The shocking idea that Mariah Copeland could take baby Dominic does not appear suddenly or feel completely out of character. Instead, it unfolds as the heartbreaking end result of a long, quiet mental breakdown that many around her noticed—but never fully confronted. What looks like a sudden act of betrayal is, in truth, the final fracture of a mind that had been slowly unraveling for months.

Mariah’s struggles did not begin overnight. What started as grief and emotional exhaustion gradually shifted into something more dangerous. Her thoughts became unstable, her sense of self distorted, as though reality itself no longer lined up with how she felt inside. Concern grew, but it was met with hesitation—people debated how serious things really were instead of acting decisively.

Sending Mariah to a treatment facility in Boston was meant to help, not punish her. Yet treatment without connection only deepened her feelings of abandonment. Tessa Porter carried immense guilt over the decision, and every conversation afterward left her more worried. Instead of sounding calmer or clearer, Mariah grew increasingly resentful, convinced she had been pushed aside and forgotten.

Isolation amplified Mariah’s darkest thoughts. She began to believe that her pain had become an inconvenience, something others wanted managed rather than understood. When she finally returned to Genoa City, the hope that home would ground her quickly collapsed. Familiar places didn’t comfort her—they reminded her of everything she feared she was losing.

Life in Genoa City had continued without her, and that realization was devastating. Mariah felt weaker, not stronger, and the expectation that returning home would fix everything only sharpened her sense of rejection. Her emotional instability deepened when she noticed the growing closeness between Tessa and Daniel Romalotti Jr.

To outsiders, their bond seemed harmless. To Mariah, it confirmed her worst fear—that she had been replaced. Every shared smile and private moment fed her paranoia. When she witnessed a kiss between them, something inside her snapped. That moment wasn’t just jealousy—it felt like erasure. In her mind, it proved she no longer belonged.

From that point on, sadness transformed into rage and recklessness. Mariah stopped caring about consequences because she no longer believed there was anything left to protect. That emotional collapse created space for a dangerous idea to take hold—Dominic.

In her fractured thinking, Dominic came to symbolize everything she had lost: love, permanence, and belonging. Her attachment to him wasn’t logical, but it felt essential. Old wounds surrounding family and motherhood resurfaced, blurring the line between protection and possession. Once that boundary vanished, taking him no longer felt unthinkable.

The complicated surrogate arrangement only worsened her distorted reasoning. The unanswered questions surrounding Dominic’s birth convinced Mariah that everything about his life was fragile and morally uncertain. She began to believe she wasn’t stealing a child—she was correcting a wrong, stepping in where others had failed.

By the time Mariah abducted Dominic, she didn’t see herself as a villain. She saw herself as someone acting on instinct, pushed to the edge with no other options left. The shock that followed in Genoa City was immediate, but Mariah was already emotionally detached from the chaos she created.

In that vulnerable state, Matt entered her life. He didn’t need to manipulate her aggressively. He simply validated her pain. Where others questioned her, Matt listened. Where others judged, he affirmed. Aligning with him felt like choosing the only person who truly understood her suffering.

Genoa City, once a place of safety, now felt hostile and hypocritical. If the world already viewed her as dangerous, Mariah reasoned, she might as well embrace it. With Matt’s quiet encouragement, she stepped fully into chaos—not to destroy for pleasure, but because destruction felt like the only language left to her.

The disappearance of Dominic sent shockwaves through the city, especially among those who had once loved and trusted Mariah. Tessa was overwhelmed with fear and guilt, replaying every conversation, every missed warning sign. Daniel, too, was pulled into the fallout, questioning whether his presence had unknowingly triggered Mariah’s collapse.

As the search intensified, details about the surrogate arrangement complicated everything further, fueling doubt and mistrust. Meanwhile, Mariah drifted deeper into her own version of reality, convincing herself that Dominic was safer with her than anywhere else.

Matt continued reinforcing that belief—not to help her heal, but to keep her dependent. His goal wasn’t her recovery; it was control. And as time passed, it became clear that even if Dominic were found, the damage was already done.

Trust had been shattered. Relationships permanently altered. Mariah’s transformation from victim to catalyst ensured that nothing in Genoa City would ever return to normal.