23x13 - If I Knew Then What I Know Now

[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.

Honestly, they're both pretty.

You're not even looking, Dad.

This anxiety is not about the dress.

That's not helpful, Mom.

Just remember,
this may be complicated for her.

I know, for both of us.

You could tell from her emails?

I just think once we meet in person,

things are just gonna make sense.

Now,
just let it be what it's going to be.

Ashley?

Oh, my God.

Michelle... Mom.

[LAUGHS]

Oh!

[SENTIMENTAL MUSIC]

Look at you, you're so beautiful.

I knew it was you right away.

Hey, I need another pan,
you got another pan?

- You're out of burners.
- Yeah, that's another problem.

Hey, sweetie, what's going on?

Uncle Sonny, Billie has a question.

Yeah, sure, what is it?

She wants to know if you're her daddy.

♪ ♪

You tell your sister,

if she has a question,
she needs to come out here

and ask it herself, okay?

Dinner's almost ready, baby.

You know, I have,

I have been around a lot.

Sooner or later, we're gonna
have to deal with this.

- Morningside Heights.
- Okay,

Upper West Side, till I was fifteen.

Then, we had to move.

Excuse me, could I get another, please?

- So you moved, where to?
- Mhm.

Sorry, Jersey. Me and my mom.

My dad, he'd already walked out on us.

- It's a long story.
- Is your mom still alive?

- She is, she is.
- She still in Jersey?

Mm-hmm, I didn't
tell her we were meeting,

but...

Honestly, she's kind of a slice.

Yeah, I get it.

Oh, in your last email,
you said you got

early admission to SUNY Binghamton?

- I did.
- Your folks must be so proud.

I'm going to be
studying social justice.

Social justice, that's a new one.

Where did you go?
Did I get in the way of that?

No, I tried a few times.

No degree.

- Still have the debt though.
- [CHUCKLES]

I mean, you could always go back.

Thank you so much. Someday.

I work long hours

at Macy's with fragrance.

Oh, my God, you could use
my friends and family discount.

- Really?
- I mean, if you want.

Okay, yeah, that would... yeah, cool!

Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, actually, speaking of family,

is it okay to ask about
my biological father?

Mm-hmm.

Fin and Velasco are still quarantined?

Yeah, a few more days,

but Hate Crimes loaned us Khaldun.

Made a fresh pot.

Rollins, you still like it
light and sweet?

- Thank you.
- Captain?

I'm good, thanks.

Everybody have a good weekend?

Yeah, my son and I did.

We met Jacob deGrom
at a kid's birthday party.

- Jacob deGrom?
- Yeah.

- Wow.
- Hedge-fund dad.

Excuse me, are you all with SVU?

We are. I'm Captain Benson.

I'd like to report a r*pe.

- Okay.
- Not mine,

my mother's, the night I was conceived.

The r*pist is my father.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

So your mother knows
that you're here, Ashley?

I left her a message.

Michelle's my birth mother.

I met her for the first time yesterday.

And she told you she was r*ped?

More like blurted it out,

said she was fifteen,

passed out at a party.

She was five months pregnant
before she knew.

That's r*pe, right?

It is if she didn't consent.

Do you know if she reported it?

She didn't even tell
her parents, she said...

I mean, it must have been
so hard for her.

I just want to do something.

Okay, well,

we can talk to her.

She said she doesn't
remember anything and I don't

think she really wants to,
but she should.

She seemed hurt, drank a lot.

Maybe you can help her.

So Ashley,

even if we do find your birth father,

there's no guarantees what will happen.

Some guy r*ped her
when she was fifteen.

Her life's never been
the same because of me.

I need to make it right.

[SOLEMN MUSIC]

An alleged r*pe from
and the victim won't talk?

We've left messages, but her daughter

may have been conceived
from the sexual as*ault,

which makes her a victim too.

Theoretically, but that's semantics.

She wasn't the one who was r*ped.

Have you ran her DNA
for a paternal match?

We did; nothing in CODIS.

Any way you can indict the paternal DNA

- from Ashley's sample?
- Actually, no.

We'd need the alleged r*pist's DNA.

Even then, I can't get

an unsubstantiated John Doe indictment.

