During this time, Steve began to act strangely and to keep secrets from Kayla. One night, Kayla had a minor car accident when her car collided with another. The other driver was a woman named Donna D'Angelo. Some days later, Kayla came home to find Donna talking with Steve. Donna claimed to have stopped by looking for Kayla to apologize. However, Kayla later overheard Steve and Donna speaking, and Donna said that they had been lovers. Kayla confronted Steve about this. As it turned out, Donna's real name was Marina Toscano; she and Steve shared a past, dating back to his days with the merchant marine, which he refused to elaborate on. All Steve would tell Kayla was that Marina had been presumed drowned off the coast of Naples, Italy in 1979. She was now in Salem because Steve had a captain's log book that Marina wanted in order to look for a "family treasure" that her dying father, Ernesto Toscano, wanted. Kayla felt that Marina had a hold over Steve, and she became jealous of it even though Steve never stopped pledging his love to Kayla. Steve's strange attitude about Marina, and his unwillingness to tell Kayla more about their past together, led to a strain in their marriage. Soon, Kayla began to suffer from headaches and dizzy spells.
Kayla's
symptoms turned out to be blessings in disguise: she was pregnant.
But Kayla did not tell Steve. Because of the problems they'd been
having, she wanted to wait to tell him; she wanted to make sure that
Steve wanted to be with her regardless of whether she was expecting.
However, she did want to be rid of Marina and her problems, so Kayla
asked Steve to give Marina the log book, go to Italy with her, and
help her find the key to the Toscano treasure. Steve agreed, on the
condition that Kayla come with them. Unfortunately, Kayla had to bow
out of the trip because of her pregnancy. Jack, who had somehow
become involved with the Toscano affair and who was quietly trying to
make amends for the past, tried to convince Kayla to tell Steve about
the baby. When she didn't and Steve left with Marina, Jack insisted
that she tell him and did the unexpected: he tricked her into getting
on a private jet with him to go to Italy safely. Kayla reluctantly
took him up on it. But when she and Jack arrived in Italy, they saw
Steve and Marina in an embrace. Kayla mistook the situation and left
without getting an explanation, and without telling Steve that she
was pregnant.
Jack tried to convince Kayla that nothing had happened between Marina and Steve as they returned to Salem. Unfortunately, once back home, Jack accidentally broke a flower pot in Kayla's house, revealing an old marriage license -- Marina and Steve's! This meant that Steve and Kayla's marriage was invalid. Angry, Kayla moved back in with her parents. When Steve finally returned from Italy (without the key and missing his left eye again), Jack told Steve that Kayla was pregnant. Steve confronted Kayla and she admitted her pregnancy, but she refused to return to him as long as Marina was around. Things became worse when attempts were made on Steve and Marina's lives. Victor, who was also searching for the Toscano key, was behind them. The Toscano mess had gone too far, and many people, including Steve and Kayla, were anxious to see Marina go. And shortly after Thanksgiving, that wish came true: Marina was found dead in her hotel room -- she'd been hit in the head with a lamp.
Marina's death, however, just brought more trouble. Neither Steve nor Kayla were terribly shocked by her death, casting suspicion on both of them. Furthermore, with Marina dead, Victor turned his full attention to Steve in order to get the Toscano key. As it turned out, Marina had found the key in Italy after all, but she had hidden it to keep it away from Victor. Steve didn't know where the key was, but Victor believed him to be lying. Soon, he began to threaten Kayla's life. On one occasion, while getting a pregnancy exam, a fake nurse gave Kayla a poisonous substance to drink in the guise of a glucose solution; Steve stopped her from ingesting the stuff just in time. Another time, she was terrorized in the dark at the Emergency Center. The stress of these encounters weren't good for Kayla, as her pregnancy was delicate. Soon after this, Steve and Kayla discovered that Marina had a sister named Isabella, and that she was hidden in Bayview Sanitarium. In order to end the problems with Victor, Steve agreed to find the Toscano key for him by questioning Isabella. Jack, who had begun to gain Kayla's trust, was also involved. In fact, one afternoon he called Kayla from Bayview Sanitarium -- he was locked up with Isabella! Kayla tried to help him escape, but she was caught by some bribed guards. Steve was able to release them by going to Bayview and posing as Roman. After this, Isabella went missing, and Kayla wished that Steve wouldn't look for her for fear it might cause more problems. To keep Kayla away from danger, Steve faked her kidnapping and took her to the lighthouse. She remained there safely until after Christmas, when she was kidnapped for real.
