All language subtitles for Law.and.Order.S25E11.720p.HEVC.x265-MeGusta

In the criminal justice system,

the people are represented

by two separate,
yet equally important groups:

the police,
who investigate crime,

and the district attorneys,
who prosecute the offenders.

These are their stories.

Hey, it's me.

Listen, I really need...

I just need to talk to you.

Call me back, please.

Cause of death is
a single gunshot to the head.

Recovered a 9 millimeter
casing on the floor.

We know our vic's name?

Natalie Wallis.
She owns the brownstone.

According to neighbors,
she was single, lived alone.

Neighbors the one
who called it in?

Negative.

ShotSpotter device detected
the sound of a gunshot

and alerted Central.

Car was dispatched.

Saw the front door open
and found the body.

AI gets it right for once.

MLI recovered several strands
of hair on the victim's body.

All right, well, let's make
sure we get those to the lab.

Looks like we got
signs of forced entry.

Anything indicating a robbery?

Not that we can tell.

Phone and wallet are
present and accounted for.

All right, Walker,
anything up here?

Plenty easy to grab
electronics laying around.

Laptops, speakers.

Whatever that thing is.

Dude, it's a 3D printer.

Well, whatever our vic did
for a living,

looks like she made
some pretty good money.

According to Linkedln,
Natalie Wallis

is a chief engineer
for a company called Utomnia.

Yeah, surveillance software.

We use those guys
to get geofencing warrants.

They're like Big Brother.

They got eyes
and ears everywhere.

Okay, so assuming
she's good at her job,

her killer should be
easy to find.

Yeah, we got your message.
What's up?

We've been processing
your crime scene,

and there's something
I need to show you.

So we attempted
to access the data

from Natalie Wallis's
home security cameras.

Okay, is there something
I'm missing here?

Yeah, about three hours'

worth of footage
from last night,

deleted from her hard drive
and the cloud backup.

Let me guess...
the missing footage overlaps

perfectly with the time
she was murdered?

So you called us down here
to show us

you got nothing to show us?

It's not just
her security system.

Her tablet, her smart fridge,
her Bluetooth speakers,

every piece of data from
last night has been scrubbed.

I've never seen
anything like it.

And it's not just in her house.

I mean, even the street cams
on her block were wiped.

Wait, how is that even possible?

Well, it looks like
whoever did it gained access

to the city's mainframe
by exploiting

a backdoor glitch that,
until now,

we didn't even know was there.

So whoever murdered her
was either an expert hacker

or paid someone who is
to cover their tracks.

Looks like
finding her killer is not

gonna be so easy after all.

We were able to recover
her texts from the cloud.

All right,
so the last text she sent

was to a Vanessa Barret

only a few minutes before
she was killed.

"Call me ASAP.

I need to talk to you."

That sounds urgent.

We worked together at Utomnia.

I was the chief
technology officer.

- Why don't you take a seat?
- Thank you.

Technically, I was her boss,

but it should have been
the other way around.

She's really talented.

Looks like you got
out of the security game.

Yeah, I... sorry.

I came over here a year ago
to take the CTO position.

We are a startup
trying to create efficiencies

in the women's
health care space.

And you and Natalie
stayed in touch?

- Yeah.
- We're friends. Good friends.

Do you have any idea

what that text
might have been about?

No, I...
she left me a voicemail, too,

saying the same thing, that...

that she needed to talk to me.

I hadn't had a chance
to respond.

I was flying home
from a conference in Sweden.

I landed late last night.

Are you aware of any problems
she was having?

Anyone who might have
wanted to hurt her?

She did go through a bad breakup

a few months ago
with a guy named Patrick.

He works in cybersecurity.

She dumped him.

I guess he didn't take it well.

And she told me that he said
some pretty terrible things.

When was the last time
you spoke to her?

Three months ago.

She asked me to leave her alone,

and I respected her wishes.

Truth is, she had
major trust issues with men.

But she came by them honestly.

What does that mean?

