is so grateful that she is able to forgive Nick for his indiscretion with Billie, and they soon rekindle their romance. Later, Willow emerges as a threat to Nick and Chelsea's happiness. When Nick steals the hairbrush, it leaves Willow as the only suspect for the fire. Nick feels sorry for her and lends her money. Willow asks for more money, and Nick leases an apartment for her and gives her his credit card to use for her and her baby. Willow uses Nick's credit card excessively, then calls him and blackmails him into giving her more. Nick goes to the beach to meet Willow and the two get into an argument. In the ensuing struggle she falls, hitting her head on a log. Despite Nick's attempts to revive her, she dies. He finds the hairbrush in her possession and buries it in the sand on the beach before calling for help. While Nick is investigated by detective Roman Brady, he convinces Chelsea to go to the beach and destroy the hairbrush. Roman eventually learns the truth, and gives both Chelsea and Nick a pass by closing the investigation. Nick is also blackmailed by Kate Roberts into making Sami's amniocentesis say that EJ was the father of Sami's twins. Nick saves Sami and Lucas Roberts from a bomb that Dr. Rolf planted, sustaining head injuries in the process. While suffering from a concussion, Nick goes to Las Vegas and marries a woman named Cassandra Arvin who is using the alias "China Lee". Arvin is eventually persuaded to sign annulment papers. She is arrested and goes to jail for soliciting, leaving Nick with custody of her two sons, Artemis and Demarquette. Nick deduces that Artemis and Demarquette are not really China Lee's children, which she confirms upon her release from jail. She had been hired to protect the boys, but refuses to retake custody of them. A man named Umar Abboud comes to Nick's home and claims that he works for the boys' parents and had been sent to bring them home. Nick does not trust Abboud, and Jeremy Horton, who is staying with Nick at the time, successfully fights him off. Weeks later, Chelsea is abducted. She is permitted to use her cell phone only to contact Nick, who is directed to come to a designated location, alone. There the kidnapper offers a hostage exchange: Artemis and Demarquette for Chelsea.