argument with Bill, Billy chose Lizzie over his son when asked to bring a family m with him to see the doctor. Though Lizzie tried to get Bill to go with Billy, but he didn't. Instead, he reported Billy's drunk driving to a cop. Afterwards, Bill got a shock when he saw Lizzie giving his press conference—revealing how he used her to get information to oust his father. Later, Lizzie convinced Billy to give his older son, Dylan, power of attorney to get Bill out of commission. Bill threatened to challenge this and made plans to work on the Main Street project on his own. Though they continued to spar, it was becoming clear that they were falling for each other.

Their sparring continued into 2008 and finally Lizzie decided to teach Bill a lesson. One day after overhearing Bill reject Ava (which Lizzie knew Bill said just for her benefit), Lizzie pretended to be in a seductive mood and wanted to make love in his office at the Lewis construction site. Then when Bill was stripped down to his underwear, Lizzie locked him outside. Lizzie snuck out the back. Soon after, Lizzie returned just as a fiery blast emerged from the office. Seeing Bill badly injured, called an ambulance and tried in vain for Bill to stay conscious. Days later, bandages were removed from Bill's eyes and he discovered that he was blind. Though Lizzie and others tried to reassure him, an angry Bill told everyone to leave. Lizzie returned later and calmed down a frustrated Bill. Though Lizzie tried to help a bitter and frustrated Bill, he turned her away. The one person he didn't turn away was Ava when she tried to seduce him. Unfortunately, while they were bed, Lizzie walked in with presents and railed at Bill for his insensitivity. Equally upset over his condition, Bill cruelly ridiculed Lizzie's support. That same day, Lizzie confided in Reva that grief over Sarah, and stress over Bill, was making her ill and she went to Cedars. When the doctor asked Lizzie if she could be pregnant, Lizzie immediately jumped the gun and left the office convinced that was it. Lizzie rushed to find Bill and found him at Company seemingly ready to burn the place down. Bill informed Lizzie that Coop was responsible for the fire. Lizzie begged Bill to reconsider and blurted out that it was time for him to grow up because she was pregnant. Afterwards, Bill told Lizzie that the can was filled with water, not gas. Later, after telling others, such as Alan and Billy, about her pregnancy, Lizzie was disappointed when several pregnancy tests proved she wasn't. However, she couldn't find it in her heart to tell Bill.

In the meantime, the Lewis family gathered for Tammy's memorial service. There to support her best friend, Lizzie was shocked to see a baby outside the church that she was certain was Sarah. However, when she looked around, the baby was gone. That same day, Bill's eyesight returned and he and Lizzie arranged to meet at the Bauer cabin. Desperately wanting Bill's baby, Lizzie frantically tried to seduce him at the cabin but all Bill wanted to do was talk. When Bill demanded to know what why Lizzie was acting like this, Lizzie ran out. Bill followed and when he caught up, an upset Lizzie blurted out that there was no baby. Bill demanded to know what Lizzie did and Lizzie got away from him and ran right into the path of a car. Luckily someone pushed her out of the road; that someone was Jonathan! Lizzie was shocked beyond belief to see Jonathan alive. Jonathan told Lizzie that Sarah was dead. In the meantime, Lizzie confessed to Bill that she was mistaken—she was never pregnant. Later, after Sarah's memorial, Jonathan presented Lizzie with her daughter claiming to have faked her death to protect her from Alan. Lizzie lashed out at Jonathan for his deception but kept quiet when Alan approached her bedroom looking for her. Afterwards, Alan went to San Gabriel for an extended vacation. Lizzie enlisted Gus's help in getting custody of Sarah.

Not long after, while asking Jonathan if Sarah had ever been sick, Lizzie was shocked to learn that her missing weekend over the summer wasn't the result of a drunken bender; it was because Reva kidnapped her so she could donate marrow to an anemic Sarah. In the meantime, Bill was convinced that Jonathan could not be trusted. Suspicious, Bill sneaked into Jonathan's room and found two airline tickets. Believing that Jon was going to take off with Sarah again, Bill went to the Spaulding mansion. Realizing that Jonathan intended to drug Lizzie, Bill switched the drinks. Jonathan became sedated instead and when he awoke, Sarah was gone. Though Lizzie was ready to press charges against Jonathan for kidnapping, she reconsidered when Beth defended Jon's actions. Soon after, Lizzie came across guards arresting Jonathan on the mansion guards. Lizzie ordered the guards to let him go and was disgusted to learn that Bill set Jonathan up to be arrested. Upset since his scheme could have alerted Alan, Lizzie angrily blasted Bill.

