In 2009, Lulu Spencer and her brother Ethan Lovett received a text message from their father Luke Spencer, who was in trouble and stranded on Cassadine Island. The siblings raced to Greece to rescue Luke. Meanwhile, Nikolas Cassadine received a call from his grandmother, Helena, but the call abruptly ended. Sensing trouble, Nikolas decided to travel to Greece to check on his grandmother. What he didn't know was that Helena had been bedridden and under the care of a hostile nurse and doctor.

After Luke's jail cell had been left unlocked, Valentin Cassadine hid in the shadows and watched as Luke made his way to Helena. Helena warned Luke that someone wanted revenge on the Spencers and the Cassadines. Luke decided to escape the island and act on the information, but he was struck from behind and knocked out. When he woke up, Luke was bound to a chair in Helena's bedroom. Helena filled Luke in about her husband's bastard son, Valentin Cassadine. Helena explained that Valentin had a vendetta because Mikkos had turned his back on Valentin at birth.

At the same time, Lulu and Ethan had been turned away from the island, so they went to the local bar, where they met a woman named Mischa who warned that they were in danger. Mischa was concerned because someone other than Nikolas and Helena had been calling the shots regarding Helena's medical care. Mischa also revealed that Luke had been held prisoner on the island, and Mischa had sent the texts messages to Lulu and Ethan.

With Mischa's help, Ethan and Lulu slipped onto the island. After Luke and Helena were rescued, Lulu distracted the guards, while Luke and Ethan disarmed them. Shortly afterwards, Nikolas arrived. Helena told Nikolas about his diabolical uncle, and she accused Valentin of drugging her to keep her bedridden because Valentin was determined to destroy the Cassadines. A search of the compound and island revealed that Valentin had managed to disappear. The encounter with Valentin had left a mark on Helena, and through the years she would mention him with dread in her voice, but Valentin remained elusive.

That changed in July 2016 when a man named Theo Hart appeared on Cassadine Island. Theo claimed to be a local fisherman, but soon his mercenaries seized control of the island and took several hostage including Jason Morgan, Sam McCall, Laura Spencer, Kevin Collins, Lulu and Dante Falconeri, Ava Jerome, and Nikolas Cassadine. Theo sported a tattoo of the Cassadine crest on his forearm, and he was soon revealed to be none other than Valentin Cassadine. Valentin was on a mission to claim his birthright by forcing Nikolas to relinquish all claims to the Cassadine estate.

Held at gunpoint and with the threat of Valentin shooting Ava looming over him, Nikolas signed a document renouncing his birthright. Satisfied, Valentin took aim at Nikolas then fired. Nikolas was shot in the chest and stumbled backwards over the balcony then into the sea. Horrified, Ava watched in disbelief. Her life was spared, and the hostages banded together to overpower their captors and escape.

A few days later, Valentin turned up in Port Charles at Metro Court hotel where he encountered a woman named Nina Reeves when she dropped her keycard outside of her suite. Sparks flew instantly, and Nina invited him in for a nightcap. Valentin introduced himself as Theo Hart, and the two kissed then made love.

Later, Valentin made his way to Camp Showbiz to visit Nikolas' son, Spencer Cassadine. Valentin introduced himself as Spencer's Uncle Theo. Spencer hadn't learned about his father's murder, so he had no reason to suspect Valentin of wrongdoing when Valentin invited the young boy to leave with him. However, Spencer's other uncle -- Sonny Corinthos -- arrived for a visit with his nephew, effectively foiling Valentin's plans.

After Spencer left the room, Valentin tried to make a hasty exit, but Sonny grabbed Valentin's arm and pulled up his sleeve, exposing the familiar tattoo. Valentin pulled away, and Sonny identified himself as Dante's father. Valentin drew his gun and aimed it at the mob boss. Valentin made it clear that he had no qualms about innocent children being caught in the crossfire. Valentin ordered Sonny to hand over his gun and cell phone. Sonny complied when he saw Jason sneak up behind Valentin. After Jason disarmed Valentin, the infamous Cassadine was taken into custody.

