General Hospital: Is Nikolas The One Stalking Ava? Here Are All The Clues

On "General Hospital," while the machinations of the villainous Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober) and current WSB director Mr. Brennan (Charles Measure) initially indicated they might be working together — which would lead to an epic battle in Port Charles – they appear to be at cross-purposes. Mr. Brennan doesn't want mobster Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) killed because that would create a power struggle among the town's mafia families to seize his territory. Mr. Brennan needs a clear path forward so he can allow defense contractor Pikeman to move its illegal arms into Canada for international sale.

Cyrus, however, would like nothing more than to remove Sonny from the equation so he can finally gain control and he has been working behind the scenes to that end. When Ava Jerome (Maura West) thought she'd killed her ex-husband Nikolas Cassadine (Adam Huss), Cyrus had the body stolen from her mansion and the actually-not-dead Nik was nursed back to health. He then headed out into the world with an unknown agenda. When Dr. Austin Gatlin-Holt (Roger Howarth) — who had been coerced into doing the crime lord's bidding — turned up dead, Sonny and Ava naturally assumed Cyrus had him offed.

But lately, Ava's been receiving photographs in the mail of Austin's gunned-down corpse with mysterious messages such as: "You're welcome." She's concluded that it's not Cyrus' style, and on the December 13 episode, Ava theorized that Nikolas was more likely to pull something so nefarious and that he might be the one stalking her. But is Nikloas really the prime suspect?

On the most recent "General Hospital" episode, Ava Jerome received another photo along with a note that read simply: "Don't tell anyone." She explained what was happening to Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) and argued that Cyrus Renault couldn't be behind it because he knows she would just involve Sonny. Such mind games are more in Nikolas Cassadine's wheelhouse. Plus, he likely wants to get revenge on her, and framing Ava for Dr. Austin Gatlin-Holt's death would be the perfect way to do it. Moreover, Cyrus is too obvious a candidate. 

However, the stalker being revealed as Nikolas would also be slightly predictable. Ava suggested that Nik wouldn't risk being seen in Port Charles and perhaps had someone else plant the notes for him. After saying goodbye to Nina, Ava found a slightly open drawer in her desk that contained a gun and another note that read: "You never know when you'll need it." One radical theory posed by a fan on X, formerly Twitter, was, "I am 100% sure Nikolas didn't kill Austin. But I have a nagging suspicion that Ryan isn't dead, and he killed Austin for Ava just like he did w [Kiki]." 

Serial killer Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom) became obsessed with Ava but he was killed by police detective Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) back in February. He previously swapped places with his good twin, Kevin Collins, and Ava almost married the man who killed her daughter, Kiki Jerome (Hayley Erin), as a result. Having him turn out to be Ava's stalker might be a reach, but it would definitely be a thrilling development!