She Wants My Daughter (2025) Movie Script
1
- [Donna] Thank you for calling
the Mutual Bank of Lincolnville.
This is Donna speaking. How
may I assist you this evening?
- Hi Donna. This is Kara Evans.
I am the controller for
the Dunton Foundation.
I need to change the account
a transfer is going to,
I accidentally put
in the wrong number.
- [Donna] Certainly, Ms.
Evans, I'll just need
to verify some information.
Can you please provide
the last four digits
of the account number and
your authorization code?
- Sure the last four
digits are 7291,
and the authorization
code is 285690.
- [Donna] I'm sorry, Ms. Evans,
but I'm unable to
process this transfer.
It appears that a fraud
alert has been triggered
on the account, and a
hold has been placed.
- A fraud alert. How
is that possible?
- [Donna] It looks
like multiple accounts
were changed recently
and our system flagged
as possible phishing?
- No, this transfer
is legitimate.
It was approved, and it
has to go through tonight.
- [Donna] I apologize,
but for security reasons
only the executive director
of the foundation can
authorize lifting this hold.
- Okay, uh, well, she's actually
in the office as we speak.
Give me one moment and I
will transfer you over.
This is Claire Tiller,
Executive Director
of the Dunton Foundation.
- [Donna] Good evening, Ms.
Tiller. For quality assurance
and security purposes,
this call is being recorded.
I'll need to verify your
identity before proceeding.
I just sent a secure access code
to your registered
mobile device.
Can you please read
that code to me?
- Um. Sure. Give
me just one moment.
Uh... Um... My,
my mobile device,
I'm having some
technical difficulties.
I actually, I don't have
it with me right now.
- [Donna] I'm sorry,
but without that code,
I can't verify your identity
or authorize any
changes to the account.
Is there anything else I
can assist you with today?
- No, that's
everything. Thank you.
- [Donna] You're welcome.
Thank you for c--
- Please. Okay. I can
get Claire's credentials.
I just need a little bit
more time. All right?
No, no! Stop!
(dramatic music)
- Sorry, honey. Do
you want blueberries
or strawberries on
your french toast?
- Come on, mom.
You know I think
blueberries are gross.
- I don't know why you
don't like blueberries.
They're delicious and
full of antioxidants.
- Well, actually, I read
in school the other day
that taste is genetic.
I bet my birth parents
don't like them either.
I'm sorry.
I don't know why I said that.
- Honey, it's normal
to be curious.
I know you've been talking
to Marcus about these things.
- It's just, well,
Marcus was saying
how meeting his birth
parents helped him better
understand who he is.
And I wanna understand
myself better too.
- Jenna, you know, you can talk
to me about this stuff too.
I mean, I know I'm not
adopted, but I'm here for you.
- I know, mom. It's
just, I don't know.
Sometimes it feels weird
talking to you about it.
Like I might hurt your
feelings or something.
- Honey, you could never hurt
my feelings by being honest.
I love all parts of you,
even the parts from
your birth parents.
- Really? You're not
jealous or anything?
- Jealous?
I'm the one who gets to
be your mom every day.
It's the greatest gift
I could ever ask for.
- Cringe.
- It's nice to talk to Marcus
about these things, isn't it?
- I'm really happy
you two are together.
When are you getting
married already?
- Eat your breakfast.
- Morning, ladies.
- Good morning.
- Hi, Claire Bear.
Look what finally
came in the mail.
- Oh my God.
- Who's it from, honey?
- Oh,
um, it's from this website
called findmyparents.com.
- findmyparents.com.
- It's really cool.
It's a website
that takes your DNA
and tests it against
every database
and looks for genetic matches.
- Well, I knew you two
were talking about
Jenna's birth parents,
but I didn't realize
you had taken
this next step without me.
- Can I open it? - Hey,
why don't you wait, kiddo?
Let your mom and
I clean up first.
All right?
Claire Bear, I'm so sorry.
Did I overstep?
- Marcus, there
is something dark
about Jenna's birth mother.
Okay? Just... something I've
never told anyone before.
The adoption agency said that
there were rumors of violence...
...drugs.
There is a reason why
I did not want Jenna
to look into this.
- Jeez, I'm so
sorry. Claire Bear.
I had no idea.
But what should we do?
I... I could...
I could always
make something up.
Just... we could just
say the letter's wrong.
(Jenna screams)
Jenna. What's wrong?
- It's a match.
- It's a match?
- It's a match.
- That's great.
Jenna, what exactly does it say?
- It's my birth mother.
Her name is Sarah Hayes,
and she says it's
okay to contact her.
This is amazing.
- Wow. Anything about your dad?
- No, just Sarah. But maybe
she can tell me more about him.
Mom, can we contact her? There's
a phone number right here.
- Can I see the letter?
- Marcus, thank you so, so
much for your help with this.
After Mom said the
agency lost my records,
I thought I'd never
know where I came from.
- Totally, kiddo. But
hey, this is a huge step.
When I met my birth parents,
I didn't rush into it.
My adoptive parents were
there every step of the way.
Claire Bear, what do you think?
- Mom?
- Well, I'm happy
that there's a match,
but we are gonna need
to research Sarah
before we contact her.
- What? Mom, I'm sure
everything's fine.
I want to meet her.
- And you will, but we just
wanna make sure everything
is safe first.
- Safe from what?
She's my mother.
No, I meant my birth mother.
Mom, look, I'm sorry we
didn't tell you, but,
but please don't
punish me for this.
- Jenna, I just need
more time for this.
- Just stop
- Okay?
- Mom.
- She didn't eat her breakfast.
- She didn't want
the blueberries?
(dramatic music)
- Melissa.
- Claire.
- I can't tell you how
much I look forward
to our quarterly meetings
and funding organizations
like yours is my favorite
part of this job.
And the impact you're making
on young womens' lives
through STEM mentorship.
It's truly inspiring.
- Thank you, Claire.
We're grateful for the
foundation's support.
- So last time we were together,
you were telling
me about robots.
What other exciting
projects do you
have the kids working on?
- Well, Claire, that's
actually why I'm here.
I'm a bit confused.
When we met last quarter,
you were enthusiastic
just like you are now.
And I was wanting to
talk to you face-to-face
because I was wondering
if something's changed.
- Something's changed?
- It's just that
we've encountered
a bit of a financial
discrepancy. For
the past six months
we haven't received the pledged
funds from the foundation.
And I wanted to know if
you've changed your mind.
- That can't be right.
I personally approve all
the outgoing payments.
Yours is on the top of the list.
Our commitment to your program
hasn't changed one bit.
- I'm relieved to
hear that, Claire.
I didn't wanna assume and I
wanted to come directly to you
because if we don't
receive the funds,
we're gonna have to shut
down the program this month.
- No, no, no, no. Nothing
is getting shut down.
And I assure you that I'm
gonna get to the bottom
of this immediately.
I'll call our
controller right now.
- You've reached Kara Evans
controller at the
Dunton Foundation.
I'm not available right now,
so please leave a message
and I'll get back to
you as soon as possible.
(phone ringing)
- Hi, Claire.
- Elana.
I can't get a hold
of Kara, is she in?
- No, she didn't come in today.
And she's actually not
answering her cell phone either.
- Okay, well then I need you
to look into something urgently.
The STEM Women's Mentorship
Program hasn't received payments
for six months.
Can you look into this and
figure out what's going on?
- Oh, right away!
- We're gonna make
this right, Melissa.
I am so, so sorry.
(sirens wailing)
Alright, Elana, walk me
through what you found.
- Okay, I looked at
the bank statements.
I'm not a financial expert,
but something seems off.
- Go on.
- So this is the
wire information
that Melissa sent us.
This is the actual
wire that went out.
So if you look, you see these
are actually different names.
STEM WMP LLC. STEM WMP ORG.
This is happening with at least
12 different organizations.
- 12?
- 12 that I found.
So I don't even know how
many of these are going
to dummy accounts, but-
- Okay.
This is really bad.
Have you gotten a hold of Kara?
- No. She's not
answering her cell.
- You've done excellent
work here, Elana. Thank you.
And Elana, I need your
absolute discretion on this.
Not a word to anyone.
Okay? Understand?
- Of course.
- Thank you.
(dramatic music)
- Claire, I trust your judgment.
What do you think
about this? Huh?
Is it too navy?
Navy on navy?
Think the pattern's good though.
How's Jenna doing?
- I don't know. She's been
in her room since dinner.
I think she's still upset with
me about her birth mother.
- Well, give her some time.
It's a lot for her to
process too, Claire.
Claire? Honey.
Honey, you need to take a break.
There's nothing
you could do about
what's going on
at work right now.
- No, I'm doing
something else now.
- Oh, I like that.
That's good. That's good.
- I am looking into
Jenna's birth mother.
- Oh, jeez. Claire,
please, come on.
Let's go to bed.
- I can't find anything
about a Sarah Hayes.
I mean, there has
to be something.
I don't even remember
her name being Sarah.
I could have sworn
it was Brittany.
- Brittany.
- Yeah.
- Well, we don't know
anything for certain.
Maybe we should
take a step back.
- Yeah, that's the problem.
We don't know anything.
I mean, this woman
could be dangerous.
She had Jenna taken
away from her.
- Claire, that was 16 years
ago. People can change.
- Or they just get better at
hiding of who they really are.
- I know you're scared.
Think about Jenna.
She's curious about her roots.
You shut this down before
giving Sarah a chance
it could do more harm than
meeting her ever could.
- I know. I just, I
can't bear the thought
of Jenna getting hurt.
- Then we proceed carefully.
We can meet in a public place.
We'll watch. We listen.
And if anything seems off,
we'll be there to protect Jenna.
- Okay? I just need a
few more days to dig.
- All right, honey.
Few more days.
(upbeat music)
Cookies? Did I forget a
birthday or something?
- Not this time. I thought
we could use a little
sweetness to start the day.
I wanna clear the
air after last night.
Start fresh.
- Okay. Well,
don't mind if I do.
Love you, Claire Bear.
Haha. Ooh, hot!
Oh, hey there, kiddo.
- Morning, Marcus.
- Hey, cookie alert.
- Okay.
- Good morning, mom.
- Good morning, honey.
- So, have you thought about it?
Can I contact my
birth mom today?
- Jenna? I don't think we're
quite ready for that yet.
- What? Why not?
You said you'd think about it.
- And I have,
but I just think we need
a little bit more time
to process things.
You know, this is a big step
and we need to be careful.
- Careful of what?
You don't even know her.
- That's why we
need to be cautious.
- Mom, I understand
you're worried,
but don't you think you're
being a little paranoid?
- It's not that simple, Jenna.
- Then explain it to me,
because right now it feels like
you're just making excuses.
- I'm not making excuses.
There's some things that
you don't understand.
- What things?
Is there something
you're not telling me?
Do you know something about her?
- No. Nothing specific.
- We just need to be careful
before taking the next step.
- You're never gonna let
me meet her, are you?
- That's not true. I just need-
- More time.
Got it.
I have to go. I'm
late for school.
- But wait, wait, Jenna,
look, I made cookies.
- Your favorite. - I'm
not eating cookies at
7:30 in the morning.
- Jenna.
I am just trying to do
what's best for you.
- What's best for me,
or what's best for you?
Because right now it feels
like you're just scared
of losing me to my real mom.
- No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, mom.
I didn't mean it like that.
- It's okay, Jenna. It's okay.
You go to school and we
will talk about this later.
I love you.
- I love you too, mom.
(dramatic music)
- Bad situation you
have on your hands here.
Last thing you need is
for rumors to get out.
I'll handle this with
absolute discretion.
- So what do you
got for me, Lenny?
- It's not good, Claire.
I've poured over these
financial records
with a fine tooth comb.
Over the last five months,
a million dollars
has been siphoned
from the foundation's accounts.
- A million dollars.
Okay, this is catastrophic.
This could destroy
the foundation.
- There's more. All the account
changes, fund transfers.
They were made using
Kara's login credentials.
She did it so consistently
over the past five months,
the bank finally flagged it
as fraud. Stopped her
from doing it again.
That's why you got that text
message a couple nights ago.
- No, this can't
be happening. No.
Kara and I have worked
together for years.
She's like family.
- I understand your
faith in people, Claire.
Believe me, I do.
But in my line of work,
you see good people make
bad decisions all the time.
Who knows what Kara
was really into.
And now she's vanished
without a trace?
- So what do we do now?
- I don't feel the need
to involve law
enforcement just yet,
but we do need to tighten
security protocols immediately.
The accounts have
already been frozen.
New controls are being
put in place as we speak,
but we need to limit access
to the people we
know we can trust,
which at the moment is just you
and myself until
this is all resolved.
- Okay? Whatever
you think is best.
- I've got my best
people on this, Claire,
I'm gonna find Kara and
get to the bottom of this
unless you need anything else.
- Actually there...
No, I shouldn't... I
shouldn't bring this up.
You have your hands full
with what's going on here.
- I can walk and chew gum at
the same time. Lay it on me.
- It's about Jenna.
You know she's adopted.
Marcus had her run
a DNA test, and...
- There's a match.
You want me to run a background
check on the birth parents?
- Just the birth mother. I
can't find anything on her.
And I need to know that it's
safe for Jenna to meet her.
- Easy breeze.
I'll look into it.
- Am I being paranoid?
- Come on, Claire.
It's nothing paranoid about
wanting to protect
your daughter.
This website, did it
give you a address,
any way to contact you?
- No. It's just
what's on this letter.
It's one-sided.
We have to be the ones
to reach out first.
- Good. Good. Last thing you
need is an unknown someone
popping up on your doorstep.
I'll get right on this.
Get back to you
with a full report.
(somber music)
(doorbell ringing)
(person knocking)
- Can I help you?
- Hi. I'm here to see Jenna.
Is Jenna here?
- No, she's at
school. Who are you?
- I am Sarah. Her mother.
- Excuse me?
- Her biological mother.
I'm Sarah Hayes.
