If viewers once thought Valerie Grant was just a devoted mother, the upcoming episodes will change everything.

In the promo that just aired, Austin Reed officially became the “bomb-thrower” when he presented undeniable evidence that Valerie had been hiding Eli’s birth father’s identity for 30 years.

Accordingly, Austin – Valerie’s former lover when she was young – accidentally discovered an old set of documents related to a mysterious surgery that Valerie had performed in Chicago.

In the file, the name of the man “playing the role of Eli’s legal guardian” coincided with a familiar name in Salem: David Banning, a distant member of the Horton family.

Austin brought all the evidence to confront, causing Valerie to completely collapse.

The scene reveals Valerie trying to snatch the file back, shouting “Give it to me!”, but Austin coldly replies: “Eli has the right to know who he is.” In a panic, Valerie admits that she kept the secret to “protect” Eli from the truth that his father was the one who betrayed her – but to Eli, that justification is like a double betrayal. He stares at his mother, choking: “My whole life is a lie.”

What makes the audience shudder is the detail that Austin is not just the one who gives evidence – he also has his own purpose. The promo shows Austin talking on the phone to a mysterious person: “She will tell, and when she tells, I will win.” Does Austin really want to help Eli, or is he just taking advantage of this chaos to defeat Valerie because of an old grudge?

The film climaxes when Valerie collapses in the hospital after the shock, while Eli stands outside the hospital room, his eyes blank. In Salem, every lie has a price – and now Valerie faces the ultimate price: losing the son she once risked everything to protect.