Later, Lizzie agreed to leave town with Jonathan so they could raise Sarah together. However, after a talk with Reva and rest of the Lewis family, Jonathan decided to stay in town and fight Alan. Soon after, Bill let it slip that he told Alan about Sarah. Despite his insistence that he did it to protect Lizzie, since he suspected that Jonathan would leave with Sarah at any time, Lizzie was furious. At the same time, Beth finally had her baby who was delivered by Jonathan and Alan at San Gabriel. Afterwards, Alan called a truce and promised not to go after Sarah but Jonathan was skeptical. Jonathan was right. Alan faked a message from Lizzie to get Jonathan at the Bauer cabin and took Sarah while having his henchman get rid of Jonathan. Luckily, Lizzie arrived on the scene and seeing Jon being stuffed in the trunk, she got the goons to leave and rescued him. The pair then raced to the church where Beth's baby was being baptized. There, Jonathan saw Alan and pulled a gun on him again. Alan got the upper hand and threatened to kill Jonathan since he had nothing left to lose. Desperate to save her son, Reva blurted out that he did and stated that Beth's baby was his, not Rick's. Jonathan was convinced now more than ever that Alan was a threat to Sarah and Lizzie came up with a solution. She and Jonathan would get married so they could raise Sarah as a family. Just as the wedding was starting, Bill barged in and urged Lizzie not to marry Jonathan whom she obviously didn't love. Lizzie was so moved by Bill's words that she when it came time to say her vows she couldn't go through with it and left to find Bill. After Lizzie told Bill that she couldn't go through with the wedding since she loved him, suddenly when Bill's back was turned, Jonathan came and spirited Lizzie away. In the car, Jonathan informed Lizzie that she made an enemy of him by siding with Bill.

Later, Jonathan decided to give staying in Springfield a try and put Sarah in child care while he applied for a job at Lewis Construction. Wanting to be with her daughter, Lizzie took her from day care without Jonathan's knowledge. In retaliation, Jonathan decided to be smart and pulled many pranks around town, leaving notes implying that Lizzie was involved. At the same time, Jonathan learned that Lizzie was having Roxy groomed and took the dog. Lizzie then went to Alan for help in getting rid of Jonathan. Lizzie again asked her grandfather to help—without hurting Jonathan. On Alan's suggestion, Lizzie called Jonathan and asked him to meet her on Old Mill Road—where Tammy was killed. At Old Mill Road, Jonathan discovered that it was a set up. When Lizzie attempted to drive off with Sarah, Jonathan jumped on her car and railed that she was worse than Alan. Unnerved, Lizzie hid Jonathan and sent the police on a wild goose chase. Then at the cemetery, Lizzie made the painful decision to let Sarah leave town with Jonathan. In exchange for Alan not going after Sarah, Lizzie told Alan that she would move back into the mansion.

Unfortunately, Alan kept Lizzie a virtual prisoner in the mansion by threatening Bill. Lizzie later seemingly received an e-mail from her father telling her to follow her heart. Meanwhile, Ava smugly told Lizzie that she and Bill slept together recently. Bill confirmed but assured Lizzie that it meant nothing. Soon after, Lizzie told Bill that she wanted to move in with him and although Alan tried to stop it, Beth was able to free Lizzie from her deal. At the same time, the police found evidence of financial fraud and Alan was arrested; his assets seized. Bill posted Alan's bail and warned him to stay away from Lizzie.Not long after, all of Alan's assets, including the mansion, were seized when the IRS conducted a business audit. Mere weeks after being left penniless, Alan was devastated when Gus died after being in a motorcycle accident. Lizzie took pity on Alan and after reminding him about how he taught her about business when she was younger, she presented him with a gift—a briefcase with his initials.

