Genevieve was sweet and innocent when she married Australian, Colin Atkinson. But when Genevieve discovered that Colin was a mob boss, she became cold and distant. Their twin sons, Cane and Caleb were an accident, and while Colin adored them, Genevieve barely paid them any attention. But when their daughter, Samantha was born, Genevieve became the doting mother, determined to keep them away from the mob influence which Colin was instilling in their sons.

Thirty-one-year-old Ethan Cane Ashby showed up in Genoa City from Australia in January 2007, claiming to be Phillip Chancellor III, the son of Jill Abbott and Katherine Chancellor's deceased husband, Phillip II. Young Phillip had died in a car accident at the age of 19. When Phillip's coffin was exhumed, the body found inside was Phillip's, and a DNA test proved that Cane was indeed Jill's son. Jill and Cane bonded, and Katherine Chancellor treated him as a grandson. Cane fell in love with and married Lily Winters, and together they had twins Charlie and Matilda.

It was eventually disclosed that Cane was not Phillip, but Phillip was alive and living in Australia, and had sent his friend Cane the blood sample to pass the DNA test. Phillip returned to Genoa City to explain that he had faked his death and had run away to Australia where he owned a bar. Feeling guilty about the way he had abandoned his family, Phillip had sent Cane, who needed a family, to take his place. Cane told Lily, that the “cattle mafia” in Australia had stolen his friend’s herd one by one, bankrupting him. Cane had become a marked man when he identified the rustlers to the authorities, which is why he had to leave Australia.

In mid-October 2010, one of the Australian cattle rustlers, Blake Joseph, had turned up in Genoa City looking for Cane. Blake threatened Cane that if he turned him in to the police, Blake would expose the fact that Cane had been one of the cattle rustlers, but had turned on the gang to save himself. Blake offered to leave Cane and his family alone for five million dollars, which he was sure that Katherine and Jill could provide. Then Cane was invited to dinner by Jill, to meet a new man in her life who was also Australian. Cane was shocked when the man turned out to be his own father, Colin Atkinson, freshly released from prison. When the two men were alone, Colin said that he would forgive Cane for 'ratting him out' as the mob boss and sending him to prison, if Cane would come back and take his rightful place in the family organized crime business in Australia. Colin reminded Cane that he came from a wealthy family, not poor and parentless as he claimed, then showed him a photo of his younger sister Samantha. Cane reminded Colin that he had ruined her life and that she had been murdered because of him. Colin threatened Cane that he would use Cane’s secrets to persuade him to return, saying that Katherine Chancellor should know that Cane was embezzling money to pay off Blake, and Jill that he was Colin’s son. Cane refused and told him to stay away from Jill and his family. But like Blake had ingratiated himself to Lily, Colin got close to Jill and they became lovers that same evening.

Cane saw things coming to a head and confessed to Lily that Blake was sent from Australia to blackmail him about his past, and that Cane had been part of an organized crime family involved in illegal activities. Cane explained that when the organization had caused the death of his sister Samantha it made him decide to turn on them, and then he met Phillip Chancellor who gave him the opportunity to escape to Genoa City and start over. Lily did not take it well and kicked Cane out.

Colin ordered Blake to go home to Brisbane, but asked him for one last favor before he left; to keep Cane from interrupting his wedding to Jill. Before Blake left for the church, he got a text message from someone called “Rippley” tipping him that Colin was not to be trusted and was setting him up.

As Jill and Colin said their vows, Cane walked up the steps of the church, followed by Blake. Lily walked out the front door and saw them fighting. Blake turned the gun on Lily to stop Cane, but Cane jumped Blake to protect his family. The gun went off shooting Cane in the chest, and Blake fell down the steps, breaking his neck and dying as he landed. Lily slipped on the ice, and the twin’s carriage went careening down the steps, but Neil arrived in time to catch it and save the twins. Cane lay on the steps bleeding as Jill and Colin walked out of the church married. Lily and Jill cradled Cane’s body and begged him to hold on as Neil called 9-1-1. Colin looked dazed as he watched his son dying. Lily told Cane she forgave him and loved him, and Cane breathed his last breath telling Lily that he loved her. The paramedics arrived, but they could not revive Cane.

