Tom King’s (James Chase) absence has left Belle Dingle (Eden Taylor-Draper) on edge in Emmerdale this week, but there is a dark reason behind his sudden disappearance.

Belle opened up to cousin Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) about the abuse she had suffered at Tom’s hands last week, and she encouraged her to confide in brother Cain (Jeff Hordley).

With strict instructions not to go after Tom, Cain was also told what had happened – something that Tom soon caught onto.

In a bid to get ahead of the allegations, Tom told uncle Jimmy King (Nick Miles) what Belle had been saying, and he was quick to leap to his defence.

However, word soon got around to employers Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry), who immediately sacked Tom.

After losing his job, Tom went off the radar, and no one has seen him since.

This left Belle feeling uneasy, and worried that Cain had gone against her wishes and dealt with Tom in his own way.

However, when Cain insisted that he hadn’t, Belle felt no better, as she admitted to Charity that she was worried about the fact that Tom could be anywhere.

As Belle fretted, Tom’s current girlfriend Amelia Spencer (Daisy Campbell) headed to a wooded area, where she soon met with Tom.

As the pair talked, Tom told Amelia to keep her eyes and ears open, and that he was doing this so that he could get a divorce from Belle, so they could finally be ‘free of her’.

When Amelia promised to keep fighting to prove his innocence, Tom informed that he ‘always wins in the end’, leaving us concerned for what he may have planned.

Is Tom set to get revenge on Belle for speaking out, and is Amelia in danger for trusting him?