So you want her to remember the details

of a sexual as*ault
that she's been trying

to forget for the past eighteen years?

Unfortunately, you can't make an omelet

without breaking a few eggs.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Hey, Carisi.

I know, I was too insensitive.

That, too. Look...

I called my shrink,

and she said that,

Billie might just be
testing boundaries,

and we don't really
need to bring it up again,

unless she does.

That's what Dr. Hanover said,

or is that what you heard?

Sorry to interrupt,

Michelle Young has agreed to talk.

♪ ♪

I promised myself,

I was just going to tell Ashley,

that it was a one-night stand,

so I'm sorry she wasted your time.

She didn't, Ms. Young,

and if you want
to tell us what happened...

I don't. I want you to stop calling.

Your daughter reported
that you were assaulted

so we have to follow up.

I was nervous with Ashley.

I shouldn't have put this on her.

I've spoken with Ashley.

Your daughter,

is quite an impressive young lady.

My sense, she just wants to do
the right thing by you.

Or she had a romanticized idea,

about how wonderful her
parents were going to be,

and I screwed that up.

- Have you talked to her since?
- I will,

but this really isn't any
of your business, is it?

Counselor, come in.

I've been doing a deep
dive into the case law.

We can prosecute this case,

but we'd need witnesses,

or we need Michelle's cooperation.

Well, that is going to take time.

I mean, meeting the daughter,

that she gave up for adoption,

and now this? That's...

That's a lot.

Yeah, but she did bring it up.

And as you'd tell me, that means,

at least part of her is
ready to deal with this.

It might be good for her to hear that

from someone who's lived it.

[KNOCK AT DOOR]

Oh...

I told the other detectives

I don't want to pursue this.

Will you give me five minutes,

and after that, if you're done,

then you're done,

and we won't bother you again.

Just... just five minutes?

Thank you.

Ashley keeps texting me. Is she okay?

She will be. She's smart and...

- Brave.
- So the opposite of me.

No.

God, Ashley,

was such a tiny baby,

she was two months premature.

I did not expect her to grow up

to be such a force of nature.

When I was that age, I...

[SOLEMN MUSIC]

I did not need to tell her.

She did not need to know.

You know, um,

my personal experience,

being the child of r*pe, is that it's,

it's a lot to process,

and I can't imagine meeting,

meeting your birth mother,
for the very first time,

and then, finding that out.

But Ashley is not only
meeting the moment,

she wants to help you,

deal with this.

♪ ♪

I was never there
for her her entire life.

So be there for her now.

Michelle...

Whether or not, you want
to know what happened,

Ashley does.

What difference will it make for her?

Look, you've been living
under the shadow of this

for years.

She wants to walk
through this with you.

Give her that...

Give yourself that chance.

♪ ♪

Michelle agreed
to go forward with this?

- How can I help?
- Ashley,

Michelle isn't sure that, you know,

she wants you to be
a part of this right now.

But I am a part of it.

This is my life.

None of this would be happening
if I hadn't told anyone.

Maybe give Michelle some time, okay?

Okay, It's still good news.

How is this good?

- Tony, just listen.
- To what?

How the police are looking

for my daughter's biological father,

who may be a r*pist?

Thank you for coming in, Mrs. Young.

I told Michelle,
I want nothing to do with it.

Why is she dredging this up?

I think she's looking for closure,

for herself, and for her daughter.

Her daughter?

We don't need some
stranger in our lives.

Okay,

I just have to ask...

Is there anything that you remember,

from the summer that
your daughter got pregnant?

Who she was friends were?

You mean who she was having sex with?

She was r*ped, Mrs. Young.

[TENSE MUSIC]

She told me she didn't
remember what happened.

She also told me it was all my fault,

since I was away that summer.

I don't, I don't think that
this is about blame.

I think that she just wants to
find out what happened to her.

I couldn't control Michelle back then,

any more than now.

I love her, but,

it was bad enough when my husband left.

After Michelle got pregnant,

we ended up moving out of the city.

I gave up my job,
lost touch with my friends.

And none of that sounds easy.

I told Michelle she never should have

agreed to meet this girl.

♪ ♪

I've seen that walk before.

