Emily returns to Port Charles and the Quartermaines, and is stunned when Zander arrives at her window asking her to run away with him. She declines. Over the objections of her family, Emily continues to spend time with him. She also breaks up with Juan, who later leaves town. With the condition he testifies against Sorel, Sonny agrees to pay his bail and hires Nikolas' aunt, Alexis Davis, to represent Zander. When Zander is freed, he and Emily, Sonny, and Alexis find themselves the target of a gunman outside the Port Charles Police Department. Though Zander was wounded attempting to protect Emily, the Quartermaines decide to send her to boarding school to protect her. Zander finds Emily at her school. The two run away together, before returning to Port Charles.