Before she worked for Utomnia,

Natalie was
a video game designer.

A few years back,
she got a lot of hate online.

- Gamergaters?
- Yeah.

Help me out here.

A bunch of video game
bro-types started going after

prominent women
who worked in the industry,

attacking them online.

You know about this stuff?

I'm a single man in his 30s.

I play a lot of video games.

I did some digging online.

Found a Reddit thread
of Gamergate dudes

still trolling our vic.

All these years later,

these guys are still mad
because why?

Because ladies like
to play video games too?

- Yeah.
- A bunch of grown-ass men

hanging a sign
on their clubhouse

that says "girls not allowed."

I mean, it's the lamest thing
I've ever heard.

Yeah, some of these women
had to change their identities,

move to new towns.

How does it even get
to that level?

Incels getting
on their headsets,

hyping each other up.

And these are your people?

I play solo, dawg.

Check it out.

A user named Tanner Lovell

threatened Natalie
three days ago.

And according to his profile,
he lives in Queens.

Calls himself a master hacker.

Let's try around back.

- Did you hear that?
- Yeah.

NYPD, turn around
and put your hands in the air.

Said put your hands up!

Drop that weapon!

Don't shoot!
It's not a weapon!

Yo, what the hell, man?

"Natalie Wallis walks around
thinking she knows what's up.

"Let's see how mouthy
the bitch is

when she fills the cold metal
of my Glock on her forehead."

You own a Glock, Tanner?

No, not a real one.

You posted this three days ago.

Last night,
Natalie was shot and killed.

Wait, what?

That wasn't me.
I didn't...

We know you hated her, Tanner.

We've already been
through your Reddit.

She worked for the company
that made my favorite game.

She talked some nonsense
about the depiction of women

being offensive.

She didn't even work
for the company anymore, man.

Yet you still targeted her.
Why?

Is it because she posted
this photo of you?

I love this.

"This is a real man

the way a chihuahua
is a real guard dog."

I mean, that's funny.

Must be why it got
over 30,000 likes.

She humiliated you?

Owned you in front
of your incel buddies.

No, we know that you knew
where she lived, Tanner.

You posted it online,
you piece of...

Okay! Okay!

But I never went there!

- Really?
- No!

No, I wanted to.

Look, look.

I hated that slut.

But... but...
- Hey, watch yourself.

Every time, when I tried
to work up the nerve

to even go, I couldn't.

I chickened out.

Where were you last night
around 11:30?

I was playing in a "Magic:
the Gathering" tournament.

I made it to the last round,

and I didn't get out
until after midnight.

I spoke
to the tournament organizer.

Tanner Lovell's alibi is legit.

That tracks.

While you were doing that,
the lab results came in.

Hair on the vic belongs
to a Caucasian male.

So we're looking
for a white guy.

Guys, something's happening.

What's going on?

I was going through
the vic's emails

when all of a sudden,
a bunch of them

just started disappearing.

Look.

It's happening right now?

I think someone might be
remotely deleting them.

Can you stop it?

No, I tried.

Can you recover them
from the trash?

They're not there either.

Is there any pattern as to
which emails are being deleted?

Yeah, it looks like it's all
the ones with the purple label.

That's her work tab.

So someone's working overtime
to scrub Natalie's email

of anything related to Utomnia.

Email deletions are
standard protocol.

The system is in place to
protect company trade secrets.

Yeah, well, it's impeding
a murder investigation.

I don't know what to tell you.

The system is set up
to automatically sweep an inbox

once an employee is listed

as no longer working
at the company.

Why all the secrecy?

Well, there's a lot
of corporate espionage

in this industry.

Detectives, Marius Cole.

My office told me you were here.

I'm sorry about the emails.

But I can't imagine
that Natalie's murder had

anything to do
with her work product.

That's for us to determine.

Of course.

Thank you, Juvaria.
I'll take it from here.

Please.

The last thing I wanna do
is hinder an investigation.

Natalie was amazing, brilliant,
truly one of a kind,

believe me.