Victor's henchmen took Kayla to a yacht disguised as a freighter. Because of her condition, a nurse named Grace Jeffries -- the same nurse who had given Kayla the poisonous substance in the hospital -- took care of her. Kayla befriended Grace, who didn't realize that she was working for Victor; she thought Kayla's husband had hired her. Grace began to help Kayla get messages out to Steve. But after a failed rescue attempt, Victor had the ship sail to his estate in Miami, and locked Grace along with Kayla. The two were rescued by Steve and Roman, who brought Isabella to Victor to exchange the Toscano key for Kayla (Jack had found the key and given it to Isabella). Although Isabella was shot in the scuffle that ensued, Kayla was freed. Once back in Salem, Kayla gave Jack a heartfelt thanks for his help. His actions had proven that he was trying to change for the better, and he had begun to earn Kayla's trust.
Meanwhile,
Steve and Kayla reunited. Steve wanted to remarry right away, before
the baby was born, and began making plans. Kayla, however, was not
sure that was the right thing to do. Despite having been rescued,
Kayla still dwelled over Marina, and how she had disrupted her
marriage. Shortly before the wedding, Kayla received an audio tape:
it contained an argument between her and Marina on the night of the
murder. Kayla had visited Marina that night in her room, and they'd
had a heated argument during which Kayla pushed Marina and broke a
lamp. Even though Kayla had not killed Marina, the tape, which had
been manipulated, incriminated her. She tried to keep the tape from
coming to light, but another copy was sent to the cops. On the day of
her wedding to Steve, Abe Carver interrupted the ceremony and
arrested Kayla.
Because
of the evidence, Kayla was quickly indicted and tried for Marina's
murder. At one point during the trial, Caroline confessed to killing
Marina, but it was obvious she was just trying to protect Kayla. The
stress of the trial proved to be too much for Kayla. While court was
in session, she went into labor. Hours later, on February 19, 1990,
she gave birth to a girl, Stephanie Kay Johnson. At the hospital,
Kayla met a woman named Sheila Salsbury, who had just given birth to
a daughter as well. Sadly, Sheila's baby died. Little did Kayla know
that Sheila would soon cause problems for her and
Steve....
Soon
after Kayla's release, the trial resumed, and Kayla was convicted to
ten years at Rinehart State Women's Penitentiary. Kayla was allowed
to have Stephanie with her in prison, but she felt bad raising her
daughter in that environment and gave her to Steve. While in prison,
Kayla befriended a guard named Jody who gave her special privileges
and kept her informed on Stephanie. One day, Jody gave the horrible
news that Stephanie had been kidnapped by her new nanny, Kelly Parker
(who was, in reality, Sheila from the hospital). Determined to save
her daughter, Kayla decided to escape from prison.
Steve went off to
investigate on his own, not wanting Kayla to be concerned
about their daughter. Steve was eventually led to Australia.
There he reunited with Bo, who was docked there with his
family on The Fancy Face. Bo helped Steve track down
Shelia. Kayla, in the meantime, got
out of prison and headed to Australia as well. Soon after,
Steve and Kayla were reunited with their
daughter.
It was later revealed that Isabella had murdered Marina, due to insanity. Kayla and Steve were now reunited with their daughter.
In mid-1990, Steve became wrapped up in the actions of the "Riverfront Raider." This ultimately led to his death. Steve was gravely injured by a bomb meant for Bo. A few days later, in the hospital, he was killed when something was injected into his IV. After Kayla buried her husband, his coffin was switched with another one, before being lowered into the ground. Of course no one in Salem witnessed this incident.
Kayla mourned Steve, but eventually found comfort with
her former brother in law, Shane Donovan. Her sister,
Kimberly had moved on and was now living in Los Angeles.
Kayla moved in to Shane's house with Stephanie. He bonded
with the little girl. It was there where she took her first
steps. By the spring of 1992, Kayla was ready to move on. She
and Stephanie said goodbye to Shane and Salem, moving to LA
to join Kimberly and her children.
More information to
follow!
The character of Kayla Brady has been
played by the following:
Catherine Mary Stewart (1982-1983)
Mary Beth Evans (1986-1992)
Rhonda Aldrich (1989) (temporary replacement)