Jason finds out. Jason takes matters into his own hands, and forces Sonny to choose between his organization or Emily. Sonny chooses Emily, and Jason reluctantly takes over Sonny's business, forcing Sonny into retirement. Fearing for Emily's safety, Sonny stages a kiss with Carly, convincing Emily to leave him. Sonny is jealous when he learns Carly and Jax have become engaged. When Carly witnesses Sonny shooting Lorenzo, he convinces her to marry him so she can't testify against him. After being taken hostage at the Metro Court Hotel by Jerry Jacks where his children Michael, Morgan, and Kristina were scared, Sonny tells Carly he still loves her and they make love after the hostage crisis left his children traumatized after being debriefed. Carly still divorces him to marry Jax. Sonny soon reconnects with his first love, Connie Falconeri, now known as Kate Howard. Soon, Ric's father, Trevor comes to town with mobster Anthony Zacchara and his son, Johnny. Diego Alcazar targeted the women in Sonny and Jason's life, wanting revenge for the death of his father, Lorenzo. Kate rejects Sonny's marriage proposal, fearing for her safety; in turn, Sonny sleeps with Anthony's daughter, Claudia. A botched hit on Sonny puts Michael in a coma, devastating him and Carly. Sonny decides he wants Jason to take over the organization, and Carly forces Sonny to sign over his parental rights to Michael and Morgan in order to keep them safe. Sonny and Kate get engaged, and plan to get married. Sonny brings Kate's cousin, Olivia, to town for the ceremony. Anthony shoots Kate at the altar and frames Andrei Karpov for the shooting; Sonny kills Karpov, as a result. Sonny marries Claudia to get back into the mob. Though it's a marriage of convenience, Sonny and Claudia actually bond and eventually make love. Michael wakes up after surgery, and moves in with Sonny and Claudia temporarily, to keep Carly from stressing out during her high risk pregnancy. Claudia discovers she is pregnant, but is run off the road by a teenage Kristina and miscarries. Sonny later hires Dominic Pirelli as the new bodyguard for his kids. Sonny begins to trust Dominic after he saves him from a bullet and Morgan from being hit by a speeding car. Just before Claudia's birthday party, Jason informs Sonny that Claudia was behind Michael's shooting and Sonny calls her out at the party. Claudia escapes from