Belle King (Eden Taylor-Draper) has been left traumatised after another face-off with abusive and manipulative husband Tom (James Chase) in Emmerdale.
For months, Tom has controlled every aspect of Belle’s life, including her work, sense of security in her own home, and the control she has over her own mental health and the medication she takes for it.
He’s isolated her from her family and friends and driven her towards needing specialist help.
To make matters worse, she’s recently found out that she is expecting his baby.
In lastnight’s (13th July) episode, he advised her to cut back her medication for the sake of their unborn child’s health, clearly wanting her to spiral again to regain control.
As she began to get ready for Ethan Anderson’s (Emile John) funeral, he attempted to keep her in the house and suggested that it was a small service for close family – leaving her confused as Nicky (Lewis Cope), Suni (Brahmdeo Shannon) and Gabby (Rosie Bentham) were all attending.
Realising that his plan was failing, he sent her upstairs to turn the immersion heater off – and stole her keys.
As he locked both the front and back doors, Tom told Belle that he was heading out for an hour to work, and upon his return they’d both go to the funeral.
Will he ever be found out? (Picture: ITV)
In his absence, she began to prepare some food and settled down on the sofa, unaware that the hob was alight after a tea towel began to singe. Upon waking up from her nap, the room was filled with smoke and she rushed around the kitchen to extinguish the fire and air the house out.
It was at this moment that she realised she was locked in.
Tom, blasé as ever, strolled back into Dale Head and claimed he hadn’t taken Belle’s keys, quickly planting them in the dog food cupboard for her to discover and feel guilty for lashing out at him.
After apologising, she seemed to become aware of the trap she was in, and searched online for a nearby abortion clinic.
Will she be able to evade further torment?
