Law & Order Special Victims Unit s27e06 Episode Script
Under the Influence
1
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Brand-new building in
NoMad just hit the market.
And the amount of space
I'm holding for this room.
It's me, fam, back with an update.
If you saw my Get Ready
with Me this morning,
you know I'm at another
exclusive open house.
Ugh.
Who's coming on a tour?
Say hi to the DJ, chat.
You're crushing it.
They already got three offers.
You want it, I'd go up to 40.
I don't see a Jacuzzi out here.
That's 'cause there's three of them.
This place is sending me.
It's giving rich,
it's giving ethereal.
Vibes are off the freaking charts.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
OK, I just want to
Drop a heart in the chat
if you think this place slaps, y'all.
And ladies, when you're partying,
always remember the buddy system.
Oh, my God. Girl,
what are the chances?
Hey, we're talking here.
Can you believe it's been a year
since Annie's bachelorette?
Fill me in, babe. It's
been, like, forever.
[SIGHS] You're a mess.
- What's your name?
- Skylar.
- Here.
- I drank too much.
For real.
First time?
Hang here.
I'll grab you some water.
OK?
♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[GRUNTING]
[DOOR SLAMS]
Skylar!
You OK?
She's fine.
Go away.
- Skylar?
- [GASPS]
Open the door.
I'm calling the cops.
Skylar!
Hey! Knock it off.
Someone needs help in here.
I think you need to leave.
A drunk girl's in
there with some guy!
What are you not hearing?
All I heard was a
guest complain about you.
- What?
- Let's go.
Literally, don't touch me!
I swear to God, you're so cooked, bro.
Look, I'm calling the cops!
NYPD!
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Can I help you?
- Yeah, lock it down.
Don't let anyone leave.
All right, ladies and
gentlemen, we're with the NYPD.
- We're looking for a girl.
- I need your full cooperation.
Skylar.
She's in a locked bedroom.
Which way to the bedrooms?
♪
Perp took the sheets.
Hey.
It's OK.
It's OK.
Are you Skylar?
- Room's clear.
- Hey, Skylar.
Hi.
Get an EMT in here immediately.
Hey, Skylar?
Skylar, I'm with the NYPD
and I'm here to help you.
Your hair is wet.
♪
[WEAKLY] I was raped.
OK, we're going to
get you some help, OK?
I'm going to get you some help.
Put a blanket on her.
And I need a rape kit immediately.
She seems pretty out of it.
- Drugged?
- Yeah.
Her dress is on inside out.
The 911 caller said
this was an open house.
The whole building's a
brand-new development.
Well, then so is the plumbing.
♪
It's got to belong to our vic, no?
And if we're lucky, our rapist.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
- [ELEVATOR DINGS]
- I'm telling you, it was him.
Super creepy.
He had a leather jacket, scruff.
We're talking to everyone
who was at the party.
Well, but I also think
that that security guy
should, like, get his
license revoked or whatever.
Chat, your girl is
standing on business.
No filming in the precinct, chat.
So, you were working
the party, not a guest.
Yeah, I was there for atmosphere.
Atmosphere?
- What does that mean?
- Uh, just there to chat,
keep the energy up,
and obviously get content.
What kind of content?
The kind that gets people talking
about the properties
that are for sale,
so, live streams,
tours, stuff like that.
And you've been hired to work
these types of parties before?
A few.
Uh, LA, Vegas, Chicago.
Is there an expectation
with this atmosphere
to provide something else?
Like a collab?
- Like sex.
- Ew, no.
I'm asexual.
Seems like kind of
a dangerous situation
to put yourself in.
I mean, it's no more dangerous
than going to a club
or getting in an Uber.
I mean, if I'm at risk just existing,
I might as well get
something out of it.
Oh, my God, that's the guy.
I did not do anything to her.
That's him!
Hey, seriously.
Stop.
I'm just a buyer.
I was there to view the penthouse.
I don't even know that girl!
She seemed to know you, Chuck.
She wasn't the only one who saw you
creeping on a young woman.
Creeping?
We were having a
friendly conversation.
Guessing it was pretty one-sided
since she could
barely form a sentence.
OK. I was hitting on her.
Huh.
But when I saw she
was wasted, I backed off.
That girl out there,
she pulled her away,
and
I didn't drug or rape anyone.
Maybe you should
check out the bartender.
Why would we do that?
'Cause he had a
thing for over-pouring
only the girls' drinks.
Are you saying he spiked them?
I'm saying it wouldn't surprise me.
Uh, maybe you should ask him.
Well, we'll do that.
Once you give us your DNA.
Blood, sweat, tears.
Take my sperm, if you need it.
OK, preliminary report
on the shower drain hair.
Specimens from at least
two people, maybe more.
I thought it was a
brand-new building.
How many people showered in there?
Could be from a contractor,
a plumber, a decorator.
Well, you can add
Chuck's DNA to the pile.
So did he give you anything else?
Definitely the ick.
But considering he
was willing to hand over
his firstborn child,
might not be our guy.
He also gave us a
bartender, no name,
but Chuck said that
he was heavy-handed
with the women's drinks.
Any bartenders
questioned at the scene?
No, but there were
at least 40 guests.
Got DNA samples from most
and the others alibied each other out.
Perp did have a 25-minute window
from when Grace called 911,
and when we got there.
So enough time to attack Skylar,
clean her up, and run out the back.
Which is why we need
a list of the attendees
the staff, the guests, and,
you know, anyone who
left before we showed up.
The guy who set up the party
could probably help with that.
According to Grace, his
name is Marvin Gibbs.
He's an event planner
with an office in Tribeca.
OK, so you two, see if
Marvin is in the mood to share.
Track down this bartender.
Terrible what happened yesterday.
Exactly why I hire security.
Anything like this
ever happen before?
Every once in a
while, I'll hear about
one of the guests
overdoing it at the bar,
but something like this?
Not at my events.
We understand yesterday's
event was for an open house.
Ellis National Realty,
one of our many clients.
Who hire you to do what exactly?
Depends on the event,
but it's promotions, marketing.
I curate the guests, hire the staff.
And influencers
who all happen to be
young, attractive women.
Most influencers are.
So, your job is to hire hot
women to entertain guests.
Is that a crime?
Depends on what your
definition of entertain is.
All I care about is reach,
follower count,
brand deals, anything
to publicize the property.
Totally legit, and everyone
is handsomely compensated.
Then you got nothing to worry about.
We just need a list
of names of everyone
who attended that party, and,
we can get out of your hair.
I can't give that to you.
These guests are very rich, powerful.
I'd have to make some calls.
Or
We could make a call, for a warrant.
Blow this whole thing
up on social media.
Event planner invites young
women across state lines
and then sends them to
parties to get assaulted?
Sounds more like a
pimp than a planner to me.
Or you can just give us the list.
[SIGHS]
Alex Somer?
- Can I help you?
- Hope so, yeah.
You bartended an open
house party yesterday, yeah?
Party where an intoxicated woman
was attacked in the bedroom?
Jesus!
I, uh
I mean, I worked the party, but
I don't know about all that.
Why'd you leave before
the cops showed up?
I mean, I
I dipped when the open
bar ended, you know?
And I'm late for a shift.
What's the matter?
Scared of getting fired again?
We spoke to some
of your ex-employers.
We found out you've been
let go from a few different bars
over the years.
- Not for being late.
- [SIGHS]
But for inappropriate
behavior with female patrons.
[SIGHS]
Look, I, um
I got
nothing to do with this.
You can prove it with just
a quick swab of the cheek.
I'm good, thanks.
Told you I'm late.
Well, we'll come along
and we can share
with your current boss
the phone numbers to all
those ex-employers we spoke to.
[SIGHS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
[SIGHS] How long's this gonna take?