At the police station, Valentin demanded to make a phone call then asked for Nina's number. Lulu wanted to talk to Valentin before his extradition to Greece because she needed answers about a clue that Helena had bequeathed to Lulu. It was an envelope with the address 12 Amiklon printed on it. Also, Lulu wondered if Valentin knew a woman named Daphne whom Lulu had met during the escape, but Valentin claimed that he didn't know the mystery woman or recognize the address. Next, she questioned him about the skeleton in the access tunnel on the island because she feared that it might have been her father's remains.

Valentin denied any knowledge about Luke's disappearance or the skeleton. According to Valentin, he had no quarrel with Luke, and Valentin would gladly shake the man's hand and buy him a drink for the mountain of trouble that Luke had caused the Cassadines over the years. Lulu didn't believe Valentin because he had murdered her brother Nikolas in cold blood., but Valentin claimed it had been self-defense.

When Nina arrived at the police station, she asked Valentin if their meeting had been a setup. He assured her that what had transpired between them had been real. He thought she was a beautiful and charming woman and he hadn't liked seeing her sad. Nina informed him that she had cooperated with the police, so he was likely going to jail, but Valentin didn't appear troubled. He was confident that he and Nina would meet again.

A few weeks later, Nina was surprised to see Valentin in her office when she arrived at Crimson for work. Valentin explained that Nikolas' death had been ruled self-defense, and the attempted kidnapping charges dropped because it had been a misunderstanding. Valentin assured Nina that he had never intended Spencer any harm. Valentin was eager to get reacquainted with Nina, so he invited her to dinner. Nina accepted.

Valentin's next stop was to Alexis Davis's home to offer his paternal sister a consulting job. He wanted her to help him clear up his family estate and prove that he was rightfully entitled to the Cassadine holdings. He confirmed that Nikolas had legitimately surrendered everything to him. Alexis refused because she knew that Valentin had killed Nikolas, and she wasn't taken in by her brother's charm. Valentin insisted that they both deserved to inherit everything, but Alexis wasn't interested because their father had been an unrepentant misogynist who'd taken steps to ensure that women would never inherit the Cassadine estate.

Valentin assured Alexis that he was willing to share his inheritance with those who'd been cast out, but Alexis wanted to know what he'd do if she proved that Spencer was the rightful heir. Valentin agreed to leave town and never bother her or her loved ones again.

Days later, a woman named Claudette Beaulieu appeared in town claiming her ex-husband was the father of her daughter. After several altered DNA tests, it was revealed that Claudette had been a surrogate for Valentin's daughter. Claudette had hidden Charlotte with her mother in Canada, and when Charlotte was reunited with her "papa" it became clear that she had a very close relationship with Valentin. Valentin doted on his daughter and the two often spoke French to each other. Realizing that she had overplayed her hand, Claudette fled to Canada, but Valentin was hot on her heels.

Shortly afterwards, Claudette vanished without a trace. She was later presumed dead when a body found near the airport was identified as Claudette. Charlotte missed the woman that she believed was her mother, so Valentin encouraged Nina to step into the role as Charlotte's mother. Charlotte and Nina bonded, and Nina fell in love with Valentin. On New Year's Eve 2016, Valentin and Nina were married.

Despite Valentin's efforts, Charlotte's biological mother found her way into the picture when Lulu followed the clues that Helena had left. They led Lulu to the office of the doctor who had delivered Charlotte. Valentin was forced to admit that his brother Stavros Cassadine hadn't been able to father a child with the eggs that Stavros had stolen from Lulu. Helena had decided to turn to Valentin for assistance, but he had refused Helena's offer. Not to be denied, Helena had sent Daphne to seduce and drug Valentin then procure what was needed to fertilize the egg. Valentin had figured out Helena's plot in time to retrieve the embryo. He then hired Claudette as the surrogate.

Lulu was determined to have a relationship with her daughter. Valentin and Nina initially put up a fight, but in the end, the courts mandated supervised visitation. Charlotte slowly got to know her mother, her stepfather, and their son. Charlotte and Rocco Falconeri quickly bonded as siblings, but Charlotte's relationship with Lulu took longer to develop because Valentin had made a point of nurturing the bond between Charlotte and Nina. Nina and Lulu had very different ideas about how to raise children, and Valentin often sided with Nina.

