Summer Bay is plunged into emotional turmoil next week on Home and Away, as Roo Stewart faces the most devastating decision of her life—one that

will see her helplessly watch foster teen Eliza leave the Bay, possibly forever. For months, Roo, portrayed by Georgie Parker, has fought tirelessly to give 14-year-old Eliza

a second chance. Taking her in as an emergency foster placement, Roo believed patience and compassion could heal even the deepest wounds. Eliza had already endured unimaginable

trauma—removed from her biological parents, raised by her grandmother, then thrust into the care system after her grandmother’s tragic death. But what began as a story of hope has spiraled into something far darker.

From the outset, Eliza carried an unsettling presence. The only item she brought to Summer Bay was a delicate musical jewelry box salvaged from her previous foster home, which had been destroyed in a suspicious fire. Inside, however, were items that sent chills through Roo’s household: a lock of hair, a photograph of her parents with their faces scratched out, and a lighter. At first, Roo dismissed the objects as artifacts of trauma. But others weren’t so convinced.

Marilyn was the first to sound the alarm.

Eliza’s immediate hostility toward her, combined with veiled threats and erratic behavior, left Marilyn deeply uneasy. When she learned that Eliza had been suspected of starting the fire at her previous foster placement—and had threatened another teen with a broken bottle—her fears intensified. Feeling unsafe, Marilyn made the painful choice to move out and stay with Irene, igniting tension between her and Roo.

Roo accused her lifelong friend of giving up too easily. Marilyn insisted she was protecting herself—and others. The fracture between them was heartbreaking, but events soon proved Marilyn’s instincts disturbingly accurate.

Roo’s confidence began to crumble when she discovered Alf’s missing fishing knife hidden inside Eliza’s music box. Alf Stewart, played by Ray Meagher, had welcomed Eliza warmly, treating her like a granddaughter. Eliza claimed the knife symbolized a special day they’d shared. Roo desperately wanted to believe her.

But Eliza’s fascination with Harper’s pregnancy signaled deeper issues. She repeatedly touched Harper’s baby bump without consent, staring with an intensity that unsettled everyone around her. Then came the bushwalk that changed everything.

When Harper unexpectedly went into labor—despite medical warnings that she required a cesarean—Eliza promised to call for help. She didn’t.

Instead, she watched. Filmed. Observed Harper’s agony through her phone lens while the situation escalated into a medical emergency. It was only through the timely intervention of Tane and Levi that Harper and her baby survived.

Roo was horrified when Eliza later showed her the footage. There was no remorse. No fear. Just cold curiosity.

Tane was blunt in his assessment: was Eliza expecting to film a birth—or a death?

Still, Roo clung to hope. She refused to believe the worst.

That hope shattered when Alf suffered chest pains while alone with Eliza at the bait shop. As he begged her to fetch his heart medication and call for help, Eliza did nothing. She claimed she couldn’t find the pills. Said the phone was dead. Insisted no one was nearby.

In truth, she had pocketed the medication.

By sheer luck, John stumbled upon Alf and managed to get him home in time to access a spare supply. The incident left the Stewart family shaken—and Roo forced to confront an unthinkable possibility: Eliza may have been willing to let Alf die.

The final blow came when Tane reviewed Harper’s call log and confirmed Eliza had never contacted emergency services during the bushwalk. She had deliberately allowed Harper to endure labor alone.

When Roo confronted Eliza about the stolen medication and the disturbing additions to her music box—a printed screenshot of Harper in agony and Alf’s pill bottle—the teen’s response was chilling.

“Did you want to watch him die?” Roo asked, voice trembling.

“What if I did?” Eliza replied.

In that moment, Roo’s heart broke.

Every excuse she had made, every doubt she had silenced, collapsed under the weight of that answer. Apologizing to Marilyn for not listening sooner, Roo finally accepted the painful truth: Eliza needed help beyond anything she could provide.

Reluctantly, the department intervened. The decision was taken out of Roo’s hands—Eliza would be removed and placed into professional care.

The farewell scenes are devastating.

Unaware that Eliza is listening from the hallway, Roo tells Alf and Marilyn that the teen will be leaving. Upstairs, Eliza watches the birth video again and again, her expression unreadable.

When Roo gently breaks the news, Eliza’s composure cracks. Tears fill her eyes.

“I know I’m different,” she pleads. “Please don’t make me go. I’ll try harder.”

Roo’s resolve wavers, but only briefly. She explains that this isn’t her choice anymore—that Eliza needs specialized care.

The next morning, Harper arrives to collect her. Eliza offers a flat apology to Alf, asking bluntly if she can stay. Harper’s response is firm: “It doesn’t work like that.”

As they prepare to leave, Roo assures Eliza that with the right help, her life can improve. But Eliza’s final words cut deeper than any accusation before.

“You’re not as bad as the other carers,” she says coldly. “You’re worse.”

Roo stands frozen as the car pulls away, watching the girl she tried so desperately to save disappear from Summer Bay.

For Roo, the loss is profound. She had promised never to give up on Eliza. Yet loving someone doesn’t always mean keeping them close. Sometimes, it means letting them go.

In classic Home and Away fashion, the storyline leaves viewers grappling with uncomfortable truths about trauma, mental health, and the limits of even the fiercest compassion.

As Summer Bay returns to its sunlit calm, Roo is left carrying the weight of heartbreak—haunted by the girl she couldn’t save and the chilling words that will echo long after Eliza’s departure.