After the threat, Marlon still takes the risk.

He takes April to the station, tells her everything he knows, hoping to get the police to act immediately.

But the next blow comes from the harsh truth: the police say there isn’t enough evidence to process it quickly as Marlon hoped.

This means Celia and Ray can still be free, and they’ll seek revenge as soon as the family “opens their mouths.”

Marlon knows immediately: this isn’t a movie where you report something and get 24/7 protection. This is Emmerdale, where the villain can return faster than an ambulance.

And that’s exactly what happened. Marlon and April arrive home to find Ray already there, restraining Rhona in a dangerous situation. Ray didn’t need to make a fuss. He played a dirtier game: he dragged Rhona’s past into the open, bringing up Pierce to trigger panic, paralyzing Rhona and rendering her defenseless. April, witnessing that scene, would surely be haunted for life, for it wasn’t a normal argument; it was the feeling of being taken over by a stranger in her own home.

From that moment, Marlon understood: staying was slow suicide. He began planning his escape, leaving the village, cutting off all contact so Celia and Ray wouldn’t track him down. But the plan, just as it began to take shape, encountered its biggest obstacle: April. She couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Dylan in the hospital while he was in a coma. April reacted with a mixture of tears and anger, because to her, leaving now felt like betraying someone she loved.