24x16 - The Presence of Absence

[bunniefuu]

In the criminal justice system,

sexually based offenses

are considered especially heinous.

In New York City,
the dedicated detectives

who investigate these vicious felonies

are members of an elite squad

known as the Special Victims Unit.

These are their stories.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

- [SIGHS]
- Mm.

Oh, hey, Zoe, check out those two guys.

Mr. Wellness and his sidekick.

- The King of Kale.
- Mm-hmm.

Yeah, underneath
their hemp shirts lurk the abs

of two very well-practiced yoginis.

Mm, I don't want my pillows

to smell like patchouli tomorrow.

Okay.

Okay, uh...

Ooh, how about Baron Von Broker
sitting by himself?

- Jenna, he has a ring on his finger.
- Hmh.

Don't sabotage yourself
with morality, Zoe.

- I'm trying to get you laid.
- What?

What if somebody tried
to pick up your husband?

Oh, I'd be flattered for Richard.

Ever since the kid was born,
his testosterone

has dropped like the Dow.

Maybe I just start
seeing my shrink again.

No, she has had two years to fix you.

You are my project now.

Oh, what about him?

- The sad dad?
- Yeah.

No.
He's probably divorced.

- No ring.
- He's normal.

The male equivalent of a Nissan Altima.

Just your type.

I hate this.

This isn't what I want.

Look, I get it.

You miss Brian.

- I loved him.
- We all loved him.

Okay?

Okay, look, listen.

Soho on a Thursday night
is like the ocean.

What you need is an aquarium.

- A dating app?
- Yeah.

Oh, I don't know.
I haven't done that before.

- Neither have I.
- You are married.

Yeah, but I would walk
through the valley

of the shadow of Seth with you.

Well, this guy owns his own helicopter.

Really?
Jeez.

Oh, isn't this that chef from
that cooking show you watch?

- You should reply.
- On your profile?

I'm pretty sure
that's not how this works.

It's time you were touched by something

that doesn't require batteries.

Jenna, he matched with you,

a blonde with nonexistent pores.

What do you think's gonna
happen when I show up?

- What I need is more wine.
- No.

I'm tired.

I just wanna go to bed.

This all just reminds me of college,

always buying three tickets
to every movie, one for you,

- one for Richard...
- And poor Zoe.

Mm-hmm.

It just takes time.

I already had mine, with Brian.

Maybe that's all the happiness
I deserve.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[PHONE CHIMES]

He's cute. You matched?

He's smart, well read.

Klaus Darcy, educated in Sweden.

I can almost hear his accent
through the texts.

- Oh, Zoe, all these DMs already?
- What?

We've been texting a whole week.

Girl, you're being love bombed.

Better than being bombed,

like when I was living at your place.

You should calm down with the Sancerre.

"Klaus: where are you right now?"

"You: doing laundry."

"Klaus: stop what you're doing
and touch yourself"?

- Zoe!
- What?

Brian and I used to get a little freaky

from time to time.
It's nobody's business.

Everything is my business.

Are you telling me you and Richard

never get a little freaky?

Okay, you stayed
at our place for a year

after Brian passed.

How many times did you
hear the bed creak?

What if he's married?

I'm okay with that.

You're not actually planning
on meeting this guy, are you?

If I can goad him into it.

Can't you just be happy for me?

I am, I am.
I-I'm just...

I'm, I'm a little...

Jealous?

[LAUGHS]

Mind if I read one more?

"The satisfaction for me comes from"

"knowing you do exactly what I ask."

[PHONE CHIMES]

[SCOFFS]

Lucky for you, I like
having my boundaries pushed.

[SOFT ANTICIPATORY MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Done.

Yes.

Yes, sir.

♪ ♪

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

- Captain. Captain.
- Yeah?

Velasco's motorcycle wasn't downstairs

for the third day in a row.

That's good detective work, Muncy,

but I told you that I gave him
a couple of days off.

- Well, can I call him?
- No.

- Just to check in?
- No.

Come on.
How is that fair?

Muncy, most of life is not fair.

Velasco is still above ground,

unlike the father and son
whose murders he witnessed.

Now, I know that Velasco
wasn't a cop at the time,

but he is now.

So it falls on him,
to bring his friend to justice.

Captain.
Sorry for the intrusion.

Oh, you don't have to stand.

No need for fanfare.

