At Forrester Creations, chaos and heartbreak are never in short supply, but nothing could prepare Steffy for the emotional earthquake delivered by Daphne Rose. Once a trusted confidante and covert ally in Steffy’s plan to push Carter away from Hope, Daphne was supposed to be just a distraction—strategic, controlled, and impersonal. But LA has a way of changing people. What began as a calculated ploy became deeply personal as Daphne found herself falling for Carter, the very man she was meant to mislead.
Despite her growing feelings, Carter remained emotionally tethered to Hope Logan, a woman whose own heart seemed divided amid the wreckage left by Liam’s illness. Though Carter showed kindness to Daphne, he couldn’t offer her the love she craved. His words—“I care about you, but I can’t lie to myself. My heart is still tangled in Hope”—left Daphne devastated. Vulnerability, which she’d kept buried for years, had surfaced, only to be rejected. With nothing left to fight for, she made a life-altering decision: she’s leaving Los Angeles for good.
Daphne’s sudden resignation shocks Steffy. Daphne admits that she feels like she’s lost a part of herself in trying to manipulate emotions and battle for affection that never truly belonged to her. Her voice is calm, but the pain behind it is unmistakable. Yet, before she vanishes into the Paris skyline, she asks Steffy to meet her one last time—alone.
At the serene yet emotionally charged cliff house, Daphne reveals a secret so massive it leaves Steffy speechless. In a low, steady voice, Daphne confesses she is Eric Forrester’s daughter. Steffy stares at her in disbelief, assuming it’s some twisted fabrication—until Daphne pulls out a folded piece of paper: a DNA test. The results are clear. The match is irrefutable.
Daphne explains that Eric had a brief affair with her mother years ago. Her mother never told him about the pregnancy, and Daphne herself had kept this truth buried even after arriving in LA. She had the DNA test done privately, never intending to disrupt Eric’s life or lay claim to the Forrester legacy.
Steffy is stunned. She’s not just losing a colleague, she’s now carrying the weight of a secret that could shatter her grandfather’s world. Her voice quivers as she asks, “What do you want me to do with this?” Daphne pleads for silence. “Nothing. Not yet. Let me go.”
Now, Steffy is torn—between her loyalty to a woman she has come to respect and her duty to protect her family. Can she keep such a monumental truth buried, or will the weight of the secret eventually force her to speak? As Daphne boards her flight, walking away from heartbreak and the Forrester name, one thing is clear: the ripples from her revelation are just beginning.