Did she wipe the chair down
before she sat in it?

- Practically.
- Why'd she even come here?

So if anyone asked,

she could say that she
was supporting her daughter.

Any luck with the contacts
Michelle gave us?

One classmate was in camp,
the other was in Europe.

The two others that Michelle said

she kept in contact with

haven't called back.

Keep trying.

Michelle Young?

Yeah, I think that
she was a classmate of yours.

I guess.

- Is she in trouble?
- No, no, no, um,

I'm just calling about
something that happened to her.

I'm wondering if you
remember any parties

that you two may have gone to together.

From when I was in ninth grade?

Not really.

No, we weren't that close.

I think she left school
that year, and we lost touch.

I never saw her again.

How could she say that?

We were friends.

She was there that night.

Wait,

she put me in a cab the next morning.

How could she not remember?

Because nothing happened to her.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

What about the other girls in my class?

Actually, Mavis was
the only one that called back.

She was there, I knew it, look.

Some guy had a vintage Polaroid.

That's me and Mavis.

It had to be that night,
Mavis brought fake IDs.

Where was this bar?

Dublin House, Upper West Side.

Yeah, it's still open.

And this party that
you went to afterwards,

- did you take the subway?
- No, we walked.

I remember because I fell, like, twice,

and Mavis helped me up.

Can you call her again,
and show her this?

I have another idea.

So we're still nowhere on this?

What am I gonna tell Ashley's father?

He's calling me,
he's still freaked out.

And I don't blame him.

I think everybody would
have been better off

if none of this had ever come up.

Of course you'd think that.

- Of course.
- What's that supposed to mean?

Come on, Rollins.

You won't tell the people we work with,

or your kids, that we're involved.

You haven't even told Billie
who her father is...

Okay, easy, easy.

I get it, you grew up having
to compartmentalize,

- it's a survival mechanism.
- What are you, my shrink now?

No, I'm not your shrink, I just...

I don't want to be Uncle Sonny forever.

- You're not gonna...
- We're nine months in, Amanda,

and your kids still don't
know who I am to you?

So which is it, do you want me to

disclose our relationship to NYPD,

or just to Jesse and Billie?

My dad? How about your parents?

How come I haven't met them yet?

Because you don't want my mom to know

that you're my girlfriend.

I'm going to bring a "colleague" home,

for Sunday dinner? Do you
know how strange that would be?

- I don't want that pressure on us.
- On us, or on you?

I'm sorry, I just don't want
to live like this anymore.

I feel like I got a live hand
grenade in my pocket,

and if this comes out during a trial,

- that's gonna blow up in our faces.
- Okay, so, what,

you want me to take a full-page ad?

- I don't want to leave SVU.
- You don't have to.

I floated this to HR,

as a hypothetical,

and it turns out, if we both disclose

to our bosses, we're fine.

Do we have to do that now?

Okay, when then?

One year?

Five?

Look, Amanda, I...

I don't want to push you
someplace that you don't want to go,

but what are we doing here?

Are we going to try
and make this work or not?

Are you, are you
seriously asking me that?

'Cause I've never been this open,

honest in a relationship.

- [PHONE BUZZING]
- [SIGHS]

- It's Benson, I gotta go.
- Yeah.

[PENSIVE MUSIC]

♪ ♪

Sorry I'm late.

This cognitive reenactment,
Michelle wanted to do it?

- She did, why?
- 'Cause just because

we can do something, should we?

Sorry, I know this is loaded for you.

Rollins, what's going on?

This is it, this is it!

This is where the party was,
I remember the red door.

Okay.

My wife and I just bought the place.

We're still moving in.

Thank you for letting us look around.

Take your time.

[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]

I remember someone helping
me walk up these stairs.

There were fireworks, and,

there were people in the
courtyard singing that song,

"Crazy in Love," I think.

Is this the bedroom?

There was some kind of lion.

I was on the bed,

and he was next to me.

Michelle, did he say anything?

I told him it was my first time,

that I wasn't ready.

He said, "Good, then
you'll always remember me."

♪ ♪

Oh, they kept the color,

China red.

We lived there until
the kids went to college

and my husband passed.