Neil took a sobbing Lily into the church to talk. Jill and Colin went home to the Chancellor estate covered in blood, and told Kay, Murphy, and Billy that Cane was dead. Billy went to console Lily, and promised her that he would write an article on Cane’s heroism. While Kay and Jill hugged and commiserated about their loss, Colin went to the morgue to identify the body. Colin apologized to his son, saying that because of himself, both his son and his daughter had been gunned down in the street. Colin promised Cane that his children would be spared from his destructive life.

Cane's funeral was held on his and Lily's beloved Valentine's Day. Phillip, Kay, and Jill made touching speeches, and mourners placed a rose on his coffin as they left. Lily kept seeing and talking with Cane at his funeral, then again at home where she made peace with him, making sure that he knew that she still loved him despite all the lies. While everyone else thought that Lily was going crazy, Traci understood and had a conversation with Lily about coping with the loss of someone you love. Cane continued to haunt Lily, but began to creep her out rather than the peace that his presence had originally given her.

Increasingly concerned about her visions of her dead husband Cane, and after she began finding mementoes he seemed to be leaving for her, Lily consulted a psychiatrist and a psychic. Cane showed himself to Lily at his grave. He told her that he was not alive, but although he didn't understand it himself, he knew that he would be with Lily forever. Lily was able to touch and feel Cane, but he fled when he heard Colin and Jill approach. Lily began going to the cemetery more often to see Cane. Later when Cane showed up at Lily's apartment, Colin could not see him, yet Lily and the twins could. Cane told Lily, that he couldn't explain it.

The next day, Colin met Cane in the park calling Cane "Caleb", who was Cane's evil twin, and Colin admitted that he had planned the gunning down of Cane on the church steps. They discussed their plan to convince everyone that Lily was insane, so that they could return to Australia with the twins. The next time Cane and Lily met, Cane got amorous with Lily, and she pushed him away. Lily decided she needed to start living in reality to be there for her kids, and checked herself into Fairview sanitarium.

Meanwhile "Caleb" met with his mother, Genevieve, who reminded him that she was in charge, as she recalled witnessing Caleb shoot at Cane years ago, but Samantha had been killed instead. Genevieve revealed that Caleb, after drugging Cane, had taken his place and showed up at the church. But Colin had arranged for Cane to be gunned down, not realizing that Caleb was the one who was killed on the church steps. Genevieve had found Cane, and he let everyone believe that Cane was dead, and began working with Genevieve plotting to have Colin be arrested for kidnapping the twins to finally get some justice for Samantha.

After bidding Jill a passionate farewell telling her he was leaving town on business, Colin managed to convince Neil to allow him and Jill to take the twins for the night, but instead he took them to the McMillan estate where a plane was to pick up him, "Caleb", and the twins to leave for Australia. Jill got suspicious and followed him to the estate. Meanwhile Neil found the note that Cane had left for Lily the night of his "death" which admitted that Colin was his father and that he had a twin named Caleb. Neil called Jill and explained, and she told him where she was and that Colin had the twins on an airstrip. Stalling for time while Neil called the police, Jill confronted Colin. Cane walked up, and Jill pretended to faint at the sight of him. Jill listened to them talk of their plan, then accused Colin of using her, before she ran off into the woods.

Colin was lured into the mansion by music that he recognized, where he found Samantha's urn on the mantel and a chalk outline on the floor covered in photos of her. Colin called out, and Genevieve appeared telling him that she was there for revenge and justice. She shoved him during their argument, and Colin fell over the balcony. Jill arrived and tried to rescue Colin who was holding on to the edge by his hands. As Genevieve told Jill that she was Colin's wife, Colin lost his grip and fell. The police and an ambulance arrived, and they took Colin to the hospital.

Lily arrived with Daniel, and Neil held her back as Cane jumped the pilot before he could take off with the twins in the plane. The pilot dropped his cigarette which ignited leaking gasoline, but Cane subdued the pilot and drove the stroller into the woods just in time. Cane convinced Lily that he was her husband with things that only he would know. Finally Lily believed him, but feeling betrayed she refused to forgive him. Colin was quickly freed when he was given diplomatic immunity, but both he and Cane were continually rebuffed by Jill, Katherine, and Lily as they told him to get out of their lives. Lily then had a restraining order served against Colin. Cane went back to work bartending at Jimmy's Bar. After repeated efforts by Cane to get Lily to forgive him, Lily told Cane that she was filing for divorce.