All right, five men on Marvin's list
had already left the
party when we showed up.
Few of them are uber-rich,
the rest are uber creepy,
but none had criminal records.
OK, what about the bartender?
Alex Somer.
Bruno and Griffin got
his swab to the lab.
Speaking of which, we
hear back on Skylar's rape kit?
No foreign DNA,
but her tox screen did
test positive for ketamine.
Ah, Skylar is out of the hospital,
and I'm holding hope that
she remembers something.
[SIGHS] I can't.
- I'm sorry.
- That's OK.
That's OK, that's OK.
So, how about
How about we start at the beginning?
OK?
Why don't you, um
Why don't you take me
through your day, right,
- leading up to the party?
- [SIGHS]
OK. Um
[SNIFFLES]
The event planners flew
me private from Chicago.
Mm-hmm.
Got me a car service to
this fancy hotel in Midtown.
OK.
Were there any red flags there?
- No.
- Mm.
I checked in,
I got ready.
I think I talked to a few
people once I got to the party.
I don't know, things
are still kind of fuzzy.
Well, we did confirm
that you were drugged.
- So
- [SIGHS]
Do you remember
anyone offering you a drink?
I don't think so.
But I do sort of remember Grace
pulling me away from that guy.
Mm-hmm.
And then what happened?
Um
I think someone,
a guy
Led me into the bedroom.
OK.
And after that,
all I have are, like, these feelings.
OK.
What kind of feelings?
Like, he's on top of me.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
All of his weight
On my arms, and on my legs.
But he's also by the
door just watching me.
Like
Like he's in
two different places.
OK.
So can you see him?
His height, his weight,
his skin color?
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
- OK.
- Uh [SIGHS]
Excuse me just for one second.
OK?
I'll be right back.
♪
The shower hair.
The labs came back,
and it showed three sets.
One belongs to Skylar,
and the other two,
both males, unknown.
Oh, so not a match to Alex or Chuck.
No, and none in CODIS either.
But what's interesting,
is both unknowns share
about a quarter of their
DNA on the father's side.
They're brothers.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Half-brothers.
[SIGHS]
♪
OK, Nathan and Paul Ellis, 28, 32,
of Ellis National Realty.
OK, what do we know?
No wife and kids, grew up
in Morris County, New Jersey,
half-brothers from separate marriages.
The two mothers and a
little sister are out of state now.
The father is Raymond
Ellis, venture capitalist.
Invests in companies
via hostile takeover,
bumps the stock, then
dumps it for a profit.
Now, Intel looked into
him for insider trading,
but nothing stuck.
He did help his sons
start their real estate empire.
Dozens of properties
sold over the years
and even more in development.
Brothers are all over "Page Six"
selling homes of
celebrities and pro athletes.
It's all fantastic,
- but what about criminal records?
- None.
However, they were involved
in a fatal automobile
accident in 2017 in New Jersey.
Vic's name was Alicia Williams.
But we have nothing that puts them
in the room with Skylar
except for this shower hair.
I say we pick 'em
up, we shake 'em down,
we compel DNA
Unfortunately, the shower hair
is not going to prove much
because these two guys
still own the penthouse.
Not to mention guys like this,
they usually got a long line
of high-powered attorneys
that are just chomping
at the bit to fight this,
so
If these are our guys,
our best bet's going to be to find
everything we can on them
before we confront them.
Well, if they're throwing
parties all over the country,
probably not the first time
something's happened.
Exactly.
So, you and Griff,
dive into their social media.
Find other atmospheric
women through tagged photos,
follower lists, and I want you two
to really dig into
this fatal car crash.
Car drove headfirst
into the concrete
wall of a Home Depot.
Hood looked like a crushed can of Coke
when I got to the scene.
- Who was behind the wheel?
- Nathan.
Refused breathalyzer,
but he was wasted.
Paul was on the passenger's side,
and in the back was the victim.
- Alicia Williams.
- 30s. Just got engaged.
Temped at the father's company.
Brothers worked there summers.
But Williams wasn't in the back seat
when we got there,
because she was the only
one not wearing a seat belt,
if you get what I mean.
Well, the official
report said that the COD
was blunt force trauma to
the head from the accident.
You got another theory?
Williams was dead
before she got in that car,
and it's not just a theory.
Coroner confirmed it.
How did nothing ever come of this?
We arrested Nathan on the DUI.
DA had the coroner report.
Next thing I know, the
charges get dropped,
and all my cases are
under a microscope.
Chief says he's getting
anonymous complaints about my conduct.
Pretty soon
I'm doing this for eight years now.
You think the Ellis brothers
have that kind of pull?
I think their daddy does.
All I can tell you is,
if you come up against this family,
do what I should have
done eight years ago.
What's that?
Look the other way.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
So you've hung out with
Paul and Nathan at the parties?
A little.
Why?
We're investigating an assault
from a party a few days ago.
I just want to know if
you've seen anything similar.
OMG.
No.
Can you tell us what you have seen?
Just that the bros
are joined at the hip.
But, Paul's a sweet guy.
He's outgoing, charming.
What about Nathan?
Well, Nathan's different from Paul.
I mean, he's cold, awkward.
He looks right through you
like you're not even there.
You ever have a bad
experience with him, or Paul?
What do you mean bad experience?
Something you didn't consent to?
I haven't.
But there was this one girl, Carly.
She was, like, the
life of these parties,
but then one day, she just
ghosted, stopped coming.
You ever find out why?
I tried, but she unfollowed me,
never answered my DMs.
I always wondered if
something bad happened.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
I thought influencers were dumb,
and then I started posting
videos of me making pizza,
and, people followed.
When'd you meet Nathan and Paul?
This past April,
at a new building they
opened in Queens.
Paul came up to me at
the bar and I thought, wow.
You know, like, here's
this rich, cute guy,
and he wants to talk to me. [CHUCKLES]
What happened?
I went back to the bedroom with him.
I thought we were just
going to make out a little.
Then it
I was dumb.
After a few minutes,
somebody knocked on the door.
And, Paul opens it,
and Nathan walks in.
[TENSE MUSIC]
What did Paul do?
Nothing.
So, Nathan gets on the bed,
and
He starts taking his clothes off.
I tried to leave, but Nathan just
pushed me back down on the bed.
He held my arms down.
And Paul didn't try to stop it?
He just stood there
in the corner
Watching.
After it was over,
Paul, he, uh, handed me my shirt.
Like, what?
Like, you're going
to be a nice guy now?
Hey.
I'm sorry this happened to you, Carly.
No, I
I know what you think.
It's all my own fault.
And, like, what do I think?
I'm just going to get all
this free stuff for nothing?
No, no, no, no,
that's not what we think.
That's why I didn't call the police.
I
I knew they wouldn't believe it.
We do.
It's too late anyways.
No, it's not.
After it happened,
some lawyer reached out.
They paid me money,
and I had to sign a paper
saying I wouldn't do anything.
Do you remember the lawyer's name?
I've got his email.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Oh, Marvin.
I already gave you my list,
told you everything I know.
You left out the
best part, Mr. Gibbs.
We didn't know you were a lawyer too.
Quite an achievement.
[CHUCKLING] Now, look, look
The emails sent to Carly
Wilson buying her silence
were traced to this
office's IP address.
I assume she didn't send them?
I'll tell them you're running late.
Great idea.
Listen, I was just doing
- what Nathan and Paul told me.
- Mm.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
- It's not me who picks the girls,
- it's them.
- You do know that you
have the right to remain silent?
They call it a target list.
They tell me who to get.
What happens after
that isn't my fault.
It's called conspiracy
to commit rape.
And you're just as guilty
as Nathan and Paul.
This isn't just a home.
It is a masterclass in design.
