We finally learn why Megan was killed in dramatic penultimate episode of ITV's Strangers

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But what's going on – and what will happen next? Here's what we now know ahead of the series finale:

Xo raped Megan 20 years ago

Xo Xiaodong is the hugely wealthy Hong Kong businessman who is currently running an electoral campaign for Chief Executive. But while digging for dirt, Sally Porter (Emilia Fox) at the British Consulate discovered a long-buried secret: 20 years ago, Megan Harris (Dervla Kirwan) had told Consulate officials that Xo drugged and raped her. She was advised not to tell the police – and the crime went unreported.

Lau is Xo's biological daughter – not David's

After the rape, Megan became pregnant with Xo's baby. She kept this a secret from her rapist, instead marrying her boyfriend David Chen (Anthony Wong).

Sally suspected the truth, and tests carried out by her and her boss Arthur Bach (Tim McInnerny) on Xo's beer bottle and Lau's cuddly toy rat (as stolen by Lau's girlfriend Becky) confirmed a DNA match.

David did not find out until Sally told him, and the first Lau heard of it was when Xo paid her a visit. He'd had his henchman kidnap her and tie her up in an abandoned building, so it wasn't a great family reunion.

Sally was using Megan in a political game

Treacherous Sally Porter! Jonah's 'friend' at the Consulate turned out to be anything but.

Sally finally admitted under extreme duress that she was the one who came up with the ludicrous plan that got Megan killed. She and her boss had been trying to find some scandal to use as leverage against Xo, to get him "in our pocket" and force him to make deals with British businesses.

So after finding the tape from 20 years ago where Megan made her rape allegation, Sally reckoned this could be the ticket. She approached Megan – who really was just a legit businesswoman selling residential property – and persuaded her to help bring Xo to justice in a sting operation.

Megan went to meet Xo with a recording device and asked to be paid off (which explains the dodgy "property deal" where she suddenly became five million dollars richer).

Sally only wanted leverage, not justice. And it seemed she had pulled it off – but she miscalculated: Xo followed up by killing Megan, just to be safe.

Lau's girlfriend Becky was working for Sally

At the end of the previous episode, Lau was kidnapped on her way home.

And while Jonah (John Simm) and David made a reasonable assumption that Lau's girlfriend Becky (Kae Alexander) must have been working for the kidnapper, given that she'd texted a mysterious "I'm sorry" to Lau shortly after she disappeared, it was not so.

Instead, it emerged that Becky had been blackmailed by Sally into helping her keep an eye on Lau and taking one of her belongings for a DNA test. Still a betrayal – but not the one we expected.

Xo wants Lau dead – and anyone else who knows

Bad news for Jonah, Lau, Sally and pretty much everyone who knows that Xo raped Megan and fathered a child: this powerful man will stop at nothing to prevent the secret getting out and ruining his political career. He also has the police totally in his pocket.

So far he's got away with having Megan killed in a "car accident" – by Kai Huang, who is also now dead.

He also had Sally's fiancé Ben Torres killed in a staged suicide, because he'd been seen meeting Megan and may have been about to pass information on to the press.

At the end of the penultimate episode of Strangers, his henchman had been instructed to shoot Lau. But she managed to make her escape with Jonah – for now.

Having told Xo what she knows, Sally will now also be in danger.

David died saving his daughter

To stop Xo's henchman from following his daughter after her escape, David slashed the tires his car and earned valuable time. But this delay was fatal. David was shot through the chest while running to the getaway car – paying the ultimate sacrifice to keep his daughter safe.

So now the questions are...

As we wait for the final episode, we'll be wondering...

• Did Xo's right-hand woman Rachael Hargreaves know about the rape and the cover-up?
• Is journalist Michael also in danger as he goes looking for the truth? Or will his ex-wife Rachel protect him?
• Will Sally be able to escape Xo's clutches?
• Will Jonah and Lau escape Hong Kong?
• Will Xo finally be brought to justice?

This article was originally published on 23 October 2018

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