Port Charles is never a city that wakes gently, and Thursday promises to be no exception. By the time the sun crawls over the harbor, nerves are already frayed,

loyalties are being tested, and several residents are about to discover that the truths they’ve been avoiding refuse to stay buried. At General Hospital,

Isaiah approaches Portia with a deceptively easy smile, but there is nothing casual about the conversation he intends to have. He isn’t interested in small talk

or hospital gossip. He wants answers — specifically about the paternity questions circling the baby and the DNA test that could change multiple lives in a single keystroke.

Portia does her best to maintain composure. She throws around clinical language, presenting the test as routine, another lab procedure in a long day of them. Yet Isaiah knows her too well. He notices the hesitation, the flicker in her eyes, the way her hand tightens at her sleeve. In Port Charles, medical records are supposed to be sacred, but history has proven how easily facts can be bent when hearts are on the line. Isaiah hears what Portia doesn’t say, and that silence may speak louder than any result printed on hospital letterhead.

Because there are two futures sitting in that lab. One where Isaiah is the father. Another where Curtis is. Both could be made official. Both could bring relief. And only Portia will truly know if the outcome is truth… or choice.

Across town, another secret begins to tighten its grip.

Josslyn Jacks has never been good at staying out of danger, especially when she believes she’s the only one willing to chase it. Despite official warnings to step back, she continues tracking Sidwell and Cullum, convinced that if she looks away for even a moment, something terrible will slip through the cracks.

When Jason calls, Joss gives him information — but not all of it. She edits, trims, reshapes. She tells herself she’s protecting him, keeping him from worrying, maybe even from interfering. Jason, who has spent a lifetime trusting the people he loves, listens and accepts her version of events. He doesn’t hear the missing pieces.

But he feels them.

Meanwhile, tensions inside the Cassadine orbit reach a breaking point. Charlotte is finished being managed, dismissed, or kept in the dark. When Valentin urges distance and cautions her against visiting, he frames it as protection. Charlotte hears control. She hears secrets. And most dangerously, she hears Nina’s name wrapped in warnings that sound an awful lot like blame.

Valentin tries to redirect her anger, insisting Nina isn’t the enemy. But Charlotte has already written her own narrative, and in Port Charles, once someone believes a story, it becomes almost impossible to rewrite.

Elsewhere, Sonny Corinthos begins quietly assembling ammunition.

Lucy, wounded by Sidwell’s decision to gravitate toward Ava, is more than willing to talk. She vents, she gestures, she shares observations she believes are harmless. Sonny listens with measured patience, sliding careful questions into the spaces between her complaints. Lucy thinks she’s reclaiming dignity. She doesn’t realize she’s feeding strategy.

And Ava? She’s playing her part beautifully — perhaps too beautifully. Whether she’s manipulating Sidwell or enjoying the dance remains unclear. With Ava, motives are always layered.

But the most immediate danger is gathering outside Sidwell’s building.

Joss has parked farther away than usual, determined to stay unnoticed. Her engine is off, her phone silenced, her eyes fixed on the entrance. Cullum’s arrival earlier set her nerves on edge. Time stretches. Lights flicker. Through a window she sees Sidwell laugh, while Cullum remains stone still beside him, watchful and cold.

Then something shifts.

A presence behind her car. A sound too close. Before she can fully react, her door handle jerks. Panic explodes. She twists, fights — and hears Cullum’s voice telling her to relax. They “just want to talk.”

Sidwell steps forward, disappointment replacing charm. He says her name like a verdict.

At that same moment, Jason freezes wherever he stands. Instinct, honed by years of catastrophe, roars to life. Joss’s earlier tone replays in his head. He reaches for his phone, checks her location, and sees what he feared most.

She’s not moving.

Jason doesn’t wait for backup or permission. He never does.

Back at home, Portia stares at the lab system glowing in the dark. Curtis’s name. Isaiah’s name. A baby who will grow up shaped by whatever she decides tonight. She tells herself she’s protecting everyone. She tells herself love justifies alteration.

Her finger hovers over the keys.

Not far away, Trina sits with the echo of her argument with Joss ringing in her ears. She knows her best friend is hiding something. She just doesn’t know how dangerous that something has become.

And Charlotte, furious and unyielding, edges closer to choices Valentin may not be able to undo.

By the time night falls, the city will feel smaller, tighter — like every street is pushing people toward collision. Secrets are surfacing. Alliances are shifting. And somewhere beneath a flickering light, Josslyn is about to learn that curiosity in Port Charles comes with a price.

Jason is on his way.

Whether he reaches her in time is another story entirely.