Contemporary sophistication,
an industrial finish
A mezzanine-level library,
more space than you
know what to do with.
But the real selling point
is its focus on health and wellness,
which is why
We built this.
[LAUGHS] Care to join me?
Hey, race you to the top?
- You're on.
- [LAUGHS]
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
Excuse me.
This is a closed set.
- Nathan and Paul Ellis.
- Excuse me. Who are you?
NYPD. Turn around.
You're under arrest.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
- What's this about?
Shut up.
Don't say anything.
I'm sure this is a misunderstanding.
Well, I'm pretty sure that it's not.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Look, someone was
attacked at our party.
We're just as concerned as you.
Well, we really appreciate
your willingness
to talk to us about it.
Starting with, how
long were you and Paul
at the party the other night?
About an hour.
We mostly go to show face to clients.
We make our rounds, we
have a drink, take some pictures.
Take pictures with who?
Important clients, influencers.
Oh, right, your
Your atmosphere women.
Yeah, well, these days,
influencers have to be
built into the business.
Influencers like her?
Skylar, right?
You see her at the party?
I saw that she was drunk.
That's not uncommon for these girls.
Hindsight, I should have
had security ask her to leave.
- But you didn't.
- No.
Because I left myself.
With my brother.
We went home.
You two happen to stop in
the bedroom on your way out?
Or the bathroom, maybe?
No.
Oh, but we did do a walkthrough
before the party started.
And since we had come off a workout,
I thought I'd take a shower.
So did Paul.
So you don't remember seeing her?
I'm telling you, I don't know!
Well, Paul, what do you know?
That we did what we
always do at the parties.
We show up, we do
our thing, and we leave.
And what thing is that?
Our jobs.
We sell the place.
And I would like to
see my brother now.
We're not here about your brother.
We're here about you.
I'm sorry that this happened to her.
I don't know anything!
OK.
Then maybe you know about her.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I remember her.
We had sex.
And it was entirely consensual.
Walk us through that.
Well, she came up to me at the bar.
She was giving me all the signs.
We went to the bedroom.
But, before we got into it,
she asked me about Paul.
What about him?
If he'd be interested in watching.
Come on.
Are you
Are you serious right now?
[LAUGHS] I know how it sounds.
It's just the way she wanted it.
It's too bad that's
not what she told us.
Well, then she's either
mistaken or she's lying.
And you just played along?
Just watched your
brother have sex with her?
Yeah, I did.
Because you wanted to?
Maybe Nathan roped you into it.
Why don't we, uh, talk about Nathan?
What was it like growing up with him?
He looks out for me.
He protects me.
Protects you from what?
Nathan
Nathan isn't there.
All right?
He's over here.
And I gotta tell you, he's getting
the same chance you are.
Chance to do what?
To tell a story.
What do you think he's saying?
I don't think he's saying anything.
Well, for all you know,
he could be in there
right now spilling his guts.
There's nothing to spill!
And I'm done talking to you!
[GROANS]
So we got an outright
denial on one hand,
incestuous threesome on the other.
Another way to say guilty.
If we get enough distance
between him and big brother,
we might be able to flip it.
You really think
that's, that's doable?
Well, I just
he's completely
under Nathan's control.
I mean, you saw the way
he kept looking at the mirror.
All right, so how do
we lift Nathan's thumb?
So we know they're privileged.
Dad covers things up, Nathan protects.
But, you know, psychologically,
I'd have to know more about
where this dynamic comes from.
It's worth a shot, all right?
Considering our evidence is
shower hair and Marvin Gibbs.
And the victim's statement,
which told us that
Paul is just as culpable
even if he didn't
commit the act itself.
I think that we have more than
enough to prove it, don't you?
- [SIGHS] Certainly tried cases on less.
- Where are my boys?
- Captain.
- Where are they?
Oh, God.
Speaking of Dad.
- Which way? Who's in charge?
- Excuse me.
I am Captain Benson.
And you must be Raymond Ellis.
The father of two men I believe
you've wrongfully arrested.
And interrogated sans counsel,
which some might
find to be prejudicial.
Well, they've been
advised their rights,
and they're talking to us willingly.
Not anymore.
Interviews are over.
Oh, excuse me.
Ah
- Shut up, Paul.
- OK.
Sir, I'm going to have
to ask you to leave.
You need to leave the precinct.
Benson, is it?
Yes.
I can spell it for you.
Would you, would you like
my badge number as well?
- Yeah, maybe I would.
- OK.
Well, I'm happy to
provide that for you
as soon as you and your
bodyguard leave my precinct.
[TENSE MUSIC]
What, are you just
going to stand there?
I've got it covered, Raymond.
You need to leave, sir.
♪
Thank you.
♪
Guess we know where it comes from.
Wow.
Your Honor, I'm requesting
people's exhibit three
be entered into evidence.
These are emails,
Ms. Wilson received
from a purported
lawyer for the defendants.
No objection.
Ms. Wilson, would
you mind summarizing
what this lawyer said in these emails?
That he knew I felt uncomfortable
with what had happened.
He wanted to make it right.
And how did he
want to make it right?
By paying me $7,500
if I signed an NDA.
What was the name
of this, this lawyer?
He said it was Tom Miller,
but, I later found out from
SVU that it was Marvin Gibbs.
Marvin Gibbs, the party planner
who hired you in the first place?
Yes.
Ms. Wilson, why
did you sign something
that you knew was meant
to silence your assault?
Mr. Gibbs said that
the Ellis brothers had
so many resources,
it wouldn't be worth
it to do anything.
Nobody would take my
side, so I believed him.
Thank you.
No further questions.
Ms. Wilson, after this
alleged assault happened,
how long did it take for
you to go to the police?
I didn't.
How long did it take
you to go to the hospital
or visit a doctor?
I didn't do that either.
No police, no hospital.
But, you did take a
payment from Marvin Gibbs.
I already answered that.
You did, but [SIGHS]
I have to say if I'd experienced
what you say you've been through,
I'd have asked for more.
Objection.
Argumentative.
Get to the question, Ms. Vega.
Did you ask for more, Carly?
[TENSE MUSIC]
Yes.
Smart woman.
How much?
♪
I asked for 10.
$10,000.
Given how horrible you say this was,
even that doesn't sound like enough.
Your Honor, is the
defense testifying?
My apologies.
Nothing further.
♪
It was Marvin's idea to
offer Carly compensation
and ask her to sign an NDA.
He convinced me to go through with it.
Convinced you based on what?
Fear of false allegations.
In today's cancel culture,
an accusation like
Carly's, even if it's untrue,
would kill my career.
Marvin was trying to
protect me, in this way.
Let's talk about Skylar Wright.
Do you remember
seeing her at the party?
Yes.
She was at the bar.
With my brother, Paul.
They were talking, having drinks,
and then I saw them
go into the bedroom.
Are you aware of what happened
after Skylar and your brother
Paul went into the bedroom?
No.
All I know is that I never
saw Ms. Wright again.
[SCOFFS]
Mr. Ellis, why is this the first time
that anybody is hearing about this?
Hearing about what?
Oh, the fact that
you saw your brother
go into the bedroom with the victim
moments before she was attacked,
something that you neglected
to disclose to SVU detectives.
♪
I love my brother.
I've always tried to protect him.
When I spoke to the
police, I was not under oath,
but I am now.
And I take that very seriously.
♪
Mr. Ellis, in light of
your brother's testimony,
I only have a few questions for you.
Now, did you interact
with Skylar Wright
at the penthouse party?
Um, yes.
And did you have
drinks at the bar with her?
Yes.
Carly Wilson testified
to the same fact pattern
on another occasion,
that the two of you
had drinks together
before you took things to the bedroom.
Now, is that also what
happened with Skylar Wright?
