Shalia is a mysterious, young woman that came onto Derek while he was drowning his sorrows away in a bar one summer night.  It was obvious from the moment she arrived in Hallandale that she had ominous plans in mind.  First, was worming herself into Derek's bed by drugging him.  That was just the least of her surprises: she later revealed to Derek along with Shanna and Ben that she and Derek had married before their drunken tryst, hence consummating their marriage.  Derek had his suspicions about the story at first, but after some calculated explanations from the beautiful Shalia, he quickly dropped them.  Ben, however, was not as easily swayed and had Shalia investigated.  Fearing what Ben found, Shalia cut the power source in Derek's building and then broke into his apartment and snatched the folder containing the incriminating information just as Ben was about to perform the great unveil.  Ben, after realizing the folder was missing, chased Shalia through the woods, but ultimately lost her.

The next morning when she went to visit Derek at his shop, Ben scolded her and caught a glimpse of some scratches on her arm.  When she left, Ben pointed it out to Derek, but Derek quickly explained it away.  Ben, however, had questions and confronted Shalia about the scratches, but she explained that she got them from planting.  He didn't believe her, but he dropped it because neither his wife nor Derek believed that Shalia was a threat.  Of course, the audience learned differently when it was revealed that Shalia was involved in some kind of shady business dealings with Andrew Stokes, who is plotting to destroy Shanna Hemmings, all the while playing her dear new friend.

With Andrew in town, Shalia became a little less worried about Ben and his ramblings and started allowing herself to get closer to Derek, maybe closer than she intended.  Their "strange" marriage has yet to be annul and it seems that both are content on letting it stay that way.  Ben, however, has made it clear to the darling vixen that he plans on finding out everything there is to know about her.  Desperate to stop Ben, Shalia pleaded with his wife, Shanna, to stop her husband's ridiculous crusade, but she only managed to peak Shanna's suspicions.  Feeling the walls closing in around her, Shalia went frantically to Andrew after learning Ben was now headed to Nevada.  After negotiating what was at stake for both of them if Ben discovered the truth, Andrew "reluctantly" agreed to dispose of Ben.  Unbeknownst to Shalia, this was all part of Andrew's master plan.  Within 48 hours, Ben had disappeared, severing all contact he had been making with Derek previously.  Derek grew suspicious of Ben's lack of contact and confronted Shanna with his worries.  Shanna then begin to suspect that Shalia was the culprit behind Ben's disappearance and passed her suspicions to Derek.  Derek questioned his wife and she beautifully denied any part in the kidnapping.  Derek, however, insisted that Shalia provide documents to verify her whereabouts.

Although Shalia's phony alibi served its purpose in clearing away suspicion from her, she was finding it harder and harder to control her guilt over Ben's disappearance.   In an effort to ease his wife's suffering, Derek went to Shanna and insisted that she drop her ridiculous crusade against his wife. Shanna, however, argued the merit of such an action, especially since Shalia's sleepless nights seemed to give more weight to her suspicions.  When Derek returned home, Shalia noticed that he was all in knots.  He informed her that he went to see Shanna and she's on a warpath.  Shalia knew what that meant -- Shanna was seeing red and she was in the eye of that focal point.  Derek tried to ease her mind, but Shalia broke down and informed her husband that she wasn't sure how much more of the verbal and physical lashing she could take.  Derek tried to assure her that once Ben came home, this would all be behind them, but that only terrified her more as she began to speculate how willing Ben would be to clear her name.  In the end, she only managed to drive her husband away, who could not believe that Shanna or anyone would take Ben into lying about what happened to him.

In the week to follow, the answers would become clear.  Following a night on the town with his wife, Derek received a phone call from Detective Ralph Lombard, who revealed that Ben had perished in a plane crash.   While her husband dealt with the task of breaking the news to Shanna, Shalia went to her cohort in crime for answers.  Andrew simply told her that he was doing what she wanted.  However, she never wanted Ben dead and didn't know how she could look her husband in the eye knowing she was responsible.  Andrew tells her that he has faith that she will find a way.  He also revealed that it was his attention all alone to get rid of Ben and render Shanna defenseless.  It is then Shalia witness the rage buried inside him, up close, for the first time and attempts to call their partnership off.  However, Andrew informs her that he's in charge and she will be finished when he's done with her.  Although shaken by his aggressive manner, she reminds her cohort in crime that she also has friends in high places.  Andrew then reclarifies that they are on the same side before wishing her a good night, to which her husband bears witness.