After months of silence, Caleb Milligan makes a surprise return to Emmerdale – but this time, he is no longer the half-righteous, half-evil man viewers once knew.

His cold eyes, sharp suits, and vague promises of “new plans” have everyone wary.

Even Cain Dingle, the man he tried to reconcile with, is wary: “I don’t trust anyone who comes back with a smile like that.”

Caleb insists he is back to “start over” and “support the Dingle family financially”.

But just days later, a series of suspicious signs appear. A new company called Milligan Holdings suddenly buys the land around Home Farm, and the company’s legal representative is Caleb’s old friend – who was prosecuted for money laundering.

In a tense scene, Caleb is seen meeting secretly in a car with a strange man, exchanging thick envelopes. When Cain accidentally discovers, he confronts:

“You said you came back for your family, or for your wallet?”
Caleb just smiles: “Cain, sometimes to protect your family, you have to get your hands dirty.”

However, the person the audience should pay the most attention to is Charity Dingle, who seems to know Caleb better than anyone. She quietly follows him, discovering that he is using the name of a “farm rescue company” to launder a huge amount of money from London. When Charity tells Cain about the story, he hesitates: “If it is true, then Caleb has not only betrayed his family… but also betrayed his own blood.”