Mr. Ellis, I'm right over here.
You can just look at me.
All right, I'm going to ask you again.
Is that also what happened
with Skylar Wright?
No.
No?
So your brother's lying?
[SIGHS] No.
What?
So Paul, look.
It
It's a simple question.
Did you, or did you not,
go into the bedroom with Skylar?
Yes.
OK, and after you and Skylar
went into the bedroom together,
did your brother, Nathan
Ellis, enter and assault her
the same way Carly
Wilson testified to earlier?
♪
Or you can just tell the court
what it is that you are looking at.
Your Honor, how is this relevant?
Your Honor, I'm sorry,
but I'm just wondering
how I'm supposed to question a witness
who is getting signaled by
his codefendant in real time.
That is a lie!
That's enough.
Do not speak unless spoken to.
And you
Keep your eyes on Mr. Carisi.
♪
Thank you, Your Honor.
I have nothing further for him.
♪
Carisi.
Do me a favor, Counselor.
Make this quick.
What do you want?
Paul pleads guilty
to the entire indictment.
Nathan walks.
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, Paul
Paul agrees to that?
Let me worry about Paul.
The only thing I'm
worried about, Ms. Vega,
is what this offer does for me.
It guarantees you one conviction
instead of what may end up being zero.
♪
So you're saying you think
that this whole thing is
orchestrated by Nathan.
You should have seen them,
eyeing each other in the courtroom.
And you heard about
Nathan's testimony, right?
I heard that he tried
to implicate his brother.
Yeah, I bet the
jury just ate that up.
You're not
You're not thinking about
accepting the deal that Vega offered?
No, not for a second.
In fact, I think she's
improperly representing Paul.
It's because of that
that I'm considering
offering him a deal of my own.
What, to flip Paul?
The man who led these
victims to their assault,
who stood by, and did nothing
while it was happening?
Liv, we have a very strong case
against Paul, but we don't for Nathan.
And I think most people would agree
that he's the greater
of the two evils here,
so if we can flip Paul,
then there is a chance
that we could land
them both behind bars.
[BUZZER BLARES]
- What's going on?
- Have a seat, Paul.
[BUZZER BLARES]
Did your lawyer tell you
about the deal she offered me?
What deal?
The one where Nathan walks away
Not guilty,
and you go down for everything.
You're lying.
Nah.
I wish we were, Paul.
But your brother put you
in that room with Skylar.
He doesn't care about you.
He was going to throw
you right under the bus.
And your attorney
just let it happen.
Which is why, uh,
despite the unforgivable
things you've done,
we wanted to give you one more chance,
to help yourself.
How?
It's called shadow counsel.
The court will appoint you
a new, separate attorney,
somebody that's gonna
work in your best interest only.
No.
- I'm not doing that.
- Hang on.
Your brother will never know.
And nor will his attorney.
Just the judge, us,
whoever your new lawyer is.
He's going to sit
behind me in the gallery.
Paul,
you said that your
brother protected you.
Your brother was using you.
He was manipulating you,
just like you manipulated Skylar,
like you manipulated Carly.
That's not protection, Paul.
That's control.
And it's the same kind
of control that I saw
when your father just
walked into the squad room
and started yelling at
you in front of everyone.
Now [SIGHS]
That doesn't excuse the
things that you've done.
But
It does give us an opportunity,
to help you,
free yourself from them.
And after all this time,
after all those years,
my God
Don't you want that?
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
[SIGHS]
♪
Nathan couldn't talk to girls.
He would just freeze up.
That's why he'd send me in.
Send you to do what?
Get them to like me, trust me.
Sometimes I'd put
something in their drink.
Lots of times, I didn't need to.
They would just
Come with me.
So you were the lure.
Is that what you did with Carly?
And Skylar?
♪
It's not just them.
Nathan would take over.
At first, I was just
supposed to be the lookout.
And then, he asked me to watch.
Why?
Power.
Paul was the second son.
Paul was from the second marriage.
And Nathan wanted to make sure
that you never forgot
who was in charge.
♪
Both of them, they don't care
what anybody else thinks or feels!
They're in charge.
They're the boss.
Consequences don't apply.
[SNIFFLES]
Even if someone ends up hurt.
♪
Or even if someone
Ends up dead.
♪
You mean like
Like Alicia Williams?
♪
Like the girl from New Jersey,
that died in the car accident?
♪
Is that what you mean?
[SNIFFLES AND SIGHS]
It wasn't an accident.
Dad told us to crash
the car to cover it all up.
To cover what up?
♪
That he killed her.
♪
[SIGHS]
Where the hell is Paul?
Where the hell's the judge?
Apologies, ladies and gentlemen.
I've just received
some distressing news.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
Hey.
What happened?
He got shivved in the neck
by an inmate an hour before trial.
OK, did they say if
he's going to make it?
It's an inch from his jugular.
They stabilized him
enough to bring him here,
but it doesn't look good.
♪
So the judge hit the
pause button on trial
until Paul's able to testify.
And the surgeon was
able to stitch him up,
so it looks like he's going
to be able to pull through.
Well, we know this
isn't a coincidence.
What we don't know is how it happened.
Daniel Boyd,
awaiting transfer to
Green Haven for murder.
Inmate who stabbed Paul
now in solitary pleading the fifth.
More like covering for
whoever's behind this.
My money's on the lawyer.
She's been protecting
Nathan from jump.
Yeah, but does Vega have the juice
to pull something like this off?
Probably not.
But you know who does?
The father.
Yeah, venture cap Daddy Warbucks,
he tries to kill one
son to protect the other.
Or protect himself,
after what Paul told
you about Alicia Williams.
Well, the question is
how did he find out about it?
Wouldn't be shocked
if Paul got cold feet,
somehow squealed on his brother.
OK, Paul
Paul was solid.
He wanted to cooperate with us.
Yeah, somebody inside that jail
leaked our meeting with him.
They got the word out.
And we just need to find out who.
So, you two, find out
who has the big mouth.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
That's my phone!
You can't do that!
Yeah, according to
our warrant, we can.
It seems like you got
two jobs, Officer Hickey.
CO by day,
moonlighting bodyguard
for Raymond Ellis by night.
- That's not illegal.
- No, it's not.
But it is illegal to
have Paul Ellis killed
and grant Daniel Boyd
the access to do so.
- You got the wrong guy.
- Yeah?
Then why all these
phone calls to Raymond
the same day as Paul's attack?
♪
- I want a lawyer.
- Yeah, you'll get one.
And I'm sure they'll
convince you to cooperate.
♪
Mr. Ellis, were you
a willing participant
to your brother's scheme?
[RASPING] Yes.
And what did this scheme involve?
Finding women like Skylar Wright,
and Carly Wilson on social media,
sending them to our parties,
and me luring them in
for Nathan to assault them.
Did you witness these assaults?
I saw everything.
♪
[DOOR SLAMS]
Real estate titan Nathan Ellis
was found guilty of
rape in the first degree
while his brother Paul received
a plea deal in the final hour.
Raymond Ellis, remember me?
I remember everything,
Captain Benson.
Ah?
Even trying to kill your own son?
That's ridiculous.
- Excuse me.
- Not this time.
You're under arrest.
You have no idea who
you're dealing with, do you?
Well, actually, I do.
And you will be dealing
with Deputy Feldman
from Morris County.
Now, you remember him, don't you?
Because he has a couple of questions
about the murder of Alicia Williams.
♪
- Get him out of here.
- Come on.
Mr. Ellis.
Sir, can you tell us why
you're being taken into custody?
Mr. Ellis.
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]
[SIGHS]
In the criminal justice system,
sexually based offenses
are considered especially heinous.
In New York City, the
dedicated detectives
who investigate these vicious felonies
are members of an elite squad
known as the Special Victims Unit.