- You're her biological mother.
Yeah. I'm sorry.
How did you get our address?
- Jenna gave it to me.
You've been in contact
with my daughter?
- I'm sorry. I thought you knew.
She told me you knew.
- Of course she did.
- She said to come by.
- I don't believe this. Sarah.
This isn't a really
good time right now.
I wasn't expecting you,
and I just...
I don't know a lot about you.
I just... I am gonna
need a little more time
to do some research before
we take this next step.
- I completely understand.
What do you need to know?
I'm an open book.
Can I show you something?
This is my five
year sobriety chip.
I can't change my past,
but I swear to you, I would
never do anything to hurt Jenna.
I'm clean now. I
have been for years.
It hasn't been easy.
But this, this chip
proves that I've changed
most of all to myself.
All I want is to be a
small part of her life,
if you'll allow it.
- Well, I really appreciate
you sharing this with me,
but I am gonna need
some more time.
- Mom?
You're here?
(dramatic music)
- Hey Claire. What's going on?
Are we hosting a dinner
party or something?
- Guess who showed up?
- Who?
Who's in there with Jenna?
- Sarah.
- As in the Sarah?
I thought you wanted to wait.
- Jenna took matters
into her own hands.
She contacted her
behind my back.
- Claire, I know you're upset.
- Upset? I'm terrified.
How could she do this?
- This obviously
meant a lot to Jenna,
Claire, let's try
and understand this.
- She went behind
my back, Marcus,
I've got Lenny looking into her.
- Lenny? The high end
security consultant?
Really? With everything
that's going on,
you're gonna have a
foundation resource
work on a personal
matter off the books?
- Lenny and I go way back.
He's more than a consultant.
We put new controls in
place. Everything is frozen.
The only people who have access
to the foundation's
accounts are me and him.
- Probably not the case.
Maybe Lenny's
stealing the money.
I'm just saying he's
a hell of a smart guy.
- He wouldn't!
- Just keep an eye out.
That's all I'm saying.
- Did Sarah just go upstairs?
Jenna?
Hey. Where's Sarah?
- She's in the bathroom.
Mom. Isn't this so exciting?
- Jenna, we have to talk
about you contacting Sarah
without my permission.
- What? I didn't contact her.
- Honey, going behind my back
is one thing, but lying...
- I'm not lying, mom. I
really didn't contact her.
- Honey, I know you're
excited about this,
but going forward, you
have to listen to me.
- Okay.
- Sarah.
What are you doing in here?
- Sorry, I got distracted.
I was just looking
at pictures of Jenna.
- It's okay. Dinner's ready.
- That's a really
beautiful necklace.
- Thank you.
(dramatic music)
- Claire, the chicken is
absolutely incredible.
- Yeah, mom, it was amazing.
It is the best meal
I've had in a long time.
- Well, I have to be honest,
I just reheated a precooked
chicken from Benjamin's.
- Well, did a good
job plating it.
Presentation's half
the battle. Am I right?
- So how did, how
did you two meet?
You seem so perfect together.
- Not again, with
the meet cute story.
- Well, it's quite the story.
Okay, well, it was
about half a year ago
at a little coffee
shop downtown.
It was the...
- The Bean Counter.
- The Bean Counter,
that's right.
I walk in late for a meeting,
totally frazzled as usual.
I get my coffee.
I'm on my way out the door,
and somehow bing bang boom
the coffee just goes
flying in the air
and lands, of course,
on the most beautiful
woman in the whole cafe.
Spills all over her, ruins
her laptop, her clothes,
and half the coffee shop's
inventory in under a minute.
- The poor barista didn't
know whether to help us
or call the police.
- You guys should have
been banned for life.
- Well, pretty sure
they wanted to.
But lucky for me,
Claire Bear took pity on me
and allowed me to buy her
a cup of coffee, you know?
Yeah. One that stayed
in the cup this time.
- And the rest, as
they say, is history.
- That's so adorable.
So I guess that story
explains the huge age gap
between you two.
- I wouldn't say it's that big.
- Oh, really? He looks
like he's my age.
But I guess age is
just a number right?
- How about some wine?
I think this calls for
a celebration, Sarah?
- Would you like a splash?
- Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- Actually, you know what? I
would love a glass actually.
- Wait, I thought
that you were a-
- I'm just kidding.
I'm five years sober.
You know what they say?
You're not really sober
until you can make a joke
about it, Claire Bear.
- All right, well,
we'll nix the wine.
- Oh, no, no, no. Don't
change anything on my account.
In all seriousness, a part
of recovery is learning to be
around others who drink
or else I would never
leave the house.
- Was it hard getting sober?
- Yeah. Yeah, it was.
But I found a good
support system.
That's crucial in life.
Having people who
care about you,
just like you have
your mom and Marcus.
You're very lucky.
- How're you holding up?
- I don't know.
Something about this feels off.
I mean, I don't even
think they look alike.
- Claire, what are you saying?
- I mean, what if she's
not who she says she is?
What if she's somehow
connected to this whole thing
that's going on with Kara?
- Claire, this isn't
some mystery novel.
- I'm serious. Marcus.
Don't you think it's
a little strange
that she just showed
up out of nowhere?
- Well, life works
in mysterious ways.
Remember how we met?
Whoa. Total disaster.
Now look at us.
- Oh, that's different.
There's Jenna to think of.
- And Jenna seems thrilled.
Isn't that what matters most?
- No. What matters most is
Jenna's safety and wellbeing.
- Can I... can I share
something with you?
When I was meeting my birth
parents, I was terrified,
not just for myself, but for
my adoptive parents as well.
I mean, I was afraid
that they'd feel replaced
or I'd hurt them somehow.
- So how did you handle it?
- Well, I talked to them. I
told them how I really felt.
And you know what?
They said they were scared too.
- Really?
- Really.
But they also said
that their love
for me was stronger
than that fear.
And that no matter what
happened with my birth parents,
I'd always be their son.
Look, I love you. I love Jenna.
And the last thing I
want to see is either
of you get hurt from this,
but your concerns are valid.
And I want you to know
that I'm taking them
completely seriously.
So tell me, what
can I do to help?
- I just wanna protect her.
- I know, but part of protecting
her is letting her grow.
Explore who she is. That's
your daughter out there.
You did that.
You raised her to
be open-hearted
and curious about her roots.
And I know you're strong
enough to do that, Claire,
because I've seen that
strength in you every day
since I've gotten to know you.
- How do you always know
the perfect things to say?
- It's a gift.
And it helps that I
have experience with this
whole adoption thing.
You know, it really seems like
Sarah turned her life around.
If I wasn't adopted
from that group home,
who knows where I'd be?
- Thank goodness for that.
- Mm.
- What are you thinking?
- I'm thinking maybe
I should go join them
and I'll try to get to
know Sarah a little better.
And then when I hear
back from Lenny,
I'll try to let it go.
- That's my Claire Bear.
Do you want me to come with you?
- No, I think this is something
that I need to do on my own.
- I wanted to ask
you, so I love music
and I was just curious
if you're like obsessed.
- Yeah.
- With music too.
I mean, I don't
play or anything.
And I definitely don't sing.
- You don't play?
- No. Do you?
- Me neither.
- Okay.
(both laughing)
But I don't know.
My favorite band is
called Sunset Rodeo.
Have you heard of them?
- No way.
- Yeah.
- Me too.
I might even be able
to get us tickets.
I still have some
of my connections.
- No way.
- Um, yes!
- What are you
ladies talking about?
- Sunset Rodeo.
- What's a Sunset Rodeo.
- Mom. Seriously?
I played their music
for months now.
- Oh, right! That country band!
- Whoa. They're a bit more
than just country actually.
Have you seen them live?
- Yeah. Yeah, A few times.
I even followed them around
the country for a bit
before they were really big.
- OMG. That is so cool.
Mom, isn't that so cool?
- It is!
You know, I used to be
quite the concertgoer
back in my day...
- Wait, my dad isn't one
of the guys in the band.
- Oh.
- Is he?
- Oh gosh. No, no.
I didn't go on the road
until after you were born.
- Right.
So who is my dad?
- His name was Harvey.
We loved each other a lot,
but we just weren't
good for each other.
- Can I meet him?
- I'm sorry, Jenna. He
passed away a few years ago.
- Oh.
- I'm so sorry, honey.
I know this is so hard to hear.
- Where is he buried?
- Back in our hometown.
- Maybe... Maybe we
could visit someday?
- Yeah, I think he'd like that.
- So, where is home Sarah?
Originally? Just some small
podunk town called Redfield,
but I've been back
here for a bit.
- Oh. How long have
you been back for?
- Like, six months.
- Oh, six months.
- Yeah. Yeah.
But I think my days on
the road are behind me.
- What's your house
like? Is it nice?
- Oh, well, actually I'm kind of
in between places right now.
I'm staying at
this sort of group
home type of place.
- So you don't... you
don't have your own place?
Well, I've just been working
odd jobs since I got clean
and you know, my record.
So I just haven't
been able to save up
for my own apartment yet.
- Oh my God. You
should stay here.
- Oh. Oh.
I couldn't impose like that.
- You're not imposing.
We have a guest bedroom.
You should be with family,
right, Mom?
- Would you like to stay
here tonight, Sarah?
- If you're sure it's okay.
- Sure. It's no problem.
- Yay!
- Well, why don't you
show me the house.
I wanna see your room.
- Come on.
(dramatic music)
- Oh, you came prepared to stay.
- Yeah, I don't leave
anything at the group home.
Things have a way
of disappearing.
Well, please make
yourself at home.
- Thank you for this.
I know my being
here is unexpected.
It means more than you know.
- Well, Jenna wants to know you.
And her happiness
is my priority.
- I meant what I said.
I would... I would never
do anything to hurt Jenna.
You can trust me.
- Well, I'll let
you get settled.
There are extra towels in the
linen closet by the bathroom
if you need any.
(phone vibrates)
Excuse me. I need to take this.
Lenny. What's up?
- We got a problem.
You alone?
- Yes. Go ahead.
- The bank just called.
Someone tried hacking
into the accounts again.
They posed as you, tried
to change the two-factor
authentication.
Nearly got access to everything.
- My God. Was it Kara again?
- I can't confirm that just yet,
but it does fit the pattern.
Good news is the
security measures
we put in place caught it.
- Well, that's something.
- All the foundation's
accounts are completely frozen
until we sort this out.
No transfers, no
payments of any kind.
We're also monitoring your
personal accounts. Claire,
is there anyone new
in your life recently?
Someone who might be
fishing for information?
- Well, actually Sarah's here.
- Sarah?
- Jenna's birth mother.
She showed up today.
Jenna contacted her
without telling me.
She's staying with us.
- In your house?
Claire, I am not a
believer in coincidences,
but this is one hell
of a coincidence.
We have a security breach
and this woman just
suddenly appears?
Are you sure she's even
who she's claiming to be?
- No. I... I didn't
even think of that.
I just let her into our home.
She's with Jenna now.
- Don't panic.
Don't even act like
anything is wrong.
I already expedited
the background check.
In the meantime, I need you
to try to keep your routine
as normal as possible.
But you watch her, Claire.
If anything feels off
and I mean anything.
You call me anytime
day and night.
I'll be by there first
thing in the morning.
I wanna speak to this
Sarah person myself.
- Lenny, if she's not really
who she says she is...
- We'll get to the bottom of
this. I can promise you that.
- Okay. Thank you.
(dramatic music)
(suspenseful music)
Marcus. Marcus, wake up.
- What? What?
- It's Sarah.
- Oh?
- She's outside.
- What?
Okay?
- Someone's here.
She's getting into
a strange car.
She's leaving.
Where could she possibly
be going at this hour?
- I don't know, Claire.
Maybe she's a night owl.
Going to the gym or something.
It could be anything.
We can ask in the
morning. Come to bed.
Come on.
- I am gonna go check on Jenna.
- [Marcus] All right.
(suspenseful music)
- What are you
working on, honey?
- Um, math homework.
I didn't have time yesterday.
- You didn't do your homework?
- No. It was a big day.
I didn't have a chance,
but I'm doing it now.
It's almost done.
- I know you're excited
about Sarah being here,
but your schoolwork
cannot suffer.
- It won't, mom.
- Actually about Sarah.
- Mom. Mom, please, okay?
You looked into her already.
What more do you want?
- It's not that.
I think Sarah might have
felt a little overwhelmed
and she decided to maybe-
- Morning, guys.
So there's this new
bakery in town I wanted
to check out called Rudy's.
And they're supposed to
have incredible cookies.
- Okay?
- Oh my goodness.
These look amazing.
- You are not having cookies
at 7:30 in the morning.
- Fine.
- So how'd you sleep last night?
- Oh, like a baby.
It is a wonder what a room with
some peace and quiet can do.
- Sarah, do you wanna hit
the mall after school today?
- Actually, I was hoping
that Claire might
let you skip school
so we could spend
the day together.
- Absolutely not. Come on.
What are you thinking?
You gotta go to school.
Mom, please.
- No, I'm not entertaining the
idea of you cutting classes.
Midterms are coming up.
- Sarah will be here after
school, right, Sarah?
- Yeah. Yeah, of course.
Whenever you wanna do.
- Speaking of which...
- I know. I know.
See you after school?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- Bye honey. Have a good day.
- I can't let her skip school.
- Yeah, yeah, of course.
I... it was my mistake.
I can see that
Jenna's a good kid.
I just thought she
deserved a little break.
- A break from what?
- Well, I meant, I
just... I just wanted us
to have some carefree
fun together.
Yesterday was intense.
- Well, she's in
competitive honors classes
and college applications will
be here before you know it,
she needs to stay focused.
- College. Yeah, right.
- Did you go to college, Sarah?
- No. No.
I didn't have the opportunity.
College is expensive.
- I'm sure you've been saving up
for her college fund for years.
- I have. Education
is important.
- Must be nice to have
that kind of security.
You know, you don't... you
don't have to baby her.