Genevieve became a regular at Gloworm, and asked Gloria to start stocking her favorite very expensive champagne. It was there that Genevieve met Jack Abbott as he was buying Newman stock online the day it went public. Genevieve marveled at his stock market skills, and slyly accused him of having insider information. When their paths would cross, both would flirt with the other. Genevieve let Jack know she was interested in getting to know him better over what she considered their first date over coffee at Crimson Lights, and she displayed some surprising business acumen. Genevieve gave marketing ideas to Victoria and Abby for Beauty of Nature, then she offered advice to Jack to counter the marketing with Jabot. Victoria told Abby they couldn't legally use her ideas though unless they hired Genevieve.

Months went by with Colin doing his best to woo Jill back, and Genevieve her best to stop it from happening. Finally Colin told Genevieve that he was filing for divorce, and she reacted violently, smashing everything in sight at her mansion. After Colin told Jill about the impending divorce, she succumbed to his advances. Genevieve found out and in turn succumbed to Jack's. The two pairs of lovers and former lovers continually crossed paths, always with the women seething at each other. Then Jack chose Genevieve as the new Jabot Cosmetics director of marketing. Meanwhile Katherine chose Jill for the same position. When the two met at the office for their first day, there were fireworks between them. Jack and Katherine compromised and made them co-directors sharing an office. Colin dropped by while Genevieve was out, so Jill and Colin christened the office by having sex on Genevieve's desk.

After Jill arranged for Genevieve to go on a month long business trip in Jill's place, Genevieve locked Colin in her wine cellar. Trapped alone without even his cell phone to call for help, Colin found an electrical panel and managed to set off the alarm. The alarm company called Gloria since she was their last contact as the realtor. Gloria found Colin, but she let the door slam behind her, locking herself inside with Colin; and being underground, her cell phone got no service. Colin and Gloria found a secret room that appeared to have been a speakeasy. Then after Gloria passed out drunk sampling the wine, Colin found a vault containing a book that listed all his bank accounts. Later a note was slipped though the door that said that Genevieve had trapped him there while she was emptying out his bank accounts.

Paul discovered that Colin had not used his airline ticket. Cane guessed that Genevieve had trapped Colin in the wine cellar, he took Jill there, and they let Colin and Gloria out. As Colin checked his drained bank accounts, Cane met with Ronan about getting evidence against Colin to get him sent back to prison. Cane went back to the cellar, found the vault and blew it open, finding the bank records which he turned over to Ronan. Ronan turned Colin's books over to the FBI to try to decipher their code. Meanwhile Colin discovered that Genevieve had been transferring money from his secret bank accounts. Jill asked Colin to move back in with her at the Chancellor estate. The first call on the FBI wiretap of Colin's phone, overheard him putting a hit on Genevieve and Gloria. Colin arranged for the women to be at Genevieve's mansion later in the day, but they were not there when Lily arrived. Cane rescued Lily just as the mansion exploded.

Ronan and Chance met them outside. Chance had been reassigned by the state department to work with Ronan on the case due to Colin's drug trade in the Middle East. Cane admitted that he had been working with them too, attempting to get Colin put back into prison. Meanwhile Jill, after overhearing Colin's suspicious phone call and being warned by Cane, coaxed Colin to bed and handcuffed him, then called the police. Genevieve's maid, Myrna, had been in the house and was hospitalized with severe burns. Ronan arrived at Colin's suite and arrested Colin for money laundering, drug trafficking, and suspicion of murder. Colin's diplomatic immunity no longer got him off since they had discovered that his ambassadorship was phony. Genevieve turned over Colin's books, and Colin was deported. Lily called Cane her hero, and they reunited.

