Coming up next week on Emmerdale, Ruby is stunned by a revelation in her mother’s will, Belle’s mental health deteriorates following her arrest, and Nicola starts to doubt Tom’s innocence.
1) Helen’s will reveals a secret
As Ruby (Beth Cordingly) grapples with the loss of her estranged mother, Helen (Sharon Maughan), her husband Caleb (Will Ash) grows anxious that his hidden financial gain will come to light.
Ruby had been cut off from her mother ever since she was forced to choose between her affluent family and Caleb during her teenage years. Although Helen tried to reconnect with Ruby before passing away, Caleb intervened and blocked the calls, hoping to shield her from further pain.
Caleb took it upon himself to visit Helen in the hospital, where he discovered she was terminally ill. During their conversation, he promised to try and convince Ruby to visit, but only if Helen transferred £100,000 to him in advance. Helen agreed and made the necessary arrangements.
The following day, a nurse at the hospital managed to reach Ruby, informing her that her mother wished to speak with her. Sadly, by the time Ruby arrived, Helen had already passed away.
As Caleb consoled Ruby, who was eager to learn what her mother had wanted to tell her after all these years, he stayed silent while receiving confirmation that the £100k had been deposited into his account.
With Helen’s solicitor scheduled to arrive next week to read the will, Caleb is anxious that the secret payout will come to light. Their relationship has already been strained after Ruby found out about Caleb’s hospital visit, though she remains completely in the dark about the money.
Caleb fears his secret has been uncovered when Ruby is visibly stunned by one of the documents the solicitor, Fiona, presents. However, it soon becomes clear that Helen had a significant secret of her own.
Helen’s will reveals how she was actually in touch with Caleb and Ruby’s own estranged daughter, Stephanie, a fact that horrifies Ruby.
While confiding in Chas (Lucy Pargeter), a distraught Ruby admits she’s thankful to have Caleb’s family to lean on, given how long she’s been estranged from her own.
Meanwhile, Caleb breathes a sigh of relief, having emerged from the will reading without raising suspicion. However, he knows it’s only a matter of time before the truth about the transaction comes to light…
2) Belle is arrested!
At Wishing Well, Belle (Eden Taylor-Draper) reaches a breaking point next week as she struggles to cope with the loss of her father, Zak (Steve Halliwell). Already teetering on the edge, Belle has been locked in a tense battle with ex-husband Tom (James Chase), reporting him to the police for domestic abuse after a heated confrontation ended with her driving an axe into his back.
Belle has been wrestling with guilt for not visiting Zak in Scotland before his passing, but she found some comfort believing he was unaware of the challenges she’s been facing — or so she thought.
Next week, Mandy (Lisa Riley) accidentally reveals that Cain (Jeff Hordley) had already confided in Zak about Tom’s abuse, leaving Belle enraged that they had talked about it without her knowledge.
When a large bouquet of condolence flowers arrives at the cottage without a note, Belle becomes certain they are from Tom, believing he’s still tormenting her. Worried about her fragile state, Sam (James Hooton) and Lydia (Karen Blick) watch helplessly as Belle storms off to confront Tom, violating her bail conditions in the process.
The situation works perfectly for Tom, as Belle is left stunned when DS Foy (Robert Cavanah) arrives and arrests her.
At the police station, Foy cautions Belle that any additional contact with Tom will result in her going directly to prison.
3) Belle’s mental health spirals
Belle tries to maintain a brave front with her family as she arrives home, but it’s evident that she’s starting to unravel. It quickly becomes clear that she is engulfed by a chaotic mix of voices in her mind, suggesting she might be experiencing another schizophrenic episode.
Amidst the noise, Belle desperately wishes to hear her father’s comforting words, but she is heartbroken that she can’t hear him.
Later, Sam and Lydia are heartbroken to witness the extent of Belle’s breakdown when they find her outside at her most vulnerable moment.
With Tom’s case against Belle already bolstered by his false claims about her mental health, will this latest incident only undermine Belle’s defense even more?
4) Moira turns to Vanessa
Over at Butlers, Moira (Natalie J Robb) is taken aback when she receives a new date for her brain tumor removal operation after initially declining a last-minute appointment upon hearing about Zak’s death.
Moira had hesitated to tell Cain about the operation so soon after Zak’s passing, worried that she might also face a dire situation. However, she now must confront the reality of her upcoming surgery.
Cain tries his best to support Moira and reassure her that she’s making the right choice, but she understands that the journey ahead will be challenging regardless of the outcome.
Moira opens up to Vanessa (Michelle Hardwick), who is well aware of the struggles Moira is facing after her own experience with bowel cancer, and then asks her for a significant favor…
Will Vanessa be able to help her?
5) Billy is determined to continue fighting
At Holdgate, Billy (Jay Kontzle) is resolute about participating in another unlicensed boxing match, even though he is still recovering from injuries sustained in the previous fight.
Billy had shared his secret side hustle with Mackenzie (Lawrence Robb), having shown up at his door bleeding from an abdominal injury he got after falling on a sharp object during a bout. He revealed that he began fighting out of desperation to support his family.
However, the fights have also served as a way for Billy to relieve his stress, so it didn’t take much convincing from boxing promoter Jade (Twinnie-Lee Moore) for him to continue.
Mack assured Billy that he would help, but he was still taken aback to find out that Billy intended to compete in another match so soon.
Medic John (Oliver Farnworth), who treated Billy after his previous fight, shares his serious concerns but ultimately agrees to provide Billy with an impromptu training session. He hopes this will at least help enhance Billy’s defense and reduce the risk of further injury.
John’s preferred approach is for Billy to avoid fighting altogether, so he enlists Aaron (Danny Miller) in hopes that he can convince Billy not to go through with it.
Will Aaron succeed in changing Billy’s mind?
6) Will Jimmy sign over the haulage firm?
With Helen’s $100k weighing heavily on his mind, the day arrives for Caleb to finalize his takeover of Home James Haulage as Jimmy (Nick Miles) gets ready to sign the agreement.
Caleb had been undermining the business with the intention of taking control, but he unexpectedly gained half of it easily after Will (Dean Andrews) offered his share in exchange for a loan.
Next week, Will’s guilt intensifies after he pressures Jimmy into signing over his half of the business to Caleb. When Caleb arrives at the yard with the paperwork to finalize the deal, will Jimmy proceed with the plan?
7) Nicola begins to suspect Tom
Meanwhile, Nicola (Nicola Wheeler) grows worried when she notices that Carl (Charlie Joyce) is behaving oddly around Tom.
A few weeks ago, Tom had frightened his young cousin with his outburst after Carl mentioned he had given Tom’s tablet— which held evidence of his surveillance on Belle—to his friend Isaac (Bobby Dunsmuir) during their gaming session.
After terrifying Carl with threats of informing his parents about the theft or even involving the police, Tom eventually managed to get the tablet back and destroyed it while Carl secretly observed from an upstairs window.
Even though Tom tried to regain Carl’s trust—and keep him quiet—by buying him an expensive remote control car, Carl has remained noticeably disturbed.
Nicola picks up on the tension as she notices Carl’s evident fear of Tom, but given that she and Jimmy have steadfastly defended their nephew against Belle’s allegations, will she start to question his supposed innocence?
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