So you were there the summer of ?

Summer, no, I would have
been in Southampton,

with my daughter, Katie.

My sons, Zach and Josh,
stayed in the city.

Do you recognize this girl
from around that time?

Michelle Young?

No...

Maybe she was a friend
of my youngest, Josh.

Why?

She's applying for a federal position.

We have to do a background check.

She says the only
time that she did dr*gs

was at a summer
party at your townhouse.

Just is something we gotta run.

Oh...

Well, as I said, I wasn't home.

You know,
you should talk to my eldest, Zach.

He's a lawyer.

Look, you guys got off to
the wrong foot with my mother,

so, why don't you tell me
what this is really about?

Michelle Young,

we believe she was at a
party at your townhouse,

on July , .

And let me guess,
she's not up for a federal job.

No, but...

We think that she may
have been sexually assaulted,

the night of that party.

That's awful, but, uhm.

Honestly, I'm not sure I even
remember her being there.

Well, you know, we certainly get that,
but do you have

any idea who else may
have been at that party?

It's not like there was a guest list.

Word got out there was a party,
no parents home,

people just showed up.

Okay, how about who was in
your social group at the time?

Can we start there?

You know what,

I'm not really comfortable
just giving out names.

How about I'll make some calls,

and find out if anybody
remembers this girl?

So Zach Wilcox is
going to make some calls?

- I won't hold my breath.
- And there's no way

we can get a warrant,
for his phone records?

Not from an MCI flip phone from .

Both Zach and the mother
admit there was a party,

and the youngest brother,
Josh, was there.

Where is he?

He works as a park ranger in Vermont.

We're trying to track him down now.

- Any corroboration?
- Well, not yet, but,

she did have a visceral reaction
when she walked into that bedroom.

I mean, something happened to her.

Captain?

- You're Captain Benson?
- I am.

I'm Josh Wilcox.

You called me about Michelle Young?

- So you know her?
- I used to.

I always wondered what happened to her.

I really liked her.

That's her.

Almost forgot how pretty she was.

Michelle, ma belle.

So can you tell us about
your relationship with her?

She wasn't my girlfriend or anything.

We were at different schools,

but we hung out a little that spring.

What about the Fourth of July?

Yeah, actually, um,

that party was the last
time I ever spoke to Michelle.

I tried calling,
she never called me back.

Then I heard she moved.

Did something happen to her?

Is it possible that the two
of you had sex that night?

Well...

Oh, we, we made out a little,

but why?

What's she saying?

Well, here's the thing, Josh.

Michelle doesn't remember
having sex that night,

but then five months later,
she found out she was pregnant.

Oh, wow.

I had no idea.

She had a baby, that's why she moved?

- Mm-hmm.
- She had a little daughter.

She gave it up for adoption, and,

they just recently connected.

You think I might be the father?

Can you tell us what you remember?

I was kinda high.

We were in my bedroom.

Your bedroom, was that upstairs?

No, no, it was
the ground floor, at the front.

We were fooling around, and I kind of,

you know...

Came...

- Can I say that?
- Yeah.

It was the first time
I ever kissed a girl.

It's okay.

I always thought that's why
she never called me back.

So...

So you think it's possible
I'm the father?

Would you mind giving us a DNA sample?

No, of course not. I mean,

if I have a daughter, I want to know.

Josh, I remember him.

We might have, made out at the party.

- Do you remember having sex with him?
- No,

you think he could be the father?

It's a possibility.
We're running the DNA.

So this was just some kind of accident?

If you don't have any memory of sex...

I don't think he would do that.

He kept trying to call me after.

You never called him back?

After that party, I was so embarrassed.

I didn't talk to anybody.

This whole time I thought
I was r*ped and I wasn't?

Oh, my God,

Ashley, she's going to think I'm crazy.

For now, hold off on telling her.

Michelle remembers Josh,
but not having sex.

Is it possible that
this is two -year-olds

- just fooling around?
- I don't know.

The way she reacted in that bedroom?

Yeah?

- How is she?
- She's worried about Ashley.

I mean, can you imagine being a kid

and finding something out like this...

I did not mean to...

It's okay, Rollins.

I remember that night.