I got a message last night?

Said I'm temporarily transferred

to Manhattan Special Victims.

- Authority, Chief McGrath?
- And?

I didn't even think he knew who I was.

Well, he does now.

How do you feel about that?

[CHUCKLES]

One thing that inspires me,

that has driven me all my life,
is excellence.

This isn't the Bronx, you are aware?

Your metrics speak for themself.

Only squad with a % closure rate.

But...

Why not aim for ?

Am I right?

I will take that as a yes.

She didn't shake my hand
when I first started.

No offense, but you were
brought here by way of Duarte.

Lucky she didn't throw up a g*ng sign.

[PHONE BUZZES]

Sarge, what do I do?

I'm not supposed to answer.

Muncy, work is about
overcoming problems,

problems you wouldn't have
if you were unemployed.

So how about we do our jobs
before we lose them.

Hey, Sarge.

Hi.
I'm Detective Muncy.

This is Sergeant Tutuola.

Can we help you?

I have her clothes here,
the lingerie, too,

everything she wore last night.

I think I was r*ped.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Klaus Darcy?

I met him online.

Started DMing me a month ago.

He was handsome.

To be honest, I was,

pretty shocked he
even swiped right on me.

Why is that?

Jenna usually gets all the attention.

Okay, why don't you
tell us what happened?

Our chat became kinky.

Kinky how?

There's nothing we haven't heard.

We did BDSM stuff.

Any of it ever cross a line?

Not at first.

It started with him giving me
little fun orders over text,

uh, making me call him sir.

He sent me a belly chain
to wear under my clothes.

We had an agreement that when
I had it on, he owned me.

Where would you meet?

We only ever met at hotels for safety.

Okay.

Describe an average encounter.

He got off on me blindfolding myself

with my dead husband's neckties.

H-He said grief had robbed me of
my whole way of seeing things.

He wanted to explore that with me.

It felt therapeutic.

Was there penetration?

I was starting to think
he couldn't even get it up,

but he never even tried.

When did things go wrong?

Last night.

Did you say no or stop?

- Some kind of safe word...
- I said both.

But by the time I said it,
he already...

Came, inside of me.

Then what?

And then he left.

In a way, I feel bad for him,

all that build-up.

I think he was embarrassed,

for not lasting longer.

And his size, he wasn't very big.

We're gonna need you to get a r*pe kit.

And we're gonna need
to talk to this Klaus guy.

We only ever communicated
through the app.

It's okay.

It's a start.

Zoe came over to my house
late last night,

crying, as usual.

And Richard, my husband,
just offered up the guest room.

Out of reflex, I guess.

Is there some kind of past history?

The past two years
have been crazy on all of us.

Okay, what happened two years ago?

Zoe lost her husband the same
month I gave birth to my son.

Wow.

Richard and I had no choice
but to take her in.

Oh.

In some ways, it was like
we suddenly had two newborns.

What did Zoe say happened last night?

Some rando she'd been seeing...

She met him on an app
about a month ago...

r*ped her.

I warned her not
to get involved with him.

Why, what did you think
was off about it?

If your best friend of years

was trying to goad some S&M guy
to meet her at a hotel,

wouldn't you try to stop her?

So when did she tell you
that she'd been r*ped?

A few hours ago,
after Richard left for work.

I guess she wanted to keep it secret.

That's normal.

[SIGHS] I feel awful.

You know, I'm the one who pushed her

to get back out on the market.

And it's a sad thought,

but my marriage is pretty boring.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

I think I just wanted to
live vicariously through her.

Well, you know, life is such an odd mix

of beauty and pain, right?

We can't control how that unfolds

for the people that we love,

much less ourselves.

Hmm.
Yeah.

Take care.

Thank you.

SANE nurse put a rush on Zoe's kit.

Found signs of bruising, trauma.

But the hot shower she took
must've washed away any DNA.

What about the clothes
that Jenna brought in?

Lab was able to recover semen
from the lingerie.

That confirms this story.
That's good news.

M.E.'s running it
through CODIS.

All right, and what
do we know about Klaus Darcy?

Hotel room was paid for by Zoe.

That's a bit odd
for some stud, isn't it?

Well, maybe the wife
sees his credit card bills.

Seems to be a lot of history

between Jenna's husband and Zoe.