Valentin settled in as the prince of Wyndemere, but Spencer was determined to make his great-uncle pay for murdering Spencer's beloved father. Spencer filed a wrongful death civil suit against Valentin, but Valentin made the lawsuit go away when he offered Ava Jerome, the only witness to Nikolas' shooting, an opportunity to regain her beauty following a disfiguring injury in a fire. Ava longed to have her face restored, so she accepted Valentin's terms. After the case was dismissed, Valentin warned Laura Spencer to rein in her grandson or Valentin would take matters into his own hands.

Fearing for Spencer's safety, Laura shipped her grandson off to a private boarding school in France. Satisfied, Valentin moved on with his life with Nina and Charlotte. Valentin and Lulu had reached an uneasy truce for their daughter's sake, and Lulu accepted Nina's role in Charlotte's life.

As time passed, more of Valentin's early life was revealed. According to Valentin, his mother had been a servant who had gotten pregnant with Mikkos Cassadine's baby. Valentin had little memory of his mother because his father had arranged for Valentin to be shipped off to Bedlington Academy when Valentin was five-years old. Valentin had been born with a severe spinal and facial deformity, which had made him an outcast throughout his childhood. After he left the academy, Valentin made certain the school burned to the ground and the headmaster perished in the fire.

To Nina's dismay, Valentin had also had a complicated history with Anna Devane because they had both been recruited by the World Security Bureau at the same time. Valentin had been in love with Anna, but she had rejected him when he had tried to kiss her. The rejection had put Valentin on a dark path that eventually led Valentin to the DVX as an analyst then a spy and mercenary. Valentin amassed a fortune and he was able to find a doctor to reverse his many deformities through a series of painful surgeries. Dr. Klein was the same doctor that Valentin had referred Ava to.

Valentin's past returned to haunt him several times. During the 2017 Nurses Ball, Valentin was called on to help Anna divert disaster when Jake Webber had been programed to release a lethal biotoxin known as the Chimera Virus. Valentin had sold the deadly weapon to Helena years earlier, and Helena had taken steps for her final act of vengeance against the people of Port Charles to be carried out after her death. It was the profit from the sale of the Chimera that had paid for Valentin's corrective surgeries.

As 2017 drew to a close, Valentin found himself a reluctant business partner to an ex-lover named Cassandra Pierce. Cassandra had become involved in the drug trade, creating a highly addictive and lethal drug that she intended to distribute with Valentin's help. Cassandra revealed to Valentin that she had found Claudette then produced a photo of Charlotte's surrogate holding a recent newspaper. However, Cassandra's plans went awry, and Nina was caught in a life-or-death struggle with Cassandra. Nina managed to gain the upper hand, but Cassandra was left in an irreversible coma when Nina injected the drug lord with the drug intended for Nina. Valentin took steps to coverup Nina's role in Cassandra's coma, and Cassandra was shipped to long term care facility.

In early May 2018, it was revealed that Valentin had been a mentor to Cesar Faison's son, Henrik. Valentin had taken the young boy under his wing because Valentin knew that Henrik's mother was Anna Devane. Valentin had been careful to keep the secret from everyone especially Faison. Valentin soon grew to regret taking Henrik from a loving home with an adoptive family when he saw how coldly Faison had treated the child. Later, it would be revealed that Anna's twin sister, Alex Marick had posed as Anna and seduced Valentin. It had been Valentin's first sexual experience and he'd been brokenhearted when the woman he believed was Anna had left him the following morning.

When Valentin had discovered that Anna was pregnant, he'd taken action to take the baby. Faison hadn't been interested in the child, and Valentin had stepped in to fill that role in Henrik's life. When Henrik turned up in Port Charles calling himself Peter August, Valentin had kept Peter's secrets. The decision would cost Valentin the woman he loved because Faison arrived in Port Charles and fatally shot Nina's beloved brother, Detective Nathan West.

Nina was unable to forgive Valentin's role in helping Peter whom she partly blamed for Nathan's death. Nina filed for divorce, but Valentin vowed to find a way to win Nina back. Luck was on his side when a talk with Nina's mother revealed a shocking secret. Madeline Reeves confided that Nina hadn't miscarried a child while Nina had been in a coma; the baby had been carried to term and given up for adoption on the black market. Shortly afterwards, Madeline died in prison.

