Emmerdale viewers thought Belle Dingle (played by Eden Taylor-Draper) was safe from any further harm after Lachlan White (Thomas Atkinson) was arrested and put behind bars for his heinous crimes.
But in the past few episodes, he has taken control over his ex-girlfriend once again.
This time however, he has not physically been carrying out the threats.
And it seems the person responsible for the bizarre acts has been revealed and could be Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzie).
In recent instalments of the soap, those watching at home have seen Belle receive dead flowers, a sinister birthday card, a text message on New Year’s Eve and most recently the slaughter of Gloria the pig.
And the latter act was enough to send her straight to the prison to confront the murderer.
Supported by Sam Dingle (James Hooton) Belle sat in front of the killer and listened to him give a remorseful speech about how sincerely sorry he was for all the pain he has caused.
Whilst Sam may have fallen for his acting, Belle luckily didn’t because in the final scene of the episode, Lachlan’s true motive was revealed.
Back in what is presumably his cell, Lachlan was seen unscrewing and removing the back of the sink.
Retrieving an phone, he punched in some numbers and a call dialled out.
“You alright?” He asked and then continued: “Look, I need you to do something else for me…
“The other stuff was ok, but I think we need to up the ante.
“Let’s just say it’s not having the desired effect,” he concluded.
Whilst the person on the end of the phone wasn’t heard speaking, it is unclear as to who Lachlan has got working for him on the outside.
However, one possible person who already has a criminal record and lives in Emmerdale is Billy.
Viewers recently saw the head teacher’s son arrive in the village following him serving time for previous crimes.
Thus, his sentence would’ve overlapped with the time Lachlan has spent in prison and therefore the two could have met.
Billy could’ve explained who is mother is and how he had plans to go and see her and start a new life in the same place as her.
Which means Lachlan could have convinced him, or even be paying him to work for him.
Is Billy responsible for the threatening acts happening up at the Dingle farm?
And what did Lachlan mean when he said “we need to up the ante”? What could possibly happen to Belle next?
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV.
