Emmerdale spoilers follow from Wednesday's episode (July 24) and beyond.
Emmerdale aired another big moment in Belle and Tom King's dark storyline on Wednesday evening as their special episode ended with a dramatic chase scene.
The couple's disturbing relationship took centre stage in a special edition of the ITV soap, which focused entirely on their trip to a holiday cottage in Wales.
Earlier this week, Cain and Charity Dingle arrived at the remote Welsh property, as they were concerned over Belle and Tom's abrupt departure from the village.
They were horrified to discover signs of a violent struggle, as the place had been trashed and there were blood smears on the walls. Ominously, Belle and Tom were nowhere to be seen.
Wednesday's Emmerdale episode put viewers in the picture, flashing back to Belle and Tom's arrival at the holiday cottage four days earlier.
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On face value, the couple were in high spirits at the start of the holiday, but Tom's manipulative behaviour was never far from the surface.
The episode followed the events of four consecutive days, as Tom's abuse, cruel put-downs and violent outbursts left Belle terrified. Tom continued to lock Belle inside whenever he was out, restricting her freedom.
Piper the dog was also targeted by Tom, who maliciously tied her up outside under the guise that she needed firmer training.
Belle's ordeal came to a head when Tom informed her that he'd secured a permanent position as a vet in a location near to the holiday cottage.
When Belle clarified that she didn't want to move and pointed out that they hadn't even discussed it, Tom became violent again in upsetting scenes.
On the fourth day of the holiday, Belle fled from the cottage in terror with Piper while Tom was in the shower.
Belle managed to board a local bus service with just seconds to spare, as a furious Tom gave chase. She refused his orders to disembark the vehicle and the bus pulled off, thankfully taking Belle to safety.
While Belle's escape will have come as a great relief to viewers, it's unlikely to mark the end of the overall storyline.
In a recent interview with Digital Spy and other press, Emmerdale's producer Laura Shaw confirmed that Belle and Tom's story won't conclude until the end of the year.
Shaw told us last month: "We've said right from the beginning that we wanted to tell this story as truthfully and authentically as we can. For people who are subjected to domestic abuse, it's not something that's over in a couple of weeks.
"It's something that goes on for a long period of time and we wanted to be truthful to that. I think you can expect this storyline to run until the end of this year."
Meanwhile, asked whether Belle's family will discover the full truth anytime soon, Shaw replied: "That's a tricky one. We'll see people start to look a bit more quizzically at Tom and Belle, wonder what's going on and question certain things that they're seeing.
"But from the research that we've done, and what the charities have said to us, quite often people don't really pick up on these things. It's also very difficult as an outsider looking in, to broach that and ask those sorts of questions.
"So whilst we may see people picking up on it, I'm not sure we're going to see anybody put the full picture together."
With these recent comments in mind, viewers will have to stay tuned over the coming days to find out how much – if anything – Belle's family learn about what happened in the cottage, as well as Tom's other abusive behaviour in recent months.
The blood on the walls was caused by Belle suffering a hand injury when Tom attacked her, while Tom was also responsible for trashing the cottage after Belle escaped. But can he think of an excuse to explain this all away?
One person who is likely to keep playing a key role in the storyline is Charity, who has spotted various red flags in Tom's behaviour.
Charity recently confided in Cain over how Tom reminded her of Mark Bails, the evil detective who groomed and sexually abused her when she was a teenager.
In late June, Emma Atkins – who plays Charity – confirmed that she was looking forward to filming some further emotional scenes with co-star Eden Taylor-Draper, who plays Belle.
She told us: "I love Eden with all my heart. We do see each other socially, but it's great to work with her too because we've got some good stuff coming up.
"She's going to come over and stay, and we're going to blast through the scenes and work on it really hard, so that when we come to do this lovely episode that we're doing, it will have real meaning because we'll have worked on it.
"Eden is smashing it out of the park. She's truly remarkable at the moment. I think she's coming into her own and she's being challenged in a way that potentially she's never been before. She's stepping up to the mark and I'm really proud of her as a friend."
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, organisations including Refuge (www.refuge.org.uk), New Beginnings Peer Support (www.newbeginningspeersupport.com) and Women's Aid (www.womensaid.org.uk) can provide further support and information. The 24-hour, freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247. The US National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text LOVEIS to 22522.
