Secrets don’t stay buried forever in EastEnders — especially when they’re quite literally lying beneath the ground, waiting to be unearthed. Next week, Nicola Mitchell’s carefully concealed past comes back to haunt her with terrifying force, threatening to tear her family apart and destroy everything she’s built.

For years, Nicola has lived under a cloud of guilt, haunted by the murder of Shireen — her son Harry’s ex-girlfriend. The young woman vanished four years ago under mysterious circumstances, and ever since, Harry has lived with the trauma of being blamed for her disappearance. What no one knew — until now — is that it wasn’t Harry who made Shireen vanish. It was Nicola.

Her secret is finally exposed when her husband Teddy uncovers the horrifying truth: Nicola was responsible for Shireen’s death and arranged for her body to be buried on the site of Teddy’s new development project. Now, with the land on the brink of being excavated, the past is threatening to burst through the surface in more ways than one.

Understandably, Teddy is shaken. The man he thought he knew his wife to be has just shattered. Demanding answers, he corners Nicola, who’s forced to confess everything: the night of Shireen’s death, her reasons, and the lengths she went to in order to cover it up. It wasn’t just murder — it was premeditated, cold, and involved paying a man named Benji to dispose of the body.

Teddy is horrified. While Nicola begs him to stay quiet for Harry’s sake, Teddy is torn. Harry has been emotionally scarred for years, tormented by guilt over what happened to Shireen. Teddy argues that the truth could finally give Harry peace — that he deserves to know what really happened. But Nicola refuses. She believes the truth would break their son.

Things spiral when Barney, their youngest, begins to suspect that something isn’t quite right. He senses the tension between his parents and begins asking questions, unknowingly placing even more pressure on Nicola as she tries to keep the secret from exploding.

Meanwhile, Teddy hatches a plan. He suggests they track down Benji — the man who helped hide the crime. Maybe, just maybe, they can buy his silence one more time. The couple arranges a secretive meeting, hoping to negotiate a deal that will protect them all. But Benji doesn’t come cheap.

Faced with limited options, Nicola makes a drastic decision. She agrees to sell Harry’s Barn — the family business and one of her biggest sources of pride — in order to raise the money to pay off Benji. It’s a gut-wrenching choice, but Nicola believes it’s the only way to keep the past from destroying their future.

However, Teddy isn’t satisfied. Watching Nicola sacrifice something she loves because of a mistake he believes they can still fix drives him to take matters into his own hands. Without telling her, he initiates a bold and dangerous plan of his own — one that he believes could resolve the situation without paying off Benji or sacrificing the family’s livelihood.

But Teddy’s interference doesn’t sit well with Nicola. When she finds out what he’s done, she’s livid. Teddy’s rogue actions may have changed everything — but whether for better or worse remains unclear. What is clear, though, is that the consequences are huge. The Mitchells find themselves walking a razor-thin line as Teddy’s decisions plunge them deeper into a web of risk and deception.

And just when Nicola thinks she’s regaining a semblance of control, the unthinkable happens.

While alone at Harry’s Barn, reflecting on the mess her life has become, Nicola gets a chilling surprise. A shadowy figure enters the barn — someone who doesn’t belong and clearly knows something. The intruder doesn’t come with threats or violence. Instead, they ask questions — pointed ones. They want answers. And they’re not leaving until Nicola talks.