" This is you?" " Yeah." "Philanthropist." "People pay for all sorts of things on the Deep Web." "I'm keeping custody of Jacob." "But I lifted the restraining order." "Sometimes people keep trying until they get it right." "Why didn't you marry my dad?" "I don't want to talk about it." " It's a simple question." " No, it's not!" "Jacob." "Hi, Dad." "Holy shit." "Let go of him." "Please let go of him." "She said to please let him go." "Get out!" "Get out of here!" "I will get my son." "My attorney will be in touch." "I need you to kill Sean." "Why are you looking at me like that?" "Because I am thinking about what you just asked me to do." "Are you thinking about what you just asked me to do?" "No." "I'm waiting for you to answer." "I don't think you meant to ask it." "I did." "You really want me to kill Sean." "I need you to kill Sean." "Jacob's father." " Yes." " You want to kill a person." "No, I want you to kill a person, which is nothing new for you." "These are words I never imagined you would say." "And I never imagined that the man who ruined me would come back and try to ruin me again." "I never imagined he would try to ruin Jacob." "Actually, I have imagined it like a million times, because it's my worst nightmare." "And now he wants custody and he has a lawyer." "I'm sorry." "Of course, I could never understand what you went through with Sean." "Obviously, it was horrible, what he did to you." "So you wouldn't have kept Jacob a secret unless there was a very good reason." "Exactly." "And that man cannot take Jacob." "Do you understand?" "I understand." "Cul-de-sac?" "Sounds homey." "Yeah, that sounds good, too." "That's near the park, right?" "I like it." "I like it." "Does the front yard have privacy, though?" "Yeah, I don't want people looking in on our shit." "Okay, badass." "Love you, too, baby." "My girl is researching real estate, looking into school districts and shit." "You must be confident you will get custody." " What can I get you?" " Just coffee." "So your girlfriend didn't want to come with you?" "Help support you?" "She knows I fight my own battles." "Obviously, Letty wants you to fight this one." "I am not here to fight." "No?" "Then why'd you ask me to meet you here?" "I know why." "Really?" "You think I'm a piece of shit." "I don't know you." "So what happened between you and Letty?" "She didn't tell you?" "No, not really." "Letty and I had something..." "Something real, something real... up." "But she doesn't take responsibility for the choices she makes, and when shit turns bad, she turns blame on whatever's close by." "I was close by." "Just an innocent bystander." "No, I wasn't..." "I wasn't perfect." "But no matter what she wants to believe, I wasn't a demon." "Anyway, that was a long time ago." "I've moved on." "I've become a man." "A decade later, and she is still right where she was when I dropped her junkie ass." "So you abandoned her." "Junkies abandon themselves." "You didn't do drugs." "No, sure I did." "Nothing like Letty." "I didn't even know that Jacob existed until two weeks ago." "She told him I was dead." "Did you know that?" "I know that." "Well, I'm back from the dead." "Thank you." "So... how do you really know if you want to be a father to Jacob?" "How do I know if I want to be a father to my own son?" "You've only known Jacob for two weeks, so you don't know him." "I've spent more time with him than you have." "And that's the problem." "Why is that a problem?" "You're not his real father." "I care about what happens to him." "You are unbelievable, man." "You are disrupting Jacob's life." "He contacted me." "A child doesn't always know what's best." " I'm about to..." " What?" "What are you about to do?" "I think you should leave." "That's a great idea." "I mean leave." "Go away." "I have never seen Letty more destroyed than she is right now." "You terrified her." "Leave her alone." "Leave Jacob alone." "Are you kidding me with this?" "Jacob's an amazing kid because he was raised by people who cared about him." "And now you just want to take him away from those people..." "His grandmother, his mother." "Yeah." "I want to take him away from his mother, like she took him away from me." "So you just want to win." "Of course I want to win, but I choose my battles carefully." "Jacob is my son." "That's a battle you choose." "Can I help?" "We don't need help." "I know you don't, but I'm still gonna help." "See?" "I'm not so bad at this." "It's an easy puzzle." "They made it for drunk people." "Swag I got from a cruise Rob