Summer Bay is no stranger to emotional earthquakes, but next week’s UK episodes promise a shockwave that could rip one family apart. At the center stands Roo Stewart,

a woman who has fought fiercely to build a safe, loving future for the boy she hoped to adopt. Now, with the sudden arrival of a biological father and the threat of legal consequences hanging

in the air, Roo faces an impossible question: protect Cohen at all costs, or risk losing him forever.

What began as hope has curdled into dread. After Samantha relinquished her parental rights following her arrest, Roo believed the path toward adoption was finally clear. Papers were moving. Plans were forming. The fragile dream of permanence — something Cohen has rarely known — felt within reach.

Then came the discovery that changed everything.

While combing through old files, Sergeant David uncovered a detail long buried in the past: an ex-boyfriend who had once bailed Samantha out while she was pregnant. That man, Adrian, had always suspected he might be the father. Summoned to the station, he confirmed the lingering belief he’d carried for years — and soon a DNA test was set in motion.

From that moment, Roo’s world tilted.

Everyone was warned to keep distance until the results arrived. But Summer Bay has a habit of throwing fate into people’s paths. A chance encounter led Adrian to introduce himself to Cohen, leaving the boy confused, curious, and suddenly pulled between the life he knows and the history he never understood.

When the results confirmed Adrian was indeed his father, emotions ignited in every direction. Cohen, desperate for answers about who he is and where he comes from, leapt at the opportunity. A simple kick of a football turned into bonding, laughter, and the tentative use of a word heavy with meaning: Dad.

For Roo, it was both beautiful and terrifying.

The fragile glow didn’t last. When Cohen began digging into the past, Adrian admitted that Samantha had once insisted he wasn’t the father before disappearing from his life. To Adrian, it was honesty. To Cohen, it sounded like blame. Hurt and anger flared, and the boy lashed out, accusing Adrian of lying before fleeing.

Later, in the safety of home, he delivered a verdict that sliced straight through Roo’s heart: he didn’t care if Adrian was his father. He didn’t like him.

For Roo, that should have simplified things. Instead, it made them more complicated than ever.

Determined to shield Cohen from further pain, she resolves to push Adrian away if that’s what the boy wants. Her instincts are maternal, immediate, protective. But Alf Stewart sees the wider picture. They may want control, he argues, yet the decision might not be theirs to make — and denying a child access to his biological parent could backfire in ways none of them can predict.

Roo listens, but fear is louder.

When social worker Harper arrives to talk things through, the tension becomes suffocating. Cohen, sent upstairs, lingers within earshot, absorbing every word as two adults debate his future. One side fights to guard his heart; the other warns that slamming the door entirely could bring authorities crashing through it.

It is the kind of conversation that decides destinies.

Meanwhile, Adrian is reeling too. Encouraged by Sergeant David not to give up, he makes a desperate move, arriving at Summer Bay House unannounced, hoping simply to see his son. Instead, he meets Roo’s fury. She blocks the entrance, makes her boundaries crystal clear, and warns she will involve police if he returns.

In that moment, lines are drawn.

But Summer Bay rarely lets lines stay uncrossed.

The following day, Alf takes Cohen out by the river, hoping distance from the conflict might loosen the knot in the boy’s chest. Away from raised voices and legal threats, Cohen finally explains what hurt him most — hearing Adrian shift responsibility onto Samantha. Whatever mistakes his mother made, she is still his mother. Hearing her criticized felt like betrayal.

Alf understands. So will Roo, when she hears.

Back at the house, however, Harper delivers news that chills Roo to the bone. If she continues obstructing contact, the department may have no choice but to intervene. Escalation could mean reviews, hearings — even Cohen being moved to another foster placement entirely.

Everything Roo has tried to prevent suddenly looms as a real possibility.

The tragedy is cruelly ironic. In trying to hold on tighter, she may push him away.

The dilemma now gripping the Stewarts is the kind that defines families: is love about protection, or is it about letting someone walk a painful path toward understanding? Can Roo trust that allowing Adrian space might ultimately help Cohen, even if it risks shattering her own dream of adoption?

Viewers know there are no easy victories here. Only choices, consequences, and the quiet terror of getting it wrong.

As the week unfolds, every glance between Roo and Cohen carries extra weight. Every knock at the door could change their future. Adrian, flawed and fumbling yet sincere, stands on the outside, hoping for another chance. Harper watches with professional concern. Alf braces for impact.

And in the middle of it all is a boy who simply wants the truth without losing the people he loves.

Whether Roo can find the strength to open the door — even a crack — may determine everything.

Summer Bay has seen reunions, departures, and heartbreak beyond counting. But this time, the threat feels different. This time, the loss would not come from fate or disaster.

It would come from love itself.