Laurel Thomas’ life seemed to be stable, until Ray Walters — a character with “dangerous but charming” energy — stepped in and pushed her family to the brink of collapse.

The upcoming episodes reveal a shocking truth: Ray has been hiding a huge secret, directly related to Laurel herself and her children’s future.

Ray appears as a stranger in need of help, but his true nature is far from that image.

When Laurel softens and lets Ray stay, she doesn’t know that Ray was once involved in a “black” case elsewhere.

Ray’s appearance makes Arthur, Gabby, and Jai tense up like a string. They feel Laurel is being drawn into something unclean.

Secrets are slowly revealed: Ray not only lied about his past residence, but also hid his true identity, once having an affair with a woman in the neighborhood — who has since disappeared without a trace. When Laurel asks him directly, Ray dodges, using his emotions to manipulate her: “I just want to start over.”

But Laurel begins to see shady behavior: hidden phones, evasive text messages, unexplained night trips. The climax: Gabby listens in on Ray’s phone calls and realizes he’s contacting someone to “clean up his tracks.”

When Laurel confronts the truth, Ray has gone too far. He doesn’t want to lose his place in her family — a place Laurel unwittingly opened the door for him to enter. Viewers sense clearly: Ray is not a harmless man. He is the darkness, and Laurel is being sucked into it.

The Thomas family — already broken once — is now on the precipice: save themselves, or let Ray drag them all down.