Summer Bay is about to be shaken by one of the most emotionally complex arrivals in recent memory, as Roo Stewart opens her heart — and her home —

to a frightened teenager whose world has just collapsed. Next week’s episodes introduce viewers to Cohen and his desperate mother Samantha,

and their story begins not with hope, but with sirens. New Yabbie Creek sergeant David answers a call about a homeless woman causing a disturbance.

What he finds is far more confronting than he expected. Samantha, defensive and exhausted, is doing everything she can to keep authorities away from the fragile life she has built inside a tent. David approaches with care, offering safety and support, promising he can find her somewhere she and her son won’t be harassed.

But Samantha doesn’t trust uniforms or promises.

When officers discover a stash of stolen mobile phones hidden in her car, the situation detonates. Samantha’s anger explodes — and then comes the voice that changes everything. A terrified boy calls out for his mum.

Cohen emerges, shaking but determined, trying to protect the only parent he has. In that instant, David sees the truth: whatever Samantha has done, she has done while clinging fiercely to her child’s survival.

Yet sympathy cannot erase procedure. The goods match items taken in a recent warehouse robbery. With a heavy heart, David arrests her.

Samantha begs him to look the other way — one parent to another. But with Cohen watching, handcuffs closing around his mother’s wrists, David knows there is no easy mercy left to give.

At the station, Cohen unravels. He tries to run to Samantha, convinced the police are stealing her from him. David, caught between duty and compassion, can only hold the line. A chocolate bar from the vending machine becomes a peace offering, a small bridge toward trust, as he gently asks the boy his name.

Then the blow lands.

Samantha isn’t just facing one charge. There are outstanding warrants — shoplifting, break and enter. She won’t be walking free anytime soon. Cohen needs emergency placement immediately.

And fate, in true Summer Bay style, has impeccable timing.

Roo has only just returned home when David arrives at the door with the trembling teenager beside him. The request is urgent, the need undeniable. Roo doesn’t hesitate.

Inside the house, Roo and Marilyn move mountains to make Cohen feel safe. They learn he loves books. They soften their voices. They let him set the pace. That night, Roo sits with him until sleep finally wins the battle against fear.

It should feel like the beginning of healing.

But morning brings reality.

Harper, assigned to Cohen’s case, arrives to outline the uncertainty ahead. Bail might come through for Samantha. A relative might be found — a grandmother mentioned somewhere far away. Or Cohen could be in limbo for weeks.

Roo seeks reassurance from David, wanting clarity, something solid to offer the boy who is already starting to look at her with cautious hope.

Instead, David returns carrying devastation.

Samantha has made a decision from her cell. Overwhelmed, defeated, perhaps believing she is sparing him further pain, she has signed papers relinquishing her parental rights.

She wants nothing more to do with her son.

Now comes the question no one is prepared to answer: how do you tell a child that his mother has let him go?

For Roo, the responsibility lands like an earthquake. She has opened her door expecting turbulence, but this is something else entirely. If she tells him, she risks shattering him. If she waits, she risks betraying him.

Was stepping in an act of love — or the start of a heartbreak neither of them can survive?

As Summer Bay braces for the fallout, one thing is certain: Roo’s newest chapter as a foster carer will test her strength, her patience, and her belief that sometimes love is enough.

But for Cohen, love has just walked away.

And the silence it leaves behind may be louder than any siren.