Soon after, Bill told Lizzie that Ava was pregnant with his baby. Though Lizzie did her best to be supportive, as Tammy was with her, the situation grated on her. Recognizing that Ava was manipulating the situation to be near Bill, Lizzie paid Remy to spend time with Ava. Weeks later, Bill went to Lizzie with a business idea—merging Lewis with Spaulding Enterprises. When Bill offered to walk away from the deal if she was against, Lizzie happily gave her blessing. As Lizzie helped Bill brush up on his knowledge of the Spaulding board, Ava offered to become Bill's right hand gal once he settled in at Spaulding. Soon after, Ava informed Lizzie that Bill didn't want to merge the two companies—he wanted to fully take over Spaulding Emprises. Appalled that he'd lied to her and used her to get her family's company, Lizzie asked him to stop the takeover if he loved her. However, Bill had warmed up to the idea of heading this company and couldn't find it in his heart to stop the takeover. Hurt, Lizzie broke things off with Bill. Though Bill tried to get Lizzie to understand his point of view, Lizzie refused to go back to him and told him to concentrate on fatherhood. Meanwhile, Lizzie went to Alan and asked him to get the company back. Lizzie pointed out that while she couldn't condone what he had done regarding Sarah, she understood and forgave him.

In the meantime, Reva told Lizzie where Jonathan was by showing her a Mother's Day card with Jonathan's return address. Though Lizzie did enjoy a wonderful day with her daughter, Jonathan still had doubts that Lizzie could be trusted and took off again with Sarah. Meanwhile, Lizzie went to a lawyer with plans to get her family's company back. Though she tried to persuade the stockholders to put power back into her family's hands, and even tried to drug Bill so he'd miss the meeting on the day of the vote, Bill had already won them over and was voted in as CEO of the new company, which he named Maximus Inc. Meanwhile, Bill upset Lizzie even further by telling her that he was moving into her old house. Lizzie tried to get revenge by building an even bigger mansion across from the Spaulding mansion and went to Billy for help constructing it. However, Billy refused to get in the middle of a feud between her and his son and warned Lizzie not to become bitter like Bill. Soon after, Lizzie was shocked when Bill announced to the press that he and Ava were engaged. Meanwhile, everyone was shocked when Grady Foley—the man Alan hired to kill Jonathan the previous year—returned to town. Not wanting Alan to go to jail, Lizzie paid Grady to keep quiet about Alan's involvement and leave town. When Grady wound up getting arrested, Lizzie resorted to blackmailing a judge in order to ensure that Grady would get bailed out. Later, when Lizzie learned from Grady that Alan was planning to confess, she went to the police station and dragged Alan out of the station before he had a chance to make a statement. Though Alan insisted that Gus would have wanted him to tell the truth, Lizzie urged him not to.

Meanwhile, Bill told Lizzie that his wedding would be held at her old house. Obviously still in love with her, Bill gave her a kiss goodbye. Later, Lizzie and Bill appeared together in court and the court ruled that the Spaulding takeover was legal. Soon after, on Bill's wedding day, Lizzie found a file at the courthouse that suggested that Ava had been artificially insemination. At that moment, Ava's own father, Jeffrey, came by and confirmed it—the baby Ava was carrying was not Bill's. After she told Bill the news, Lizzie expected him to cancel the wedding. To her sorrow, he went ahead and married Ava. Afterwards, it was obvious that Bill, who was hoping to run for public office, was looking to save face. When their conversation ended, a photograph of a cottage with a tire swing fell out of Bill's pocket. Believing that he bought the cottage for her, Lizzie met Bill there. Unfortunately, the photo of the cottage had fallen out of Bill's pocket one day and Lizzie assumed that it was for her. Since there wasn't time to talk, they arranged to meet at some other time.

At their next meeting, Bill informed Lizzie that he had to stay married to Ava for the sake of appearances but announced that he wanted to be with her. Realizing that he was talking about her becoming his mistress, Lizzie ultimately declined. In an attempt to get Bill out of her system, Lizzie asked for a job at Maximus Inc. in the Los Angeles division. Bill agreed and Lizzie set out with Beth and Alan to start her new life. In the midst of all of this, Alan had apparently been receiving messages from Gus in his dreams. Though Lizzie was skeptical, she briefly became a believer when Alan correctly stated that Ava, who wasn't due for months, was having her baby. On the day they were to leave, Lizzie informed Beth and Alan that she wanted to find Sarah, who she last saw in Los Angeles. After getting Alan's word that he'd no longer cause trouble for Jonathan and Sarah, Lizzie asked Alan where Sarah was. When Alan revealed that he lost track of them, Lizzie suggested that he ask Gus. Though Alan gave her an address, it led to a dead end.