These are their stories.
Brand-new building in
NoMad just hit the market.
And the amount of space
I'm holding for this room.
It's me, fam, back with an update.
If you saw my Get Ready
with Me this morning,
you know I'm at another
exclusive open house.
Ugh.
Who's coming on a tour?
Say hi to the DJ, chat.
You're crushing it.
They already got three offers.
You want it, I'd go up to 40.
I don't see a Jacuzzi out here.
That's 'cause there's three of them.
This place is sending me.
It's giving rich,
it's giving ethereal.
Vibes are off the freaking charts.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
OK, I just want to
Drop a heart in the chat
if you think this place slaps, y'all.
And ladies, when you're partying,
always remember the buddy system.
Oh, my God. Girl,
what are the chances?
Hey, we're talking here.
Can you believe it's been a year
since Annie's bachelorette?
Fill me in, babe. It's
been, like, forever.
[SIGHS] You're a mess.
- What's your name?
- Skylar.
- Here.
- I drank too much.
For real.
First time?
Hang here.
I'll grab you some water.
OK?
♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[GRUNTING]
[DOOR SLAMS]
Skylar!
You OK?
She's fine.
Go away.
- Skylar?
- [GASPS]
Open the door.
I'm calling the cops.
Skylar!
Hey! Knock it off.
Someone needs help in here.
I think you need to leave.
A drunk girl's in
there with some guy!
What are you not hearing?
All I heard was a
guest complain about you.
- What?
- Let's go.
Literally, don't touch me!
I swear to God, you're so cooked, bro.
Look, I'm calling the cops!
NYPD!
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- Can I help you?
- Yeah, lock it down.
Don't let anyone leave.
All right, ladies and
gentlemen, we're with the NYPD.
- We're looking for a girl.
- I need your full cooperation.
Skylar.
She's in a locked bedroom.
Which way to the bedrooms?
♪
Perp took the sheets.
Hey.
It's OK.
It's OK.
Are you Skylar?
- Room's clear.
- Hey, Skylar.
Hi.
Get an EMT in here immediately.
Hey, Skylar?
Skylar, I'm with the NYPD
and I'm here to help you.
Your hair is wet.
♪
[WEAKLY] I was raped.
OK, we're going to
get you some help, OK?
I'm going to get you some help.
Put a blanket on her.
And I need a rape kit immediately.
She seems pretty out of it.
- Drugged?
- Yeah.
Her dress is on inside out.
The 911 caller said
this was an open house.
The whole building's a
brand-new development.
Well, then so is the plumbing.
♪
It's got to belong to our vic, no?
And if we're lucky, our rapist.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
- [ELEVATOR DINGS]
- I'm telling you, it was him.
Super creepy.
He had a leather jacket, scruff.
We're talking to everyone
who was at the party.
Well, but I also think
that that security guy
should, like, get his
license revoked or whatever.
Chat, your girl is
standing on business.
No filming in the precinct, chat.
So, you were working
the party, not a guest.
Yeah, I was there for atmosphere.
Atmosphere?
- What does that mean?
- Uh, just there to chat,
keep the energy up,
and obviously get content.
What kind of content?
The kind that gets people talking
about the properties
that are for sale,
so, live streams,
tours, stuff like that.
And you've been hired to work
these types of parties before?
A few.
Uh, LA, Vegas, Chicago.
Is there an expectation
with this atmosphere
to provide something else?
Like a collab?
- Like sex.
- Ew, no.
I'm asexual.
Seems like kind of
a dangerous situation
to put yourself in.
I mean, it's no more dangerous
than going to a club
or getting in an Uber.
I mean, if I'm at risk just existing,
I might as well get
something out of it.
Oh, my God, that's the guy.
I did not do anything to her.
That's him!
Hey, seriously.
Stop.
I'm just a buyer.
I was there to view the penthouse.
I don't even know that girl!
She seemed to know you, Chuck.
She wasn't the only one who saw you
creeping on a young woman.
Creeping?
We were having a
friendly conversation.
Guessing it was pretty one-sided
since she could
barely form a sentence.
OK. I was hitting on her.
Huh.
But when I saw she
was wasted, I backed off.
That girl out there,
she pulled her away,
and
I didn't drug or rape anyone.
Maybe you should
check out the bartender.
Why would we do that?
'Cause he had a
thing for over-pouring
only the girls' drinks.
Are you saying he spiked them?
I'm saying it wouldn't surprise me.
Uh, maybe you should ask him.
Well, we'll do that.
Once you give us your DNA.
Blood, sweat, tears.
Take my sperm, if you need it.
OK, preliminary report
on the shower drain hair.
Specimens from at least
two people, maybe more.
I thought it was a
brand-new building.
How many people showered in there?
Could be from a contractor,
a plumber, a decorator.
Well, you can add
Chuck's DNA to the pile.
So did he give you anything else?
Definitely the ick.
But considering he
was willing to hand over
his firstborn child,
might not be our guy.
He also gave us a
bartender, no name,
but Chuck said that
he was heavy-handed
with the women's drinks.
Any bartenders
questioned at the scene?
No, but there were
at least 40 guests.
Got DNA samples from most
and the others alibied each other out.
Perp did have a 25-minute window
from when Grace called 911,
and when we got there.
So enough time to attack Skylar,
clean her up, and run out the back.
Which is why we need
a list of the attendees
the staff, the guests, and,
you know, anyone who
left before we showed up.
The guy who set up the party
could probably help with that.
According to Grace, his
name is Marvin Gibbs.
He's an event planner
with an office in Tribeca.
OK, so you two, see if
Marvin is in the mood to share.
Track down this bartender.
Terrible what happened yesterday.
Exactly why I hire security.
Anything like this
ever happen before?
Every once in a
while, I'll hear about
one of the guests
overdoing it at the bar,
but something like this?
Not at my events.
We understand yesterday's
event was for an open house.
Ellis National Realty,
one of our many clients.
Who hire you to do what exactly?
Depends on the event,
but it's promotions, marketing.
I curate the guests, hire the staff.
And influencers
who all happen to be
young, attractive women.
Most influencers are.
So, your job is to hire hot
women to entertain guests.
Is that a crime?
Depends on what your
definition of entertain is.
All I care about is reach,
follower count,
brand deals, anything
to publicize the property.
Totally legit, and everyone
is handsomely compensated.
Then you got nothing to worry about.
We just need a list
of names of everyone
who attended that party, and,
we can get out of your hair.
I can't give that to you.
These guests are very rich, powerful.
I'd have to make some calls.
Or
We could make a call, for a warrant.
Blow this whole thing
up on social media.
Event planner invites young
women across state lines
and then sends them to
parties to get assaulted?
Sounds more like a
pimp than a planner to me.
Or you can just give us the list.
[SIGHS]
Alex Somer?
- Can I help you?
- Hope so, yeah.
You bartended an open
house party yesterday, yeah?
Party where an intoxicated woman
was attacked in the bedroom?
Jesus!
I, uh
I mean, I worked the party, but
I don't know about all that.
Why'd you leave before
the cops showed up?
I mean, I
I dipped when the open
bar ended, you know?
And I'm late for a shift.
What's the matter?
Scared of getting fired again?
We spoke to some
of your ex-employers.
We found out you've been
let go from a few different bars
over the years.
- Not for being late.
- [SIGHS]
But for inappropriate
behavior with female patrons.
[SIGHS]
Look, I, um
I got
nothing to do with this.
You can prove it with just
a quick swab of the cheek.
I'm good, thanks.
Told you I'm late.
Well, we'll come along
and we can share
with your current boss
the phone numbers to all
those ex-employers we spoke to.
[SIGHS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
[SIGHS] How long's this gonna take?
All right, five men on Marvin's list
had already left the
party when we showed up.