Any way that I can help,
I mean, just say the word.

What was Natalie doing
for you, specifically?

Again, I'm sorry.

Unless you have a specific
warrant for something,

it would be irresponsible of me
to divulge any company secrets.

Although, I can tell you
that we recently had

to fire somebody on her team.

He was caught leaking sensitive
company data to the press.

He was furious,
and he blamed Natalie.

She blocked me from doing
the public a service.

The stuff Utomnia is up to
is terrifying.

And people need to know.
- Really? Like what?

Iris scanning,
facial rec, phone hacking,

location data scraping.

That stuff has existed
for years, man.

Sure, but Utomnia
is consolidating

all the information into one
giant database powered by AI

and selling the data
to the highest bidder.

Marius Cole is
completely eradicating

the basic concept of privacy,

and people don't even
realize it.

So you see yourself
as a whistleblower?

I tried, but Natalie caught me.

So because of Natalie,
you're facing

some pretty stiff penalties,

I wouldn't hurt Natalie,
for God's sake.

I'm the good guy here,
not the villain.

Ooh, people who say that
make me nervous.

I didn't blame Natalie.

She was a total techno-optimist.

She truly believed that, if
it were harder for bad people

to hide, the world would be
a safer place.

All that being said,
where were you two nights ago?

I was at a concert
at Madison Square Garden.

The amount of surveillance
in that place,

you can verify that
100 different ways.

Okay. We will be in touch.

Wait.

A few days before I was canned,
so about a week ago,

I ran into Natalie at a café.

She was with a guy.

And when I went over to say hi,
she got super weird.

Do you know who the guy was?

I didn't recognize him.

But something
about the vibe was off.

I got the security video
from the café.

All right. Good.

So this is the date and time
our wannabe whistleblower

said he ran into Natalie
and the mystery man.

There he is right there.

And there she is.

Looks like she's crying.

Can you zoom in
on the guy's face?

I'll run facial rec.

Sean Morris.

I'm Detective Riley.

This is Detective Walker, NYPD.

We'd like to ask you a few
questions about Natalie Wallis.

Good.

I'm glad to hear
she went through with it.

Went through with what?

Wait, what is this about?

We're Homicide detectives.

Natalie Wallis was murdered
two nights ago.

My God.

I didn't know.

I've been at a yoga retreat.

I was with her earlier that day.

Were you two in a relationship?

What... God. No.

I'm gay.

I'm a trauma counselor
at the Midtown Women's Clinic.

I was helping her.

Helping her with what?

Natalie was sexually assaulted

about a month ago.

And when we last spoke,

she said she was gonna go
to the police.

You said the rape occurred
a month prior to her murder.

That's what we were told.

Normally, what we see with
a post-sexual-assault situation

are lacerations or abrasions
to the posterior fourchette

or the fossa navicularis.

But because of the increased
blood flow to those areas

naturally,
they tend to heal quickly.

Unless the injuries are severe,
they usually abate

within a week or two.

So you can't tell us
one way or the other?

Not conclusively.

But I was able to perform
a secondary examination

and found something else.

You see this slight
discoloration here and here?

- Not really.
- It's very faint.

But it appears to be ecchymosis.

That's the yellowing you see
at the very final stages

of the body
breaking down hemoglobin

pooled under the skin.

So she had bruises.

On both wrists and her throat,

almost completely healed,

which is why we didn't
catch it initially.

- Okay. Anything else?
- Yes.

She tested positive
for hepatitis B.

Appears to be recent too.

According to her
medical records,

she tested negative for all STDs

at her last checkup
three months ago.

All right.
Thanks, Doc.

Thank you.

So her rapist
figures out somehow

that she was gonna report him

and kills her
before she gets the chance.

We know when the rape occurred,

so we just need to retrace
her steps that day,

find out who she was with.

October 17th, you said?

Yeah, according
to Natalie's calendar app,

you two had dinner that night?