She's a teenager. She's
allowed to have a little fun.
- I've been figuring out
what's best for Jenna
for the last 16 years.
Your crash course in
parenting doesn't trump that.
So where'd you go last night?
- What?
- I saw you get in
a car and drive off.
Are you spying on me?
- Where'd you go?
- That's none of your business.
But if you must know,
I couldn't sleep,
so I went out for a bit.
- You were gone all night.
- I went out for a bit
and I got some cookies
and I got a cup of coffee.
You saw the proof.
- You are a guest in my home,
Sarah, a guest who is trying
to reconnect with my daughter.
I think I have the right to
know where you wander off
to in the middle of the night.
- A guest.
Is that all I am to you?
I am Jenna's mother.
- You're her biological
mother. I'm her mom.
There's a difference.
- I have a right
to be in her life.
She's my daughter too.
- You gave up that right
when you signed the
adoption papers.
What you have right
now is a privilege.
And it's one that I can revoke.
- Morning, Claire.
- Oh, Lenny, you could not
have come at a better time.
Follow me.
Sarah, could you
come here please?
I'd like you to meet somebody.
Sarah, this is Lenny.
He's a colleague of mine.
Lenny, this is Sarah,
Jenna's biological mother.
- Nice to meet you, Sarah.
- Nice to meet you too.
So you work with Claire
at her charity place?
- I help the foundation with
things from time to time.
Reuniting with Jenna
after all these years,
it must be something, huh?
- Yeah, it is.
- We're dealing with
a sensitive situation
at the foundation.
- Oh, well, I can
leave you two alone.
- Actually, Sarah.
I was hoping I could
ask you a few questions.
- Questions for me?
What would I know?
- I'm not singling you out,
but due to current
circumstances at the foundation,
we're being cautious
with anyone new in Claire's
life. Just a precaution.
If you have nothing to hide.
You have nothing to worry about.
- I'm not doing this.
- Sarah, please. If you're
gonna be a part of Jenna's life,
I need to know that you
have nothing to hide,
particularly after your
late night excursion.
Please, Sarah, listen.
You say you want my trust.
This is how you
can earn it. Okay?
I'll give you two some privacy.
- Why don't you
take a seat for me.
I'm just gonna give it
to you straight, Sarah.
We have some serious concerns
about recent events
at the foundation.
I'm not gonna bore
you with the details.
If you know, you know,
and if you don't...
- Know what? I have no idea
what you're talking about.
- Well, like I said, either
you know or you don't.
But your sudden appearance
coincides with a number
of troubling events.
- I didn't just show
up. Jenna called me.
- Let's talk about your history.
You claim five years sobriety,
but you were using for what?
A decade after giving up Jenna?
- I didn't abandon her.
I gave her a better life.
I mean, what...
What does my sobriety have to
do with Claire's foundation?
- I'm just trying to understand
how a former junkie conveniently
reappears in the life
of a child adopted by a woman
who controls substantial
charitable funds.
- You think that
I'm here for money?
I didn't even know who
Claire was until yesterday.
I have nothing to hide.
- Well then, where'd you
go last night, Sarah?
- That's none of your business.
- It became my business
when you walked through
the door of that house.
Now answer my question.
- You think that
you're intimidating me?
Let me tell you something.
I have dealt with people
a lot tougher than you,
and they have not liked
how it turned out for them.
- Is that a threat, Sarah?
- It's a reality check.
You don't know me and you
don't know what I'm capable of.
I can see that Claire's trying
to keep me from my daughter.
So here's what's going
to happen, Lenny.
I'm going to leave now.
And when you're gone,
I'm going to come back
and there is nothing that you
or Claire can do to stop me.
- What happened in here?
- I may have pushed too
hard, Claire. I'm sorry.
- How bad was it?
- Her reaction was intense.
Unhinged even. It's
deeply concerning.
- Oh God.
Do you think she's involved
with what's going on
in the foundation?
- It's a strong possibility.
That's Sarah's cup.
You mind if I take that?
- Yeah.
- DNA.
I'm gonna make sure she
is who she claims to be.
Push to get that
background check expedited.
- Okay, so what do we do now?
- We watch and we wait.
Until we have proof,
we have to be careful
how we play this.
People like Sarah,
they tend to show you
who they really are when
they're backed into a corner.
She showed me plenty.
- Gotta tell you, Claire Bear,
these green beans are fantastic.
I love what you did
with the almonds,
slivered and all that.
Mm. Really outdid yourself.
- Thank you.
- What about you, Jenna?
Aren't these great?
Hm? Great green beans.
GGB!
- They're fine.
- Okay.
How was school today
Jenna, anything cool-
- Are we really gonna do this?
- Do what honey?
- Pretend that you didn't
cross a line today,
that you didn't have Lenny
brutally interrogate Sarah.
- That's not what happened.
We were just trying-
- Trying to what?
Protect me by driving
away my birth mother?
- Now kiddo, your
mother's just looking out
for your best interests.
- Oh, really? So having a
security guard grill Sarah
about her past was
in my best interest?
- Honey, Lenny is not a security
guard. He's a professional.
And there are
legitimate concerns.
- The only concern
I see is how quickly
you wanted to get rid of her.
- Honey. That's not true.
I welcomed her into our home.
- Only to interrogate
her and drive her out.
You never wanted her
here in the first place.
- Of course I did. But we
need to do this the safe way.
I want you to be happy, Jenna.
- How can I be happy when
you've taken away my chance
to know my real mom?
- Okay, kiddo, that's enough.
Apologize to your mother.
- I don't think so, green
bean. I'm done here.
- Jenna, please.
Let's talk about this.
- There is nothing
to talk about.
- Well, where are you going?
- Over to Marcy's house.
At least her family
doesn't drive away
people she cares about.
- Honey, please don't
leave like this.
- Don't worry, mom.
I'm sure you can have
Lenny track me down
if you're that concerned.
- She's just upset.
She'll come around.
She just needs time.
- What if she doesn't? What
if she never forgives me?
- Hey, look at me.
You haven't lost her.
She's angry and
upset. She loves you.
It's gonna work out.
- I hope so.
(phone vibrates)
Oh, it's Lenny.
I'm gonna take this.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Lenny, hi.
- I got the DNA
and background in.
- And?
- It's confirmed.
Sarah's Jenna's
biological mother.
Background check is clean too.
She stayed outta trouble
for the last five years
it looks like since
she stopped using.
- So she's good. I have
nothing to worry about.
- Well, it presents two
distinct possibilities.
Either this is all
cause for relief
or she's been honest
about these two things
specifically while lying
about everything else,
because there is an update
with the foundation.
And you're gonna wanna
sit down for this.
- I'm listening.
- They found Kara.
- Great. Did she
explain what's going on?
- She's dead, Claire.
- What?
Oh my God. Kara's dead?
- I'm sorry. I know
you two were close.
This is a police
investigation now.
I'll try to shake
out what I can.
- I... I can't believe
this. What do I do now?
- You need to remain calm.
I'll liaise with the police
and keep you updated.
- Okay? Thank you, Lenny.
Keep me posted.
- Remember, if you
need anything, call me.
- Okay.
- Claire, are you okay?
- Marcus? It's Kara, she's dead.
- Whoa, what?
- Yeah.
- Okay wow. Do we
know anything else?
Is she behind everything
that was happening?
- I don't know. It's a
police investigation now.
- Jeez.
- Jenna.
We need to get Jenna home now.
- Okay, Claire?
I... I... I'm still not
understanding what's happening.
- I can't... I can't have
her out of the house.
Not now.
- Hi, this is Jenna.
Please leave a message.
- Jenna, it's mom. Call
me back immediately.
It's urgent, please.
- All right, Claire, honey,
let's just breathe. All right?
She's just angry and upset
and she's probably just
ignoring your calls.
- No, you don't
understand Marcus.
With Kara dead
it's... it's not just
about the foundation anymore.
Kara could have been pressured
by someone. By Sarah.
Who knows? We don't know.
- I hear you.
- We don't know. We
don't know if Sarah-
- Hey, hey.
- Could be capable of-
- I hear you. I hear you.
But let's just...
let's think about it.
Marcy. Right?
She's with Marcy.
Jenna's safe at Marcy's.
- You're right.
I'm calling Marcy.
- Hello?
- Marcy.
It's... it's...
it's Jenna's mom.
I need to speak to her
immediately, please.
- Um. She's not here.
- Marcy,
I know that you two
cover for each other,
but this is very important
that I speak to her right now.
- [Marcy] Mrs. Tiller,
I'm not covering for her.
Jenna's not here, and I
haven't talked to her tonight.
- Marcy, when's the last
time you talked to Jenna?
- [Marcy] At school today. Is
everything okay, Mrs. Tiller?
- Yeah, everything's fine.
If you... if you see
her or if you talk
to her, have her call
me immediately please.
- Sure. No problem.
- She's not there?
- No, she's not there.
She's not there.
Marcy hasn't seen her.
- Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Look at me, look at me.
We're not gonna go there.
We're not gonna go there.
Let's call some
friends. Let's find her.
- No, I'm calling Lenny.
We need... we need help.
- All right.
- We can't just sit here
and do nothing, Lenny.
Jenna is out there somewhere.
- I understand your
concern, Claire,
but we need to handle
this rationally.
At this point, not
enough time has passed
to file a police report.
Jenna ran out after an argument.
It's not like she was out
and didn't return home
at her usual time.
- But with everything
that's going on...
- I know but we need to consider
all the possibilities here.
This could just be a case
of a teenager acting out.
They're known to do that,
Claire, especially yours.
- He's right. Claire Bear.
Remember last year when Jenna
snuck out to that concert?
- This is different, Marcus.
We should be out
there looking for her.
- No. The best thing you
could do right now is stay put
in case she comes home.
- You're right.
- I know the timing
is concerning,
but we have no evidence that
Jenna's disappearance is linked
to anything else going on.
Right now, all signs
point to a teenage girl
who is upset and needs space.
I promise.
The moment the appropriate
amount of time goes by,
we will file a report
and the police will conduct
a full-scale search.
Until then, we
need to remain calm
and take this minute-by-minute.
- I hope you're right.
(doorbell ringing)
Jenna Marie Tiller,
where have you been?
- Mom I can explain.
- Oh, I'm listening.
And this better
be more impressive
than your college
essay is gonna be.
- Hey, everyone. What a
great night, right Jenna?
- What are you doing here?
- Jenna said
everything was fine.
- You did what?
- Yeah, I did. So what?
I called Sarah and I
told her we were cool
and guess what?
Okay? Sunset Rodeo was
playing at Pizza King Stadium.
And Sarah totally hooked us up.
We had great seats
and we even got to meet
the band backstage.
There were like 20,000
people there. It was epic.
- Are you insane?
I told you we were looking
into Sarah and you sneak out
and go to Rodeo Clown?
She could be dangerous.
- Dangerous how?
- She took me to a concert
and brought me back home.
That's it.
- She's a teenager.
She's allowed to
have a little fun.
- Well, you know what, Sarah?
A lot of really horrible
things have happened
since you've shown up.
There's a woman who's
dead. Dead, Sarah.
And if you're involved
with this, I promise you,
I will get to the bottom of it.
- You... you've
completely lost your mind.
- You need to get out of our
lives and get out of this house
before I file a
restraining order.
- No. No, mom,
you can't do that.
- I absolutely can, and I will.
And you are grounded for
the rest of your life.
Get to your room now.
Get up to your room.
Sarah. You need to get out now.
- You can't keep me from
her. She is my daughter too.
- Watch me.
- You handled yourself
well there, Claire.
- So what can we do
now, legally? I mean.
- Frankly, we're still short
on evidence linking Sarah
to anything suspicious.
- But with Kara, the foundation,
there has to be something.
- I didn't want to get
you excited earlier,
but the reason I wasn't
worried about Sarah tonight is
because I've uncovered some
information about Kara.
- What kind of information?
- There's a name that keeps
popping up in my investigation.
A man's name. Ezra Daly.
- Ezra Daly? Who is that?
- See, that's the thing.
I can't find anything
concrete on him.
I'm almost certain
that's an alias
one of my guys uncovered
some surveillance footage
from the gas station
across the street from
where they found Kara's body.
There's someone there with her
who's at least a foot
taller than Sarah.
- So Sarah's not involved.
- I wouldn't say that just yet.
There's a possibility she
could be working for this
Ezra Daly, as I'm starting to
suspect Kara might have been
that footage uncovered a lead.
One of my guys tracked his car
to a house on the West Side.
I'm gonna pay Ezra
a visit tomorrow
and see what he has
to say about all this.
- You're gonna pay him a visit?
- Don't you think
we should leave this
to the professionals, Lenny?
- All do respect Marcus,
you're looking at one.
But for now, let's
all get some rest.
Nobody's solving anything
if we're exhausted.
What's important is you're
all under one roof tonight.
Sarah, Ezra Daily, anybody else,
we're gonna get to the
bottom of this soon enough.
- Hey, let's get some sleep.
You know, I don't think
you've slept in days.
- How can I sleep?
Jenna snuck out to a
concert with a woman
who may be involved
with a murder.
- And she's home now.
Safe in her room.
- Yeah, but for how long?
You heard what Sarah said.
She's not just gonna
disappear, Marcus.
- Hey, look at me.
Look, whatever's going on
with Ezra, Sarah, whoever,
we're gonna face it together
like we always have.
- I know I just... I just
keep thinking about Kara
and I mean, what if we're next?
What if Jenna's next?
It's not gonna
happen, Claire, I'm
not gonna let that happen.
- You don't know that.
We don't know anything.
Sarah shows up here out
of the blue after 15 years
and everything
suddenly goes wild?
The foundation is
being pilfered. People
are dying, Marcus.
- Claire. Claire.
I know, but guess what?
You got Lenny.
- That's true.
- Lenny is good at what he does,
and I'm sure tomorrow
he's gonna have
answers on this Ezra guy.
- Yeah, that's
true. You're right.
