EastEnders Update: Kathy attempts to protect Vicki from the escalating conflict, but things take a turn when she discovers a communication connecting Zack to the first assault, and the revelation hits her like a jolt of electricity as the pieces suddenly begin to shift in her mind, forcing her to question not only Zack’s involvement but also how deep the danger around Vicki truly runs, because up until now Kathy had convinced herself that Vicki was simply caught in the crossfire of other people’s problems, yet the moment she finds the message—hidden in a place that suggests Zack never expected anyone to stumble upon it—she realizes this situation is far more complicated and possibly far more intentional than she imagined, sending her into a spiral of panic as she tries to understand why Zack would even be communicating with someone linked to the attack that set the whole community on edge, and whether Vicki has unknowingly been relying on someone who might be entangled in the violence threatening to tear apart their fragile sense of stability, so Kathy rushes through every conversation she’s had with Zack recently, replaying his words, his tone, the subtle hesitations she once brushed off as exhaustion or stress, and all those moments now take on a different shade as a horrifying possibility settles in her chest that maybe Zack knows more than he’s ever admitted, maybe he’s been involved in ways she never dared to consider, yet despite her increasing fear Kathy forces herself not to jump to conclusions because she knows the consequences of spreading suspicion without proof could destroy not only Zack’s life but Vicki’s emotional stability, especially now when Vicki has been leaning on him more heavily than ever, confiding in him, trusting him, drawing strength from his support as the pressure of the ongoing conflict begins to suffocate her, and Kathy feels an overwhelming urge to shield Vicki from the truth until she understands it herself, because telling her too soon could break her apart, yet hiding it too long could allow something darker to take root, so she decides to dig deeper on her own, quietly tracing the origin of the message, analyzing the timestamp, and even confronting an uneasy Linda at The Vic to see if she noticed anything strange around the night of the first assault, but as Kathy gathers fragments of information she begins to sense a pattern forming around Zack, one that terrifies her because it suggests that someone may be manipulating him or using his vulnerabilities against him, making the situation even more dangerous, and as she wrestles with the truth she starts to notice Zack behaving differently too, more guarded, more tense, watching Vicki with an expression that almost looks like guilt mixed with fear, which leaves Kathy torn between confronting him immediately or continuing to monitor him until she can confirm something concrete, but her dilemma becomes even harder when Vicki, unaware of the storm building around her, confesses to Kathy that she feels closer to Zack than ever, admitting that he’s the only one who makes her feel safe and understood, a confession that breaks Kathy’s heart because she now sees clearly that Vicki is emotionally entangled in a way that will make the truth unbearable, yet she can’t let her walk blindly into danger, so one evening Kathy decides to test Zack subtly by mentioning the increasing police scrutiny around the case, and the moment she brings it up she watches his face shift, sees a flicker of panic he tries to hide, and that tiny reaction confirms her deepest fear that he is connected somehow, whether by choice or coercion, though she still doesn’t know which possibility is worse, because if he’s guilty then Vicki is falling for someone dangerous, but if he’s being controlled then he might be in just as much danger as she is, creating a tangled web of secrets and emotional traps that could explode at any moment, and as Kathy leaves him she feels the weight of responsibility pressing down on her, knowing she must decide quickly whether to go to the police, confront Zack privately, or find proof that clears him before the wrong person gets blamed, but before she can decide she receives an anonymous warning slipped through her letterbox—a short, chilling note that reads “Stop digging or she gets hurt”—confirming her fear that someone is watching her, someone knows she’s close to exposing something, and someone is willing to threaten Vicki to keep her silent, pushing Kathy into a state of desperation as she realizes the conflict is escalating far faster than she can control, and now every moment counts as she fights to uncover the truth, protect Vicki, and determine whether Zack is a perpetrator, a pawn, or something tragically trapped between both.