Yeah, yeah, I remember we went

to a new Mediterranean place
that she'd been wanting to try.

Here you go. Thank you so much.

What does this have to do
with her murder?

What was her mood like
that night?

Her... her mood?

Yeah, did she seem upset?

Mention any problems
she was having?

No.

No, we mostly just talked
about the reality shows

we were watching
and bitched about our jobs.

She mention anything
about a sexual assault?

What? No.

Why? Did something happen?

We're not sure.

What happened
after dinner that night?

Nothing.

She had to leave early
because of some sort

of emergency that came up
with one of the projects

she was working on.

So she went back
to the Utomnia office?

Marius texted her
while we were eating.

I don't work
at the company anymore,

so she couldn't tell me
what it was about.

But she had
to cut the meal short

to go meet up with him.

What the hell is this?

You have no right to...
this is completely unwarranted!

No, actually, it's entirely
warranted, literally.

This is an invasion
of my privacy.

Yeah, sucks, doesn't it?

Got a prescription here
for lamivudine.

It's got your name on it.

What's that for?

It's none of your damn business.

Well, the internet says
hepatitis B medication.

Detectives, we found a box
of ammunition under a bed.

9 millimeter.

Same caliber used
to kill Natalie Wallis.

- I want my lawyer.
- Yeah, I'll bet you do.

Marius Cole, you're under arrest

for the murder
of Natalie Wallis.

You have the right
to remain silent.

Were the police able
to recover the murder weapon?

No, and Marius Cole
has never had a firearm

registered in his name.

What about motive?

Cole killed Natalie to stop her

from reporting him for rape.

Can we prove that he raped her?

I think so.

It's all based
on circumstantial evidence,

but I think we can get there.

The best news of all
is that we can place

Cole at the murder scene.

DNA tests confirmed
that the hair recovered

from Natalie's body
belongs to him.

It's not a perfect case,

but Cole has no alibi
for the night of the murder.

Marius Cole's donated
millions to various

female-forward charities.

He's got a big reputation
as a liberal feminist ally.

Yeah, which is why
we need to bury him.

A wolf in sheep's clothing
is gonna kill more sheep

if you give him the chance.

Okay.

Charge him with murder 2.

Ms. Maroun.

Your Honor,
the people seek remand.

The defendant is a billionaire.

He has access to a private jet.

There is no amount of bail
that could be set

that could prohibit him
from fleeing the country.

My client is not going anywhere.

But I'll spare us all
the back and forth about bail

because it is a moot point.

The state has no case,

and therefore, I am immediately
filing a motion to dismiss.

On what grounds?

We have irrefutable proof
that Marius Cole

did not commit this murder.

What is it exactly that I'm
looking at here, counselor?

Security camera footage
from Marius Cole's apartment

that shows he was at home
in Tribeca

at the time Natalie Wallis
was murdered.

And what,
the time stamps in the corner

are supposed to be the proof?

As I detailed in my motion,
his brownstone is also equipped

with state-of-the-art
bio scanning technology

that tracks all living beings
in the home at all times.

And its logs show with
a zero degree of uncertainty

that Mr. Cole was in
the apartment the entire night.

- Your Honor...
- Proceeding with a trial

would be a colossal waste

of this court's
limited resources,

to say nothing
of the time and energy

of everyone involved,
not least of all my client.

Marius Cole is the head
of the largest

and the most invasive
surveillance tech firm

in the world.

He has the unlimited resources
and the know-how

to fabricate all of this...
this so-called evidence.

Given the preponderance of it,

there is no way a jury gets
around reasonable doubt.

They will, once I debunk it all,

which is why
they're trying to have

this case tossed on a motion.

I agree with Mr. Price.

You're welcome to present this
evidence at trial, Ms. Calhoun,

but there's no way in hell
I'm dismissing this case.

I have over 20 years
of experience

as a consultant
in cybersecurity.

And the NYPD brought you in
to advise on this case.

Yes.

