Zoe, a caring nurse, often asked her mother-in-law, Denise, to take care of her son, Leo. Denise was a woman who seemed very powerful and had a talent for making others feel inferior without even making an effort. After her husband died, she went back to being the main librarian at the nearby library. She felt comfort in her job and in the gatherings of her book club. Even though Denise could be a bit bossy, Zoe was grateful for her assistance. Denise often took care of Leo when Zoe had to work late because Andrew, her husband, had unpredictable hours at his law firm. Denise told Zoe that grandmothers should always be there to help. She mentioned that even though grandmothers can sometimes have changing moods, they are reliable and never express dissatisfaction.
Lately, Leo started behaving oddly whenever Denise was nearby. He would hold onto Zoe for a longer time when she tried to go, or hide when he heard Denise’s car coming. At the beginning, Zoe thought it could be a temporary thing or just separation worries that many young kids experience. One night, before Zoe was going to work a night shift, Leo started crying and asked her not to leave him with his grandmother. Worried, Zoe knelt next to him, trying to make him feel better by talking about the goodies his grandma used to bring. However, Leo, feeling scared, noticed that his grandmother had been behaving oddly. He explained how Denise would try to make him eat something by following him with it. Leo said that the object was a cotton swab. Denise wanted to use it to get a sample of his saliva for a test. Leo was very scared by this idea. He was still very upset from a recent accident where he broke his arm and now he is afraid of anything related to medicine.
Zoe felt uncomfortable and then got mad when she found out that Denise was trying to do a DNA test on her without telling her. Angry, Zoe went into the room where Denise was staying and asked for an explanation. Surprised, Denise admitted she had doubts about Leo’s blonde hair, which didn’t match anyone else in the family. Motivated by curiosity and uncertainty, she decided to confirm Leo’s biological father. Zoe was surprised and upset because she couldn’t believe that Denise would do something like that. She told Denise to go so she could think about what happened and help her upset son.
In the following days, Zoe and Andrew’s relationship became more strained. Denise had already spoken to Andrew, making him doubt things. Even though he was unsure at first, Andrew proposed that they take the DNA test to finally resolve the issue. Zoe agreed, but only if Andrew also did a DNA test to confirm he is the father. If Denise questioned Leo, she should be ready to be questioned too.
Andrew was surprised by Zoe’s request, but he ended up saying yes. A few days later, the test results came in and showed that Leo was really Andrew’s son. However, there was a surprising turn of events—Andrew’s test showed that his real father was not the person he had always thought he was. Andrew had a hard time understanding the surprising news. Zoe started to keep her distance from Denise because she was not ready to forgive her mother-in-law’s actions quickly.
In the end, Andrew talked to Denise, who confessed to having cheated when she was young. This discovery changed the way Andrew saw his family. He chose to spend time apart from his mother to concentrate on his family with Zoe and Leo. Denise had been feeling guilty for a long time, and this guilt made her see her own insecurities in Zoe and Leo. Now, Zoe and Andrew were committed to moving on, concentrating on their son and putting Denise’s problems in the past.