General Hospital spoilers: a last-minute surprise ruins Sonny’s deal with Sidwell?

Between General Hospital’s Michael (Chad Duell) near-death explosion, Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) heart issues and the recent attempt on Sonny’s life as he lay in a hospital bed recovering from heart surgery, Sonny has been incredibly motivated to leave behind a life of organized crime. Plus, the Dimpled Kingpin has a good memory of all he and his family have lost, thanks to the enemies that he’s acquired due to his line of work.

Unfortunately for Sonny, and his bestie Jason (Steve Burton) for that matter, getting out of the mob isn’t exactly like retiring from your usual 9 to 5. As has been said a few times on the soap, they have to get out of the business in a way that doesn’t leave their families vulnerable to attack, and them defenseless without the power that comes with being a crime boss. Then in the General Hospital episode airing on May 9, Sidwell (Carla Rota) arrived at Sonny’s house with Jordan (Tanisha Harper) and offered a proposition.

Sidwell offered to buy Sonny’s piers, claiming to provide Sonny an alternative to the town’s vote on the esplanade, and a way to spare any damage to Laura’s (Genie Francis) tenure as mayor. Sonny doesn’t provide Sidwell with a “yes,” but the newcomer was smug enough to go to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) to have contracts drawn up.

Now we’d be lying if we didn’t say we’re shocked that Sonny is even considering this. We know he’s ready to get out of business, but he doesn’t trust Sidwell. Heck, he hasn’t even ruled out the possibility that Sidwell isn’t responsible for Michael’s current condition. But desperation makes people do some shocking things.

With all that being said, we can’t help but suspect that a Sidwell/Sonny deal is far from actually happening. In fact, we have a feeling that a big bombshell is set to drop that destroys this deal and sends shockwaves through Port Charles. Given the annual Nurses Ball is fast approaching, we wouldn’t be surprised if it happens then. But what or who could this bombshell be?

We have three guesses. First and foremost, Sonny could finally get irrefutable proof that Sidwell was behind his penthouse bombing. Whether Sonny and Jason locate a former associate of Sidwell who spills the beans, or Brick (Stephen A. Smith) follows a paper trail that leads to Sidwell, we can picture Sonny learning the truth and wanting to eviscerate his enemy. Sonny would never sell to Sidwell if he knew he had previously targeted him.

Our second guess involves a plea from either Laura or, more shockingly Tracy (Jane Elliot), for Sonny not to sell. Laura’s gut has been telling her for a while that Sidwell taking hold of Port Charles spells more danger for the residents than Sonny could ever pose. As far as Tracy, she loathes the Corinthos patriarch and is currently doing what she can to make sure he loses his piers. However, it’s not hard to imagine her soon realizing the danger Sidwell poses and opting to want Sonny in charge of his piers instead.

Admittedly, neither of these guesses exactly solves Sonny’s mob exit problem. Hence, our third guess is that another palpable buyer emerges for Sonny. For a while now, we’ve wondered about Selina Wu (Tanisha Harper). She and Sonny aren’t exactly besties, but they have a mutual respect for one another, so it just seemed as if she was a “suitable” replacement for Sonny in the underworld.

Viewers also shouldn’t rule out the possibility that Michael returns and purchases the piers in secrecy. Michael can be very cunning, so he can send a representative to pretend to be interested in the piers. From Germany, Michael could set everything up so this individual would pass a background check conducted by Brick, leading to Sonny’s approval of the sale.

Then, when the ink is dry on the paperwork, Michael could resurface in Port Charles as the new owner. Michael purchasing the piers could either signal that he wants to build the esplanade and pocket the money, while also protecting his family from Sonny’s enemies. Or, Michael purchasing the piers could signal his desire to protect his family, while also emerging as the next great criminal mastermind. Michael going dark is something we've predicted for a while.

So what do you think? Will Sonny strike a deal with Sidwell, or is the sale doomed?

New episodes of General Hospital air on weekdays on ABC. If you miss an episode, you can catch up on Hulu.