The finale of Netflix‘s latest Harlan Coben thriller, I Will Find You, dropped on June 17, 2026, and it delivered the shocking truth fans have been waiting for. The eight-part miniseries, starring Sam Worthington as David Burroughs, finally revealed what really happened to his son Matthew.
The series followed David, an innocent father serving a life sentence for the murder of his three-year-old son. Everything changed when his ex-sister-in-law Rachel Mills (Britt Lower) visited him in prison with a photograph showing Matthew alive at Six Flags five years after his supposed death. This sparked a desperate prison break and a frantic search for the truth.
Who Really Killed Matthew
The shocking answer is that nobody killed Matthew. He was alive the entire time. The body found at the crime scene belonged to Martin, a terminally ill orphan who vanished from a Swiss orphanage connected to the Payne Foundation.
The mastermind behind the kidnapping was Hayden Payne (Milo Ventimiglia), Rachel’s wealthy ex-boyfriend. Hayden had become dangerously obsessed with Rachel. When David and Cheryl struggled to conceive, Cheryl visited a fertility clinic secretly under Rachel’s name. Hayden intercepted the procedure and used his own sperm, believing he was getting Rachel pregnant.
By the time he realized the procedure was for Cheryl, Matthew was born. When Hayden saw Matthew at a family party, he became convinced the boy was his biological son. He devised an elaborate plan to kidnap Matthew and frame David for his murder.
How Hayden Framed David
Hayden drugged David’s whiskey, put Matthew and the orphan Martin to sleep, and switched their clothes. He then beat Martin with a baseball bat to make it look like Matthew was the victim. DNA evidence at the scene was altered to match Matthew.
Hayden’s wealthy mother, Gertrude Payne (Madeleine Stowe), helped cover up the crime. A key witness at David’s trial was paid to lie about seeing him bury the murder weapon. Gertrude even had a paternity test done and discovered Matthew was not Hayden’s biological child, but she kept this secret from him.
The Final Confrontation
In the finale, Rachel used Hayden’s obsession with her to trap him at his mother’s estate. She revealed the truth: Matthew was never his son, and his mother had lied to him. Flying into a rage, Hayden shot his mother dead.
FBI agent Sarah Greer and David confronted Hayden, who tried to escape with Matthew. After Hayden shot David and threatened Rachel, Sarah shot him dead on the scene. David’s conviction was overturned, and he was finally reunited with his son.
Also Read:
Where the Characters Ended Up
Eight months later, David’s father Lenny passed away from cancer, but not before spending time with his grandson. Cheryl had a new baby with her second husband. Adam lost his job as a police officer for helping David escape but became a private investigator. Rachel wrote a bestselling book about the case. David and Rachel appeared to be together romantically.
Matthew, now eight years old, didn’t remember his life with David and Cheryl, but David was determined to build new memories with his son. The series ended with David promising he would always find his way back to Matthew.
Also Read: All My Children Star Paul Avery and Wife Sheila Die in Tragic House Fire at Age 81
Stay with VvipTimes for more binge-worthy series recaps and Netflix updates.