Shortly after
Natalie Wallis was murdered,

someone hacked into every one
of the devices in her home

and erased any data that had
been recorded in the hours

surrounding her death.

Including video footage
from her security cameras?

They also accessed
the city's mainframe

and wiped
the street camera footage

from Ms. Wallis's block.

I was brought in to do a
digital forensic investigation

to determine who the hacker was.

Were you successful?

No, whoever did it covered
their tracks incredibly well.

In your professional opinion,
does the defendant have

the skills necessary
to have done this?

It's literally a service
Utomnia, his company,

offers to its clients.

The level of hacking
we're talking about here

for Marius Cole would be like

Stephen Hawking doing a Sudoku.

What about
manufacturing evidence,

like video surveillance footage
or digital location data.

Is that also something
Utomnia does?

I don't think
they advertise that,

but they certainly have
the capabilities.

So hypothetically,
the defendant could create

proof for an alibi
that was not real.

- Absolutely.
- Objection, Your Honor.

Assumes facts not in evidence.

- Sustained.
- No further questions.

You have no proof
or firsthand knowledge

that Marius Cole
tampered with or erased

any evidence pertaining
to this case, do you?

No, but I know
he's capable of it.

Right, because it's a service
his company offers.

Do you know how many employees
there are at Utomnia?

I do not.

4,854.

Presumably, many of them
possess the same capabilities.

Yes, presumably.

And what about people
not employed by any company?

In your experience,
are there private citizens

that possess the skills
necessary to erase

the data in question?

Of course.

And you have no knowledge
of anything

that specifically implicates
my client

in the murder of Natalie Wallis?

No.

So you're here merely
to testify to the fact

that hacking is something
that exists in the world.

Duly noted.

No further questions.

About halfway through
the meal, Natalie got a text.

She said it was Marius

and that she had to go back
to the office.

Did she say why?

No, some sort of work emergency.

She couldn't give me the details

because I didn't work
at the company anymore.

Marius is brutal when it comes
to enforcing NDAs.

So she left your dinner early,

and she told you
that she was going

to meet with the defendant.

Yes.

Do you remember
what day this was?

October 17th.

Thank you.
No further questions.

We have no questions
for this witness.

You may be excused.

You may call
your next witness, Mr. Price.

People call Sean Morris
to the stand.

Did Natalie Wallis share
any details with you

about her sexual assault?

Objection. Hearsay.

It speaks to Natalie Wallis's
state of mind

at the time of her murder
and is not offered

for the truth of the matter.

Overruled.

The witness may answer.

Yes.

She said that she was raped
by someone she knew well,

someone she trusted.

She said
that he gave her a drink.

But after a few sips,
she started to feel funny.

So she stopped drinking.

He got mad,
insisted she drink it.

So he tried to drug her.

And when that didn't work,
he threw the glass

against the wall and screamed
that he was in control,

that she had to do what he said.

And then what happened?

She tried to leave.

But he grabbed her
by the throat,

tied her hands behind her back
with a belt,

and then he raped her.

She said that he whispered
in her ear the entire time,

saying no matter how powerful
she thought she was,

he could do
whatever he wanted to her.

And he said other things,

things I can't bring myself
to repeat.

You develop a thick skin
in my line of work,

but even I was...

Did she tell you
when this all happened?

October 17th.

And did you meet with her
on the day that she was killed?

I did.

In our first session,
she wasn't ready

to report her rapist.

It's common for women
in her situation,

especially high-powered women
in male-dominated fields.

She was still
processing her grief,

feeling a sense of shame,
of guilt.

But in our last session,

she said she was ready
to report it to the police.

Did she tell you
when she was gonna do that?

The next day.

But someone killed her
before she got the chance.

No further questions.

Did Ms. Wallis tell you
the name of her attacker?

No.

She gave you all those details

but left that one out.

Well, like I said, she wasn't
ready to report it at first.

And nothing you shared
specifically points

to my client being
the one who raped her.

In fact, because she never
sought medical attention,

there's no factual record
that a rape even ever occurred.