Another woman lives
in their house for a year,

- Richard starts to fantasize.
- So he what?

r*ped her to knock it
off his bucket list?

You can't underestimate
the power of sexual fantasy.

Sometimes it adds
to the initial momentum

- of sex crimes.
- Yeah, I got a fantasy.

It involves you going
back up to the Bronx.

Whoa, Muncy.
Take it easy.

You're pissed about your friend.

Yeah, I am, 'cause you recorded him

- without his knowledge.
- I get it.

You're loyal to him.

- Wanna give them both a time out?
- No.

I have a better idea.

Churlish, go talk to Jenna's husband

and find out if he had an alibi.

Copy that, Captain.

Muncy, what about the dating website?

Burner cell phone, fake email address.

The guy never graduated from

the free trial period
of the dating app,

so I can't check it with a credit card.

Zoe was his only match.

- I did do a reverse image search.
- And?

And the picture
was copied off a website

of some river raft
excursion guide in Sweden.

This perp is trying hard
to stay anonymous.

Yeah, I did call and confirm
the Swedish guy's

never even been stateside.

Look, if he went to all this trouble,

he also must have worked hard
to target Zoe.

Yeah.

Has, does Zoe have any issues with men?

Relationship problems?
Coworkers?

The way Zoe tells it, no.

Okay, well, canvass her building,

her neighborhood, coworkers,
and scrub her social media.

On it, Captain.

Hey, Liv, lab found a DNA match.

The guy's in the system?

It's a familial match.

To who?

Zoe's dead husband.

[TENSE MUSIC]

My husband was arrested in college.

So you knew about it?

He stole a keg from the freezer

of a liquor store
he worked in for a party.

Okay.

So that's how his DNA
is in the police database?

In , New York started taking

DNA samples for misdemeanors.

And the DNA on my r*pe kit
is somehow a match to Brian's?

Well, it's a familial match,

which means it's a male relative.

You're saying Klaus
is related to my dead husband?

That's impossible.

Brian wasn't Swedish.

Well, the funny thing is,

Klaus, isn't even Klaus.

So Zoe, um,

we need a list of your
husband's male relatives.

I-I-I haven't talked
to the majority of them

since the funeral.

Well, I'm sure
you remember their names?

I was only ever close
with his nephew, um,

Brian's older sister's kid.

- What's his name?
- Cooper.

But he's just a kid.

He's years old.

- Cooper.
- No.

Absolutely not.

No, I would know if it were him.

Can you say that with % certainty?

I mean, you said that you
were blindfolded in the dark,

and Klaus only spoke to you
in a whisper.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Oh, I feel like puking.

When's the last time you saw Cooper?

I take him to dinner
from time to time...

[STAMMERS]
Just to try and stay in touch.

He's a, he's a med school student.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

I never should have
gone on that website.

I feel like I'm losing control
over my life.

- I just...
- Okay. All right.

I just wanted to reclaim myself.

I don't, I don't want
his nephew arrested.

All right, one step at a time.

So first of all,

all we're gonna do is talk to him.

And whatever happens after that,

you will be part of the decision.

Okay.

Okay.

Wait.

Aunt Zoe he was assaulted and told you

I'm the one that did it?

Well, she didn't say that,
but DNA is hard to argue with.

Where were you two nights ago?

I was studying.

- Ask my friends.
- Let me see your phone.

No dating apps.

I live in a co-ed dorm.

You might have deleted it.

Look, my Aunt Zoe and I
are really close.

Yeah, the question is, how close?

Ew.
She's my aunt.

It's only hot in p*rn.

Well, you forget one thing.

There's a DNA connection to you.

So we're gonna need a sample.

Wait.

I'm guessing it was seminal
fluid you found on her?

That's right.

I'm a donor.

Past two years, a really popular one.

Yeah, tall, blue eyes, med student.

I'm sure you do all right.

Make , bucks a month.

Someone hit the genetic lottery.

It helps me pay my way through school.

Okay, well, any chance
you might know who

had access to your donation?

- It's all confidential.
- Okay.

Well, then we're still
gonna need that swab, man.

Unfortunately, this one
doesn't pay at all.

Open up.

Come on.

Let me get this straight.

Cooper Davis, the -year-old nephew

of the victim's deceased husband,

is a DNA match for her r*pe kit?

The short answer is yes.

- The long answer?
- Not much longer.

- I'm listening.
- He's a sperm donor.

