Zoe, a nurse, often relied on her mother-in-law, Denise, to babysit her son Leo. However, when Leo starts acting frightened around Denise, Zoe becomes concerned and uncovers that Denise has a hidden agenda.
Denise had always been overbearing, but Zoe thought it was just her being protective. After her husband Jeremy passed, Denise took on a more dominant role as head librarian. She often babysat Leo, but recently, he started acting strange around her—clinging to Zoe and hiding when he heard her car.
One day, Leo cried, saying he didn’t want Grandma to stay because she “acted strange.” Zoe brushed it off until Leo later confided that Denise had tried to put cotton buds in his mouth, claiming she needed to collect his spit for a test. Zoe was horrified, suspecting Denise was attempting a DNA test on Leo.
When Zoe confronted Denise, the truth came out—Denise had been suspicious of Leo’s blonde hair and wondered if he was Andrew’s biological son. Denise apologized, but Zoe was furious. This caused tension in Zoe’s marriage, and when Andrew suggested doing a DNA test to “put things to rest,” Zoe agreed but demanded that Andrew also take a test to prove his paternity, to show Denise how it felt.
The results confirmed Leo was Andrew’s son, but it also revealed Andrew’s biological father wasn’t the man he’d known his whole life—his mother, Denise, had had an affair. Andrew was devastated, and the couple decided to distance themselves from Denise. Zoe realized Denise’s insecurities had led her to project her own doubts onto Leo and their family. They chose to focus on their son and move on from the drama.