Later, Alan confessed that he had lied to Lizzie--he never had a vision of Sarah. Later, Dinah traveled to Los Angeles and told Lizzie that Bill needed her since he was obsessed with keeping custody of baby Max even though it was obvious that he was Remy's son. Though Lizzie stated that Bill was not her problem anymore, she felt compelled to return to Springfield to support him. As Bill told Lizzie about how much Max meant to him, they were sadly informed that the baby did not survive. Though Lizzie tried to convince Bill that he needed time to grieve, he immediately went back to work. Later, Lizzie admitted to Bill that she loved him but could not be with him and planned to go back to Los Angeles. At the same time, Alan was celebrating since he had been cleared of any culpability in Tammy's death and informed Lizzie that he would get his company back again. After Max's memorial service, which was arranged by Lizzie, Bill asked her not to go back to LA and mentioned that he did not understand who she could be away from Sarah. Max's death got Lizzie thinking about her own daughter and she decided that she wanted Sarah back.

However, Alan was a huge obstacle and Lizzie decided in order to get Sarah back, Alan had to be in prison. Lizzie went to Jeffrey and informed him that she was willing to testify that Alan hired Grady to kill Jonathan. Mere days later, Bill warned Lizzie that something was seriously wrong with Alan since he collapsed. Lizzie convinced Alan to go to Cedars where he was informed that he had a life-threatening blood clot. That blood clot was the cause of his "visions" of Gus. Faced with losing her grandfather, Lizzie decided that she could not testify against him and backed out of her deal. Meanwhile, Alan was against getting surgery for his blood clot and promptly left Springfield to conduct business in New York. When Bill told Lizzie where Alan was, Lizzie went to New York with Bill unexpectedly following. Bill informed Lizzie that Alan was there to make a play for Maximus but he didn't know how. Unfortunately, both knew that Alan was in no condition to conduct business and Lizzie feared that Alan would ruin the family's reputation. Later, Bill slipped out of the hotel room and Lizzie found an address in Alan's hand writing. Realizing that Bill followed Alan, Lizzie went to the site just in time to see Bill having Alan escorted away. At that point, someone came looking for Spaulding. Lizzie seized the opportunity and went to Alan's meeting herself where she greatly impressed businessman Lawrence Decker. Lizzie was so impressive that she wound up with a 49% share of Maximus.

Afterwards, Lizzie returned to Springfield and finally convinced Alan to have the surgery. She also revealed to Bill that she was his partner. Lizzie assured a shocked Bill that she didn't do it to usurp him but rather to help their relationship since they would be on equal footing. Days later, Lizzie announced to the world that Maximus was now Spaulding-Lewis. Unfortunately, Bill still resented that Lizzie took half of his company away and rejected her attempts to reconcile. Soon after, Lizzie discovered that Dinah messed up the purchased of the house—it still belonged to the Spauldings. Lizzie asked Bill to stay at the mansion but he refused. Things got more complicated when Bill did some research of his own and found out that while the Spauldings owned the mansion, the land belonged to the company. Bill decided to stay at the mansion but declared that he and Lizzie would lead separate lives. However, Bill was determined to prove that he was better at business by interrupting her meeting with Decker. At the meeting the two attempted to outdo each other. Eventually, Decker called Lizzie and Bill simultaneously and suggested that they bid against each other. In the meantime, Lizzie moved Alan back into the mansion after he was released from the hospital. As a counterpoint, Bill invited his parents to stay at the mansion as well.

As the weeks went by, Lizzie and Bill played games to make each other jealous. Ultimately, it was decided that Bill and Lizzie might work better together and they prepared to give an important presentation to Decker and various investors. Unfortunately, on the day of presentation, Lizzie was suddenly kidnapped. Lizzie was bound, gagged, and tied to a chair for weeks with no contact with anyone except her kidnapper. Though Lizzie almost succeeded in escaping when she cut herself lose with her keys, she was stopped by her kidnapper before she was able to remove her blindfold. Before being tied up again, Lizzie was able to scratch her kidnapper with her keys. Finally, the kidnapper dragged Lizzie off to transport her to another location. While he was getting her water, Lizzie, still blindfolded, bolted from the van and ran off. Unfortunately, she fell right into a deep hole. As the kidnapper helped her out, he accidentally fell in the hole himself. Now free, Lizzie was able to untie herself and ran off. However, having connected some with her kidnapper, she quickly returned and offered to help him out of the hole if he took off his ski mask. Though incredibly reluctant, he eventually agreed. Before Lizzie got a chance to see her kidnapper's face, she was grabbed from behind and tied up again. Alone in the van, Lizzie heard Bill give a moving plea for her return on the radio. Soon after, Lizzie stabbed into the van with a screwdriver to cause damage. Then unexpectedly, Lizzie heard Bill's voice coming from a cell phone and yelled at him to save her. Luckily, Bill was able to find Lizzie by following the leak that she caused by puncturing the van. After confessing to Lizzie that he loved her, Bill escaped with Lizzie in the kidnapper's van. Unfortunately, Bill crashed the van. Though Lizzie was uninjured, Bill was left in a coma.