We checked with the bank.

Profile's been requested a
dozen times in the last month.

But because of HIPAA laws,
confidentiality,

they're not gonna give you those names.

Right, but this is a specific
kind of sexual as*ault.

Can you get a court order?

I can try to get a court order, but,

confidentiality around
reproductive rights is pretty tight.

All right, well, in the meantime,

we go back to Zoe.

And ask her what?

Maybe she knows somebody
who wanted to get her pregnant.

So the semen on the r*pe kit
matched to Cooper,

but it wasn't him?

It looks like he has an alibi.

So Zoe, I, uh, I have to ask you
a sort of delicate question.

It can't be any worse than
anything else I've answered here.

You said that Klaus penetrated you,

and I wanted to know if you could

describe that a little more.

What did it feel like?

To be with a man after two years,

it was fun,

till it wasn't.

I felt his penis go inside of me.

But like I said, it was pretty micro,

and now I'm just confused.

It all happened very fast.

Right.

The nurse gave me a morning after pill.

I hadn't thought about taking it, but...

Well, that's your decision.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

Klaus was always so
respectful of my boundaries.

He was a gentle dom.

I thought we were having so much fun.

Why would Klaus do something like that?

I don't know.

But, what I do know is that,

some guys have a pregnancy fetish.

It's the ultimate exertion of power.

[PHONE CHIMES]

- Oh, my God.
- What?

It's-it's him.
It's Klaus.

What did he say?

"I never meant to hurt you."

"I'm going out of the country,"

"and I wanna see you one last time."

What...
What should I do?

[PHONE CHIMES]

"My little A student,"

"shut the lights,
then stand by the window."

The instructions
are almost exactly the same.

All right, Zoe.

You just get him in the room, okay?

We'll do the rest.

They say light's the best sanitizer.

Infrared's even better.

Don't need either
to get an admission on tape.

All right, guys,
be ready to move in quickly.

[TENSE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Let's move.

Jenna?

I thought...
How could you?

Zoe, I just wanna see you be happy.

- Oh, my God.
- I thought you were my friend.

I'm still your friend.
I'm still your friend.

No, you're not.

- I don't even know who you are.
- You know my heart.

- Please, just let me explain.
- Let's go.

Please, I can't let you...
Please let me...

You'll explain at the precinct.

- Let's go.
- It's okay.

- You okay? It's okay.
- [GASPING]

It's okay. It's okay.
It's okay.

Shh. It's okay.

You didn't have to bring me
home, Captain Benson.

I'm all right.

Zoe, you might think that you are,

but, you've just been through
a pretty big shock.

I feel so stupid.

I didn't know it was her.
You have to believe me.

Well, it's called willful blindness.

And believe me, I've had my share.

What the hell was she even thinking?

You know, my detectives
are talking to Jenna now,

and, uh, all I know is that, um,

Jenna had downloaded
the IdealDate app on her phone.

And she saved Klaus's DMs to you.

[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]

The sick thing is...

I was happy.

Well, that's the power of fantasy.

But, it's looking more and more like,

your friend had a fantasy of power.

Over me.

And her own life.

Look, there's a lot
to unpack there, but, um,

is there anything I can do for you?

Can I call someone?

Your family or friend or...?

Two hours ago, I would have
told you to call Jenna.

You know what?

Um, well, from now on, uh,

if you need anything, you call me.

Take care.

♪ ♪

Everything I did, I did for Zoe.

You wanna tell us about that?

She was a wreck after Brian d*ed.

I listened to her cry herself
to sleep for a full year

through the wall of our guest bedroom.

She needed love.

And Klaus gave it to her?

Or was it you that wanted
the crying to stop?

Love is messy.

Sometimes it involves
a commitment to act

on behalf of a person who can't
take care of themselves.

Yeah, commitment.

Not sexual as*ault.

We just wanna hear
your side of the story.

How did this all start?

Have you ever potty trained a child?

- Yeah, it's tough.
- Yeah, they cry.

But in the end,
you know what's best for them.

Zoe was ready to get back out there.

But she was so heartbroken

when she wasn't getting any matches.

So you stepped in?

Yeah, a handsome, smart man wanted her.

The longer it went on,
the harder it was to get out.

I was trying to help her
mourn her dead husband,

not put her in a position
to feel lost again.

I get that.