Valentin was determined to find Nina's daughter because he knew that Nina longed for a child of her own since she could no longer have children. Valentin was certain that if he reunited Nina with her long-lost daughter then Nina would give him a second chance. Eventually, Valentin enlisted the help of Nina's friend, Curtis Ashford. However, the search proved futile, so Valentin decided to pay a young woman named Sasha Gilmore to pose as Nina's daughter. Valentin stole a lock of Madeline's hair during her funeral to help alter the maternity test.

As Valentin had anticipated, Nina met Sasha and quickly forgave Valentin because she was grateful that he had found her daughter. Sasha tried to follow Valentin's instructions to keep her distance from Nina, but Nina was determined to have a relationship with her newfound daughter. Sasha grew to genuinely care for Nina, and she also developed a relationship with Charlotte. In time, Sasha moved into Wyndemere with Nina, but her guilty conscience began to take a toll on Sasha. Things became more complicated when Sasha began to date Michael Corinthos (Quartermaine) and Nina accepted Valentin's proposal of marriage.

Sasha hated lying to Nina, but she also saw that Nina was deeply in love with Valentin. Valentin made a point of reminding Sasha that truth would hurt Charlotte as well as Nina, so Sasha remained silent. However, Lulu overheard Sasha and Liesl discussing the secret in the bathroom at the Floating Rib. Lulu realized that she had to tell Nina the truth, but she didn't get a chance until Nina and Valentin stood at the altar. Sasha confessed that it was true, but Sasha covered for Valentin because she knew that it would devastate Nina to lose him. Sasha claimed that she and the attorney who had helped Madeline had cooked up the scheme.

Grateful for the reprieve, Valentin suggested that he and Nina marry on New Year's Eve in honor of their first wedding, and so they could ring 2020 as husband and wife. Nina moved ahead with plans to marry Valentin, but things did not go as Valentin had anticipated. Ava had gotten her hands on a codicil that Mikkos had written and it threatened Valentin's claim to the Cassadine empire. With the help of his attorney Martin Grey, Valentin lured Ava to Wyndemere's parapet then pushed her into the sea below.

Later, Valentin and Nina were surrounded by guests as they stood at the altar in the living room. Suddenly, all heads turned to the doorway when a very alive Nikolas crashed through the doors with an unconscious Ava in his arms. Nikolas accused Valentin of trying to murder Ava then announced that Valentin was not the rightful heir because Valentin was not Mikkos' son. Nikolas claimed that Valentin was the product of an affair that Helena had had. Valentin denied the allegation, but it was too late to salvage his relationship with Nina. Nina admitted that she had known that Valentin had lied when he had denied hiring Sasha and orchestrating the deception. Valentin was stunned when Nina admitted that she had never intended to go through with the ceremony. Crushed, Valentin took advantage of the confusion and collected Charlotte then fled Spoon Island. They were stopped in the park and Valentin was taken into police custody.

Lulu threatened to have a restraining order issued against Valentin then file for sole custody of their daughter because Lulu knew that he had intended to disappear with Charlotte. Martin managed to get the more serious charges against Valentin dropped because no one had seen Valentin shove Ava off the parapet. While Valentin was out on parole, Martin notified his client that shares of ELQ were for sale. Valentin had instructed Martin to take Nelle Benson on as a client because she had access to the shares of ELQ through her marriage to Shiloh Archer. Valentin and Martin had been working for months to slowly obtain a majority shares of ELQ in an attempt to seize control of the lucrative empire, and Nelle was ready to part with hers.

On February 12, Valentin agreed to submit DNA to prove that he was a Cassadine. However, the results confirmed that Valentin and Alexis were not siblings. Valentin was stunned to realize that Nikolas had told the truth -- Helena was Valentin's mother. Shaken to the core, Valentin went to the Jerome Gallery in the hopes to talking to Nina. He was shocked when he overheard Nina and Ava discuss a kiss that Nina had shared with Jasper Jacks.

In early 2020, it was revealed that Valentin was not Mikkos' son. However, Valentin was and only the son of Helena's son with an unknown lover. Because of thatThe revelation -- and Mikkos' codicil --, it was confirmedmeant that Valentin was not the rightful heir to the Cassadine estate and fortune. , which meant that Nikolas and Spencer Cassadine were the true heirs.

