Several months after disappearing without any explanation, Nikolas Cassadine returned to Port Charles. His son, Spencer, whom he had an extremely strained relationship with, was, unsurprisingly, not happy to see his father. Nikolas had already led Spencer into believing that he was dead for three years, and Spencer hadn't fully forgiven him for it. More recently, however, Nikolas, whose marriage to Ava Jerome had hit a snag, had allowed himself to be seduced by Spencer's beautiful yet evil ex-girlfriend, Esme Prince, who became pregnant with his child. This damaged Nikolas's relationship with Spencer seemingly beyond repair, even though Spencer's and Esme's relationship had been falling apart even before they returned from boarding school in France, and Spencer had his eyes on a new girl, Trina Robinson. Among one of Esme's many crimes was attempting to frame Trina for revenge porn. This was despite the fact that Esme never loved "Spence" as she called him, and had in fact, been working with her father, notorious serial-killer Ryan Chamberlain, to break up Nikolas's marriage to Ava, as Ryan had been obsessed with and stalking Ava for years.
When Nikolas found out that Esme was pregnant, he locked her in a tower at their home at Wyndemere Castle, on Spoon Island, as Esme was the prime suspect in a series of murders (which were actually committed by Heather Webber, who was later revealed to be Esme's mother), and Nikolas felt that the tower was safer for a pregnant woman than a jail cell. Esme named her unborn son Ace, as he was her "ace in the hole". Esme made several attempts to escape, and finally succeeded on New Years Eve 2022 by setting fire to a Christmas tree, then when Nikolas opened the door to put the fire out, Esme ran out and jumped off the parapet into the sea. She eventually was found (by Spencer and Trina no less) and was taken to General Hospital. When Esme finally woke up, she was questioned by the police about her whereabouts, but couldn't remember anything, including her name, or the fact that she was pregnant! She did eventually remember naming her unborn baby Ace, but couldn't remember why she chose that name. Her amnesia revealed a scared, vulnerable side, to her, and though many people in Port Charles still had reservations about her, others believed her to be harmless. Hence, when she gave birth to her son (after a frightening experience of being kidnapped by her parents), she was allowed to raise him.
Spencer, despite being Ace's brother, not his father, was determined to get custody of him, partially to punish Nikolas for being such a horrible father to him, but also out of genuine concern for Ace. When Nikolas returned to Port Charles, the battle over Ace's custody heated up! Esme was determined to prove that Ace was the safest with her. Knowing that the judge most likely would not award her custody given her history (even though she didn't remember any of it), she researched support groups for young parents. One such group got excellent reviews, so she decided to check it out. She met with the director, a woman named Jan, who seemed very excited to meet Esme. Jan asked Esme some questions about herself and her situation, and told Esme that she reminded her of herself when she was Esme's age, and insists that Esme will fit right in with the rest of the group! Esme found Jan's enthusiasm a bit odd but dismissed it as simply her making a sales pitch. She decided to attend a meeting.
The group was quite large. Jan introduced Esme to the members, and then asked the members to introduce themselves. While they all seemed nice, Esme couldn't help but notice that they hardly seemed to talk about their own experiences that led them to coming to the group. Instead, they raved about how wonderful Jan was, how she had welcomed them and their children and provided them with a second home, and they all were one big, happy family. They did, however, take turns discussing the issues with which they were currently struggling. When the meeting was over, Esme met privately with Jan, who asked what she thought of the group. Esme told her that while she felt very warmly welcomed, she didn't understand why the other members seemed to not want to discuss the things they were struggling with prior to coming to the group. Jan explained that the details about everyone's lives and the circumstances that led them to coming to the group was privileged information that only "trusted" members of the group were to know about. Esme asked what it meant to be a trusted member. Jan explained that it simply meant that since this was her first time attending, it was natural that people might not want to open up to a stranger right away, but by continuing to attend the meetings, the more people would trust her, and the more she would trust them. Esme isn't sure what to make of this but agreed to continue to attend the meetings. Jan told her she made the right choice.
As the date of the custody hearing approached, Jan offered to write a character reference letter for Esme, which Esme agreed to. Meanwhile, Spencer and Nikolas continued to be at each other's throats regarding Ace. Spencer felt that while Nikolas may be Ace's father, the fact that he's had walked out on Spencer multiple times throughout his life proved he was not fit to be a father, and even though Spencer had long since fallen out of love with Esme and had officially begun a relationship with Trina, Nikolas sleeping with Esme and getting her pregnant was something Spencer felt he could never forgive his father for. Nikolas admitted that he screwed up with Spencer but said that he has a second chance with Ace, and unlike with Spencer, Ace's mother would be there to help raise him. Spencer of course did not react to this well, to put it mildly.
Kevin and Laura Collins, who, in addition to being married, are Esme's uncle and Spencer's grandmother respectively, and who had allowed both of them to live with them at their penthouse, had noticed how much Esme has changed since she first came to town, and especially since she started attending the group. They felt that Ace was safest with Esme, and that Nikolas and Spencer would not be good influences. Esme told them that she's grateful for their support. At the hearing, the judge read the letter from Jan and acknowledged that Esme had genuinely changed for the better. The judge awarded sole custody of Ace to Esme, believing her to be the most fit to take care of him, both because she's his mother, and because she was working on becoming a better person.
Esme continued to attend the meetings with the support group and felt increasingly comfortable with them. Eventually, she asked Jan if she was a trusted member yet. Jan explained that she was not yet a trusted member. Esme, again, asked what it meant to be a trusted member. Jan explained that it meant that the other members of the group were comfortable enough around a person that they're ready to open up and share details of their lives that they aren't comfortable sharing with just anyone, and explained that the important thing to remember was that even though she might not be a trusted member yet, the group was still a safe place, and often times it's more helpful for a person to discuss the issues they are currently are facing, rather than dwelling on the past. She assured Esme that they were all there to support each other, and to support her. Jan then asked Esme if she trusted her. Esme thought about this for a few seconds, then answered yes. Janelle smiled and hugged Esme, telling her that she was glad to hear her say that, because she trusted her. Esme then walked out and closed the door behind her.
After Esme left, Nelle reached into her blouse and pulled out the two half-heart pendants hanging from the gold chain around her neck. "I trust you more than anyone," she said.