Claudette arrived in Port Charles, using the name C.J. Bolland. She applied for a job and was hired by Maxie Jones to work as a graphic designer at Crimson magazine. She later lured Nathan to her hotel suite. Nathan thought Maxie was waiting for him but was shocked to see it was Claudette and demanded to know why she was there. She acknowledged he had every right to be angry, but she insisted he owed her. She revealed that she'd been unemployed for some time, but had been hired by Crimson magazine as a graphic designer and would be working with Maxie. She refused to let a job slip through her fingers and admitted she'd treated him poorly.

Claudette promised she wouldn't cause problems for Nathan but reminded him she could. Nathan said her lover had never stepped forward after Nathan had shot him. Claudette told him her ex-lover had recovered, and she knew who he was. Claudette apologized for hurting him. Nathan didn't believe her and told her to pack because she couldn't work with Maxie. He said she was leaving Port Charles immediately. He went to check her out of the hotel. When he returned, he was shocked to see Maxie with Claudette. Nathan told Maxie that C.J. was his ex-wife, Claudette.

Claudette complimented Nina for turning the fashion magazine around with her green issue. Maxie arrived and told Nina that C.J.'s name stood for Claudette -- the same Claudette who had once been married to Nina's brother, Nathan. Claudette explained that C.J. Bolland was her professional name and that she'd wanted to get a job on her own merit. Nina fired Claudette. Maxie intervened and asked Nina not to fire Claudette because she wanted to keep an eye on her until she figured out what Claudette was up to.

Nina told Claudette she had reconsidered and that they needed to focus on putting out a great magazine. Claudette agreed and was shown around. Claudette told Maxie that Nathan's happiness was paramount, and she was happy he'd found Maxie.

Maxie told Nathan he had invited Claudette to lunch, and he couldn't back out because she'd sent a text message to Claudette from his phone. Claudette accepted and thanked him for the invitation. Claudette realized she'd lost the key card to her room and needed to get it replaced. Nathan explained that he wanted to have lunch with her to apologize for overreacting when he'd seen her. She knew he had made a sincere effort to make their marriage work, and she'd repaid him by being unfaithful. If she had a chance do it over again, she wouldn't cheat because she realized their marriage had been the best thing to happen to her.

Claudette told Nathan that Maxie had smoothed things over with Nina when she'd discovered that Claudette had been married to Nathan. Nathan asked Claudette to tell him the name of the man he'd shot so he could make amends, but Claudette refused to give it to him.

Claudette assured Nathan that he and Maxie had made it abundantly clear they were committed to each other and that she'd moved on. Maxie feigned surprise when she saw Nathan and Claudette together. Claudette was bitter when she saw Nathan and Maxie kiss. She told Maxie that she and Nathan had cleared the air. Back in her room, Claudette realized that Maxie was going to be a problem and said, "That bitch has to go."

Maxie was determined to drive her rival out of town and took steps to make it appear that Claudette had infected the computers at Crimson. The ploy failed when Claudette managed to track the malware to Maxie's computer. Nina was furious at Maxie, but Claudette decided to part ways with Crimson to avoid further strife with Maxie. Claudette announced that she had a new job opportunity and would be leaving town, but she ran to Nathan and told him about what Maxie had done. Nathan remained loyal to Maxie and offered to give Claudette a ride to the airport.

On the way to the airport, Nathan's car broke down. Claudette seized the opportunity to fake a knee injury in a desperate attempt to seduce Nathan, but he kept Claudette at arm's length and took her to the hospital when help arrived.

Claudette was stunned to discover that her ex-lover worked at the hospital, but Griffin was not happy to see Claudette because she was a reminder of why he'd taken a leave of absence from the church. Griffin regretted having an affair with a married woman and tried to cut ties with Claudette, but she was determined to rekindle things with him because she claimed that she loved him. Griffin accused Claudette of toying with people and being dishonest.

Nathan realized that Griffin was the man he had shot years earlier when Nathan had walked in on his wife and her lover. Maxie enlisted Griffin's help to figure out the real reason that Claudette was in town. Griffin reluctantly agreed to help, but Claudette refused to trust him with her secrets. Eventually, Claudette opened up to Nathan about an ex-lover who was in prison.

According to Claudette, the man was a criminal with powerful connections who had lured her into his lifestyle. Claudette admitted that she'd been blinded by the money for a time, but she had realized her mistake and had tried to walk away. The ex-lover had been furious and had threatened her daughter. Nathan was stunned when Claudette told him that the child was Nathan's and that she'd discovered she was pregnant after he had filed for divorce. Nathan reminded her that she'd been intimate with Griffin around the same time, but she insisted that she and Griffin had always been careful. She showed Nathan a photo of a little blonde child.

Claudette admitted that she had sent her daughter, Charlotte, to live with someone she trusted because she knew that she was unfit to be a mother.

At Claudette's request, Nathan went to Claudette's suite. Claudette told Nathan she was in a lot of trouble. She said she'd gotten involved with a very dangerous man and had been forced to go off the grid and into hiding because things had ended badly. She said the man was in prison but had been tracking her. She had remained in hiding until she had seen Nathan's engagement picture online. Claudette begged Nathan to help her and her daughter.

Later, Claudette told Liesl about Charlotte and that she was Nathan's daughter. A short time later, Maxie and Nathan arrived and were surprised to see Liesl there, wiping tears of joy after discovering she had a granddaughter. Maxie demanded a paternity test. Claudette produced a dark brown lock of hair. Maxie pointed out that the girl in the picture was blonde, not dark-haired. Claudette claimed that Charlotte's hair lightened in the summer. Maxie was sure Claudette had managed to get her hands on a lock of Nathan's hair, not the child's. Claudette asked Liesl to run the test.

At Metro Court, Nathan told Claudette he would have the paternity results within an hour. Claudette rushed to her suite and called Griffin. She asked him to meet her in her suite because she had important news for him. When Griffin arrived, Claudette told him about Charlotte and said there was a possibility he was the father. She revealed that Nathan would have the paternity results shortly.

Nathan and Maxie arrived, and Nathan read the paternity results, which indicated he was Charlotte's father. Alone with Claudette, Nathan demanded to know where his daughter was because he wanted to meet her. Claudette assured Nathan that Charlotte was safe, but Nathan wanted to protect his daughter from danger. Nathan threatened to report Claudette to the U.S. and Canadian authorities and let them find Charlotte. Nathan pressured Claudette to divulge her ex-boyfriend's name. Claudette said his name was Valentin Cassadine.