All language subtitles for Law And Order SVU.S23E13. If I Knew Then What I Know Now.720p.HDTV.x264-SYNCOPY - HI

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.

*LAW AND ORDER
SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT*

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 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?

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 rape.

Okay.

Not mine, my mother's,
the night I was conceived.

The rapist is my father.

[Suspenseful music]

[♪]

[Dramatic music]

[♪]

*LAW AND ORDER
SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT*

*LAW AND ORDER SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT*
Season 23 Episode 13

Episode Title:
"If I Knew Then What I Know Now"

Aired on:
February 24, 2022.

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 raped?

More like blurted it out,
said she was fifteen,

passed out at a party.

She was five months pregnant
before she knew.

That's rape, 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 raped 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 rape from 2003
and the victim won't talk?

We've left messages,
but her daughter

may have been conceived
from the sexual assault,

which makes her a victim too.

Theoretically,
but that's semantics.

She wasn't the one
who was raped.

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 rapist's DNA.

Even then, I can't get

an unsubstantiated
John Doe indictment.

So you want her to remember
the details

of a sexual assault
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 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 rape
is that 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 18 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 rapist?

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 raped, 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 some place 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]

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 2003?

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 drugs

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 4, 2003.

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 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 2003.

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 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 raped 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 15-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 13 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 rape.

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 raped.

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 '80s.

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 2003?

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 19, 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 2003.

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.

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 raped 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 1968, 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 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 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 raped her mother.

Uh, so she claims,
18 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,
rape 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 raped 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
rapist,

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 400 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 18 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.

[♪]

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]

[♪]