took me on." "How long are you gonna be mad at me?" "I don't know." "Do you remember how many times I asked you that same question... you gave me that same answer?" "Yep." "You two are so the same it's scary." "Did you talk to Kyle yet?" "Not yet." "You need a lawyer, Letty." "Okay?" "Not just for you, for me." "And I love that boy." "I've cried for that boy, I sacrificed for that boy, and I didn't do it all so that repulsive piece of human garbage could come in here and take him away from us." "I know you didn't." "Well, that's what could happen." "I won't let that happen." "Good." "Well, go." "Ah." "Jesus." "Is the air-conditioning broken?" "Oh, it sure is." "It's like a damn heat wave." "Don't tell me you think you still work here." "No." "I need to see Kyle." "Is he here?" "He's here, but so is Hurricane Tiffany." "The filter is further up there, Mitch." "Put your back into it." "How could you think for a second that people wouldn't find out?" "You're on Grindr for Christ's sake." "Would you keep it down?" "I am not on Grindr." "Really?" "So there's some other dude who likes" ""getting deep-dicked till he forgets his wife's name"" "standing five feet away from me right now?" "Maybe it's Mitch." "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." "You did, but it's fine." "I got nothing left to say." "What are you doing here?" "I need Kyle to make sure Sean doesn't get custody of Jacob." "Good luck with that." "Yeah." "Can you be my lawyer for this custody hearing?" "It's tomorrow." "I'm sorry." "Letty, you... you know that I don't know shit about family law." "So?" "Open a book." "Uh, my plate's kind of full right now." "You know this is everything." "Can you please help me?" "Yes." "Okay, of course." "Thank you." "Oh, uh, hey." "Wear something an unemployed felon could actually afford." "Yeah." "I am sorry." "Okay?" "Letty, I..." "I think that this whole thing with Sean might have started because I accidentally told Autumn that the actor on this TV commercial was Jacob's dad, and I think that she told him, and then he..." "That's exactly what happened." "Why didn't you say anything?" "I don't know." "It happened." "Can't change it." "I know you have a lot going on." "I am so sorry." "It's okay." "No, it's not." "Well, hopefully it will be." "Want to go shopping?" "Yes." "Kyle said it has to look cheap, not ugly." "I can't believe he's already dispensing fashion advice." "Tiffany, he still loves you." "He still wants to sleep with you." "Monogamy doesn't have to be what it always was." "Wrong." "Monogamy is a word." " It has a definition." " You know what I mean." "You might find you'd like an arrangement that's not so... traditional." "Not bad." "Remove the lace." "You're seriously gonna steal that?" "This is a charity store." " Ugh, fine." " What is wrong with you?" "Hey, dude." "Hey." "Is Jacob in his room?" "Sort of." "He's in his fort, which is in his room, and which is the most badass fort, ever." "I helped, but not that much." "Did you talk to Kyle?" "Yeah, he'll be there." "Thank God." "Thank you." "That is the best fort I've ever seen." "Can I come in?" "I'm reading." "Just for a second." ""Where the Red Fern Grows."" "I remember reading that book." "This is my second time." "Did it make you cry the first time?" "No." "Me neither." "Know what the best part is?" "When the boy falls on the axe and a bubble of blood comes out of his mouth." "Totally." "Are you nervous about going to court tomorrow?" "I don't want to go." "Me neither." "I want everything to go back to normal." "I didn't think you'd all start fighting just because I e-mailed him." "You didn't do anything wrong." "Why do you want to be my mom so bad?" "Because I am your mom." "Because I love you." "But aren't you supposed to not lie to someone if you love them?" "You're right." "I shouldn't have lied to you." "I'll never do it again." "I really want to be a good mom to you." "I know." "I love you, too." "Did you do it?" "No." "Why?" "You know what?" "Never mind." "I'll get someone else to do it off that Deep Web thing." "I tried to get Sean to leave." "That's not what I asked you to do." "Because Sean won't leave, which is why I didn't ask you to ask him to leave." " I asked you..." " What I don't want is to do the thing you're asking me to do, and then you regret it." "You will resent me for doing something you don't really want done." "He's going to take him away from me." "And me." "I won't resent you." "You will." "I am not going to do it, Letty." "Get out of this house." "Room 