2008: Carmen “Sugar” Morales grew up with thick skin. Moving around in the foster care system, she never knew what true friendship was. She became susceptible to the advances of a man named Armando. Carmen thought Armando loved her. When Armando was charged with robbery, he turned on Carmen and implicated her in the crime. Without anyone to defend her, she went to prison, becoming further disenchanted by the system and mankind.
Carmen’s life in prison took a dramatic turn when her new cell mate was none other than celebrity Erica Kane. Carmen and Erica had a rough start. Carmen was wrongfully defensive thinking Erica to be a flighty socialite. That all changed when Carmen and Erica went on the run while handcuffed to each other. Their prison transport had crashed. Erica helped Carmen to track down Armando and corroborate her innocence. When the authorities caught up to them, Erica promised the services of her ex-husband Jackson Montgomery to get Carmen’s charges reversed.
Carmen became Erica’s closest friend and confidant when it came to matters of the heart. Erica began to have romantic feelings for Samuel Woods, the US Attorney who had sent Erica to prison. Carmen recognized Jack was a good person and still in love with Erica.
Jack successfully arranged for Carmen’s parole. As part of the condition to her freedom, Carmen needed a job. Erica arranged for Carmen to work for another one of her ex-husbands, Adam Chandler. Adam and Carmen’s relationship had a rocky start. That was until Adam recognized the growing romance between Jack and Carmen. Adam had fallen for Erica again, and believed that he could win Erica back if Jack and Carmen were a couple. Before Carmen agreed to seeing Jack romantically, she asked for Erica’s approval. Erica agreed, but out of formality and not honesty. Carmen’s romance with Jack estranged her from her best friend.
Carmen reconnected with her former foster-sister Randi Morgan. Randi had felt abandoned by Carmen after her emancipation. Carmen was sad to see how far Randi had fallen. Randi had spent time as a prostitute. Carmen and Randi worked to move on from their past, and attempted to rebuild their familiar relationship.
After a heated argument with Erica, Adam fired Carmen. She turned to Jack for a place to stay.