After the ordeal, Alan tried to place doubts in Lizzie's head by revealing that on the day she disappeared, Bill assumed that she betrayed him. However, Alan's words could not sway Lizzie from believing that Bill was a hero. Lizzie stayed at Bill's side for weeks, despite Alan's suggestion that she focus on business. Meanwhile, the police was having no luck in finding out who exactly kidnapped Lizzie. Finally, Lizzie accompanied Alan to the police station to see if there were any leads. There, Lizzie was shocked when a lead implicated Bill. Though Lizzie insisted that there was no way Bill was guilty, Alan seemed to unintentionally give the police a motive by pointing out that Bill gained by giving the presentation without Lizzie on the day she disappeared. With Lizzie's permission, the police checked the house and found cut up magazines that were used to create the ransom notes. Soon after, Lizzie found a jacket that the police knew belonged to the kidnapper. Scared, since everyone, including Bill's parents, seemed to believe that Bill could have done it, Lizzie was prepared to destroy the evidence.

Unfortunately, she was stopped by Alan and Frank. Convinced that someone was framing Bill, Lizzie hired Cyrus to help her clear Bill. Though Lizzie suspected that Alan was behind it, she quickly dismissed that when he went to the police station poised to confess to her kidnapping in order to buy her more time to mount a defense for Bill. Several days later, Bill finally opened his eyes. Immediately upon waking up, he was questioned by the police. Though others were still skeptical of Bill's innocence, Lizzie never had any doubt. That was, until she saw a scar on his chest—the same one she gave her kidnapper. To prove his innocence, Bill decided to make a statement to the police. Unfortunately, his memory was fuzzy and he contradicted statements he made while Lizzie was missing. Though Lizzie continued to insist that Bill was innocent, it was clear to others that even she had doubts. The strain of trying to support Bill eventually became too much and Lizzie collapsed from exhaustion. At year's end, the case against Bill took a dovetail turn when the warehouse housing the evidence against him was torched.

Even though the evidence was gone, things got complicated in 2009 when Bill confessed to Lizzie that, thanks to the accident, he had no memory of the kidnapping. Reming how power-hungry Bill had been, and the scar she's recently seen on Bill's chest, it occurred to Lizzie that he may have kidnapped her after all. Disillusioned, Lizzie distanced herself from Bill and decided to become as emotionally detached as Alan. She also became close to Cyrus whom she hired against Alan's advice. Though Alan tried to buy Bill out of Spaulding-Lewis, Bill refused. Instead, he offered to undergo hypnosis in order to retrieve his memory. Unfortunately, that was unsuccessful. In an attempt to revive their memories, Bill recreated the kidnapping but that only got Lizzie upset when she realized that he read her diary again. In the meantime, Lizzie was shocked to spot Beth in a liplock with Coop. A disgusted Lizzie confronted Beth and railed at her for betraying Alan. She also blasted Coop who made it clear that he loved Beth. Though hurt for Alan, Lizzie agreed to keep the truth from him. Unfortunately, things took a tragic turn when Alan bullied Beth into marrying him by threatening Coop. However, by the time Lizzie got to the church, it was empty.