But trying to get her pregnant?

Yeah, Zoe always wanted a family.

We dreamt,
of raising our children together.

But it all came crashing to a halt?

The night Brian had his aneurysm.

So when did you decide
to become the sperm fairy?

I remember when Cooper told Zoe

how he made money in college.

She and I laughed about it over lunch.

And in the wake of Brian's death,

similarities just couldn't be ignored.

Zoe we would never be able
to meet another Brian.

But maybe she could make one.

I just wanted to see her back on track.

♪ ♪

So Jenna's still not
denying any of this?

She thinks it's what Zoe wanted.

Classic she said, she said, huh?

So what can you charge her with?

Not r*pe.
She used her finger.

That's right, officer, it's not r*pe.

But Zoe didn't consent to penetration.

So sexual as*ault with an object,

aggravated sexual abuse, a felony?

Impressive.
You know your law.

What about their prior
sexual encounters?

Even if it was consensual,
Zoe consented

to having sex with Klaus.

I don't know, we've been
down that road before.

There's no r*pe-by-fraud law
in New York.

Could fall under sexual abuse three.

Inability to consent
due to incapacitation?

Including deceit.

So now that we've figured that out,

we'll need Zoe on board if I'm
gonna leverage a plea deal.

- No trial?
- Not if I can avoid it.

We have enough trouble
making sense of this.

I can't imagine
what a jury is gonna think.

I'll talk to Zoe.

Jenna Scott.

On eight counts of sexual abuse
in the third degree

and one count
of aggravated sexual abuse

in the first degree, how do you plead?

Not guilty, Your Honor.

- People on bail?
- We request , .

The circumstances
of this case are unusual,

but these are serious charges.

Which my client intends
to defend herself against.

She's not a flight risk.
She's married with a child.

I'm granting ROR.

Better luck next time, Counselor.

Bailiff, next case.

Well, round one to you,
Ms. Efron.

Oh, I'm just getting started.

Well, I'm ready to talk deal
whenever you are.

Why would we do that?

No jury is gonna believe your vic

had no idea who my client was.

Sex as*ault is sex as*ault,
Ms. Efron.

Which this was not.

See you in court.

That's defense attorney's confident.

Mm.
And she's not wrong.

Jenna's husband sticking with her.

She must spin a good story.

Yeah, well, one I've learned is,

you never know what's going on
in someone's marriage.

Even his own?

Jenna wouldn't take the deal?

Well, she's listening to her attorney.

Does she even think
she did anything wrong?

Define wrong.

- I wanna talk to her.
- Hold on. Zoe.

Zoe, listen to me.

I strongly, strongly advise
against that.

I want her to admit that she
hurt me, that she lied to me.

She doesn't see it like that.

She thinks that
she was making you happy.

She always was the one
trying to be in control.

I know, and right now,

we can go back to Carisi
and try to get a deal.

Telling your side of the story in court

can give you a sense
of having your power back.

But, being cross-examined
when you're angry,

can also complicate things,

and I just, I want you
to be prepared for that.

Trust me, going on the stand
when you're pissed

is not a good idea.

But if I don't,
Jenna just gets away with it.

She wins like she always does.

And you have every right to be angry.

I spent the last two years of my life

feeling sorry for myself.

And anger feels pretty good right now.

I lost my husband.

I can survive losing my best friend.

[TENSE MUSIC]

But I will not lose this trial.

Okay.

I met Klaus online.

Started DMing, but he didn't wanna meet
in person,

not at first.

I'd never really pursued a guy before,

so, I pushed until he agreed
to meet me at a hotel.

Where you had a sexual relationship?

More like sensual.

Klaus gave specific orders.

I was to be blindfolded.

It was all very dominant.

I enjoyed that.

Enjoyed with Klaus,
who you believed was a man.

Can you tell the jury
how that was possible?

Any time Jenna spoke,

she disguised her
voice in a horse whisper,

only touched me with hands.

I wasn't allowed to touch his body.

I was promised that as a reward,

but I never was allowed.

Why was that?

He said I had to earn that privilege.

It was just part of our game.

Just to be clear,
those games you consented to

over the course of a month?

Yes, but,

I now know I was being
deceived the entire time.

Jenna was lying,
to control me, once again.

Objection...
This witness has no knowledge

of the defendant's intent.

Sustained.

The jury will disregard.

