All language subtitles for Law and Order SVU s24e16 The Presence of Absence.eng

- 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.

- 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'm just--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 90% closure rate.

But why not aim for 100?

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 gang 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 raped.

[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.

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 rape 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--

raped her.

I warned her not
to get involved with him.

- Why, what did you think
was off about it?

- If your best friend
of 14 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 raped?

- 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.

- 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?

Raped 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 2010,
New York started taking

DNA samples for misdemeanors.

- And the DNA on my rape 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 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 23 years old.

- Cooper.
- No.

Absolutely not.

No, I would know
if it were him.

- Can you say that
with 100% 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 porn.

- 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 1,500 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 23-year-old nephew

of the victim's
deceased husband,

is a DNA match
for her rape 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 assault.

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 rape kit
matched to Cooper,

but it wasn't him?

- It looks like
he has an alibi.

So Zoe, I, uh, 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 thinking?

- You know, my detectives
are talking to Jenna now,

and 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 died.

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 assault.

- 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 rape.
She used her finger.

- That's right, officer,
it's not rape.

But Zoe didn't consent
to penetration.

- So sexual assault
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 rape-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 100,000.

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 assault is sex assault,
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 assault?

- 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 assault,
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, 14 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 died.

- 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?

- 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 assault
is sexual assault.

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.

- 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 died,
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 kill 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.

♪

[dramatic music]

♪

[wolf howls]

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