Genevieve's housekeeper Myrna was revealed to be Patty Williams when Genevieve took her home from the hospital wearing a veil to hide her burns. Jack tried to console Myrna, but she fled from him without speaking so he would not recognize her voice. Jack asked Genevieve to help him convince Myrna to speak at the annual charity event fund raiser which Jabot and Beauty of Nature were co-sponsoring to benefit burn victims. Patty continued to stalk Jack, now wearing winter hoods and scarves to cover her face, even letting herself into Abbott manor with her key.

Patty, posing as Myrna, cooked Thanksgiving dinner for Genevieve and Jack, including something that knocked them out. Patty shoved a limp Genevieve out of the way while she made out with the unconscious Jack. They awoke later, thinking they had both just fallen asleep after dinner.

After running into Genevieve grieving on her dead daughter Samantha's birthday, Cane and Lily brought the twins over and reconciled with Genevieve. That evening, Jack proposed to Genevieve and she accepted, while Myrna (Patty) listened and realized they had just made love on the couch in her absence. After they left to tell the Abbotts the news, Patty threw a fit on the couch.

Cane objected when Genevieve told him about her impending marriage to Jack. Although concerned that she hadn't known Jack that long, Cane gave her his blessing.

On New Year's Eve 2011, Jack and Genevieve celebrated at Gloworm while Patty lurked around watching. Patty spiked Genevieve's drink, but Jack drank it instead, knocking him out by the time Genevieve got him home. Patty, as Myrna, called Genevieve to come home due to a short in the alarm system. After Genevieve left, sneaked in on Jack lying unconscious in his bed, Jack awoke at bit, looked at her, and called her Patty. Later Jack woke up from a dream with only 'Dave the cat' in his bed. Meanwhile, Genevieve hired Ronan to investigate what had happened that night, suspecting Colin. Ronan assured Genevieve that Colin was still in a maximum security prison in Australia, but that he would look into it.

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

Adam decided to sell Beauty of Nature and proposed a deal to Tucker to help him outbid Jack in exchange for a job at McCall. Then Jack offered to top any offer, with the bonus of giving Adam the satisfaction of allowing both of them to get back at Victor. As Victor's new wife and under his instruction, Sharon cast the deciding board vote to allow Beauty of Nature to be sold. When the bids were opened, Jack's fiancée, Genevieve under the name of FMN holding company, emerged as the new owner of Beauty of Nature. The next morning Victor expressed his disappointment in Sharon's loyalty to Adam, and had their marriage annulled.

At Genevieve's invitation, Paul went to her mansion to interview Myrna about the strange goings-on there. But Patty heard him arrive and grabbed a bag and disappeared to her old hideout, the Newman potting shed. Paul searched Myrna's room for clues to why she had left, and took her computer. Later Paul found a photo from the park surveillance camera on it. When Paul wasn't looking, Ricky copied the hard drive to a memory stick. Paul started putting the clues together and realized that his sister Patty may have been posing as Myrna. Then Deacon identified Patty's photo as being the person who was there in the park helping him clean up after Diane's death.

Patty, posing as Emily, approached Jack and told him that she still loved him and couldn't let him marry Genevieve. When Jack told her no, that he had moved on, she feigned embarrassment, kissed him and left. On his wedding day morning, she showed up as Emily again at Abbott manor, and bared her feelings, requesting that they reconcile. When Jack turned her down, she left angry, leaving Jack amazed at how much Emily had changed.

While Jack continued to prepare for his wedding, with Billy as best man, Lily matron of honor, and Cane giving Genevieve away, Adam found Patty hiding in the Newman potting shed, and tried to stop her from going to the wedding to shoot Genevieve. Patty threw insecticide in Adams's face burning his eyes and blinding him again, then clubbed him over the head with a board. Sharon later found Adam, called the police and they got him to the hospital.

Meanwhile Cane confronted Genevieve, saying that he was ashamed of her that she had bought Beauty of Nature but had not told Jack before their marriage, and Cane told her he was no longer her son. Nikki found out that Genevieve was the buyer from Victor and congratulated Jack on his marriage and craftily getting Beauty of Nature through Genevieve. Nikki left Jack shocked and broken-hearted, but he went on to the church.