I sat with her for hours
as she shook

with fear and rage and pain.

I can assure you, it happened.

That may be so.

But my client had
nothing to do with it.

No further questions.

No further questions.

Excuse me.

Hi.

You did great back there.

Here.

They always claim
mascara is waterproof,

but in my experience,
there's no such thing.

Thank you.

So embarrassing.

No.

It's hard to hear.

- God.
- I just keep... I...

What?

I'm the one who hired Natalie
to work at Utomnia.

Of course, I didn't know
at the time that Marius...

but she was my best friend.

And it's my fault.
And I should have tried...

No, don't go there, please.

Easy for you to say.

No, I get it.

Trust me.

I had a similar thing
happen to a loved one.

I spent years
trying to blame myself.

Marius Cole is
the monster here, not you.

And I'm gonna do
everything I can

to put him where he belongs.

Thank you.

But I... but I...

I don't think I can watch
any more of this.

Part of my job
as the CEO of Utomnia

is cultivating new business,
which means wining and dining

the people in charge
of handing out

government and private
defense contracts.

Last year,
I had a potential client

that wanted to discuss business
on a shooting range.

The range made you
purchase ammunition,

and I ended up with extra.

So that's why the police found

9 millimeter bullets
in your home.

Yeah, but I don't even have
a gun to shoot them with.

I've never fired a weapon
outside of a shooting range.

Marius, did you rape
Natalie Wallis?

God, no.

The prosecution is claiming
that was your motive

for wanting her dead,
that she was going

to report you
for assaulting her.

That's insane.

I would never harm a woman.

I have spent real money and time

not only in programs
supporting women in STEM

but in making sure
that my companies are a place

where women can feel safe

and have access
to equal opportunities.

But your DNA was in her home.

And as the prosecution
pointed out,

you were both diagnosed
with hepatitis B.

That's correct.

When I told Natalie
about my diagnosis,

she was very upset.

She had recently been
diagnosed as well

but was afraid to tell me.

What are you saying?

I contracted it from her.

Natalie and I had been seeing
each other for a few months

before she was killed.

We kept
the relationship private.

Which explains why
your DNA was in her home.

Were you dating
at the time of the murder?

No, I called it off
about a week before.

We weren't connecting.

Now I know why.

She didn't tell me
she had been raped.

If she had,
I never would have...

we could have gotten
through that together.

I wish more than anything
that we had.

Thank you.

No further questions.

If you and Ms. Wallis
had been

seeing each other, as you claim,

why not mention that
to the police

when they first spoke to you?

I didn't think it was relevant.

I had no information about who
her killer could have been,

and I was grieving the loss
of somebody that I loved.

It was personal.

Private.

So you loved Natalie?

Did you ever tell anyone that...

you ever tell them that the two
of you were in a relationship?

No, it was...

No, it was private. Right.

Sorry. How convenient.

But I can provide
plenty of data that shows

that we were spending nights
and weekends together,

messages that we sent
each other.

Things that we've
already established

that you can fabricate.

But I'm guessing
that not a single person...

I mean, a real, live person

can actually corroborate
your story,

a story which just so happens
to explain away

all the evidence against you,

almost as if it were crafted
to do exactly that.

Objection, Your Honor.
Argumentative.

Sustained.
Move on, Mr. Price.

You forced yourself
on Natalie, didn't you?

- No.
- You raped her.

And then you kept tabs on her.

That's what you do, isn't it?

With your spyware and your
high-tech surveillance,

you figured out that she was
gonna go to the police.

And so you killed her.

I have never raped anybody
in my entire life.

And I swear to you,
I did not kill Natalie.

But I would kill the man
who did if I could.

How valiant.

No further questions
for this witness.

Yes.

No, no.
You've been very helpful.

Thank you so much.

That was the shooting range
where Cole claims

he bought the ammunition.

Confirmed he was there
last spring with a client.

All that proves is that
he knows how to shoot a gun

and had bullets.