Meanwhile, Lizzie saw a horribly wrecked car and was shocked to see Philip standing there. Phillip informed Lizzie that he was there to make amends. However, a wary Lizzie didn't believe it and discreetly texted the police. At about this time, Lizzie learned that Coop had been fatally injured in a car wreck while racing to stop Beth's wedding to Alan. While Phillip was out on bail, he tried to convince Lizzie of his good intentions but Lizzie remained good. Meanwhile, Lizzie learned that Grady planned on making a statement stating that he had been hired to kill Jonathan. In order to save Alan, Lizzie offered Grady one million dollars to leave town. Grady agreed and he and Lizzie made plans to meet at an abandoned warehouse. When Lizzie got there, she looked in the window to find Grady without his shirt. Suddenly, she noticed a tattoo on his chest—just where a scar would be. Lizzie suddenly realized that he was the man who kidnapped her. Lizzie backed away and hysterically called her mother for help. Phillip intercepted the message and came to her rescue. Upon seeing him, Lizzie became hysterical and began flashing back to her kidnapping years earlier. Finally, in Phillip's arms, Lizzie remed whose face she saw – Grady! The next day, Phillip informed a frightened Lizzie that Grady was gone and would never bother her again. Afterwards, Cyrus admitted to Lizzie that he knew about Grady's involvement in the kidnapping and had protected. Upset, Lizzie fired Cyrus. At the same time, Bill's memory had finally returned. After the ordeal, the pair reunited and declared their love for each other. Regretting all of the time they wasted fighting, the pair decided to wipe the slate clean and pretend that they had just met.

Weeks later, the pair was shocked when Dinah confessed that she'd known about the kidnapping all along. As a result, Bill disowned his sister. Though Lizzie suggested that he forgive her, Bill wanted nothing to do with Dinah. Meanwhile, Lizzie found the million dollars that she was going to give to Grady at home. Reming Phillip's words that he had taken care of Grady, Lizzie realized that Phillip killed him. Sickened, Lizzie confronted her father who admitted that, while he hadn't planned on killing Grady, he'd done it to protect her when Grady began making threats. After Lizzie admitted to Bill that she was afraid of her father, Bill convinced her to go to Phillip's kidnapping trial by pointing out that she still loved her father. Despite what Phillip had done, Lizzie, who was the oldest child Phillip had kidnapped, spoke on Philip's behalf. Though he was sentenced to prison, Phillip was pardoned thanks to a teenaged James.

Weeks later, Bill surprised Lizzie with a trip to Universal Studios and a marriage proposal. Though Lizzie initially wanted to elope, she and Bill both decided that they wanted a real wedding. Later, at their engagement party, Bill was unexpectedly charged with securities fraud. Luckily, Phillip stepped up and told the officers that James was the one behind the scam. Confronted, James was forced to admit that he lured investors using Bill's name. Fortunately, Phillip was able to keep James from doing any jail time. Weeks later, both Bill and Lizzie decided to leave Spaulding-Lewis. After Bill made the announcement to the press, Billy offered him a job at Lewis Construction. Though Lizzie intended to sell her shares of the company, Alan told her that he'd save them for her until she remembered that she was a Spaulding and returned. Although Vanessa and Alexandra wanted to plan the wedding, Lizzie was determined to do everything herself. The couple decided that they wanted to get married in 21 days. In the meantime, Bill was rocked with the news that Jeffrey's plane went down with Dinah on board. The news turned out to be incorrect when Dinah, who was not on that plane, returned to town. Lizzie ordered Bill to invite his sister to their wedding and she accepted. Unfortunately, Bill and Lizzie inadvertently put the wrong day on the invitation and no one showed up. Though the pair was resigned to the fact that they had to wait to get married, Dinah discovered what had happened and surprised them by throwing them an impromptu wedding in the park. Touched at what Dinah had done, Lizzie asked her to be her maid of honor. Though Alan had told Lizzie that he would not be attending her wedding to Bill, thanks to Phillip and Alexandra, Alan was there for Lizzie's special day. Later, Phillip presented the newlyweds with their own house.

Weeks later, Lizzie accompanied Bill to Max's grave on the one-year anniversary of his death. Suddenly, Lizzie began thinking of the child she had lost. Later, Lizzie asked Reva about Jonathan but Reva had no clue where Jonathan was. As the weeks went on, Lizzie missed Sarah more and more. In the meantime, Phillip informed the family that he was dying. Very soon after, James stumbled across Phillip's file and confronted Phillip's doctor, Ed, about a potential cure. Ed explained that it was an extremely risky procedure that involved a transfusion of bone marrow from a donor. Though Phillip was adamantly against it, both James and Lizzie demanded to be tested. Ultimately, Alan turned out to be a match and he selflessly risked his life for Phillip. Luckily, the procedure worked and Phillip was cured. As if that weren't good enough news, Jonathan suddenly returned to town and informed an overjoyed Lizzie that he and Sarah were staying. Meanwhile, the medical procedure must have put a strain on his heart and Alan died of a heart attack the same day that Billy and Vanessa remarried. By the following year, Phillip and Beth were married and Lizzie and Bill were expecting a baby.