Few of them are uber-rich,
the rest are uber creepy,
but none had criminal records.
OK, what about the bartender?
Alex Somer.
Bruno and Griffin got
his swab to the lab.
Speaking of which, we
hear back on Skylar's rape kit?
No foreign DNA,
but her tox screen did
test positive for ketamine.
Ah, Skylar is out of the hospital,
and I'm holding hope that
she remembers something.
[SIGHS] I can't.
- I'm sorry.
- That's OK.
That's OK, that's OK.
So, how about
How about we start at the beginning?
OK?
Why don't you, um
Why don't you take me
through your day, right,
- leading up to the party?
- [SIGHS]
OK. Um
[SNIFFLES]
The event planners flew
me private from Chicago.
Mm-hmm.
Got me a car service to
this fancy hotel in Midtown.
OK.
Were there any red flags there?
- No.
- Mm.
I checked in,
I got ready.
I think I talked to a few
people once I got to the party.
I don't know, things
are still kind of fuzzy.
Well, we did confirm
that you were drugged.
- So
- [SIGHS]
Do you remember
anyone offering you a drink?
I don't think so.
But I do sort of remember Grace
pulling me away from that guy.
Mm-hmm.
And then what happened?
Um
I think someone,
a guy
Led me into the bedroom.
OK.
And after that,
all I have are, like, these feelings.
OK.
What kind of feelings?
Like, he's on top of me.
[SOMBER MUSIC]
All of his weight
On my arms, and on my legs.
But he's also by the
door just watching me.
Like
Like he's in
two different places.
OK.
So can you see him?
His height, his weight,
his skin color?
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
- OK.
- Uh [SIGHS]
Excuse me just for one second.
OK?
I'll be right back.
♪
The shower hair.
The labs came back,
and it showed three sets.
One belongs to Skylar,
and the other two,
both males, unknown.
Oh, so not a match to Alex or Chuck.
No, and none in CODIS either.
But what's interesting,
is both unknowns share
about a quarter of their
DNA on the father's side.
They're brothers.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
Half-brothers.
[SIGHS]
♪
OK, Nathan and Paul Ellis, 28, 32,
of Ellis National Realty.
OK, what do we know?
No wife and kids, grew up
in Morris County, New Jersey,
half-brothers from separate marriages.
The two mothers and a
little sister are out of state now.
The father is Raymond
Ellis, venture capitalist.
Invests in companies
via hostile takeover,
bumps the stock, then
dumps it for a profit.
Now, Intel looked into
him for insider trading,
but nothing stuck.
He did help his sons
start their real estate empire.
Dozens of properties
sold over the years
and even more in development.
Brothers are all over "Page Six"
selling homes of
celebrities and pro athletes.
It's all fantastic,
- but what about criminal records?
- None.
However, they were involved
in a fatal automobile
accident in 2017 in New Jersey.
Vic's name was Alicia Williams.
But we have nothing that puts them
in the room with Skylar
except for this shower hair.
I say we pick 'em
up, we shake 'em down,
we compel DNA
Unfortunately, the shower hair
is not going to prove much
because these two guys
still own the penthouse.
Not to mention guys like this,
they usually got a long line
of high-powered attorneys
that are just chomping
at the bit to fight this,
so
If these are our guys,
our best bet's going to be to find
everything we can on them
before we confront them.
Well, if they're throwing
parties all over the country,
probably not the first time
something's happened.
Exactly.
So, you and Griff,
dive into their social media.
Find other atmospheric
women through tagged photos,
follower lists, and I want you two
to really dig into
this fatal car crash.
Car drove headfirst
into the concrete
wall of a Home Depot.
Hood looked like a crushed can of Coke
when I got to the scene.
- Who was behind the wheel?
- Nathan.
Refused breathalyzer,
but he was wasted.
Paul was on the passenger's side,
and in the back was the victim.
- Alicia Williams.
- 30s. Just got engaged.
Temped at the father's company.
Brothers worked there summers.
But Williams wasn't in the back seat
when we got there,
because she was the only
one not wearing a seat belt,
if you get what I mean.
Well, the official
report said that the COD
was blunt force trauma to
the head from the accident.
You got another theory?
Williams was dead
before she got in that car,
and it's not just a theory.
Coroner confirmed it.
How did nothing ever come of this?
We arrested Nathan on the DUI.
DA had the coroner report.
Next thing I know, the
charges get dropped,
and all my cases are
under a microscope.
Chief says he's getting
anonymous complaints about my conduct.
Pretty soon
I'm doing this for eight years now.
You think the Ellis brothers
have that kind of pull?
I think their daddy does.
All I can tell you is,
if you come up against this family,
do what I should have
done eight years ago.
What's that?
Look the other way.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
So you've hung out with
Paul and Nathan at the parties?
A little.
Why?
We're investigating an assault
from a party a few days ago.
I just want to know if
you've seen anything similar.
OMG.
No.
Can you tell us what you have seen?
Just that the bros
are joined at the hip.
But, Paul's a sweet guy.
He's outgoing, charming.
What about Nathan?
Well, Nathan's different from Paul.
I mean, he's cold, awkward.
He looks right through you
like you're not even there.
You ever have a bad
experience with him, or Paul?
What do you mean bad experience?
Something you didn't consent to?
I haven't.
But there was this one girl, Carly.
She was, like, the
life of these parties,
but then one day, she just
ghosted, stopped coming.
You ever find out why?
I tried, but she unfollowed me,
never answered my DMs.
I always wondered if
something bad happened.
[UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING]
I thought influencers were dumb,
and then I started posting
videos of me making pizza,
and, people followed.
When'd you meet Nathan and Paul?
This past April,
at a new building they
opened in Queens.
Paul came up to me at
the bar and I thought, wow.
You know, like, here's
this rich, cute guy,
and he wants to talk to me. [CHUCKLES]
What happened?
I went back to the bedroom with him.
I thought we were just
going to make out a little.
Then it
I was dumb.
After a few minutes,
somebody knocked on the door.
And, Paul opens it,
and Nathan walks in.
[TENSE MUSIC]
What did Paul do?
Nothing.
So, Nathan gets on the bed,
and
He starts taking his clothes off.
I tried to leave, but Nathan just
pushed me back down on the bed.
He held my arms down.
And Paul didn't try to stop it?
He just stood there
in the corner
Watching.
After it was over,
Paul, he, uh, handed me my shirt.
Like, what?
Like, you're going
to be a nice guy now?
Hey.
I'm sorry this happened to you, Carly.
No, I
I know what you think.
It's all my own fault.
And, like, what do I think?
I'm just going to get all
this free stuff for nothing?
No, no, no, no,
that's not what we think.
That's why I didn't call the police.
I
I knew they wouldn't believe it.
We do.
It's too late anyways.
No, it's not.
After it happened,
some lawyer reached out.
They paid me money,
and I had to sign a paper
saying I wouldn't do anything.
Do you remember the lawyer's name?
I've got his email.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Oh, Marvin.
I already gave you my list,
told you everything I know.
You left out the
best part, Mr. Gibbs.
We didn't know you were a lawyer too.
Quite an achievement.
[CHUCKLING] Now, look, look
The emails sent to Carly
Wilson buying her silence
were traced to this
office's IP address.
I assume she didn't send them?
I'll tell them you're running late.
Great idea.
Listen, I was just doing
- what Nathan and Paul told me.
- Mm.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
- It's not me who picks the girls,
- it's them.
- You do know that you
have the right to remain silent?
They call it a target list.
They tell me who to get.
What happens after
that isn't my fault.
It's called conspiracy
to commit rape.
And you're just as guilty
as Nathan and Paul.
This isn't just a home.
It is a masterclass in design.
