Things went poorly for Mariah long before her first appearance in Genoa City. Like the birth of her own baby, Mariah's origin story is rooted in similar evil and distress. For starters, teenage Sharon Collins had no idea she was pregnant with twins at the time — but it wouldn't have mattered anyway because of what was in store for her and her unborn daughters. After going into labor, Sharon was drugged, and both babies were taken. Cassie Newman got the better end of the deal since she was put up for adoption as Sharon had planned for her child. However, Mariah's existence was kept a dark secret.
To make matters worse, Mariah was handed over to a woman named Helen, who was obsessed with the sadistic leader of a cult called The Path, Ian Ward (Ray Wise). Helen didn't have much of a maternal instinct, often neglecting Mariah and leaving her to fend for herself within Ward's warped world. Once the only mother she knew passed away, Mariah was entirely at the mercy of the cruel cult head, who had basically become her family. Mariah used all the tactics she learned from Ian to scratch and claw to get anything in life. She was motivated only by money and greed because that's what he had drilled into her head over the years.