Valentin's relationship with Lulu was also strained, but they both agreed to make an effort to get along for the sake of their daughter when they noticed how their animosity had been At the same time, Valentin and Lulu heavily despised one another, but after realizing how the animosity between them was affecting their daughter, they started to become more civilized toward each otherCharlotte. Around this time, Valentin and Laura also became more cordial and civil toward one another as well.

From February to August 2020, Valentin successfully took over ELQ as itsELQ's new CEO with the help of Martin Gray after Valentin he took controlMartin of more than 50% of shares by blackmailinged Brook Lynn Quartermaine, and then tie-breaker Lucy Coe cast the tie-breaking vote. On October 20, Valentin had sex with an intimate encounter with Brook Lynn after the two lamented about their issues, with Valentine mentioning that he was "a lover who can't be with the one he loves" (Nina).

In Spring 2021, Brook Lynn returned to Port Charles with a surprise for Valentin. Brook Lynn claimed that she was pregnant with his child from their one-night stand a few months earlier. It was a ruse. Brook Lynn hoped to use the pregnancy as a means to force Valentin to return her shares of ELQ, so she could restore ELQ to the Quartermaines. Brook Lynn's plans took an unexpected turns when Maxie Jones gave birth to Peter August's daughter, and she implored Brook Lynn to hide the baby by pretending the baby girl was Brook Lynn's daughter. Maxie knew the truth about Brook Lynn's faked pregnancy, but no one else did.

Valentin was overjoyed when he met his daughter. He and Charlotte had moved into the Quartermaine mansion with Brook Lynn, and both Valentin and Charlotte bonded with the baby. On November 19, when Valentin learned the truth about Bailey's paternity, he was able to forgive both Brook Lynn and Maxie for the deception because he knew it had been the best to keep Bailey hidden from Peter's diabolical clutches. However, he was deeply hurt that Bailey was not his daughter.

On October 7, 2021, it was revealed that Mikkos' not-so-dead brother, Victor Cassadine, was Valentin's father, making Valentin (and by extension, Charlotte) a true Cassadine after all.

After being chloroformed and kidnapped by Victor's henchman, Johann, on January 28, 2022 and put in the trunk of Victor's car, Valentine was later dumped behind a building and drugged by Victor. Months later inIn April, Valentin was shownturned up on the islands of French Polynesia. While wearing Sporting a fake mustache and posing as a French naval captain named François Olivier, Valentine pretended to romance Jennifer Smith. In reality, he was working under ordersordered by Victor from his father, Victor to frame Jennifer for the theft of the Ice Princess diamond as well as Luke Spencer's murder.

On July 7, 2022, it was revealed that Valentine had agreed to follow Victor's orders because Victor washad been holding Valentin's daughter, Charlotte hostage inat an exclusive -- and high security -- boarding school in EuropeSwitzerland. Victor continued to pull Valentin's strings, including ordering Valentin to poison Laura who had become a thorn in Victor's side when she decided to investigate Luke's death. Reluctantly, Valentin slipped a deadly substance in Laura's drink during a luncheon, but Valentin had a change of heart and knocked the drink over before Laura could drink it.

Romantically, Valentin and Anna had grown closer, even though he had been forced to lie to her about the nature of his relationship with Victor. However, by the fall of 2022, Valentin and Anna had fallen in love, and he opened up to her about his father's blackmail. When Victor gave into Valentin's demands to see Charlotte, Victor took an opportunity to frame Anna for Lucy Coe's murder, while Valentin was overseas rescuing Charlotte from the boarding school. Valentin received a helping hand from Laura and Kevin when Anna called Laura from jail to alert Laura of Charlotte's situation.

Valentin returned to Port Charles, and he put Charlotte's care in Laura and Kevin's hands to keep Victor away from Charlotte. As the mayor, Laura was able to increase security around her granddaughter effectively putting Charlotte out of Victor's reach. Valentin paid Anna a visit in jail to let her know that Charlotte was safe, but Valentin warned Anna that Victor would not be pleased to realize that Valentin had turned against him.

Later that day, Valentin paid Finn a visit to discuss a plan to help Anna before she was transferred from the Port Charles jail to Pentonville, where Valentin was certain Victor intended to have Anna killed.