- It's time for Ezra to pay
if he's behind it. Who knows?
- What's that?
- It's probably just Jenna.
- Or Sarah came back.
- Jenna?
- What?
- Goodnight.
- Okay.
- See, it's just Jenna.
Claire, let's get some sleep.
Okay?
- Yeah.
- Whatever tomorrow brings,
we're gonna face it
together like we always do.
- Okay?
- I'm right here, okay?
- Okay. I love you.
- I love you too.
Get some sleep.
(somber music)
(somber music continues)
(somber music continues)
(Lenny knocking)
- Ezra Daly. I'm not a cop.
I don't need a warrant.
Ezra, I just want to talk
to you about all this
crime you're mixed up in.
Why don't you come
out and talk to me?
Ezra, buy this house with
the foundation's money?
Come on out so we can talk.
(suspenseful music)
(TV chattering)
(suspenseful music continues)
(gun clicks)
- It was you.
I knew you were trouble the
moment I laid eyes on you.
This is Lenny Smith from
Professional Security.
Leave a message.
- Lenny, it's Claire.
I don't know if you've
been getting my calls,
but I still haven't gotten
that update from you
and you didn't show
up for our 11 o'clock.
So I'm about ready to
step into a meeting.
But if you call, I'll pick up.
And if for some reason I
don't, just call Elana,
she knows to put
you right through.
So yeah, just call me
whenever you can. Thanks.
Oh.
Lenny. Hi.
Are there any updates?
What's going on?
- I'm sorry, ma'am.
Are you trying to
reach Lenny Smith?
This is Detective Russo.
Who am I speaking with?
- This is Claire Tiller.
- I work with Lenny.
He's a consultant at
the Dunton Foundation.
Is everything okay?
- I'm afraid no, it's not okay.
When was the last time
you spoke with Lenny?
Last night around 11:00 PM. Why?
What's going on?
- I'm sorry to inform you,
but Lenny was found dead
this morning at a house in
the western part of town.
We're conducting
an investigation.
- Dead? What?
What happened?
- We're still piecing
that together.
Look, I knew Lenny.
A lot of us did.
He was a good guy.
We're all pretty
broken up about this.
- No, no, no. I
can't believe this.
- Ms. Tiller, what was
Lenny working on for you?
- He was working on a security
breach in our foundation.
There was an employee, Kara
Evans, she went missing
with foundation money.
And there was also this
guy named Ezra Daly.
He thought that maybe
that he was involved.
- Ezra Daly?
That must be the unidentified
body we found with Lenny.
I'll definitely have
to look into that.
Do you know... was Lenny
investigating anyone else?
- Yeah.
Sarah Hayes.
My daughter's birth mother who
recently came into our lives.
Yeah, he was looking at...
looking into her too.
- I know this is
difficult, Ms. Tiller,
but we're doing
everything we can
to figure out what
happened here.
I'd like to stop by later
to get a formal
statement from you,
if that's all right.
- Of course,
detective. Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
- Hi, you reached Marcus.
Sorry I missed your
call, but leave a message
and I'll get back
to you faster than
you could say voicemail.
- Marcus, I'm headed
home right now.
I need you to call me
back right away. Okay?
This is an emergency.
Marcus, I'm in a taxi
heading out of the city.
Just call me as soon
as you get this.
Marcus, I don't know why you're
not picking up your phone,
but call me back.
- Hi, this is Jenna.
Please leave a message.
- Jenna, it's mom.
Please come home right after
school. Whatever you do,
don't talk to Sarah. For once,
please just listen to me.
Marcus.
- Claire, I'm so sorry.
I was in a meeting.
What's going on?
- It's Sarah. She's
behind everything.
I'll explain when
we're together. Just
leave work now okay?
- [Marcus] Alright. Alright.
I'm on my way. I'm
leaving right now.
(dramatic music)
(dramatic music continues)
- What? What?
(Claire screaming)
- Claire? Hey, Claire, Claire.
What's... what's going on?
- Sarah kidnapped Jenna.
Sarah's bag... they...
Kara's foundation ID.
Internal records,
bank documents.
She was working with
Kara the whole time.
And then when the
bank transfer failed,
she killed her to cover it up.
- That, uh... Claire,
that doesn't make sense.
- It makes perfect sense.
She got close to us.
She moved into
our house with us.
Oh my God. Lenny.
Lenny must have figured it out
and then she killed
him to cover it up.
- What? Wait, hold
on. Lenny's dead?
- They found his body this
morning and now she has Jenna.
She's gonna kill Jenna!
- Okay, Claire, we're
gonna get through this.
We're gonna get through this.
- What do I do? What do I do?
- All right, Claire.
I know it's hard, but
maybe we should give Sarah
what she's asking
for, for Jenna's sake.
- What?
- It's her biological daughter.
She's not gonna hurt her if we
cooperate with the transfer,
Claire.
- I never told you
about any transfer.
- Oh, um.
Guess you're right.
(Claire screams)
(Marcus laughs)
- Hi there, Claire Bear.
It looks like we're
taking our relationship
to the next level, huh?
Oh, Sarah's phone sure
came in handy, huh?
Aw, Claire Bear.
Did you really think
that Sarah was the
villain in this story?
You idiot. I orchestrated
the whole thing.
No, I had someone
pretend to be Jenna
call Sarah, luring her here.
She was the perfect
scapegoat after all.
And you played
right into my hand
seeing exactly what I wanted
you to see, didn't you?
Well, I don't think she'll
be needing this where she is.
I hear cell service
isn't so great
when you're buried six feet
below the ground. (laughs)
Claire, this is adorable. Your
efforts, they're all in vain.
You know that? But
I'm a nice guy.
I'll tell you what.
I'll remove your gag
if you promise not to scream.
Are you gonna be a good
girl, Claire? Yeah?
Okay.
Here you go.
- Why? Why Marcus, why
are you doing this?
- You know...
God, it is absolutely
mind blowing
that you still do not
recognize me, Claire.
What? The silly little mustache
just throws you off?
I guess it's like
Superman, right?
Put on a pair of glasses.
No one can recognize you?
God, how could people
be so stupid, Claire!
How are you so stupid?
- What are you talking about?
- Three years ago?
The Dunton Foundation
Innovation Grant?
Ugh! I came to your
office with a dream
revolutionary water
filtration system
for developing nations?
- What?
- Bing, bing, bing,
bing, ring any bells yet?
- That was a
billion dollar idea!
All I needed was a little push.
And you sat in
that boardroom smiling at
me like you actually cared.
And I believed it, Claire.
Then the next day I got a call
from your assistant saying
that my work didn't align
with the foundation's
mission statement.
You know what happened next?
My funding dried up.
Years of work,
Claire, worthless.
I lost everything.
My wife? Walks
out, takes my kids.
And then the judge...
The judge... oh, that judge...
says that I'm too unstable
to see them.
My own children, Claire.
Gone because of you.
But, you know, silver linings.
Rock bottom has a funny way
of clarifying things.
So I said: hey, why make
clean drinking water
for people in need when
I could take everything
from you instead?
So I planned, I waited,
I studied you until the right
moment to accidentally, whoa,
bump into you.
And then grow to
become the perfect,
supportive, significant other.
Isn't that right, Claire Bear?
Claire Bear, GGB.
And it worked 'cause
you ate it up!
And you know, the
foundation money.
That was just a bonus.
No. What I really wanted
was for you to feel what I felt
watching everything
you love slip away
while someone smiled at you
and told you it's for the best.
How's that for alignment
with your mission
statement, Claire Bear?
- How could you do this? Marcus?
Look, you love me. You loved...
- Oh
- shut up! Shut up!
I lied! Clearly!
What, you really...
you really think
that I cared about some
single washed up mom
and her adopted brat?
Ugh, you know something?
Kara? Your good friend Kara?
She thought I loved her too.
- Oh my God.
- Mhm. She did a lot of legwork
for me out of that love.
And then what'd she do?
She went and got herself locked
out of all them accounts.
So, I don't know.
I guess you could say that
her usefulness outlived her,
Claire.
- You killed Kara?
- Yeah. Yeah.
I killed Kara. Get
with the picture, duh.
Claire, come on.
Keep up.
- You're a monster.
Marcus, please.
Oh, come on. Come
on. Come on, come on.
Please call me by my
real name for once.
Don't you remember
it yet? Come on.
You can say, say
it, Claire. Say it.
- You're Ezra Daly?
- Jerry Bauer!
Jerry Bauer, Claire!
Ezra was just another
idiot that I had running
around doing my dirty work.
Who - guess what -
I killed!
- No.
- Yes.
- You're sick. You're sick.
- Okay. You know what?
I'll give you that one.
That I will give you.
Guilty of that.
You know Sarah though, that
that was a two-for-one.
That was fun.
I got to watch her drive
you absolutely insane,
all while perfect
opportunity to frame her
for both the money
and the murders.
Bam baby.
- Don't tell me that you
killed... you killed Lenny too.
Please don't tell
me you killed Lenny.
- Claire, I really told
you not to involve him.
I didn't want to kill
Lenny. He was a cool dude.
But what choice did
you leave me, huh?
Oh, poor Lenny.
Jenna, you're an honor
roll student, right?
What's that spell? Gasoline.
Smart kid. Huh?
Barbecue. Anybody?
Oh. You know, this is just
great storytelling, Claire.
I get to live it up in
the Cayman Islands and
all the while Sarah gets to
take the blame as a dead person.
I can't wait to
read in the news.
"Extra, extra.
Read all about it.
Destitute mother steals money,
but can't handle the fact
that adoptive mom won't
let her have a relationship
with their daughter."
That's true. Right?
So she kills them both
before vanishing in the wind.
I want you to remember
Claire Bear. You...
You did this to yourself
and you did this to
your precious Jenna.
- No, Marcus.
- What a lovely souvenir.
Well, guess it's time to
play the grieving boyfriend
for the next few months
and then it's off to the Cayman
Islands to collect my prize.
Guess all there's left to
do is to light the match.
- Well, I've got news for you,
I don't think you'll
be making that flight.
Run Jenna!
- Ooh Claire! That
was a good one! Okay.
You know what? You're
gonna regret doing that.
- Oh God. No!
Hey, Jenna! I ran track!
Jenna! Oh, Jenna!
Jenna! Jenna!
Jenna!
Oh, you remember when I told
you I was adopted, Jenna?
Well, guess what? That
was a lie too, Jenna!
My parents are
nice enough people,
but they're so boring! (laughs)
Boring, boring, boring.
Jenna? Are you in your
room? You should be,
'cause you're grounded to
the end of the year, Jenna.
Oh, where could she be? Hm?
Oh, under the bed is too
obvious even for you.
Ah.
Got me there, Jenna.
Oh. (laughs)
Gonna get you. GGB!
Don't think I forgot about
your attitude, Jenna.
(gasp)
Little pig. Little pig.
Little pig. Let me in.
Or I'll huff! And I'll puff!
Oh, you think a a locked
door's gonna save you?
Huh?
Oh, I got the tool for this.
- Hey!
- I thought I buried-
(uplifting music)
- Jenna. Jenna, come out.
It's safe.
It's okay. It's okay.
It's safe now. It's okay.
You're okay. You're okay.
- Mom. Mom, we have to help Mom.
- Let's go.
- Did you remember to
pack your sunscreen?
You know how easily you burn.
- Yes. Mom.
Despite it being 40 degrees out,
SPF 50, just like you said.
- Oh. What about your
allergy medication?
Did you pack the-
- Mom? Relax, I've
got everything.
I mean, we went over the
list like five times already.
- I know, I know. It's just...
I'm gonna miss you so much.
- I'm gonna miss you too, mom.
(doorbell ringing)
- I'm gonna get that.
Okay? You finish up.
- Okay.
- Hi.
- Claire!
It's so good to see you.
- You too.
- Jenna ready?
- Almost.
She's just doing some
last minute packing.
Can I get you a water or
a seltzer or something?
- No, thank you. We are
already behind schedule.
- Oh Jenna, you
better get moving.
- I'm coming. I'm coming.
- How are things
at the foundation?
I heard you were able to
recover most of the funds.
- Yes thankfully, it
was a lot of work,
but I think we're
now back on track.
In fact, we just
approved a grant
for a women's shelter downtown.
- That's wonderful, Claire.
- So you're headed to
your hometown first?
- Yeah we'll spend
a few days there.
We'll visit her father's grave.
I'll introduce Jenna
to her grandparents.
- Ah, that is so great, Sarah.
I am... I'm so glad that
Jenna will get to know
that part of her history.
And then you're going to
Chicago to see Rodeo Clown?
- Sunset Rodeo.
- Gosh, I'll get it eventually.
- You know, it's not too late
if you wanna join, there's
always room for one more.
- Oh yeah. Thank you.
But I think my days in
the circus are over.
You two go have your adventure.
You know, Sarah,
I just wanna apologize for
everything that happened.
- No, Claire.
- I mean, the way I
treated you and just the-
- Stop.
Stop, you don't
need to apologize.
I understand why
you were suspicious.
I didn't... I didn't
exactly make it easy on you.
That night I disappeared,
I went to a late
night AA meeting.
- Why didn't you tell me?
- Honestly, I was...
I was afraid you would
hold it against me.
But I know better now.
And I know that you were
just trying to protect Jenna,
and that's why you letting
us have this time together,
it... it means so much to me.
- Thank you.
- No, thank you.
- I wanna give you a hug.
- Okay. I'm ready.
- All right.
Let's get this show on the road!
- Sounds good.
- Okay.
- Have fun. Be safe.
- I know.
And remember.
- You're just a phone call away.
- Never change, Mom.
- We're gonna be okay.
(dramatic music)
Seven hours driving
on the highway
Far away, far away, far away
Every moment I was
spending on regret
Was such a waste, such
a waste, such a waste
I'm going all the way up
Up
I'm going all the way up
Up
Letting go of my heart
Ah
Everything that holds
me down (peaceful music)
- [Donna] Thank you for calling
the Mutual Bank of Lincolnville.
