The Secrets and Lies season finale was as shocking and twisted as the cast promised, but a special Cornell: Confidential online clip may be the key to the most twisted part of the mystery yet.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. If You Have Not Seen The Season 1 Finale, Do Not Proceed.

The show's season finale revealed that Tom's killer was indeed a female--his older sister, Abby (Belle Shouse) allegedly killed him by accident while trying to convince him they needed to run away so their respective families could stay together--prompting a plan that caused her mother, Christy (KaDee Strickland) to pack her up in the car so they could leave town, while her father, Ben (Ryan Phillippe) turned himself in for the very crime he was previously cleared of. It was only later, after it was too late to change things, that the truth came out, proving Abby had beaten Tom to death by hitting him with the flashlight six times in a premeditated murder.

However, the most shocking moment of the finale came during the online follow-up which picked things up 14 months later, seeing Ben's older daughter, Natalie (Indiana Evans) celebrating her 18th birthday in a diner with his father's friend, Dave (Dan Fogler)--where they appear to allude to Ben dying not long after he was locked up.

Fans Weigh In On Who Killed Tom

After Dave congratulates Natalie on her recent high school graduation and stellar academic record, mentioning that her father would have been proud of her, she gets much more quiet and withdrawn--and the conversation appears to then refer to Ben in the past tense, when the television finale showed him still alive, despite being locked up in the county jail.

However, they don't get much time to be sad, after Detective Cornell (Juliette Lewis) then approaches them--something that doesn't sit well with Dave.

"If you weren't so hell-bent on putting Ben away, he might still be here," he says to Cornell in the clip. "You know that right?"

However, Cornell then approaches Natalie about doing the right thing--and the two strike a deal to clear Ben's name by getting Abby locked up for the crime she committed. Soon after, the camera pans to Christy and Abby, also 14 months later, as they come across Cornell at their new location--where she has presumably tracked them so she can arrest the young teen.

The fact that Ben was potentially killed off was certainly a shocking way to end the show--and his character's death has raised concerns about the successful show not being renewed for a second season, since the likable lead character wouldn't be able to return.

However (though ABC has not released an official decision concerning a renewal), fans worried that his death could kill the show's chances at a renewal don't need to be concerned. It was revealed early on that the show would be set up to be an anthology series, meaning not all (and in some cases, none) of the characters from the previous season need to continue on.

Tags: secrets and lies ABC television