2004: Alexander Cambias, II, was the prodigal son of Alexander Cambias, founder of Cambias Industries. Set to inherit a fortune, the future of the family business rest on Alexander’s shoulders. But Alexander wanted none of it. As a teenager, he faked his death in a car accident. He was set to never have anything to do with his past, or anyone in it again.
Alexander created the new identity of Zachary Slater, a shrewd self-made business man and owner of The Seasons Casino in Las Vegas. His newest employee, Bobby Warner, brought to The Seasons its biggest customer to date: former actress, model and Cosmetics giant Erica Kane. Zach seemed to be personally vested interest in Erica. He fueled her raging alcoholism and gave her the anonymity she needed to escape her life of fame in Pine Valley. Zach was hiding his resentment to his newest client. Erica was among the suspects accused of killing his brother, Michael Cambias. Zach was content to see to Erica’s self-destruction, but Ryan Lavery and Kendall Hart would intervene and bring her home.
Zach made his way to Pine Valley to begin his new business venture, The Seasons East Casino. But he really had ulterior motives. His first was to reunite with Dr. Maria Grey, the woman he knew as Maureen Gorman. Zach had loved Maureen when she suddenly ran out on him in Las Vegas. She was then an amnesiac. Dr. David Hayward had convinced her she was wanted on murder charges and needed go into hiding. Though Zach still had feelings for Maria, she had since regained her memory and reunited with her husband, Edmund Grey, and their two children, Sam and Maddie Grey.
Zach also wanted to make Michael’s murderer pay. Zach had focused his attention on Bianca Montgomery. Zach was shocked to see how compassionate Bianca was. He could not believe she was Michael’s murderer. But, Zach had already enacted his revenge by staging a murder mystery game at The Seasons East with all of Michael’s enemies present. Though Zach meant no harm, Ryan somehow was shot at the hotel the same night.
Ethan Ramsey would take the fall as Ryan’s shooter. Ethan came to Pine Valley claiming to be Alexander’s son. His story had checked out in Zach’s mind. Before Alexander “died,” he had an affair with Cambias maid Hannah Nichols. Zach secretly ran a DNA test to confirm his suspicions. Knowing Ethan was his son, he offered to provide him with legal assistance. Ethan was dating Kendall, who told Ethan that Zach was not as he seemed.
Maria found out about Zach’s true identity. Edmund was investigating Zach for Ryan’s shooting. Zach’s continued presence in Maria’s life compromised her marriage. Edmund filed for divorce after learning that Maria knew about Zach’s past.
Zach’s continued relationship with Bianca made Zach come to terms with the truth about Michael. Michael was not the boy Zach left behind. Michael had become consumed by Alexander’s influence. Myrtle Fargate reached out to Zach. Michael had raped Bianca in Myrtle’s home. She was one of the only people who wanted to give Zach a chance. The only good thing that Michael ever did was his daughter with Bianca, Miranda Montgomery. On Christmas Eve, Zach was present to see Miranda and Bianca finally reunited after months apart.

2005: Ethan wanted to make Zach pay for abandoning him. Now with controlling interest in Cambias Industries as a result of Alexander's will, Ethan used his money to destroy his father, going so far as to have his gambling license revoked. Ethan’s most dastardly deed was to implicate Zach in Edmund’s murder. Maria did not want to believe Zach, but Zach did not want to see his son to go to prison for perjury either.
After being exonerated for murder, Zach needed to save Ethan from his undoing. He approached Kendall who too saw Ethan’s transformation. Zach and Kendall eloped. With her FUSION shares, Zach gained control of Cambias Industries. Ethan was subjugated to working at FUSION.
Maria decided to leave town to start a new life. Zach kissed Maria one last time, but she made it clear their life together was over. Zach’s love for Maria was put to the test when her sister, Julia Keefer, escaped Witness Protection and found refuge at Wildwind. Zach offered her protection as she eluded the crime-lord, The Dragon. Kendall had a longstanding rivalry with Julia that stemmed from their time living together at Wildwind. Kendall was extremely jealous of their relationship. Their marriage of convenience was becoming something more.
Kendall agreed to carry Greenlee and Ryan’s baby after Ryan seemingly died in a motorcycle accident. Zach did not want to loose his wife to her former lover. He staged a blackout hoping it would destroy Ryan’s last sperm sample at Dr. Greg Madden’s fertility clinic. Only, Kendall took matters into her own hands and impregnated herself. When Greenlee found out the child Kendall was carrying was not hers, she left Pine Valley. Kendall decided to divorce Zach to come to terms with having Ryan’s child.

2006: Zach and Kendall worked their way back to each other. But Ryan and Ethan had a bombshell for Kendall. At the Mardi Gras Ball, they revealed Zach’s part in the blackout that forced Kendall to impregnate herself. Betrayed, Kendall left Zach again. That same night, an explosion in the ballroom killed Ethan. In his dying breath, Ethan blamed Zach for all the pain he experienced in his life.
Zach was one of the first people to find Dixie Cooney alive in Pine Valley. She had been accidentally shot by her own son. Zach kept her hidden at The Seasons while doctors treated her. Dixie asked Zach about Dr. Greg Madden, the doctor helping Kendall through her pregnancy. The doctor was less than honorable. He had taken Dixie’s child away from her after making her believe she was dying. Zach found out Greg had taken Kendall away to his island clinic. Greg used the island clinic to steal children away from their mothers. Zach rescued Kendall and told her about Greg’s true nature. Kendall admitted she was still in love with Zach. They remarried on the boat trip back to Pine Valley.
JR Chandler accidentally caused a scaffold to fall on Kendall, sending her into a coma. His real target was Babe Chandler, his wife. The doctors wanted Zach to choose between saving Kendall, or her unborn son. Zach knew Kendall wanted to put the welfare of her son first, but Erica was not about to let her daughter die. Zach barricaded himself in Kendall’s room so the doctors could not perform a surgery that would have killed her son. The doctors were able to safely deliver Spike Lavery. After all he did to save his son, Ryan agreed to let Zach be a part of Spike’s life.
Kendall awoke and was grateful for Zach’s intervention. She wanted to enact revenge on JR, but Zach stopped her out of loyalty to Dixie. He was now helping her find her lost daughter, Kate Martin. When Greg was found buried alive, they became the main suspects. At trial, Tad Martin, Dixie’s ex-husband and Kate’s father, tried to implicate them for Greg’s murder, though he was the true culprit.