This is Donna speaking. How
may I assist you this evening?
- Hi Donna. This is Kara Evans.
I am the controller for
the Dunton Foundation.
I need to change the account
a transfer is going to,
I accidentally put
in the wrong number.
- [Donna] Certainly, Ms.
Evans, I'll just need
to verify some information.
Can you please provide
the last four digits
of the account number and
your authorization code?
- Sure the last four
digits are 7291,
and the authorization
code is 285690.
- [Donna] I'm sorry, Ms. Evans,
but I'm unable to
process this transfer.
It appears that a fraud
alert has been triggered
on the account, and a
hold has been placed.
- A fraud alert. How
is that possible?
- [Donna] It looks
like multiple accounts
were changed recently
and our system flagged
as possible phishing?
- No, this transfer
is legitimate.
It was approved, and it
has to go through tonight.
- [Donna] I apologize,
but for security reasons
only the executive director
of the foundation can
authorize lifting this hold.
- Okay, uh, well, she's actually
in the office as we speak.
Give me one moment and I
will transfer you over.
This is Claire Tiller,
Executive Director
of the Dunton Foundation.
- [Donna] Good evening, Ms.
Tiller. For quality assurance
and security purposes,
this call is being recorded.
I'll need to verify your
identity before proceeding.
I just sent a secure access code
to your registered
mobile device.
Can you please read
that code to me?
- Um. Sure. Give
me just one moment.
Uh... Um... My,
my mobile device,
I'm having some
technical difficulties.
I actually, I don't have
it with me right now.
- [Donna] I'm sorry,
but without that code,
I can't verify your identity
or authorize any
changes to the account.
Is there anything else I
can assist you with today?
- No, that's
everything. Thank you.
- [Donna] You're welcome.
Thank you for c--
- Please. Okay. I can
get Claire's credentials.
I just need a little bit
more time. All right?
No, no! Stop!
(dramatic music)
- Sorry, honey. Do
you want blueberries
or strawberries on
your french toast?
- Come on, mom.
You know I think
blueberries are gross.
- I don't know why you
don't like blueberries.
They're delicious and
full of antioxidants.
- Well, actually, I read
in school the other day
that taste is genetic.
I bet my birth parents
don't like them either.
I'm sorry.
I don't know why I said that.
- Honey, it's normal
to be curious.
I know you've been talking
to Marcus about these things.
- It's just, well,
Marcus was saying
how meeting his birth
parents helped him better
understand who he is.
And I wanna understand
myself better too.
- Jenna, you know, you can talk
to me about this stuff too.
I mean, I know I'm not
adopted, but I'm here for you.
- I know, mom. It's
just, I don't know.
Sometimes it feels weird
talking to you about it.
Like I might hurt your
feelings or something.
- Honey, you could never hurt
my feelings by being honest.
I love all parts of you,
even the parts from
your birth parents.
- Really? You're not
jealous or anything?
- Jealous?
I'm the one who gets to
be your mom every day.
It's the greatest gift
I could ever ask for.
- Cringe.
- It's nice to talk to Marcus
about these things, isn't it?
- I'm really happy
you two are together.
When are you getting
married already?
- Eat your breakfast.
- Morning, ladies.
- Good morning.
- Hi, Claire Bear.
Look what finally
came in the mail.
- Oh my God.
- Who's it from, honey?
- Oh,
um, it's from this website
called findmyparents.com.
- findmyparents.com.
- It's really cool.
It's a website
that takes your DNA
and tests it against
every database
and looks for genetic matches.
- Well, I knew you two
were talking about
Jenna's birth parents,
but I didn't realize
you had taken
this next step without me.
- Can I open it? - Hey,
why don't you wait, kiddo?
Let your mom and
I clean up first.
All right?
Claire Bear, I'm so sorry.
Did I overstep?
- Marcus, there
is something dark
about Jenna's birth mother.
Okay? Just... something I've
never told anyone before.
The adoption agency said that
there were rumors of violence...
...drugs.
There is a reason why
I did not want Jenna
to look into this.
- Jeez, I'm so
sorry. Claire Bear.
I had no idea.
But what should we do?
I... I could...
I could always
make something up.
Just... we could just
say the letter's wrong.
(Jenna screams)
Jenna. What's wrong?
- It's a match.
- It's a match?
- It's a match.
- That's great.
Jenna, what exactly does it say?
- It's my birth mother.
Her name is Sarah Hayes,
and she says it's
okay to contact her.
This is amazing.
- Wow. Anything about your dad?
- No, just Sarah. But maybe
she can tell me more about him.
Mom, can we contact her? There's
a phone number right here.
- Can I see the letter?
- Marcus, thank you so, so
much for your help with this.
After Mom said the
agency lost my records,
I thought I'd never
know where I came from.
- Totally, kiddo. But
hey, this is a huge step.
When I met my birth parents,
I didn't rush into it.
My adoptive parents were
there every step of the way.
Claire Bear, what do you think?
- Mom?
- Well, I'm happy
that there's a match,
but we are gonna need
to research Sarah
before we contact her.
- What? Mom, I'm sure
everything's fine.
I want to meet her.
- And you will, but we just
wanna make sure everything
is safe first.
- Safe from what?
She's my mother.
No, I meant my birth mother.
Mom, look, I'm sorry we
didn't tell you, but,
but please don't
punish me for this.
- Jenna, I just need
more time for this.
- Just stop
- Okay?
- Mom.
- She didn't eat her breakfast.
- She didn't want
the blueberries?
(dramatic music)
- Melissa.
- Claire.
- I can't tell you how
much I look forward
to our quarterly meetings
and funding organizations
like yours is my favorite
part of this job.
And the impact you're making
on young womens' lives
through STEM mentorship.
It's truly inspiring.
- Thank you, Claire.
We're grateful for the
foundation's support.
- So last time we were together,
you were telling
me about robots.
What other exciting
projects do you
have the kids working on?
- Well, Claire, that's
actually why I'm here.
I'm a bit confused.
When we met last quarter,
you were enthusiastic
just like you are now.
And I was wanting to
talk to you face-to-face
because I was wondering
if something's changed.
- Something's changed?
- It's just that
we've encountered
a bit of a financial
discrepancy. For
the past six months
we haven't received the pledged
funds from the foundation.
And I wanted to know if
you've changed your mind.
- That can't be right.
I personally approve all
the outgoing payments.
Yours is on the top of the list.
Our commitment to your program
hasn't changed one bit.
- I'm relieved to
hear that, Claire.
I didn't wanna assume and I
wanted to come directly to you
because if we don't
receive the funds,
we're gonna have to shut
down the program this month.
- No, no, no, no. Nothing
is getting shut down.
And I assure you that I'm
gonna get to the bottom
of this immediately.
I'll call our
controller right now.
- You've reached Kara Evans
controller at the
Dunton Foundation.
I'm not available right now,
so please leave a message
and I'll get back to
you as soon as possible.
(phone ringing)
- Hi, Claire.
- Elana.
I can't get a hold
of Kara, is she in?
- No, she didn't come in today.
And she's actually not
answering her cell phone either.
- Okay, well then I need you
to look into something urgently.
The STEM Women's Mentorship
Program hasn't received payments
for six months.
Can you look into this and
figure out what's going on?
- Oh, right away!
- We're gonna make
this right, Melissa.
I am so, so sorry.
(sirens wailing)
Alright, Elana, walk me
through what you found.
- Okay, I looked at
the bank statements.
I'm not a financial expert,
but something seems off.
- Go on.
- So this is the
wire information
that Melissa sent us.
This is the actual
wire that went out.
So if you look, you see these
are actually different names.
STEM WMP LLC. STEM WMP ORG.
This is happening with at least
12 different organizations.
- 12?
- 12 that I found.
So I don't even know how
many of these are going
to dummy accounts, but-
- Okay.
This is really bad.
Have you gotten a hold of Kara?
- No. She's not
answering her cell.
- You've done excellent
work here, Elana. Thank you.
And Elana, I need your
absolute discretion on this.
Not a word to anyone.
Okay? Understand?
- Of course.
- Thank you.
(dramatic music)
- Claire, I trust your judgment.
What do you think
about this? Huh?
Is it too navy?
Navy on navy?
Think the pattern's good though.
How's Jenna doing?
- I don't know. She's been
in her room since dinner.
I think she's still upset with
me about her birth mother.
- Well, give her some time.
It's a lot for her to
process too, Claire.
Claire? Honey.
Honey, you need to take a break.
There's nothing
you could do about
what's going on
at work right now.
- No, I'm doing
something else now.
- Oh, I like that.
That's good. That's good.
- I am looking into
Jenna's birth mother.
- Oh, jeez. Claire,
please, come on.
Let's go to bed.
- I can't find anything
about a Sarah Hayes.
I mean, there has
to be something.
I don't even remember
her name being Sarah.
I could have sworn
it was Brittany.
- Brittany.
- Yeah.
- Well, we don't know
anything for certain.
Maybe we should
take a step back.
- Yeah, that's the problem.
We don't know anything.
I mean, this woman
could be dangerous.
She had Jenna taken
away from her.
- Claire, that was 16 years
ago. People can change.
- Or they just get better at
hiding of who they really are.
- I know you're scared.
Think about Jenna.
She's curious about her roots.
You shut this down before
giving Sarah a chance
it could do more harm than
meeting her ever could.
- I know. I just, I
can't bear the thought
of Jenna getting hurt.
- Then we proceed carefully.
We can meet in a public place.
We'll watch. We listen.
And if anything seems off,
we'll be there to protect Jenna.
- Okay? I just need a
few more days to dig.
- All right, honey.
Few more days.
(upbeat music)
Cookies? Did I forget a
birthday or something?
- Not this time. I thought
we could use a little
sweetness to start the day.
I wanna clear the
air after last night.
Start fresh.
- Okay. Well,
don't mind if I do.
Love you, Claire Bear.
Haha. Ooh, hot!
Oh, hey there, kiddo.
- Morning, Marcus.
- Hey, cookie alert.
- Okay.
- Good morning, mom.
- Good morning, honey.
- So, have you thought about it?
Can I contact my
birth mom today?
- Jenna? I don't think we're
quite ready for that yet.
- What? Why not?
You said you'd think about it.
- And I have,
but I just think we need
a little bit more time
to process things.
You know, this is a big step
and we need to be careful.
- Careful of what?
You don't even know her.
- That's why we
need to be cautious.
- Mom, I understand
you're worried,
but don't you think you're
being a little paranoid?
- It's not that simple, Jenna.
- Then explain it to me,
because right now it feels like
you're just making excuses.
- I'm not making excuses.
There's some things that
you don't understand.
- What things?
Is there something
you're not telling me?
Do you know something about her?
- No. Nothing specific.
- We just need to be careful
before taking the next step.
- You're never gonna let
me meet her, are you?
- That's not true. I just need-
- More time.
Got it.
I have to go. I'm
late for school.
- But wait, wait, Jenna,
look, I made cookies.
- Your favorite. - I'm
not eating cookies at
7:30 in the morning.
- Jenna.
I am just trying to do
what's best for you.
- What's best for me,
or what's best for you?
Because right now it feels
like you're just scared
of losing me to my real mom.
- No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, mom.
I didn't mean it like that.
- It's okay, Jenna. It's okay.
You go to school and we
will talk about this later.
I love you.
- I love you too, mom.
(dramatic music)
- Bad situation you
have on your hands here.
Last thing you need is
for rumors to get out.
I'll handle this with
absolute discretion.
- So what do you
got for me, Lenny?
- It's not good, Claire.
I've poured over these
financial records
with a fine tooth comb.
Over the last five months,
a million dollars
has been siphoned
from the foundation's accounts.
- A million dollars.
Okay, this is catastrophic.
This could destroy
the foundation.
- There's more. All the account
changes, fund transfers.
They were made using
Kara's login credentials.
She did it so consistently
over the past five months,
the bank finally flagged it
as fraud. Stopped her
from doing it again.
That's why you got that text
message a couple nights ago.
- No, this can't
be happening. No.
Kara and I have worked
together for years.
She's like family.
- I understand your
faith in people, Claire.
Believe me, I do.
But in my line of work,
you see good people make
bad decisions all the time.
Who knows what Kara
was really into.
And now she's vanished
without a trace?
- So what do we do now?
- I don't feel the need
to involve law
enforcement just yet,
but we do need to tighten
security protocols immediately.
The accounts have
already been frozen.
New controls are being
put in place as we speak,
but we need to limit access
to the people we
know we can trust,
which at the moment is just you
and myself until
this is all resolved.
- Okay? Whatever
you think is best.
- I've got my best
people on this, Claire,
I'm gonna find Kara and
get to the bottom of this
unless you need anything else.
- Actually there...
No, I shouldn't... I
shouldn't bring this up.
You have your hands full
with what's going on here.
- I can walk and chew gum at
the same time. Lay it on me.
- It's about Jenna.
You know she's adopted.
Marcus had her run
a DNA test, and...
- There's a match.
You want me to run a background
check on the birth parents?
- Just the birth mother. I
can't find anything on her.
And I need to know that it's
safe for Jenna to meet her.
- Easy breeze.
I'll look into it.
- Am I being paranoid?
- Come on, Claire.
It's nothing paranoid about
wanting to protect
your daughter.
This website, did it
give you a address,
any way to contact you?
- No. It's just
what's on this letter.
It's one-sided.
We have to be the ones
to reach out first.
- Good. Good. Last thing you
need is an unknown someone
popping up on your doorstep.
I'll get right on this.
Get back to you
with a full report.
(somber music)
(doorbell ringing)
(person knocking)
- Can I help you?
- Hi. I'm here to see Jenna.
Is Jenna here?
- No, she's at
school. Who are you?
- I am Sarah. Her mother.
- Excuse me?
- Her biological mother.
I'm Sarah Hayes.
- You're her biological mother.
Yeah. I'm sorry.
How did you get our address?