Mrs. Green, what happened
the night of your as*ault?

It all started the same,
except this time,

I was penetrated by what
I thought was a penis.

- And how did you respond?
- I said no.

I used our safe word.

And then what happened?

Then he ejaculated.

I only learned later
that it was Jenna's finger.

Well, obviously,
Jenna doesn't have a penis.

But she was trying to impregnate me.

And did you consent to any of that?

No.

And when did you first learn

that Klaus was, in fact, Jenna?

After I reported the as*ault,

Jenna DM'd me as Klaus.

The police made me promise
to tell no one,

so they could set up
a controlled meet at the hotel.

She was masked, I was mic'd.

Why did she wanna meet?

She was aware she had
done something to hurt me.

But, more than that,

Jenna talks a lot
about how boring her life is.

She has an addictive personality,

mixed with a high need for novelty.

It's possible, she liked being
Klaus better than herself.

Thank you.
Nothing further.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Mrs. Green,

isn't it true that Mrs.
Scott is your best friend?

She was.

All the same, you go way back
to freshman year in college?

Yes.

You were roommates all four years,

then lived together after college

until Mrs. Scott met
her husband and you met yours.

That's a lot of history,
fair to say, years?

- Roughly.
- Yeah.

In that time, you've hugged...
What, hundreds of times?

You've even slept in the same
bed more than a few times.

On vacation or once
at a destination wedding,

and, when my husband d*ed.

You've been in the same bed?

So you know what her body
feels like, smells like.

And yet you expect a jury to believe

you had no idea it was her,

even in the dark with a blindfold on?

This was different.

This was sexual.

So it's your testimony

you never had sex
with my client before.

Objection.
Where is this going?

I apologize, Your Honor,

but new evidence
has just come to light.

What new evidence?

I just found out
my client and Mrs. Green

had several sexual encounters
while back in college.

Objection.

Overruled.

Witness may answer.

Well, I wouldn't describe it as sexual.

We were kids, drunk, experimenting.

I'll remind you, you're under oath.

Were you naked together?

Well, yes, but...

Did you orgasm during those encounters?

Do you remember having
any orgasms in the hotel

over the past month?

I don't remember.

That's interesting,

because you told my client
over lunch that you did.

Objection.
Hearsay.

Defense, exhibit A.

Can you please read these for the jury?

Are those your texts,
Mrs. Green?

[SIGHS]

Yes, but...

Please, read them for the jury.

♪ ♪

"Klaus is hot."

"The edging is delicious."

"He gave me
my first real orgasm in years."

"I hate to say it, but..."

"Even better than Brian."

Fair to say, given these texts,

that you continued to seek
out Klaus, pushed to meet,

even after my client
tried to break things off

and talk you out of ever meeting Klaus.

It's sad to say, but yes.

Nothing further.

Redirect, Your Honor.

Mrs. Green,
though you may have consented

to Jenna in the past, did you consent

to her the night in question?

No.
No, I didn't.

♪ ♪

You had sex with Jenna in college

- and you didn't tell me?
- It was so long ago.

What does that have to do
with what happened?

Do you realize
what the jury just heard?

That you had an ongoing
sexual relationship with her.

Yeah, in the past.
Not now.

This time she consented,
not to Jenna, but to Klaus.

A moral distinction.

It doesn't matter in the
absence of credibility.

Jenna still assaulted me.

I know, Zoe.

But the jury sees you as a liar now.

- Well, I didn't lie.
- And the problem is,

all of your testimony
has been called into question.

I never told anyone,

that Jenna and I used
to experiment together.

I'm sure Richard didn't
even know until just now.

I need some air.

- I'll walk her out.
- Yeah. Do that.

Hey, go easy on her.

I mean, in the last two years,

she's lost three people,
right, her husband,

Klaus, and her best friend.

Yeah, well I'm gonna lose this case.

Because if Efron
files a motion to dismiss,

I don't know how I'm gonna object.

Sexual as*ault is sexual as*ault.

It doesn't matter if she
consented to the shared fantasy

or didn't divulge her deepest,
darkest secret to you.

This was a tough enough case
to begin with, Liv.

It was a whisper in the dark.

- [SCOFFS]
- What?

Now it's the full-throated braggadocio

of Efron laughing at us.

- She wants a dismissal?
- Oh, no. Worse.

She's putting her client on the stand.