The night my mother, Serena, just...

she just lashed out at me.

She was so drunk, and so angry.

I was years old, and she...

She looked at me, and she said...

[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]

She said, "I wish I'd never had you."

Because of the r*pe.

I am so sorry.

Did you ever wish that
she hadn't told you?

At the time, I did.

But it's informed my whole life.

Ashley Peters is here.

She's kind of hyper.

Okay, send her in.

- Ashley.
- Michelle told me the good news,

about my biological father.

We actually haven't gotten

- the DNA back.
- Oh, no, no,

I know that it's him... Josh?

We FaceTimed.

How did you two get in touch?

Mom friended him on Facebook,

and he looks like me,

and he likes the outdoors,
and I like the outdoors.

I actually hiked in the
national park where he works.

What did Michelle tell you?

That she was wrong, she wasn't r*ped.

She said she felt really bad
about getting me involved,

but I told her that none of
this would have happened

if I hadn't gone to the police.

We wouldn't have found Josh.

Ashley, we don't know
what happened that night.

I'm actually about
to go meet them for dinner.

Michelle didn't want to go
at first, but I convinced her.

And he's single, too, so...
[LAUGHS]

Anyway, thank you.

Thank you.

Oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry.

You're right,

she's pink clouding.

Now what?

Call the M.E., put a rush on that DNA.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

♪ ♪

I know we probably
shouldn't have met so soon.

We're all just really excited.

Yes, I know.

Ashley told me.

Am I in any kind of trouble? 'Cause,

my brother told me I was an idiot,

- to come here with no lawyer.
- No, you're...

You're not in any trouble.

Josh, we do have to tell you that

we got the DNA,

and you're not Ashley's
biological father.

[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]

- You sure?
- Yeah.

Ashley and I,
we have so much in common.

She even looks like me.

We're, uh, we're sure.

I'm sorry.

It's all my fault,
I shouldn't have said anything

- until we were sure.
- No, it's okay.

It's not like you brought
a stranger into our lives.

He's a friend of yours,
and he still likes you, so...

I don't know...

- What happens now?
- That's up to you.

SVU can keep investigating,

try to find out who
else was at the party.

I'm the only person who even
remembers that party,

but I don't remember what happened.

I want to help, but,

who even knows how many
people were at that party?

We know that
your brother Zach was there.

Yeah, but we didn't
really hang out, so...

Your DNA cleared your brother too.

Okay, good.

Do you remember what happened,

after you and Michelle
were in your room?

We went to the kitchen,

there were idiots going through
my parents' wine collection.

I had to kick people out.

Was Michelle with you?

No, I lost track of her.

Oh, my God,

- that's when she got...
- Michelle said,

that she remembers being
in an upstairs bedroom.

Were people allowed to go up there?

No, upstairs was off limits.

That was my parents' bedroom
and Zach's.

Did Zach have any friends,

who he might have let into his room?

No.

Maybe Cole.

Yeah, he stayed with us that summer.

It was Cole Eaton,
he was Zach's roommate at Yale.

And where did Cole sleep?

Well, he was supposed to
sleep in my sister's room, but,

he said it was too girly,
so, he used my parents'.

And do you know where Cole is now?

Yeah, he's family.

He married my sister, Katie, and

Zach is the counsel,
for his hedge fund.

- Cole Eaton.
- [CHUCKLES]

The apple didn't fall far.

I knew his father.

Big Securities and Exchange
lawyer in the ' s.

- Cole's a suspect?
- He is.

We asked Michelle, and she said,

that she remembers
seeing Cole in the kitchen,

when her friend Mavis helped her

down the stairs the next morning.

And Mavis corroborates?

Reluctantly. She hedged at first.

Turns out, they're friendly
with each other.

Their kids go to the same school.

Huh.

I'm sure they do.

Cole Eaton is a prominent
New York businessman.

Major campaign donor,
multiple charity boards.

So he's got a lot to lose.

As do we all.

Michelle Young?

I'm not good with faces,
I can't say I remember her.

No, well, she remembers you.

Look, we're all busy.

If you guys have something
you want to ask me,

just come out and ask.

Did you hook up with Michelle Young

at a Fourth of July party in ?