- Jenna gave it to me.
You've been in contact
with my daughter?
- I'm sorry. I thought you knew.
She told me you knew.
- Of course she did.
- She said to come by.
- I don't believe this. Sarah.
This isn't a really
good time right now.
I wasn't expecting you,
and I just...
I don't know a lot about you.
I just... I am gonna
need a little more time
to do some research before
we take this next step.
- I completely understand.
What do you need to know?
I'm an open book.
Can I show you something?
This is my five
year sobriety chip.
I can't change my past,
but I swear to you, I would
never do anything to hurt Jenna.
I'm clean now. I
have been for years.
It hasn't been easy.
But this, this chip
proves that I've changed
most of all to myself.
All I want is to be a
small part of her life,
if you'll allow it.
- Well, I really appreciate
you sharing this with me,
but I am gonna need
some more time.
- Mom?
You're here?
(dramatic music)
- Hey Claire. What's going on?
Are we hosting a dinner
party or something?
- Guess who showed up?
- Who?
Who's in there with Jenna?
- Sarah.
- As in the Sarah?
I thought you wanted to wait.
- Jenna took matters
into her own hands.
She contacted her
behind my back.
- Claire, I know you're upset.
- Upset? I'm terrified.
How could she do this?
- This obviously
meant a lot to Jenna,
Claire, let's try
and understand this.
- She went behind
my back, Marcus,
I've got Lenny looking into her.
- Lenny? The high end
security consultant?
Really? With everything
that's going on,
you're gonna have a
foundation resource
work on a personal
matter off the books?
- Lenny and I go way back.
He's more than a consultant.
We put new controls in
place. Everything is frozen.
The only people who have access
to the foundation's
accounts are me and him.
- Probably not the case.
Maybe Lenny's
stealing the money.
I'm just saying he's
a hell of a smart guy.
- He wouldn't!
- Just keep an eye out.
That's all I'm saying.
- Did Sarah just go upstairs?
Jenna?
Hey. Where's Sarah?
- She's in the bathroom.
Mom. Isn't this so exciting?
- Jenna, we have to talk
about you contacting Sarah
without my permission.
- What? I didn't contact her.
- Honey, going behind my back
is one thing, but lying...
- I'm not lying, mom. I
really didn't contact her.
- Honey, I know you're
excited about this,
but going forward, you
have to listen to me.
- Okay.
- Sarah.
What are you doing in here?
- Sorry, I got distracted.
I was just looking
at pictures of Jenna.
- It's okay. Dinner's ready.
- That's a really
beautiful necklace.
- Thank you.
(dramatic music)
- Claire, the chicken is
absolutely incredible.
- Yeah, mom, it was amazing.
It is the best meal
I've had in a long time.
- Well, I have to be honest,
I just reheated a precooked
chicken from Benjamin's.
- Well, did a good
job plating it.
Presentation's half
the battle. Am I right?
- So how did, how
did you two meet?
You seem so perfect together.
- Not again, with
the meet cute story.
- Well, it's quite the story.
Okay, well, it was
about half a year ago
at a little coffee
shop downtown.
It was the...
- The Bean Counter.
- The Bean Counter,
that's right.
I walk in late for a meeting,
totally frazzled as usual.
I get my coffee.
I'm on my way out the door,
and somehow bing bang boom
the coffee just goes
flying in the air
and lands, of course,
on the most beautiful
woman in the whole cafe.
Spills all over her, ruins
her laptop, her clothes,
and half the coffee shop's
inventory in under a minute.
- The poor barista didn't
know whether to help us
or call the police.
- You guys should have
been banned for life.
- Well, pretty sure
they wanted to.
But lucky for me,
Claire Bear took pity on me
and allowed me to buy her
a cup of coffee, you know?
Yeah. One that stayed
in the cup this time.
- And the rest, as
they say, is history.
- That's so adorable.
So I guess that story
explains the huge age gap
between you two.
- I wouldn't say it's that big.
- Oh, really? He looks
like he's my age.
But I guess age is
just a number right?
- How about some wine?
I think this calls for
a celebration, Sarah?
- Would you like a splash?
- Oh, yeah. Yeah.
- Actually, you know what? I
would love a glass actually.
- Wait, I thought
that you were a-
- I'm just kidding.
I'm five years sober.
You know what they say?
You're not really sober
until you can make a joke
about it, Claire Bear.
- All right, well,
we'll nix the wine.
- Oh, no, no, no. Don't
change anything on my account.
In all seriousness, a part
of recovery is learning to be
around others who drink
or else I would never
leave the house.
- Was it hard getting sober?
- Yeah. Yeah, it was.
But I found a good
support system.
That's crucial in life.
Having people who
care about you,
just like you have
your mom and Marcus.
You're very lucky.
- How're you holding up?
- I don't know.
Something about this feels off.
I mean, I don't even
think they look alike.
- Claire, what are you saying?
- I mean, what if she's
not who she says she is?
What if she's somehow
connected to this whole thing
that's going on with Kara?
- Claire, this isn't
some mystery novel.
- I'm serious. Marcus.
Don't you think it's
a little strange
that she just showed
up out of nowhere?
- Well, life works
in mysterious ways.
Remember how we met?
Whoa. Total disaster.
Now look at us.
- Oh, that's different.
There's Jenna to think of.
- And Jenna seems thrilled.
Isn't that what matters most?
- No. What matters most is
Jenna's safety and wellbeing.
- Can I... can I share
something with you?
When I was meeting my birth
parents, I was terrified,
not just for myself, but for
my adoptive parents as well.
I mean, I was afraid
that they'd feel replaced
or I'd hurt them somehow.
- So how did you handle it?
- Well, I talked to them. I
told them how I really felt.
And you know what?
They said they were scared too.
- Really?
- Really.
But they also said
that their love
for me was stronger
than that fear.
And that no matter what
happened with my birth parents,
I'd always be their son.
Look, I love you. I love Jenna.
And the last thing I
want to see is either
of you get hurt from this,
but your concerns are valid.
And I want you to know
that I'm taking them
completely seriously.
So tell me, what
can I do to help?
- I just wanna protect her.
- I know, but part of protecting
her is letting her grow.
Explore who she is. That's
your daughter out there.
You did that.
You raised her to
be open-hearted
and curious about her roots.
And I know you're strong
enough to do that, Claire,
because I've seen that
strength in you every day
since I've gotten to know you.
- How do you always know
the perfect things to say?
- It's a gift.
And it helps that I
have experience with this
whole adoption thing.
You know, it really seems like
Sarah turned her life around.
If I wasn't adopted
from that group home,
who knows where I'd be?
- Thank goodness for that.
- Mm.
- What are you thinking?
- I'm thinking maybe
I should go join them
and I'll try to get to
know Sarah a little better.
And then when I hear
back from Lenny,
I'll try to let it go.
- That's my Claire Bear.
Do you want me to come with you?
- No, I think this is something
that I need to do on my own.
- I wanted to ask
you, so I love music
and I was just curious
if you're like obsessed.
- Yeah.
- With music too.
I mean, I don't
play or anything.
And I definitely don't sing.
- You don't play?
- No. Do you?
- Me neither.
- Okay.
(both laughing)
But I don't know.
My favorite band is
called Sunset Rodeo.
Have you heard of them?
- No way.
- Yeah.
- Me too.
I might even be able
to get us tickets.
I still have some
of my connections.
- No way.
- Um, yes!
- What are you
ladies talking about?
- Sunset Rodeo.
- What's a Sunset Rodeo.
- Mom. Seriously?
I played their music
for months now.
- Oh, right! That country band!
- Whoa. They're a bit more
than just country actually.
Have you seen them live?
- Yeah. Yeah, A few times.
I even followed them around
the country for a bit
before they were really big.
- OMG. That is so cool.
Mom, isn't that so cool?
- It is!
You know, I used to be
quite the concertgoer
back in my day...
- Wait, my dad isn't one
of the guys in the band.
- Oh.
- Is he?
- Oh gosh. No, no.
I didn't go on the road
until after you were born.
- Right.
So who is my dad?
- His name was Harvey.
We loved each other a lot,
but we just weren't
good for each other.
- Can I meet him?
- I'm sorry, Jenna. He
passed away a few years ago.
- Oh.
- I'm so sorry, honey.
I know this is so hard to hear.
- Where is he buried?
- Back in our hometown.
- Maybe... Maybe we
could visit someday?
- Yeah, I think he'd like that.
- So, where is home Sarah?
Originally? Just some small
podunk town called Redfield,
but I've been back
here for a bit.
- Oh. How long have
you been back for?
- Like, six months.
- Oh, six months.
- Yeah. Yeah.
But I think my days on
the road are behind me.
- What's your house
like? Is it nice?
- Oh, well, actually I'm kind of
in between places right now.
I'm staying at
this sort of group
home type of place.
- So you don't... you
don't have your own place?
Well, I've just been working
odd jobs since I got clean
and you know, my record.
So I just haven't
been able to save up
for my own apartment yet.
- Oh my God. You
should stay here.
- Oh. Oh.
I couldn't impose like that.
- You're not imposing.
We have a guest bedroom.
You should be with family,
right, Mom?
- Would you like to stay
here tonight, Sarah?
- If you're sure it's okay.
- Sure. It's no problem.
- Yay!
- Well, why don't you
show me the house.
I wanna see your room.
- Come on.
(dramatic music)
- Oh, you came prepared to stay.
- Yeah, I don't leave
anything at the group home.
Things have a way
of disappearing.
Well, please make
yourself at home.
- Thank you for this.
I know my being
here is unexpected.
It means more than you know.
- Well, Jenna wants to know you.
And her happiness
is my priority.
- I meant what I said.
I would... I would never
do anything to hurt Jenna.
You can trust me.
- Well, I'll let
you get settled.
There are extra towels in the
linen closet by the bathroom
if you need any.
(phone vibrates)
Excuse me. I need to take this.
Lenny. What's up?
- We got a problem.
You alone?
- Yes. Go ahead.
- The bank just called.
Someone tried hacking
into the accounts again.
They posed as you, tried
to change the two-factor
authentication.
Nearly got access to everything.
- My God. Was it Kara again?
- I can't confirm that just yet,
but it does fit the pattern.
Good news is the
security measures
we put in place caught it.
- Well, that's something.
- All the foundation's
accounts are completely frozen
until we sort this out.
No transfers, no
payments of any kind.
We're also monitoring your
personal accounts. Claire,
is there anyone new
in your life recently?
Someone who might be
fishing for information?
- Well, actually Sarah's here.
- Sarah?
- Jenna's birth mother.
She showed up today.
Jenna contacted her
without telling me.
She's staying with us.
- In your house?
Claire, I am not a
believer in coincidences,
but this is one hell
of a coincidence.
We have a security breach
and this woman just
suddenly appears?
Are you sure she's even
who she's claiming to be?
- No. I... I didn't
even think of that.
I just let her into our home.
She's with Jenna now.
- Don't panic.
Don't even act like
anything is wrong.
I already expedited
the background check.
In the meantime, I need you
to try to keep your routine
as normal as possible.
But you watch her, Claire.
If anything feels off
and I mean anything.
You call me anytime
day and night.
I'll be by there first
thing in the morning.
I wanna speak to this
Sarah person myself.
- Lenny, if she's not really
who she says she is...
- We'll get to the bottom of
this. I can promise you that.
- Okay. Thank you.
(dramatic music)
(suspenseful music)
Marcus. Marcus, wake up.
- What? What?
- It's Sarah.
- Oh?
- She's outside.
- What?
Okay?
- Someone's here.
She's getting into
a strange car.
She's leaving.
Where could she possibly
be going at this hour?
- I don't know, Claire.
Maybe she's a night owl.
Going to the gym or something.
It could be anything.
We can ask in the
morning. Come to bed.
Come on.
- I am gonna go check on Jenna.
- [Marcus] All right.
(suspenseful music)
- What are you
working on, honey?
- Um, math homework.
I didn't have time yesterday.
- You didn't do your homework?
- No. It was a big day.
I didn't have a chance,
but I'm doing it now.
It's almost done.
- I know you're excited
about Sarah being here,
but your schoolwork
cannot suffer.
- It won't, mom.
- Actually about Sarah.
- Mom. Mom, please, okay?
You looked into her already.
What more do you want?
- It's not that.
I think Sarah might have
felt a little overwhelmed
and she decided to maybe-
- Morning, guys.
So there's this new
bakery in town I wanted
to check out called Rudy's.
And they're supposed to
have incredible cookies.
- Okay?
- Oh my goodness.
These look amazing.
- You are not having cookies
at 7:30 in the morning.
- Fine.
- So how'd you sleep last night?
- Oh, like a baby.
It is a wonder what a room with
some peace and quiet can do.
- Sarah, do you wanna hit
the mall after school today?
- Actually, I was hoping
that Claire might
let you skip school
so we could spend
the day together.
- Absolutely not. Come on.
What are you thinking?
You gotta go to school.
Mom, please.
- No, I'm not entertaining the
idea of you cutting classes.
Midterms are coming up.
- Sarah will be here after
school, right, Sarah?
- Yeah. Yeah, of course.
Whenever you wanna do.
- Speaking of which...
- I know. I know.
See you after school?
- Yeah. Yeah.
- Bye honey. Have a good day.
- I can't let her skip school.
- Yeah, yeah, of course.
I... it was my mistake.
I can see that
Jenna's a good kid.
I just thought she
deserved a little break.
- A break from what?
- Well, I meant, I
just... I just wanted us
to have some carefree
fun together.
Yesterday was intense.
- Well, she's in
competitive honors classes
and college applications will
be here before you know it,
she needs to stay focused.
- College. Yeah, right.
- Did you go to college, Sarah?
- No. No.
I didn't have the opportunity.
College is expensive.
- I'm sure you've been saving up
for her college fund for years.
- I have. Education
is important.
- Must be nice to have
that kind of security.
You know, you don't... you
don't have to baby her.
She's a teenager. She's
allowed to have a little fun.