Patty sneaked in at Genevieve's and overheard her reading a note to Jack backing out of the wedding. Patty intercepted the note, and walked down the aisle in Genevieve's stolen wedding gown. Jack pulled the veil from her face, ready to confront Genevieve, and said, "Emily?" Patty replied, "It's Patty, you bastard," and shot Jack. Patty left as the horrified Abbotts rushed to Jack. Jack was taken away by ambulance in critical condition.

Eager reporter, Ricky Williams, found out what his aunt Patty had done and went to his uncle Father Todd's church, because Patty always went to Todd when she was on the run. Patty was already holed up in the church bell tower, and Ricky found her there, regressed to a childlike state. Ricky's probing made Patty mad, but not before she disclosed that Adam been the one who helped her escape the mental institution years before. Ronan and Paul arrived, and Paul and Todd talked Patty into giving herself up.

Meanwhile the doctors told the Abbotts that Jack had a lacerated kidney, and the bullet was lodged next to his lower spine as he was taken into surgery. Jack's heart stopped during surgery, he survived, but was left paralyzed, just as he had been when Patty had shot him before in 1983.

At the police station Patty admitted to making the pillows for each person who had been in the park, and Paul and Father Todd helped them get her into a cell. Emily arrived and then Genevieve, but Patty didn't seem to recognize them. When it was discovered that Patti had been the missing link in the Diane Jenkins murder, charges were dropped against all the suspects, including Nikki, once Ronan was able to convince the DA that Nikki was not responsible. Deacon remained in jail. Patty was sent to the prison hospital.

The next day Genevieve went to see Jack in the hospital, tried to explain how she needed a chance to feel powerful and independent by owning Jabot, and apologized for deceiving him, but Jack rejected her and sent her away in tears. Genevieve went to Jabot to resign, but she was promptly fired by Ashley. Victor later tried to buy Beauty of Nature back, but Genevieve refused. Victor instructed Michael to file a lawsuit challenging the legality of the sale. Realizing that Victor was right when he told Genevieve that she was not competent to run a global company, she offered Neil the job of COO, but Neil later turned her down.

It wasn't long before Cane and Lily decided to remarry, and they joyfully gathered their family in the park to announce the wedding date would be Valentines Day -- everyone, but Genevieve, whom Cane had disowned after she screwed Jack over when she bought Beauty of Nature out from under him. Malcolm sent flowers, and Devon and Neil gave their blessings. But the day before their small wedding, Katherine surprised them by moving the wedding to a friend's villa in Provence, France, and flying friends and family there in her private jet. The wedding was held on the beautiful grounds of the villa with Abby as maid of honor, Devon as best man, and Neil giving away the bride. Cane sweetly told Jill that she was the mother of the groom, the only mother he had ever truly loved. The vows were spoken informally about second chances, and they exchanged both their old and new rings. Afterward, a reception was held in the garden, while Genevieve tearfully watched from afar, and was only spotted by Jill, who didn’t tell anyone.

Genevieve stayed on in Paris, where Victor showed up, still trying to woo her into selling him back Beauty of Nature. Victor offered Genevieve to become his right hand and teach her everything she needed to know to run Beauty of Nature, but she turned him down. Instead she convinced his daughter Victoria who had been an integral part in the success of Beauty of Nature to become CEO of the company.

Genevieve visited Jack to tell him she was sorry but still really love him. Jack bitterly asked why she had betrayed him. Genevieve said she wanted to never be just Mrs. Somebody again and wanted something she could control. Jack replied that he would have supported her, found her another company to run, but instead she had stolen the one company Jack wanted. Then she didn't trust his love enough to even tell him afterward. Genevieve begged for him to forgive her now. Jack retorted that he hoped Beauty of Nature would keep her warm at night and asked to leave. Later Jack hired Avery to file a lawsuit to get Beauty of Nature from Genevieve because she had prior knowledge of his bid which had assured her of the win.

Both Jabot and Beauty of Nature became focused on getting an exclusive deal with Mitsukoshi, the largest department store chain in Japan, so Jill traveled to Japan. Beauty of Nature would be severely hampered by Victoria's prior bribery scandal which had barred Newman from Japan, but Victoria felt that her prior relationship with the owner would still be in their favor. Genevieve instead went to Victor for advice on handling Mitsukoshi and Jabot, but he refused. Discovering that Victor needed support for a Newman board vote, Genevieve made a deal to influence board member Davis Holloway, who worked for her holding company, FNM, in exchange for the information she sought. Victoria later warned her not to trust anything Victor told her. Genevieve then flew to Japan where she was later met by Victor.