Contemporary sophistication,
an industrial finish
A mezzanine-level library,
more space than you
know what to do with.
But the real selling point
is its focus on health and wellness,
which is why
We built this.
[LAUGHS] Care to join me?
Hey, race you to the top?
- You're on.
- [LAUGHS]
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
Excuse me.
This is a closed set.
- Nathan and Paul Ellis.
- Excuse me. Who are you?
NYPD. Turn around.
You're under arrest.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICKING]
- What's this about?
Shut up.
Don't say anything.
I'm sure this is a misunderstanding.
Well, I'm pretty sure that it's not.
[TENSE MUSIC]
Look, someone was
attacked at our party.
We're just as concerned as you.
Well, we really appreciate
your willingness
to talk to us about it.
Starting with, how
long were you and Paul
at the party the other night?
About an hour.
We mostly go to show face to clients.
We make our rounds, we
have a drink, take some pictures.
Take pictures with who?
Important clients, influencers.
Oh, right, your
Your atmosphere women.
Yeah, well, these days,
influencers have to be
built into the business.
Influencers like her?
Skylar, right?
You see her at the party?
I saw that she was drunk.
That's not uncommon for these girls.
Hindsight, I should have
had security ask her to leave.
- But you didn't.
- No.
Because I left myself.
With my brother.
We went home.
You two happen to stop in
the bedroom on your way out?
Or the bathroom, maybe?
No.
Oh, but we did do a walkthrough
before the party started.
And since we had come off a workout,
I thought I'd take a shower.
So did Paul.
So you don't remember seeing her?
I'm telling you, I don't know!
Well, Paul, what do you know?
That we did what we
always do at the parties.
We show up, we do
our thing, and we leave.
And what thing is that?
Our jobs.
We sell the place.
And I would like to
see my brother now.
We're not here about your brother.
We're here about you.
I'm sorry that this happened to her.
I don't know anything!
OK.
Then maybe you know about her.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, I remember her.
We had sex.
And it was entirely consensual.
Walk us through that.
Well, she came up to me at the bar.
She was giving me all the signs.
We went to the bedroom.
But, before we got into it,
she asked me about Paul.
What about him?
If he'd be interested in watching.
Come on.
Are you
Are you serious right now?
[LAUGHS] I know how it sounds.
It's just the way she wanted it.
It's too bad that's
not what she told us.
Well, then she's either
mistaken or she's lying.
And you just played along?
Just watched your
brother have sex with her?
Yeah, I did.
Because you wanted to?
Maybe Nathan roped you into it.
Why don't we, uh, talk about Nathan?
What was it like growing up with him?
He looks out for me.
He protects me.
Protects you from what?
Nathan
Nathan isn't there.
All right?
He's over here.
And I gotta tell you, he's getting
the same chance you are.
Chance to do what?
To tell a story.
What do you think he's saying?
I don't think he's saying anything.
Well, for all you know,
he could be in there
right now spilling his guts.
There's nothing to spill!
And I'm done talking to you!
[GROANS]
So we got an outright
denial on one hand,
incestuous threesome on the other.
Another way to say guilty.
If we get enough distance
between him and big brother,
we might be able to flip it.
You really think
that's, that's doable?
Well, I just
he's completely
under Nathan's control.
I mean, you saw the way
he kept looking at the mirror.
All right, so how do
we lift Nathan's thumb?
So we know they're privileged.
Dad covers things up, Nathan protects.
But, you know, psychologically,
I'd have to know more about
where this dynamic comes from.
It's worth a shot, all right?
Considering our evidence is
shower hair and Marvin Gibbs.
And the victim's statement,
which told us that
Paul is just as culpable
even if he didn't
commit the act itself.
I think that we have more than
enough to prove it, don't you?
- [SIGHS] Certainly tried cases on less.
- Where are my boys?
- Captain.
- Where are they?
Oh, God.
Speaking of Dad.
- Which way? Who's in charge?
- Excuse me.
I am Captain Benson.
And you must be Raymond Ellis.
The father of two men I believe
you've wrongfully arrested.
And interrogated sans counsel,
which some might
find to be prejudicial.
Well, they've been
advised their rights,
and they're talking to us willingly.
Not anymore.
Interviews are over.
Oh, excuse me.
Ah
- Shut up, Paul.
- OK.
Sir, I'm going to have
to ask you to leave.
You need to leave the precinct.
Benson, is it?
Yes.
I can spell it for you.
Would you, would you like
my badge number as well?
- Yeah, maybe I would.
- OK.
Well, I'm happy to
provide that for you
as soon as you and your
bodyguard leave my precinct.
[TENSE MUSIC]
What, are you just
going to stand there?
I've got it covered, Raymond.
You need to leave, sir.
♪
Thank you.
♪
Guess we know where it comes from.
Wow.
Your Honor, I'm requesting
people's exhibit three
be entered into evidence.
These are emails,
Ms. Wilson received
from a purported
lawyer for the defendants.
No objection.
Ms. Wilson, would
you mind summarizing
what this lawyer said in these emails?
That he knew I felt uncomfortable
with what had happened.
He wanted to make it right.
And how did he
want to make it right?
By paying me $7,500
if I signed an NDA.
What was the name
of this, this lawyer?
He said it was Tom Miller,
but, I later found out from
SVU that it was Marvin Gibbs.
Marvin Gibbs, the party planner
who hired you in the first place?
Yes.
Ms. Wilson, why
did you sign something
that you knew was meant
to silence your assault?
Mr. Gibbs said that
the Ellis brothers had
so many resources,
it wouldn't be worth
it to do anything.
Nobody would take my
side, so I believed him.
Thank you.
No further questions.
Ms. Wilson, after this
alleged assault happened,
how long did it take for
you to go to the police?
I didn't.
How long did it take
you to go to the hospital
or visit a doctor?
I didn't do that either.
No police, no hospital.
But, you did take a
payment from Marvin Gibbs.
I already answered that.
You did, but [SIGHS]
I have to say if I'd experienced
what you say you've been through,
I'd have asked for more.
Objection.
Argumentative.
Get to the question, Ms. Vega.
Did you ask for more, Carly?
[TENSE MUSIC]
Yes.
Smart woman.
How much?
♪
I asked for 10.
$10,000.
Given how horrible you say this was,
even that doesn't sound like enough.
Your Honor, is the
defense testifying?
My apologies.
Nothing further.
♪
It was Marvin's idea to
offer Carly compensation
and ask her to sign an NDA.
He convinced me to go through with it.
Convinced you based on what?
Fear of false allegations.
In today's cancel culture,
an accusation like
Carly's, even if it's untrue,
would kill my career.
Marvin was trying to
protect me, in this way.
Let's talk about Skylar Wright.
Do you remember
seeing her at the party?
Yes.
She was at the bar.
With my brother, Paul.
They were talking, having drinks,
and then I saw them
go into the bedroom.
Are you aware of what happened
after Skylar and your brother
Paul went into the bedroom?
No.
All I know is that I never
saw Ms. Wright again.
[SCOFFS]
Mr. Ellis, why is this the first time
that anybody is hearing about this?
Hearing about what?
Oh, the fact that
you saw your brother
go into the bedroom with the victim
moments before she was attacked,
something that you neglected
to disclose to SVU detectives.
♪
I love my brother.
I've always tried to protect him.
When I spoke to the
police, I was not under oath,
but I am now.
And I take that very seriously.
♪
Mr. Ellis, in light of
your brother's testimony,
I only have a few questions for you.
Now, did you interact
with Skylar Wright
at the penthouse party?
Um, yes.
And did you have
drinks at the bar with her?
Yes.
Carly Wilson testified
to the same fact pattern
on another occasion,
that the two of you
had drinks together
before you took things to the bedroom.