- I've been figuring out
what's best for Jenna
for the last 16 years.
Your crash course in
parenting doesn't trump that.
So where'd you go last night?
- What?
- I saw you get in
a car and drive off.
Are you spying on me?
- Where'd you go?
- That's none of your business.
But if you must know,
I couldn't sleep,
so I went out for a bit.
- You were gone all night.
- I went out for a bit
and I got some cookies
and I got a cup of coffee.
You saw the proof.
- You are a guest in my home,
Sarah, a guest who is trying
to reconnect with my daughter.
I think I have the right to
know where you wander off
to in the middle of the night.
- A guest.
Is that all I am to you?
I am Jenna's mother.
- You're her biological
mother. I'm her mom.
There's a difference.
- I have a right
to be in her life.
She's my daughter too.
- You gave up that right
when you signed the
adoption papers.
What you have right
now is a privilege.
And it's one that I can revoke.
- Morning, Claire.
- Oh, Lenny, you could not
have come at a better time.
Follow me.
Sarah, could you
come here please?
I'd like you to meet somebody.
Sarah, this is Lenny.
He's a colleague of mine.
Lenny, this is Sarah,
Jenna's biological mother.
- Nice to meet you, Sarah.
- Nice to meet you too.
So you work with Claire
at her charity place?
- I help the foundation with
things from time to time.
Reuniting with Jenna
after all these years,
it must be something, huh?
- Yeah, it is.
- We're dealing with
a sensitive situation
at the foundation.
- Oh, well, I can
leave you two alone.
- Actually, Sarah.
I was hoping I could
ask you a few questions.
- Questions for me?
What would I know?
- I'm not singling you out,
but due to current
circumstances at the foundation,
we're being cautious
with anyone new in Claire's
life. Just a precaution.
If you have nothing to hide.
You have nothing to worry about.
- I'm not doing this.
- Sarah, please. If you're
gonna be a part of Jenna's life,
I need to know that you
have nothing to hide,
particularly after your
late night excursion.
Please, Sarah, listen.
You say you want my trust.
This is how you
can earn it. Okay?
I'll give you two some privacy.
- Why don't you
take a seat for me.
I'm just gonna give it
to you straight, Sarah.
We have some serious concerns
about recent events
at the foundation.
I'm not gonna bore
you with the details.
If you know, you know,
and if you don't...
- Know what? I have no idea
what you're talking about.
- Well, like I said, either
you know or you don't.
But your sudden appearance
coincides with a number
of troubling events.
- I didn't just show
up. Jenna called me.
- Let's talk about your history.
You claim five years sobriety,
but you were using for what?
A decade after giving up Jenna?
- I didn't abandon her.
I gave her a better life.
I mean, what...
What does my sobriety have to
do with Claire's foundation?
- I'm just trying to understand
how a former junkie conveniently
reappears in the life
of a child adopted by a woman
who controls substantial
charitable funds.
- You think that
I'm here for money?
I didn't even know who
Claire was until yesterday.
I have nothing to hide.
- Well then, where'd you
go last night, Sarah?
- That's none of your business.
- It became my business
when you walked through
the door of that house.
Now answer my question.
- You think that
you're intimidating me?
Let me tell you something.
I have dealt with people
a lot tougher than you,
and they have not liked
how it turned out for them.
- Is that a threat, Sarah?
- It's a reality check.
You don't know me and you
don't know what I'm capable of.
I can see that Claire's trying
to keep me from my daughter.
So here's what's going
to happen, Lenny.
I'm going to leave now.
And when you're gone,
I'm going to come back
and there is nothing that you
or Claire can do to stop me.
- What happened in here?
- I may have pushed too
hard, Claire. I'm sorry.
- How bad was it?
- Her reaction was intense.
Unhinged even. It's
deeply concerning.
- Oh God.
Do you think she's involved
with what's going on
in the foundation?
- It's a strong possibility.
That's Sarah's cup.
You mind if I take that?
- Yeah.
- DNA.
I'm gonna make sure she
is who she claims to be.
Push to get that
background check expedited.
- Okay, so what do we do now?
- We watch and we wait.
Until we have proof,
we have to be careful
how we play this.
People like Sarah,
they tend to show you
who they really are when
they're backed into a corner.
She showed me plenty.
- Gotta tell you, Claire Bear,
these green beans are fantastic.
I love what you did
with the almonds,
slivered and all that.
Mm. Really outdid yourself.
- Thank you.
- What about you, Jenna?
Aren't these great?
Hm? Great green beans.
GGB!
- They're fine.
- Okay.
How was school today
Jenna, anything cool-
- Are we really gonna do this?
- Do what honey?
- Pretend that you didn't
cross a line today,
that you didn't have Lenny
brutally interrogate Sarah.
- That's not what happened.
We were just trying-
- Trying to what?
Protect me by driving
away my birth mother?
- Now kiddo, your
mother's just looking out
for your best interests.
- Oh, really? So having a
security guard grill Sarah
about her past was
in my best interest?
- Honey, Lenny is not a security
guard. He's a professional.
And there are
legitimate concerns.
- The only concern
I see is how quickly
you wanted to get rid of her.
- Honey. That's not true.
I welcomed her into our home.
- Only to interrogate
her and drive her out.
You never wanted her
here in the first place.
- Of course I did. But we
need to do this the safe way.
I want you to be happy, Jenna.
- How can I be happy when
you've taken away my chance
to know my real mom?
- Okay, kiddo, that's enough.
Apologize to your mother.
- I don't think so, green
bean. I'm done here.
- Jenna, please.
Let's talk about this.
- There is nothing
to talk about.
- Well, where are you going?
- Over to Marcy's house.
At least her family
doesn't drive away
people she cares about.
- Honey, please don't
leave like this.
- Don't worry, mom.
I'm sure you can have
Lenny track me down
if you're that concerned.
- She's just upset.
She'll come around.
She just needs time.
- What if she doesn't? What
if she never forgives me?
- Hey, look at me.
You haven't lost her.
She's angry and
upset. She loves you.
It's gonna work out.
- I hope so.
(phone vibrates)
Oh, it's Lenny.
I'm gonna take this.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Lenny, hi.
- I got the DNA
and background in.
- And?
- It's confirmed.
Sarah's Jenna's
biological mother.
Background check is clean too.
She stayed outta trouble
for the last five years
it looks like since
she stopped using.
- So she's good. I have
nothing to worry about.
- Well, it presents two
distinct possibilities.
Either this is all
cause for relief
or she's been honest
about these two things
specifically while lying
about everything else,
because there is an update
with the foundation.
And you're gonna wanna
sit down for this.
- I'm listening.
- They found Kara.
- Great. Did she
explain what's going on?
- She's dead, Claire.
- What?
Oh my God. Kara's dead?
- I'm sorry. I know
you two were close.
This is a police
investigation now.
I'll try to shake
out what I can.
- I... I can't believe
this. What do I do now?
- You need to remain calm.
I'll liaise with the police
and keep you updated.
- Okay? Thank you, Lenny.
Keep me posted.
- Remember, if you
need anything, call me.
- Okay.
- Claire, are you okay?
- Marcus? It's Kara, she's dead.
- Whoa, what?
- Yeah.
- Okay wow. Do we
know anything else?
Is she behind everything
that was happening?
- I don't know. It's a
police investigation now.
- Jeez.
- Jenna.
We need to get Jenna home now.
- Okay, Claire?
I... I... I'm still not
understanding what's happening.
- I can't... I can't have
her out of the house.
Not now.
- Hi, this is Jenna.
Please leave a message.
- Jenna, it's mom. Call
me back immediately.
It's urgent, please.
- All right, Claire, honey,
let's just breathe. All right?
She's just angry and upset
and she's probably just
ignoring your calls.
- No, you don't
understand Marcus.
With Kara dead
it's... it's not just
about the foundation anymore.
Kara could have been pressured
by someone. By Sarah.
Who knows? We don't know.
- I hear you.
- We don't know. We
don't know if Sarah-
- Hey, hey.
- Could be capable of-
- I hear you. I hear you.
But let's just...
let's think about it.
Marcy. Right?
She's with Marcy.
Jenna's safe at Marcy's.
- You're right.
I'm calling Marcy.
- Hello?
- Marcy.
It's... it's...
it's Jenna's mom.
I need to speak to her
immediately, please.
- Um. She's not here.
- Marcy,
I know that you two
cover for each other,
but this is very important
that I speak to her right now.
- [Marcy] Mrs. Tiller,
I'm not covering for her.
Jenna's not here, and I
haven't talked to her tonight.
- Marcy, when's the last
time you talked to Jenna?
- [Marcy] At school today. Is
everything okay, Mrs. Tiller?
- Yeah, everything's fine.
If you... if you see
her or if you talk
to her, have her call
me immediately please.
- Sure. No problem.
- She's not there?
- No, she's not there.
She's not there.
Marcy hasn't seen her.
- Hey, hey, hey, hey.
Look at me, look at me.
We're not gonna go there.
We're not gonna go there.
Let's call some
friends. Let's find her.
- No, I'm calling Lenny.
We need... we need help.
- All right.
- We can't just sit here
and do nothing, Lenny.
Jenna is out there somewhere.
- I understand your
concern, Claire,
but we need to handle
this rationally.
At this point, not
enough time has passed
to file a police report.
Jenna ran out after an argument.
It's not like she was out
and didn't return home
at her usual time.
- But with everything
that's going on...
- I know but we need to consider
all the possibilities here.
This could just be a case
of a teenager acting out.
They're known to do that,
Claire, especially yours.
- He's right. Claire Bear.
Remember last year when Jenna
snuck out to that concert?
- This is different, Marcus.
We should be out
there looking for her.
- No. The best thing you
could do right now is stay put
in case she comes home.
- You're right.
- I know the timing
is concerning,
but we have no evidence that
Jenna's disappearance is linked
to anything else going on.
Right now, all signs
point to a teenage girl
who is upset and needs space.
I promise.
The moment the appropriate
amount of time goes by,
we will file a report
and the police will conduct
a full-scale search.
Until then, we
need to remain calm
and take this minute-by-minute.
- I hope you're right.
(doorbell ringing)
Jenna Marie Tiller,
where have you been?
- Mom I can explain.
- Oh, I'm listening.
And this better
be more impressive
than your college
essay is gonna be.
- Hey, everyone. What a
great night, right Jenna?
- What are you doing here?
- Jenna said
everything was fine.
- You did what?
- Yeah, I did. So what?
I called Sarah and I
told her we were cool
and guess what?
Okay? Sunset Rodeo was
playing at Pizza King Stadium.
And Sarah totally hooked us up.
We had great seats
and we even got to meet
the band backstage.
There were like 20,000
people there. It was epic.
- Are you insane?
I told you we were looking
into Sarah and you sneak out
and go to Rodeo Clown?
She could be dangerous.
- Dangerous how?
- She took me to a concert
and brought me back home.
That's it.
- She's a teenager.
She's allowed to
have a little fun.
- Well, you know what, Sarah?
A lot of really horrible
things have happened
since you've shown up.
There's a woman who's
dead. Dead, Sarah.
And if you're involved
with this, I promise you,
I will get to the bottom of it.
- You... you've
completely lost your mind.
- You need to get out of our
lives and get out of this house
before I file a
restraining order.
- No. No, mom,
you can't do that.
- I absolutely can, and I will.
And you are grounded for
the rest of your life.
Get to your room now.
Get up to your room.
Sarah. You need to get out now.
- You can't keep me from
her. She is my daughter too.
- Watch me.
- You handled yourself
well there, Claire.
- So what can we do
now, legally? I mean.
- Frankly, we're still short
on evidence linking Sarah
to anything suspicious.
- But with Kara, the foundation,
there has to be something.
- I didn't want to get
you excited earlier,
but the reason I wasn't
worried about Sarah tonight is
because I've uncovered some
information about Kara.
- What kind of information?
- There's a name that keeps
popping up in my investigation.
A man's name. Ezra Daly.
- Ezra Daly? Who is that?
- See, that's the thing.
I can't find anything
concrete on him.
I'm almost certain
that's an alias
one of my guys uncovered
some surveillance footage
from the gas station
across the street from
where they found Kara's body.
There's someone there with her
who's at least a foot
taller than Sarah.
- So Sarah's not involved.
- I wouldn't say that just yet.
There's a possibility she
could be working for this
Ezra Daly, as I'm starting to
suspect Kara might have been
that footage uncovered a lead.
One of my guys tracked his car
to a house on the West Side.
I'm gonna pay Ezra
a visit tomorrow
and see what he has
to say about all this.
- You're gonna pay him a visit?
- Don't you think
we should leave this
to the professionals, Lenny?
- All do respect Marcus,
you're looking at one.
But for now, let's
all get some rest.
Nobody's solving anything
if we're exhausted.
What's important is you're
all under one roof tonight.
Sarah, Ezra Daily, anybody else,
we're gonna get to the
bottom of this soon enough.
- Hey, let's get some sleep.
You know, I don't think
you've slept in days.
- How can I sleep?
Jenna snuck out to a
concert with a woman
who may be involved
with a murder.
- And she's home now.
Safe in her room.
- Yeah, but for how long?
You heard what Sarah said.
She's not just gonna
disappear, Marcus.
- Hey, look at me.
Look, whatever's going on
with Ezra, Sarah, whoever,
we're gonna face it together
like we always have.
- I know I just... I just
keep thinking about Kara
and I mean, what if we're next?
What if Jenna's next?
It's not gonna
happen, Claire, I'm
not gonna let that happen.
- You don't know that.
We don't know anything.
Sarah shows up here out
of the blue after 15 years
and everything
suddenly goes wild?
The foundation is
being pilfered. People
are dying, Marcus.
- Claire. Claire.
I know, but guess what?
You got Lenny.
- That's true.
- Lenny is good at what he does,
and I'm sure tomorrow
he's gonna have
answers on this Ezra guy.
- Yeah, that's
true. You're right.