- At Zach's?
- Mm-hmm.

You're asking me who I may have had

sex with at a party two decades ago?

We are.

I was , working
as an intern on Wall Street.

I must have slept
with a dozen women that summer.

We're just asking about Michelle.

Possibly.

Probably.

It might not look like it now,
but back then I was catnip.

Girls came on to me,

I didn't have to try.

Enthusiastic consent, all summer long.

[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]

Good for you.

Now we ask for DNA.

We can get a warrant, but,

as you said, we're all busy, right?

Great, thank you.

DNA's a match. I'll call Carisi.

Carisi's gonna say that
we don't have enough to arrest.

Cole made it a point
of using the phrase,

"enthusiastic consent."

I wonder,

if he'd be able
to say that to Michelle's face.

♪ ♪

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

- Thank you for meeting me.
- Sure.

I'd have picked a better restaurant.

So...

Your detectives tell me that

I apparently fathered
your child in .

What do you want?

What I want?

Money, I'm assuming.

Not that I owe you, or this Ashley,

she's eighteen, right?

Anything.

You didn't even tell me
you were pregnant.

I didn't know.

I had no idea you were
the one who had sex with me.

[SCOFFS]

Thanks a lot.

You seemed enthusiastic at the time.

- Did I?
- Yes.

Walk me through it.

How did I end up in that bedroom?

You'd had a few.

I tried to be a nice guy,
I walked you up,

I put you in a bed.

And you figured since I was half
passed out,

- you'd have sex with me?
- Hey, I was drunk too.

I'm sorry I didn't send you flowers.

Is she gonna be okay?

Controlled meets are never easy.

Look, Michelle,

I know you've got college loans,

you're working double shifts at Macy's,

maybe I can lift that burden.

You think I want money?

What else could this be about?

An acknowledgement.

You knew I was half-unconscious?

- No.
- Yes.

You laughed.

You said, "Your first time?

You'll never forget me."

So you remember that?

Well, which one is it,
you remember this or you don't?

- I never would have said yes!
- Shh.

I was fifteen,

I was a virgin, and you r*ped me!

[TENSE MUSIC]

Okay, Michelle.

I know this is being recorded,
so for the record,

I didn't do anything you didn't want.

And I have a lot more money than time,
so...

Just...

Give me a number, I'll wire it.

You think you can just
leave money on the dresser

and make everything okay?

You know what?

Missed your chance.

Story of your life.

Hey, Cole Eaton?

NYPD. We need you to come with us.

For Christ's sakes, am I under arrest?

If you want, we can cuff you
behind your back right here,

frisk you.

Save it.

Tell your captain and your ADA

I'll meet them at the station.

- You okay?
- Yeah.

Screw him.

♪ ♪

And I have a lot more
money than time so just

give me a number, I'll wire it.

- You get the gist.
- So does Cole.

It's a bad case...

no tox report, no outcry,

no witnesses.

She didn't consent.

And if she'd had any memory
of consenting to Cole Eaton,

she could have shaken
him down years before.

Even so, I can't guarantee a win.

You don't have to.

In , I was a freshman at Radcliffe,

and my dorm mates and I were
invited to a "jolly up,"

which was a party that was thrown

by the Harvard Porcellian Club.

It was at an alum's house,

and there were, um,

no adults,

spiked punch.

This boy, he was a senior,
he invited me on the...

On the garden tour,

and we ended up in um,

the potting shed.

While I was looking at the tulip bulbs,

he latched the door, and...

[APPREHENSIVE MUSIC]

I screamed, but,

we were so far away from the house,
and...

I doubt anyone would have come anyway.

And you never reported it.

No, no, I just...

I-I went back to the party and...

[BREATHES DEEPLY]

There was dirt on my dress,
and I was...

I was mortified.

So just I cleaned myself up,

and that was that.

The Porcellian Club was the most
prestigious social club at Harvard,

and this boy was a multiple...

Multiple generation legacy,

and his father was one of the trustees.

I've never told a soul about this.

Until today.

I'm so sorry.

What do you want us to do, Ms. Maxwell?

Take Cole Eaton down.

I believe you know Anya Avital,

formerly with the Southern District?

