Although Stefano DiMera didn't need any extra fuel to add fire to his hatred for the Brady family, things got worse when Hope Brady was accused of killing his daughter Megan Hathaway (Miranda Wilson). Stefano sought revenge on the family by kidnapping Roman Brady's twins, Sami and Eric. He later set his sights on Hope by brainwashing her to believe she was a woman named Princess Gina, an art thief who was madly in love with John Black (Drake Hogestyn). When Hope was finally freed of Stefano's clutches, she found out she was pregnant and questioned the child's paternity, fearing it could belong to Stefano or even John.

Thankfully, her husband, Bo Brady, was revealed to be the father. However, when their son was born, Stefano swapped him with the child of a woman named Marlo. Stefano's daughter Lexi Carver (Renee Jones) and her husband Abe Carver (James Reynolds) adopted the baby, and when the truth eventually came out, it rocked the two families to their cores. Lexie and Abe were forced to hand over the little boy, who they had named Isaac, to Bo and Hope. Meanwhile, the child that the Brady family had raised, JT, was given back to his biological father to raise.

Of course, Stefano didn't stop there, and he continued to play with Hope's life — ultimately leading to his demise.