Aviva Reynoso

Aviva Reynoso is proof that one should never judge a book by its cover. Once bubbly college professor, Aviva Reynoso was either admired or resented for her cheery outlook on life, her resiliency, and sweet disposition. But when Ramon Valdez cheated on her with prickly Rachel Marks, another side to Aviva was revealed. Operating under the identity of "Ava", she targeted all the people who took advantage of Aviva's trusting and loving nature, and committed several crimes along the way! Hoping to find the root cause of Aviva's splintered psyche, Ramon has made it his mission to help Aviva heal. But can he?

Aviva, Ramon & Rachel
When we met Aviva Reynoso in November 2007, she was a sweet, bubbly, mild-mannered English Literature professor at Hunter College in New York City. Aviva was dating Ramon Valdez, a bartender studying to become a certified Emergency Medical Technician, and Aviva shared a tense relationship with her younger sister Carina, who always resented growing up in Aviva's shadow. Aviva frequented The Redeye after long days of work at Hunter, where she managed to unwind by catching up with the owner, Eleanor Halperin and her bartending beau, Ramon.

Aviva took more and more interest in making sure her wallflower sister Carina made a better life for herself, and even set Carina up on a date with eligible bachelor James Baldwin, who was a playboy son of Aviva's recently rich lottery-winning colleague, World History professor Theodore Baldwin. Sparks failed to fly, and the dinner date (at the Baldwin family Christmas celebration) only served to open Carina's eyes to a torrid, illicit affair Ramon was having with prickly private investigator Rachel Marks (who attended as a guest of her brother Shawn's, as Shawn was dating Jenna Baldwin, James's older sister).

While Carina paid closer attention to Ramon to confirm her suspicions about the affair, Ramon found it more difficult to resist Rachel, though he tried repeatedly to break things off. Aviva remained blissfully unaware and welcomed Rachel's attempts at forging a friendship, even though Rachel only sought to get to know her rival better, in efforts to win her private battle for Ramon's heart. Carina's nosing around paid off when she caught Ramon and Rachel red-handed in a supply closet together at St. Vincent's hospital where Carina worked as an orderly. Gleefully planning to rock her sister's world with the news of Ramon's betrayal, Carina dashed out of the hospital, only to be run down by a wayward vehicle in a shocking hit-and-run on New Years Eve 2008.

Carina's Collision & Coma
Eleanor Halperin was found passed out in the car that struck Carina down, and as Carina sunk into a coma, Aviva was livid at Eleanor's apparent drunk driving and demanded justice for her fallen sister. Loyalties were torn as Ramon found himself caught between his former boss (he'd since quit The Redeye after gaining certification as an EMT) and his girlfriend. In the months that followed, Aviva leaned on Ramon for support as she willed her sister to come out of the coma, only for Ramon to fear that as soon as Carina awoke, his affair with Rachel would be exposed. Aviva also found comfort in Rachel, still unaware of Rachel's selfish motivations.

As Carina showed signs of returning to consciousness, Aviva began receiving mysterious messages warning her about who she could trust, and Rachel began receiving anonymous threats. Ramon was suspicious that Carina was more awake than she was letting on, or his brother Rolo, who also recently discovered Ramon and Rachel's affair, was taunting them all with his knowledge. When Carina fully emerged from the coma, she decided not to expose the affair yet, and Rolo swore he was innocent. It was eventually revealed that Aviva herself had been sending the notes to Rachel, and to herself... or was it really Aviva?

Ava's Wrath
Referring to herself in the third person, and then calling herself Ava, it was obvious that Ms. Reynoso had a lot more bubbling under the surface than anyone knew. Making it her mission to exact revenge on anyone who wronged Aviva, Ava systematically set out to target everyone close to her. Ava seduced Aviva's student and Ramon's brother Rolo Valdez on Aviva's classroom desk, breaking his girlfriend Tiffany's heart in the process and indirectly leading to Rolo's near-fatal stabbing. When Ava was close to being caught as Rachel's stalker by NYPD Detective Nathan Weber, she took him hostage in her apartment and chained him to a pipe in her bedroom! Ramon was Ava's next victim, also taken hostage when he discovered the kidnapped Det. Weber! Ava changed tactics and seduced attorney Evan Royale to keep him from discovering her hostages, but when Rachel was the next to interfere, Ava knocked her out, giving her a hairline skull fracture! Theodore Baldwin caught on to Aviva's identity crisis, so Ava didn't think twice about tossing the elderly man down a staircase at Hunter College!

Theodore fingered Aviva as the culprit behind his attack, so she went into hiding, crossing paths with local criminal Ford Collins, who showed her nothing but kindness and gave her a place to hide from authorities. Ava joined forces with him to burglarize the penthouse of the wealthy Von Stadt family, hoping to obtain enough to secure a flight to a non-extradition country, only to be apprehended when Hattie Wilson, secretary for Von Stadt International, discovered the burglary in progress.

Declared unfit to stand trial, Ava was sent to Shady Glen Sanitarium to undergo psychiatric treatment for Dissociative Identity Disorder. There, Dr. Lynn West not only got to know the wild, unpredictable, sarcastic Ava, but also the violently aggressive teenage boy alter, Manny. Dr. West hoped to help Aviva's alters cooperate with each other to make it safe for Aviva to return to consciousness. Meanwhile, Ramon, feeling responsible for Aviva's unspooling, hoped to be an active part in her healing and recovery, despite Dr. West's urgings that he keep his distance because he was a trigger for Aviva's latest series of dissociations. Ramon sought out Aviva's mother, Lucia Reynoso, who was living a quiet life in Texas, and convinced her to travel to New York to aid in Aviva's recovery. Though Lucia came to New York, she has resisted revealing what she knows of Aviva's prior mental difficulties to the inquiring Ramon and Carina.

Who's the Mommy? And Daddy?
As if having three personalities in one body wasn’t complicated enough, it was soon discovered that Ava was pregnant. Ava wanted to terminate the pregnancy, but Dr. West felt it should be Aviva’s decision. Aviva’s mother Lucia was willing to care for her unborn grandchild until Aviva was ready, perhaps to repent for the sins of Lucia’s past. But what did the baby’s father want? Or, more to the point, who was the father? Playboy Evan Royale, carefree Rolo Valdez, or remorseful Ramon?