Yeah, we've met.

We're here on good faith.

My client has no obligation

to Michelle Young or her daughter.

We have him on tape offering a bribe.

More like compensation.

Ashley is my daughter.

I'd like to do right by her.

Maybe at some point, she'd like
to meet her half-siblings.

Let's not forget that
you r*ped her mother.

Uh, so she claims,

years after the fact,

after both asserting

she has no recollection
of what happened,

and at the same time, remembering

exactly what he said to her.

Hey, Anya, you and I both know,

that it's not uncommon,
for a survivor's memory,

to come back in bits and pieces.

And sometimes suddenly in whole cloth

when the accused is wealthy.

Michelle maintains
that she didn't consent.

Now, we agree to a plea,
or we take this to trial,

r*pe one.

Are you out of your mind?

- Let's go.
- Well, actually,

you're under arrest.

- Turn around.
- Well, you don't have a case.

Josh has agreed to testify, Mavis too.

That's more than enough
for a grand jury indictment.

So your client is going to become

a headline.

Your friends, your family, your work.

- Threats?
- All gonna find out.

- You're in over your heads.
- Cole.

I'll call Lorraine, this'll goes away.

Lorraine? Oh, Ms. Maxwell.

She already signed off on your warrant.

Let's go.

[TENSE MUSIC]

I'll have to testify?

And it won't be easy.
He's got a team of lawyers.

He'll drag this out.

- But we have to try.
- Do we?

Michelle...

What do you want?

I wanted to look him in the eye

and tell him what he did to me.

I did,

so maybe you should take the money.

I don't want money.

Okay, but you were searching
for your birth family.

- You have half-sisters
- I don't care about them,

I want justice for you.

You know what justice for me is?

Seeing you happy.

She's waiting for us.

♪ ♪

Ashley.

And you're Cole.

It's nice to meet you.

Why don't we all sit down?

Have a seat here.

God.

You look like your sisters.

That's Madeline.

She's ten, and...

That's Ava, she's eight...

And a half, she'd say.

I understand you might
want to meet them.

I'd like that too.

Okay.

What do they know about me?

Over time, I'd tell them that,

you're my daughter.

From a prior relationship.

Relationship?

No, you have to admit the truth.

To Michelle, that you r*ped her.

Ashley, I didn't...

We're never going to agree on this.

What matters now is,

I'm your father.

You're not my father.

I have a father.

You're my birth mother's r*pist,

and until you admit that,

I don't want anything to do with you.

♪ ♪

So thank you all for coming in.

We have a deal on the table.

To avoid a trial,

Cole Eaton has waived
the statute of limitations

and agreed to plead
guilty to a misdemeanor,

endangering the welfare of a minor.

- Will he go to prison?
- No,

but he'll do two years' probation

and hours of community service.

He's also offered to pay
for Ashley's college tuition,

and Michelle's college debt.

What about his relationship to Ashley?

No contact,

unless Ashley initiates.

We have not signed off
on this deal yet,

so if you want to take this to trial,

that's still an option.

So Michelle,

we want to know if you're okay with it,

and, if you all want a moment
to discuss this together,

that's fine.

If Ashley's good, I'm good.

I'm good.

Yeah, I'm good.

[SENTIMENTAL MUSIC]

So...

How are you?

Relieved.

Unbelievably relieved.

Michelle?

You're coming, aren't you?

On my way.

For the first time in years,
my life has...

Possibilities.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Ashley and her parents and Michelle

are all going out to dinner.

It's the new normal.

Speaking of which,
I need to tell you something.

Carisi and I are involved.

Okay.

He's going to disclose
to his bosses too.

Good, that is a very smart thing to do.

And Rollins?

I'm very happy for you.

[CHUCKLES]

♪ ♪

Well.

She didn't seem very surprised.

I think she knew all along.

Ms. Maxwell didn't.

I'm not sure what she ever thinks.

So...

So you free tonight?

Yeah.

Go home, make some dinner, maybe...

Maybe talk to Billie and Jesse?

That sounds nice, Counselor.

[WARM MUSIC]

♪ ♪
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

♪ ♪

[WOLF HOWLS]