Now, is that also what
happened with Skylar Wright?
Mr. Ellis, I'm right over here.
You can just look at me.
All right, I'm going to ask you again.
Is that also what happened
with Skylar Wright?
No.
No?
So your brother's lying?
[SIGHS] No.
What?
So Paul, look.
It
It's a simple question.
Did you, or did you not,
go into the bedroom with Skylar?
Yes.
OK, and after you and Skylar
went into the bedroom together,
did your brother, Nathan
Ellis, enter and assault her
the same way Carly
Wilson testified to earlier?
♪
Or you can just tell the court
what it is that you are looking at.
Your Honor, how is this relevant?
Your Honor, I'm sorry,
but I'm just wondering
how I'm supposed to question a witness
who is getting signaled by
his codefendant in real time.
That is a lie!
That's enough.
Do not speak unless spoken to.
And you
Keep your eyes on Mr. Carisi.
♪
Thank you, Your Honor.
I have nothing further for him.
♪
Carisi.
Do me a favor, Counselor.
Make this quick.
What do you want?
Paul pleads guilty
to the entire indictment.
Nathan walks.
[CHUCKLES]
Oh, Paul
Paul agrees to that?
Let me worry about Paul.
The only thing I'm
worried about, Ms. Vega,
is what this offer does for me.
It guarantees you one conviction
instead of what may end up being zero.
♪
So you're saying you think
that this whole thing is
orchestrated by Nathan.
You should have seen them,
eyeing each other in the courtroom.
And you heard about
Nathan's testimony, right?
I heard that he tried
to implicate his brother.
Yeah, I bet the
jury just ate that up.
You're not
You're not thinking about
accepting the deal that Vega offered?
No, not for a second.
In fact, I think she's
improperly representing Paul.
It's because of that
that I'm considering
offering him a deal of my own.
What, to flip Paul?
The man who led these
victims to their assault,
who stood by, and did nothing
while it was happening?
Liv, we have a very strong case
against Paul, but we don't for Nathan.
And I think most people would agree
that he's the greater
of the two evils here,
so if we can flip Paul,
then there is a chance
that we could land
them both behind bars.
[BUZZER BLARES]
- What's going on?
- Have a seat, Paul.
[BUZZER BLARES]
Did your lawyer tell you
about the deal she offered me?
What deal?
The one where Nathan walks away
Not guilty,
and you go down for everything.
You're lying.
Nah.
I wish we were, Paul.
But your brother put you
in that room with Skylar.
He doesn't care about you.
He was going to throw
you right under the bus.
And your attorney
just let it happen.
Which is why, uh,
despite the unforgivable
things you've done,
we wanted to give you one more chance,
to help yourself.
How?
It's called shadow counsel.
The court will appoint you
a new, separate attorney,
somebody that's gonna
work in your best interest only.
No.
- I'm not doing that.
- Hang on.
Your brother will never know.
And nor will his attorney.
Just the judge, us,
whoever your new lawyer is.
He's going to sit
behind me in the gallery.
Paul,
you said that your
brother protected you.
Your brother was using you.
He was manipulating you,
just like you manipulated Skylar,
like you manipulated Carly.
That's not protection, Paul.
That's control.
And it's the same kind
of control that I saw
when your father just
walked into the squad room
and started yelling at
you in front of everyone.
Now [SIGHS]
That doesn't excuse the
things that you've done.
But
It does give us an opportunity,
to help you,
free yourself from them.
And after all this time,
after all those years,
my God
Don't you want that?
[SOMBER MUSIC]
♪
[SIGHS]
♪
Nathan couldn't talk to girls.
He would just freeze up.
That's why he'd send me in.
Send you to do what?
Get them to like me, trust me.
Sometimes I'd put
something in their drink.
Lots of times, I didn't need to.
They would just
Come with me.
So you were the lure.
Is that what you did with Carly?
And Skylar?
♪
It's not just them.
Nathan would take over.
At first, I was just
supposed to be the lookout.
And then, he asked me to watch.
Why?
Power.
Paul was the second son.
Paul was from the second marriage.
And Nathan wanted to make sure
that you never forgot
who was in charge.
♪
Both of them, they don't care
what anybody else thinks or feels!
They're in charge.
They're the boss.
Consequences don't apply.
[SNIFFLES]
Even if someone ends up hurt.
♪
Or even if someone
Ends up dead.
♪
You mean like
Like Alicia Williams?
♪
Like the girl from New Jersey,
that died in the car accident?
♪
Is that what you mean?
[SNIFFLES AND SIGHS]
It wasn't an accident.
Dad told us to crash
the car to cover it all up.
To cover what up?
♪
That he killed her.
♪
[SIGHS]
Where the hell is Paul?
Where the hell's the judge?
Apologies, ladies and gentlemen.
I've just received
some distressing news.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
♪
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
Hey.
What happened?
He got shivved in the neck
by an inmate an hour before trial.
OK, did they say if
he's going to make it?
It's an inch from his jugular.
They stabilized him
enough to bring him here,
but it doesn't look good.
♪
So the judge hit the
pause button on trial
until Paul's able to testify.
And the surgeon was
able to stitch him up,
so it looks like he's going
to be able to pull through.
Well, we know this
isn't a coincidence.
What we don't know is how it happened.
Daniel Boyd,
awaiting transfer to
Green Haven for murder.
Inmate who stabbed Paul
now in solitary pleading the fifth.
More like covering for
whoever's behind this.
My money's on the lawyer.
She's been protecting
Nathan from jump.
Yeah, but does Vega have the juice
to pull something like this off?
Probably not.
But you know who does?
The father.
Yeah, venture cap Daddy Warbucks,
he tries to kill one
son to protect the other.
Or protect himself,
after what Paul told
you about Alicia Williams.
Well, the question is
how did he find out about it?
Wouldn't be shocked
if Paul got cold feet,
somehow squealed on his brother.
OK, Paul
Paul was solid.
He wanted to cooperate with us.
Yeah, somebody inside that jail
leaked our meeting with him.
They got the word out.
And we just need to find out who.
So, you two, find out
who has the big mouth.
[SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC]
♪
That's my phone!
You can't do that!
Yeah, according to
our warrant, we can.
It seems like you got
two jobs, Officer Hickey.
CO by day,
moonlighting bodyguard
for Raymond Ellis by night.
- That's not illegal.
- No, it's not.
But it is illegal to
have Paul Ellis killed
and grant Daniel Boyd
the access to do so.
- You got the wrong guy.
- Yeah?
Then why all these
phone calls to Raymond
the same day as Paul's attack?
♪
- I want a lawyer.
- Yeah, you'll get one.
And I'm sure they'll
convince you to cooperate.
♪
Mr. Ellis, were you
a willing participant
to your brother's scheme?
[RASPING] Yes.
And what did this scheme involve?
Finding women like Skylar Wright,
and Carly Wilson on social media,
sending them to our parties,
and me luring them in
for Nathan to assault them.
Did you witness these assaults?
I saw everything.
♪
[DOOR SLAMS]
Real estate titan Nathan Ellis
was found guilty of
rape in the first degree
while his brother Paul received
a plea deal in the final hour.
Raymond Ellis, remember me?
I remember everything,
Captain Benson.
Ah?
Even trying to kill your own son?
That's ridiculous.
- Excuse me.
- Not this time.
You're under arrest.
You have no idea who
you're dealing with, do you?
Well, actually, I do.
And you will be dealing
with Deputy Feldman
from Morris County.
Now, you remember him, don't you?
Because he has a couple of questions
about the murder of Alicia Williams.
♪
- Get him out of here.
- Come on.
Mr. Ellis.
Sir, can you tell us why
you're being taken into custody?
Mr. Ellis.
[OVERLAPPING CHATTER]
[SIGHS]