♪ ♪

I've always been there for Zoe.

The night Brian d*ed, I held her

as she wailed for nine hours straight.

It was scary.

If you've never heard
true loss like that,

it's primal.

I thought she tried to k*ll herself.

I wanted to fix her.

Is that when you first
invented this Klaus character?

No.

But it turned out to be
exactly what Zoe needed.

And I love her so much
I was willing to do anything.

Even if it meant being someone else?

That was part of the fun.

Back in college, we'd fantasize
about the careers

we'd have one day,
the men we might marry,

what we'd name a child if we had one.

It was our dynamic.

I assumed Zoe knew I was Klaus.

Why would you assume that?

She'd recount her nights with him,

allow me to read her texts.

It was all fantasy,

a continuation of the
games we started in college,

sexual, and otherwise.

And the night Zoe claims
you assaulted her,

was that all part of the game?

She clearly wanted to be overpowered.

Zoe has always taken on
a submissive role

in our relationship.

And you asked her
to choose a safe word?

- What was it?
- Athena,

after Athena Hall, our old dorm.

Mm, and what did you take that to mean

that she picked that safe word
out of any other phrase

she could have chosen?

That she knew it was all
a game of fantasy.

And the night in question,
did she use the word?

If she did,

I didn't hear it
over her moans of pleasure.

When you penetrated her,
were her legs open?

Yes.

Were they positioned
that way involuntarily,

with ropes, or some other kind
of bondage play at the time?

No.

Ms. Scott, we've heard you
talk a lot about fantasy.

But, can you tell me,

was it her fantasy to be

forcibly impregnated
by her nephew's sperm?

She always talked about how similar

Brian and Cooper looked.

Okay.

Let me ask you,

how much of this was
about ultimate control?

Subjugation versus fantasy?

The two of you could have just
gone down

to the cryo bank together,
could you not?

I mean, why, why did you
do any of this as Klaus?

Like I said, Zoe knew it was me.

Right, even though
she couldn't see your face,

she was blindfolded, and it was dark?

Yes.

Okay, Your Honor, with your permission,

I would like to put that to the test.

- Objection.
- What? You like springing things on me.

A little latitude, Your Honor, please.

Just a little, Mr. Carisi.

Hit it, bailiff.

Mr. Carisi.

One question, Your Honor.

Ms. Scott,
what color is my tie?

Uh...

I don't know.
I can't see it.

Are you sure?

I'm standing right here.

Thought you said one question?

Excuse me.
Would you...

Would you come with me, please?

Come on. Just take your time.

Follow my voice.
Right this way.

All right, who is this person,

standing before you right now?

Uh, Zoe?

Okay, Your Honor, I object
to this whole performance.

Mr. Carisi, my patience
for your antics is at an end.

Bailiff.

[TENSE MUSIC]

Richard?

You slept with Zoe in college?

You cheated on me,
and you didn't tell me.

You've been married
to this man for ten years,

and you could not
recognize him in the dark.

How could you possibly
expect Zoe to recognize you?

You asked me how much
was fantasy versus control.

Maybe it was neither.

It was selfish.

There wasn't just a hole in Zoe's life.

There was a hole in mine as well.

Nothing further.

♪ ♪

Madam Foreperson, will you
please read the verdict?

On the charge of aggravated
sexual abuse in the first degree,

we find the defendant not guilty.

On the charges of sexual
abuse in the third degree,

we find the defendant guilty.

The state of New York thanks
the jury for its service.

Mrs. Scott, you are remanded
until sentencing.

♪ ♪

What's gonna happen to her?

Her life, her kid, her husband.

Well, she was convicted
of a misdemeanor.

She'll do less than a year.

Well, I don't want her
to go to jail at all.

Listen, I can talk to the judge.

And if she agrees to copious
amounts of counseling,

I could probably get
this down to probation.

But that has gotta be
what you really want.

How are you doing with all this?

How do you think?

My husband's gone
and my best friend too.

His presence will always be felt.

It's about how you cope.

Does getting on a dating app count?

Look, Zoe, you're young.

It's not too late for a fresh start.

Thank you.

So what just happened here?
Was this justice?

This is one of those cases
where you really

don't know what to think.

I bet you've seen a lot of those.

I have.
You will too.

You know, this job,

even when you do everything right,

you don't always win.

Get used to that.

♪ ♪