2007: Zach’s past came back to haunt him when a Serial Killer targeted the women of FUSION. Alexander Cambias had faked his death in Nevada. He had been concocting his plan of revenge against Zach for his deception. Kendall was to be his last victim. With Ryan’s help, he stopped Alexander before he could take another life.
Ethan’s mother Hannah came to Pine Valley to mourn her son. She began working at Cambias Enterprises shoulder to shoulder with Zach. Zach was unaware of Hannah’s ulterior motives. Hannah did not only want to be close to Ethan, she wanted a second change at having a child with Zach. After begging Zach for another child, Hannah left Pine Valley.
Kendall learned she was pregnant. The couple anticipated the birth of their own son. Their happiness was overshadowed by Greenlee’s return. Greenlee was determined to reclaim her old life, including Ryan and Spike. When Greenlee learned Zach has caused the blackout, she wanted to press criminal charges against him.
Greenlee rejoined FUSION. She and Kendall were on the way to New York when Kendall suddenly had labor pains. Babe took Kendall to the hospital in her car, and Greenlee was to follow behind them with Spike. Only Greenlee saw this as her opportunity to skip town with Spike. On her getaway, her car drove off an embankment. Spike was rushed to the hospital where it was revealed her had lost his hearing. The stress caused Kendall to go into premature labor. Ian Slater was born so prematurely, that neither of his parents could even hold him.
Hannah returned to Pine Valley and picked up her life at Cambias Enterprises. Zach reached out to Hannah again as the began to cope with the fact that she would never have Zach’s child.
After JR faked his kidnapping, Adam Chandler turned to Zach for a loan to pay the ransom. Zach manipulated his way into taking over Chandler Industries.
Zach hired Aidan Devane to keep Greenlee away from his family. Kendall and Zach struggled to help their children. At the same time, Annie Lavery believed she was being stalked. Zach and Ryan learned her psychopath brother, Richie Novak, was on the loose.
Richie ran Zach down and tried to hide his body in the forest. Greenlee ran across Zach and tried to bring him to safety. They fell into a bomb shelter. Richie sealed them in, leaving them for dead. But Zach and Greenlee struggled to survive. Zach finally saw that Greenlee was remorseful for causing so much pain. Zach felt he too was to blame for Greenlee’s pain. As they lay near death, Kendall and Aidan found them on Christmas Eve.

2008: Zach and Kendall finally brought Ian home. The couple had a semblance of normalcy now that Kendall and Greenlee had ended their feud. Hannah made one last attempt to win Zach back. She aimed to shoot and kill Kendall, but missed and shot Ryan in the head. Zach tracked Hannah to Miller Falls. There, Hannah admitted to working for Adam in his bid to win back Chandler Industries. Hannah also revealed that she had slept with Alexander, prompting her decision to give Ethan away and break her affiliation with the Cambias family. Before Zach could talk her off the cliff, they both lost their balance and hung on the fall’s edge. Hannah had given up hope on life and fell into the abyss.
Zach went to Paris on business and spent time with Bianca and her girlfriend, Reese Williams. Bianca asked Zach for a large favor. She wanted Miranda to have a sibling and asked Zach for a sperm donation. Zach was Miranda’s only living Cambias relative. Zach agreed to the arrangement, but never told Kendall.
Ryan’s injury caused him to have retrograde memory loss. He thought he was still engaged to Kendall. Zach turned to Greenlee for support as Ryan pursued his wife. Then, both of them learned that Aidan and Kendall had slept together while they were stuck in the bomb shelter. Kendall and Zach also had a falling out when Josh was found embezzling money from Cambias Enterprises. Zach showed his dark streak when he threatened to kill Josh. Zach and Kendall knew their marriage was on rocky ground.
Zach worried about Annie’s mental state. Richie was found dead, and Zach was among the many suspects. Annie seemed to want to point the finger at everyone. Zach offered to help Annie by sending her to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist was actually on his payroll. He listened to Annie admit to actually killing her brother herself. Zach kept Annie’s secret, unaware of how far she was descending into madness.
Zach took Kendall and the kids away to the beach for a family getaway. That night, a tornado ripped through Pine Valley. Zach returned to the beach house only to find Kendall and a very pregnant Bianca buried in the rubble. After making sure the boys were safe, Zach tended to the wounded ladies. Bianca went into labor. She gave birth to Gabrielle Montgomery. Kendall would not regain consciousness. She sustained massive trauma to her brain and heart.
Bianca and Reese helped Zach with the kids as he tended to Kendall’s condition. In his rage at the hospital, he accidentally pushed Taylor Thompson down the stairs. Desperate to save Kendall’s life, Zach agreed to allow the hospital to restore David’s surgery privileges. Zach also struggled with how he was going to tell Kendall the truth about Gabrielle’s paternity.
At the end of the year, Erica told Zach that Myrtle had passed on in her sleep. Zach dedicated a room to Myrtle in the rebuilt The Seasons East Casino.