- It's time for Ezra to pay
if he's behind it. Who knows?
- What's that?
- It's probably just Jenna.
- Or Sarah came back.
- Jenna?
- What?
- Goodnight.
- Okay.
- See, it's just Jenna.
Claire, let's get some sleep.
Okay?
- Yeah.
- Whatever tomorrow brings,
we're gonna face it
together like we always do.
- Okay?
- I'm right here, okay?
- Okay. I love you.
- I love you too.
Get some sleep.
(somber music)
(somber music continues)
(somber music continues)
(Lenny knocking)
- Ezra Daly. I'm not a cop.
I don't need a warrant.
Ezra, I just want to talk
to you about all this
crime you're mixed up in.
Why don't you come
out and talk to me?
Ezra, buy this house with
the foundation's money?
Come on out so we can talk.
(suspenseful music)
(TV chattering)
(suspenseful music continues)
(gun clicks)
- It was you.
I knew you were trouble the
moment I laid eyes on you.
This is Lenny Smith from
Professional Security.
Leave a message.
- Lenny, it's Claire.
I don't know if you've
been getting my calls,
but I still haven't gotten
that update from you
and you didn't show
up for our 11 o'clock.
So I'm about ready to
step into a meeting.
But if you call, I'll pick up.
And if for some reason I
don't, just call Elana,
she knows to put
you right through.
So yeah, just call me
whenever you can. Thanks.
Oh.
Lenny. Hi.
Are there any updates?
What's going on?
- I'm sorry, ma'am.
Are you trying to
reach Lenny Smith?
This is Detective Russo.
Who am I speaking with?
- This is Claire Tiller.
- I work with Lenny.
He's a consultant at
the Dunton Foundation.
Is everything okay?
- I'm afraid no, it's not okay.
When was the last time
you spoke with Lenny?
Last night around 11:00 PM. Why?
What's going on?
- I'm sorry to inform you,
but Lenny was found dead
this morning at a house in
the western part of town.
We're conducting
an investigation.
- Dead? What?
What happened?
- We're still piecing
that together.
Look, I knew Lenny.
A lot of us did.
He was a good guy.
We're all pretty
broken up about this.
- No, no, no. I
can't believe this.
- Ms. Tiller, what was
Lenny working on for you?
- He was working on a security
breach in our foundation.
There was an employee, Kara
Evans, she went missing
with foundation money.
And there was also this
guy named Ezra Daly.
He thought that maybe
that he was involved.
- Ezra Daly?
That must be the unidentified
body we found with Lenny.
I'll definitely have
to look into that.
Do you know... was Lenny
investigating anyone else?
- Yeah.
Sarah Hayes.
My daughter's birth mother who
recently came into our lives.
Yeah, he was looking at...
looking into her too.
- I know this is
difficult, Ms. Tiller,
but we're doing
everything we can
to figure out what
happened here.
I'd like to stop by later
to get a formal
statement from you,
if that's all right.
- Of course,
detective. Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Okay.
- Hi, you reached Marcus.
Sorry I missed your
call, but leave a message
and I'll get back
to you faster than
you could say voicemail.
- Marcus, I'm headed
home right now.
I need you to call me
back right away. Okay?
This is an emergency.
Marcus, I'm in a taxi
heading out of the city.
Just call me as soon
as you get this.
Marcus, I don't know why you're
not picking up your phone,
but call me back.
- Hi, this is Jenna.
Please leave a message.
- Jenna, it's mom.
Please come home right after
school. Whatever you do,
don't talk to Sarah. For once,
please just listen to me.
Marcus.
- Claire, I'm so sorry.
I was in a meeting.
What's going on?
- It's Sarah. She's
behind everything.
I'll explain when
we're together. Just
leave work now okay?
- [Marcus] Alright. Alright.
I'm on my way. I'm
leaving right now.
(dramatic music)
(dramatic music continues)
- What? What?
(Claire screaming)
- Claire? Hey, Claire, Claire.
What's... what's going on?
- Sarah kidnapped Jenna.
Sarah's bag... they...
Kara's foundation ID.
Internal records,
bank documents.
She was working with
Kara the whole time.
And then when the
bank transfer failed,
she killed her to cover it up.
- That, uh... Claire,
that doesn't make sense.
- It makes perfect sense.
She got close to us.
She moved into
our house with us.
Oh my God. Lenny.
Lenny must have figured it out
and then she killed
him to cover it up.
- What? Wait, hold
on. Lenny's dead?
- They found his body this
morning and now she has Jenna.
She's gonna kill Jenna!
- Okay, Claire, we're
gonna get through this.
We're gonna get through this.
- What do I do? What do I do?
- All right, Claire.
I know it's hard, but
maybe we should give Sarah
what she's asking
for, for Jenna's sake.
- What?
- It's her biological daughter.
She's not gonna hurt her if we
cooperate with the transfer,
Claire.
- I never told you
about any transfer.
- Oh, um.
Guess you're right.
(Claire screams)
(Marcus laughs)
- Hi there, Claire Bear.
It looks like we're
taking our relationship
to the next level, huh?
Oh, Sarah's phone sure
came in handy, huh?
Aw, Claire Bear.
Did you really think
that Sarah was the
villain in this story?
You idiot. I orchestrated
the whole thing.
No, I had someone
pretend to be Jenna
call Sarah, luring her here.
She was the perfect
scapegoat after all.
And you played
right into my hand
seeing exactly what I wanted
you to see, didn't you?
Well, I don't think she'll
be needing this where she is.
I hear cell service
isn't so great
when you're buried six feet
below the ground. (laughs)
Claire, this is adorable. Your
efforts, they're all in vain.
You know that? But
I'm a nice guy.
I'll tell you what.
I'll remove your gag
if you promise not to scream.
Are you gonna be a good
girl, Claire? Yeah?
Okay.
Here you go.
- Why? Why Marcus, why
are you doing this?
- You know...
God, it is absolutely
mind blowing
that you still do not
recognize me, Claire.
What? The silly little mustache
just throws you off?
I guess it's like
Superman, right?
Put on a pair of glasses.
No one can recognize you?
God, how could people
be so stupid, Claire!
How are you so stupid?
- What are you talking about?
- Three years ago?
The Dunton Foundation
Innovation Grant?
Ugh! I came to your
office with a dream
revolutionary water
filtration system
for developing nations?
- What?
- Bing, bing, bing,
bing, ring any bells yet?
- That was a
billion dollar idea!
All I needed was a little push.
And you sat in
that boardroom smiling at
me like you actually cared.
And I believed it, Claire.
Then the next day I got a call
from your assistant saying
that my work didn't align
with the foundation's
mission statement.
You know what happened next?
My funding dried up.
Years of work,
Claire, worthless.
I lost everything.
My wife? Walks
out, takes my kids.
And then the judge...
The judge... oh, that judge...
says that I'm too unstable
to see them.
My own children, Claire.
Gone because of you.
But, you know, silver linings.
Rock bottom has a funny way
of clarifying things.
So I said: hey, why make
clean drinking water
for people in need when
I could take everything
from you instead?
So I planned, I waited,
I studied you until the right
moment to accidentally, whoa,
bump into you.
And then grow to
become the perfect,
supportive, significant other.
Isn't that right, Claire Bear?
Claire Bear, GGB.
And it worked 'cause
you ate it up!
And you know, the
foundation money.
That was just a bonus.
No. What I really wanted
was for you to feel what I felt
watching everything
you love slip away
while someone smiled at you
and told you it's for the best.
How's that for alignment
with your mission
statement, Claire Bear?
- How could you do this? Marcus?
Look, you love me. You loved...
- Oh
- shut up! Shut up!
I lied! Clearly!
What, you really...
you really think
that I cared about some
single washed up mom
and her adopted brat?
Ugh, you know something?
Kara? Your good friend Kara?
She thought I loved her too.
- Oh my God.
- Mhm. She did a lot of legwork
for me out of that love.
And then what'd she do?
She went and got herself locked
out of all them accounts.
So, I don't know.
I guess you could say that
her usefulness outlived her,
Claire.
- You killed Kara?
- Yeah. Yeah.
I killed Kara. Get
with the picture, duh.
Claire, come on.
Keep up.
- You're a monster.
Marcus, please.
Oh, come on. Come
on. Come on, come on.
Please call me by my
real name for once.
Don't you remember
it yet? Come on.
You can say, say
it, Claire. Say it.
- You're Ezra Daly?
- Jerry Bauer!
Jerry Bauer, Claire!
Ezra was just another
idiot that I had running
around doing my dirty work.
Who - guess what -
I killed!
- No.
- Yes.
- You're sick. You're sick.
- Okay. You know what?
I'll give you that one.
That I will give you.
Guilty of that.
You know Sarah though, that
that was a two-for-one.
That was fun.
I got to watch her drive
you absolutely insane,
all while perfect
opportunity to frame her
for both the money
and the murders.
Bam baby.
- Don't tell me that you
killed... you killed Lenny too.
Please don't tell
me you killed Lenny.
- Claire, I really told
you not to involve him.
I didn't want to kill
Lenny. He was a cool dude.
But what choice did
you leave me, huh?
Oh, poor Lenny.
Jenna, you're an honor
roll student, right?
What's that spell? Gasoline.
Smart kid. Huh?
Barbecue. Anybody?
Oh. You know, this is just
great storytelling, Claire.
I get to live it up in
the Cayman Islands and
all the while Sarah gets to
take the blame as a dead person.
I can't wait to
read in the news.
"Extra, extra.
Read all about it.
Destitute mother steals money,
but can't handle the fact
that adoptive mom won't
let her have a relationship
with their daughter."
That's true. Right?
So she kills them both
before vanishing in the wind.
I want you to remember
Claire Bear. You...
You did this to yourself
and you did this to
your precious Jenna.
- No, Marcus.
- What a lovely souvenir.
Well, guess it's time to
play the grieving boyfriend
for the next few months
and then it's off to the Cayman
Islands to collect my prize.
Guess all there's left to
do is to light the match.
- Well, I've got news for you,
I don't think you'll
be making that flight.
Run Jenna!
- Ooh Claire! That
was a good one! Okay.
You know what? You're
gonna regret doing that.
- Oh God. No!
Hey, Jenna! I ran track!
Jenna! Oh, Jenna!
Jenna! Jenna!
Jenna!
Oh, you remember when I told
you I was adopted, Jenna?
Well, guess what? That
was a lie too, Jenna!
My parents are
nice enough people,
but they're so boring! (laughs)
Boring, boring, boring.
Jenna? Are you in your
room? You should be,
'cause you're grounded to
the end of the year, Jenna.
Oh, where could she be? Hm?
Oh, under the bed is too
obvious even for you.
Ah.
Got me there, Jenna.
Oh. (laughs)
Gonna get you. GGB!
Don't think I forgot about
your attitude, Jenna.
(gasp)
Little pig. Little pig.
Little pig. Let me in.
Or I'll huff! And I'll puff!
Oh, you think a a locked
door's gonna save you?
Huh?
Oh, I got the tool for this.
- Hey!
- I thought I buried-
(uplifting music)
- Jenna. Jenna, come out.
It's safe.
It's okay. It's okay.
It's safe now. It's okay.
You're okay. You're okay.
- Mom. Mom, we have to help Mom.
- Let's go.
- Did you remember to
pack your sunscreen?
You know how easily you burn.
- Yes. Mom.
Despite it being 40 degrees out,
SPF 50, just like you said.
- Oh. What about your
allergy medication?
Did you pack the-
- Mom? Relax, I've
got everything.
I mean, we went over the
list like five times already.
- I know, I know. It's just...
I'm gonna miss you so much.
- I'm gonna miss you too, mom.
(doorbell ringing)
- I'm gonna get that.
Okay? You finish up.
- Okay.
- Hi.
- Claire!
It's so good to see you.
- You too.
- Jenna ready?
- Almost.
She's just doing some
last minute packing.
Can I get you a water or
a seltzer or something?
- No, thank you. We are
already behind schedule.
- Oh Jenna, you
better get moving.
- I'm coming. I'm coming.
- How are things
at the foundation?
I heard you were able to
recover most of the funds.
- Yes thankfully, it
was a lot of work,
but I think we're
now back on track.
In fact, we just
approved a grant
for a women's shelter downtown.
- That's wonderful, Claire.
- So you're headed to
your hometown first?
- Yeah we'll spend
a few days there.
We'll visit her father's grave.
I'll introduce Jenna
to her grandparents.
- Ah, that is so great, Sarah.
I am... I'm so glad that
Jenna will get to know
that part of her history.
And then you're going to
Chicago to see Rodeo Clown?
- Sunset Rodeo.
- Gosh, I'll get it eventually.
- You know, it's not too late
if you wanna join, there's
always room for one more.
- Oh yeah. Thank you.
But I think my days in
the circus are over.
You two go have your adventure.
You know, Sarah,
I just wanna apologize for
everything that happened.
- No, Claire.
- I mean, the way I
treated you and just the-
- Stop.
Stop, you don't
need to apologize.
I understand why
you were suspicious.
I didn't... I didn't
exactly make it easy on you.
That night I disappeared,
I went to a late
night AA meeting.
- Why didn't you tell me?
- Honestly, I was...
I was afraid you would
hold it against me.
But I know better now.
And I know that you were
just trying to protect Jenna,
and that's why you letting
us have this time together,
it... it means so much to me.
- Thank you.
- No, thank you.
- I wanna give you a hug.
- Okay. I'm ready.
- All right.
Let's get this show on the road!
- Sounds good.
- Okay.
- Have fun. Be safe.
- I know.
And remember.
- You're just a phone call away.
- Never change, Mom.
- We're gonna be okay.
(dramatic music)
Seven hours driving
on the highway
Far away, far away, far away
Every moment I was
spending on regret
Was such a waste, such
a waste, such a waste
I'm going all the way up
Up
I'm going all the way up
Up
Letting go of my heart
Ah
Everything that holds
me down (peaceful music)