The family rallied around Emily when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Certain she was going to die, she shared an impromptu bedside wedding with Zander. Emily recovered, and Edward welcomed Zander to the family. It wasn't long before Emily and Zander split up because she had fallen for Nikolas Cassadine. When she announced her engagement to Nikolas, Edward and the rest of the family were less than thrilled, as the Cassadines were flat broke. But right around that time, A.J. secretly emptied the family's bank accounts and took off, leaving the Quartermaines broke, as well. Edward was thrilled when Emily and Nikolas found a treasure on a sunken ship owned by a Quartermaine ancestor that could restore the family fortune. However, Edward was unwilling to share the fortune with the Cassadines, and made his opinion known to the happy couple. Sam McCall then skipped town with the treasure, and Edward had to find another way to get his fortune back. On the night of the auction for the treasure, the Port Charles Hotel burned down, trapping the Quartermaines inside. Lucky Spencer was in the process of arresting Edward for criminal negligence when he suffered a near fatal heart attack. Another all-time low came for Edward when Lila died in her sleep. After a heart wrenching goodbye, Edward faced life alone.