213." "Up the stairs, to the right." "Thank you." "Have a good night." "What are you doing here?" "I'm sleeping here." "Please." "Ow." "Ah." "Okay." " Hi." " Hi." " Are you..." " He's my mom's boyfriend." "Hi, buddy." "This is everyone now, correct?" "Yes." "We can get started." "Actually, I'd like to start with Jacob." " Why?" " Why?" "Because I'll speak with Jacob alone, and then I'll speak with the rest of you." "Is this normal?" "How are you doing?" "Is it normal that they talk to the kid first?" "I-It's not out of the question." "But a kid could say anything." "Jacob could say anything." "Hey..." "Don't worry." "Custody almost always goes to the mother." "Unless the mother is me and the father is a manipulative psycho." "I read about a judge who granted custody to a mother who literally traded her kid for Adderall." "It is not okay that you're here." "I am here for you." "I don't need you here for me." "I don't want you here for me." "I want to support you." "Are you serious right now?" "I gave you a great opportunity to support me, and you decided not to." " Bye." " It wasn't what you wanted." "You are not the decider of what I want." "We are separate people." "Okay." "We are separate people." "You've been living with your grandmother for a while now." "Can you tell me about her?" "What about her?" "What's she like?" "She plays a lot of games with me." "She makes me laugh." "She feeds me." "She's married to a new guy named Rob." "And what do you think about Rob?" "He's awesome." "He makes me laugh, too." "He says he has the biggest lawnmower in town, and Nana has the biggest lawn." "It's a joke about sex." "How do you know it's a joke about sex?" "Because I'm old enough to know." "What about your mom?" "She's my mom." "Come on, Jacob." "I've done this a thousand times." "You're obviously a mature kid, so be real with me." "She has a lot of hard nights." "And what happens when she has hard nights?" "Jacob?" "What happens when she has hard nights?" "I don't know." "She probably drinks vodka or something else bad." "She's been in jail." "I do know that, yes." "My dad was a porn star, but not anymore." "He doesn't know I know that." "I look like my dad, but I don't know anything else about him except that he does commercials and I look like him." "Would you like to get to know your dad better, Jacob?" "I guess so." "Has your mom ever talked to you about your race?" "Yeah, just a few days ago." "What are you writing down?" "Just a few notes to myself." "I know you think my mom is a bad mom, but she's not." "She loves me." "Of course she loves you." "And I don't think she's a bad mom, but she struggles with some other things." "Yeah." "It's nice that your father seems to really want the chance to get to know you, and you want to get to know him, too." "I want you to make my mom and my dad be married so they'll have to love each other." "Then they can do a good job together." "In a perfect world, I'd make that happen for you, but this world isn't perfect." "I'm sorry, Jacob." "But I have to think about which parent you should live with." "Who would you rather it be?" "Okay, we'll take 15, and then Jacob will go to the playroom around the corner with Vicky while the rest of us talk." "How did it go?" "I have to go to the bathroom." "It's right over there." "I don't know." "This one is for boys." "I know." "It's fine." "Are you mad?" "No, baby." "I'm not mad, but I'm confused." "Why wouldn't you talk to me out there?" "I don't know." "Yes, you do." "I don't want you to kill yourself." "Why would you say that?" "Who gave you the impression that I might kill myself?" "Dad." "Sean." "So he sat you down and said," ""Jacob, did you know your mom might kill herself?"" "He said if you had to be my mom full time, you would probably kill yourself because of the pressure." "That is a lie." "He told me you tried before." "Did you?" "Yes." "A very long time ago, which has nothing to do with what is happening right now." "See, this is what I'm talking about, Jacob." "Your father is not a good man." "For him to bring that up..." "He..." "I'm sorry he brought that up to you." "I don't want you to hate him." "He told me good things, too." "Like what?" "He said I can be the president if I want to be." "Obviously you could be the president." " I could have told you that." " But you didn't." "Because it's a job for an egomaniac, and you're not an egomaniac." "Do you want to go live with Sean?" "Look at me." "Do you want to go live with him?" "I don't know." "Okay." "It's okay that you don't