To the Williams' horror, their teenage daughter Patty became involved with Jack. When Carl tried to break up their romance, a vengeful Jack retaliated by marrying Patty. Over time, Patty became disenchanted with the marriage and questioned if Jack was only interested in her for sex. Behind Patty's back, Jack continued to see Diane Jenkins, a long-time girlfriend. At Jabot, Jack also hired Victor's ex-wife, Julia, to succeed Chris Foster as the company's new model, which enraged Diane because Jack had promised to appoint her the news Jabot model.

Lorie hired Robert Laurence to be her attorney and he waged a fierce battle to clear her of killing Vanessa. The tension created by the trial slowly caused Lorie and Lance's romance to erode. Eventually, Vanessa's diary turned up, which contained information about her plan to frame Lorie. Although Lorie regained her freedom, she lost Lance, who decided to rebuild his life away from Genoa City. Lori's other sister, Chris, packed her bags, too, when her husband, Snapper, accepted a doctor's position at a hospital in another state.

Soon after her trial, Lorie began seeing Victor Newman, which troubled Nikki, who felt inferior around the sophisticated and poised best-selling novelist. Even though Nikki was wildly attracted to Victor, he made it clear that their relationship was strictly platonic. Nikki, however, believed otherwise, even after Victor and Lori became romantically involved. When Victor proposed marriage to Lorie, she accepted. Before the ceremony, Victor handed Lorie a document that gave her control of Prentiss Industries. Shortly before the wedding ceremony, Victor searched for Lorie, who had suddenly disappeared. Instead, he found a letter from Lorie, informing him that she wasn't interested in marrying him. Left behind with the letter was Victor's engagement ring. Lorie packed her bags and arranged a meeting with Lucas before leaving town. To Lucas's s surprise, Lorie announced that she had won control of Prentiss Industries from Victor and was returning the company to Lance.

With Lorie out of the picture, Nikki's hopes of becoming involved with Victor were revived. Victor tried to discourage Nikki's attraction by arranging for her to date someone closer to her own age, a young man named Kevin Bancroft. Nikki reluctantly agreed to see Kevin, but her feelings for Victor continued. Victor and Nikki eventually gave in to their mutual attraction and slept together. But afterward, Victor insisted that it wouldn't happen again.

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