I'm worried that his story
is just plausible enough

to buy him reasonable doubt.

Plus, there's that fake video
of him being home all night.

We need to find a way
to prove that he is lying.

Well, what we need
is another victim.

Guys like this,
they don't just do it once.

I agree, but police tried
to find other victims.

They came up empty.

Yeah.

He loves to make people
sign NDAs.

Maybe that's how he's been able
to keep other victims quiet?

Yeah, I know
it's a thing that happens.

I do.

But as a woman,
I just can't imagine

letting a known predator
continue to operate

in exchange for money.

If it helps at all,
it's probably a lot of money.

I don't care
how much he offered.

How can someone, a woman,
live with that kind of guilt?

Sam?

What is it?

Cole assaulted you, too,
didn't he?

That's... where...
where is this coming from?

You didn't answer my question.

The answer is no.

And I would like you
to leave, please.

It's okay, Vanessa.
You can be honest with me.

No, I can't.

Because you signed
a nondisclosure agreement?

Well, how much did he pay you

to serve up your best friend
on a platter?

I didn't serve up anything.

You left her vulnerable.

You didn't warn her.

I don't owe you any explanation.

But it wasn't about the money.

I was humiliated.

I didn't want anyone to know.

I wanted...

I didn't wanna spend
the rest of my life

being defined
by what he did to me.

I wanted it to go away forever.

Leaving him to be
the next woman's problem.

No, he swore to me he'd never
done anything like that before,

and I believed him.

I let myself believe him.

So I took the money,
I found a new job,

and I did everything I could

to put that horrible moment
behind me.

It is what I needed to do.

Well, right now,

what you need to do is testify.

No, no, I can't.

Don't worry.
Your money is safe.

NDAs are not enforceable
when testifying about a crime.

It's not about the money.

If people find out
that I didn't come forward,

that I took the money,

my career is over.

The press will crucify me.

I will be...

I will be the enemy
of all women.

I work for a company
focused on women's health,

for Christ's sake.

Everyone will look at me

the way you're looking at me
right now.

Price you pay for taking
the money, I suppose.

That is not fair.

All I have done is pay,

every day, every night.

I took... I took the money

because it felt right.

I don't even know
how to describe it.

When he came to me
with that offer,

I was struggling.

He had ripped my life apart.

I was just trying to survive.

You said something like this
happened to someone you loved?

My sister.

When it happened,
who were you worried about?

Her,

or some
hypothetical future victim?

We'll subpoena her,
force her to take the stand.

Even if we have to treat her
as a hostile witness,

her testimony will likely
get us a conviction.

I agree.

I understand Ms. Barret not
wanting to be publicly shamed,

but we're talking about putting
a murderer behind bars here.

Yeah, I get it.

Respectfully, more than
either of you, but I...

But what?

I don't know.

I mean, what she said to me
was very compelling.

Are we really gonna further
punish a woman

who's already been through
so much?

Marius Cole's a sexual predator

and a cold-blooded killer.

We have a duty
to protect the public,

to stop him
from victimizing anyone else.

At the expense of someone
he's already victimized.

And what about our duty to her?

Sam, come on.
You said it yourself.

This woman took a payout
in exchange for her silence.

And it got another woman killed.

I know.

But I think there's another way
we can handle this.

We are open to a plea.

No, thank you.

All rise
for the Honorable Judge Dillow.

Court is now in session.

You may be seated.

Mr. Price, I understand
you have a point of order?

Yes, Your Honor,
the prosecution would like

to call a rebuttal witness.

Vanessa Barret.

Man 1, and we've got a deal.

We're open to murder 2.

Your Honor, we'd like
to request a recess.

Cole agreed to plead guilty
to second-degree murder

with a recommended sentence
of 20 years.

It's not ideal.

But it guarantees
he'll be in his late 60s

before he even has a chance
to see the light of day again.

I... I appreciate
what you did.

I really do.

What would you have done

if Cole's lawyer didn't take
the bait?

I'm just glad it all worked out.