During their meeting in Japan, Genevieve searched Victor's briefcase while he had stepped out, and she found a business card for Kaito Yoshida of Oshiro Holdings. Believing she had discovered Victor's contact in Japan, she called to meet him. Jill and Cane were there to meet with the same man, supposedly a Mitsukoshi major stockholder. But Jack called and tipped them that the man was actually the U.S. government agent who had investigated Newman and caught them making bribes. They did not show up for the meeting, but when Cane spotted Genevieve with the man, he interrupted them and got Genevieve out of there before she could be tricked into making a bribe. Nick and Sharon arrived, and Sharon met with Mr. Mitsukoshi himself and secured the exclusive rights for Newman because of their prior relationship when she had been the Beauty of Nature spokesperson. Eventually it became clear to Genevieve that Victor had set her up, and she thanked Cane for rescuing her. She gave up, telling Victor she was considering selling Beauty of Nature back to him. But she was later served with papers of Jack's lawsuit to invalidate the sale to her.

Genevieve offered to sell Beauty of Nature to Jack if he would forgive her and marry her, and Jack agreed. She then got offers from Victor, Victoria, and Tucker and relished the thought that she and Jack were going to outfox them all. But after Genevieve overheard Jack telling Nikki that he didn't love or trust Genevieve, and was only agreeing to get Beauty of Nature, she went to Tucker. Tucker and Genevieve reminisced about being a couple when they were teenagers, her love of wine coolers, how he had wanted to be rich and she wanted to travel, but never got any farther than Australia. Tucker reminded her about secrets that they shared, and how she had broken his heart when he had thought he could trust her. Genevieve admitted that Tucker was the frontrunner in the sale if she could stay on at the company.

Meanwhile Jack and Nikki, who were once married, were getting close again. Knowing that Jack was only marrying her to get Beauty of Nature, Nikki pleaded with him to not be like Victor and to be like his father John. Jack said he would if Nikki would remarry him instead, but Nikki was still in love with Victor. So Jack arranged to meet Genevieve in Las Vegas.

When Victor and Nikki found out that Jack and Genevieve were going to marry in Las Vegas, they each followed them there to try to talk them out of it. Victor offered Genevieve CEO of Beauty of Nature if she sold to him and didn't marry Jack, but she refused. Because Nikki had overheard Victor admit to Chelsea that he had paid her to setup Billy in Myanmar, running into Victor, Nikki confronted him saying that although she still loved him, his choices of anger and self-righteousness over family were something she could not tolerate, and that they were through. Meanwhile Jack changed his mind about tricking Genevieve to get Beauty of Nature after seeing how much she genuinely loved him. Jack joined Nikki in her room, and they ended up making love. Genevieve put on her gold wedding dress and went to Victor's room with a bottle of champagne, she signed the agreement, and they ended up making love as well.

Back in Genoa City, Jack and Nikki were invited to a party for Billy's new son John. Victor and Genevieve crashed the party and announced their Beauty of Nature deal and that they were now a couple. Nikki put her hand on Jack's shoulder and let him know that she had moved on as well. Tucker later ran into Genevieve, accusing her of going for the money in Victor and deceiving him into believing that he ever had a chance to get Beauty of Nature, then warned her to be careful with Victor.

The SEC began an investigation into the legality of the sale of Beauty of Nature by Adam to begin with, and an investigation as to where Genevieve got the money to buy it. Plus Jack's pending lawsuit that Genevieve won the bid by using insider information, left the ownership of Beauty of Nature in limbo. Genevieve went to Tucker, and asked him to testify that he had loaned her the money for the sale, but he refused. A mere sixteen months after he was imprisoned, Genevieve received a call from Colin saying that he was now free and living it up somewhere thanks to her.

In May 2012, Jill left Genoa City for and extended stay in Sydney, Australia. On her way out of town, Jill had words with Genevieve in the park over who was the worst mother which ended up a mud fight.