know." "My client hopes that you consider what a significant loss it's been for him to be robbed of the opportunity to know his son." "I would hope your conversation with Jacob granted you some insight into how important Ms. Raines is to her son." "I appreciate all of your points of view." "I know that you love Jacob." "I know that you love Jacob, but there are a few details that complicate this matter." "Though it is noted that Ms. Raines was released from her sentence early, it is also worth noting that Mr. Barron, while not a part of Jacob's life until recently, may be the more natural parent in this case." " And..." " "The more natural parent"?" "In my observation, Jacob may benefit from a primary caretaker with whom he shares a common culture." "What does that mean? "A common culture."" "I believe, honey, she's saying something along the lines of" "Blacks should stay together." "No." "No, that is not what I'm saying." "She's saying Jacob needs a parent who understands what it means to be black." "It could be very good for Jacob to spend more time with someone who has a personal understanding of his heritage, where he came from." "You mean my vagina, because that's where he came from." " Excuse me." " I'm sorry." "I-I didn't..." "My client is understandably emotional, Ms. Shane." "Are you really making custody recommendations based on something as superficial as the child's skin tone?" "I beg your pardon, but racial identity is far from superficial." "You might want to rethink going down..." "Okay, wait." "Hold on." "I'm sorry." "I understand that Sean is his father, clearly, but I'm his mother." "And seeing how I was robbed of the opportunity before," "I deserve a chance to be his father." "I think Mr. Barron makes a good point." "Please listen to me." "I know my son." "He's kind and he's soft-spoken." "Competition and all that male bullshit make him anxious." "He's smart, but he's fragile." "He gets that from me." "I'm fragile." " He's also very observant." " He also gets that from her." "I've made a lot of mistakes." "Everyone knows that." "Jacob knows that." "My mother..." "My mother has done an amazing job raising him." "But now Jacob needs to know that his own mother can take care of him, that his own mother wants him, that his own mother gets him." "I get him because he's just like me." "And those ingredients we're made of aren't typical." "They're hard to understand, but they're intuitive to me." "I'm not trying to win an argument." "I love him and I want to be his mother." "Please, let me be his mom." "I will pass my recommendations along to the family court, and a judge will make a ruling by end of day Monday." "Until that decision is made," "Jacob will remain in his grandmother's custody." "This meeting is concluded." "Thank you for your careful consideration." "It is greatly appreciated." "Yes." "Yes, thank you." "Unbelievable." "This is about what is best for Jacob." "Come on." "Let's go home." "No, I just need to be alone for..." " Letty." " No, I need to be alone for a second." "Give me a minute." "Okay." "Congrats." "Looks like you got everybody convinced you're not who you really are." "Come on, now." "Don't be a sore loser." "No, no, no, no." "It's really very impressive." "I mean, look at you." "It's like "He is risen." Am I right?" "You came around, begging for those drugs, and then you begged me to take you..." ""Take me, Sean." "Take me, Sean."" "Little strawberry, that's what you were." "Couldn't have shaken you off of me if I tried." "Why are you doing this?" "Don't act like what I'm doing is wrong." "I'm fighting for the same thing that you are." "We're just on different sides." "I want to be a father to my son." "Jacob does puzzles." "He reads." "He's reading "Where the Red Fern Grows"" "for the second time." "He is barely your son." " I gave him that book." " No, you didn't." "Yes, I did." "Ask him." "Well, he really likes it." "Good." "Swear you aren't doing this to hurt me." "I swear." "And, by the way, it's not always about you." "There are some things that nev change." "So how many nights you looking to stay?" "When's checkout?" "10:00 a.m." "Better just make it two nights." "Om 213." "Up the stairs, to your right." "Letty." "They're probably giving custody to Sean." "I want you to know that." "So thanks." "Where are you?" "We can talk." "I don't want to see you." " What are you doing?" " What do you think?" "What do you want?" "Didn't know you were staying here, too." "What?" "With Javier." "He's not staying here." "Well, he was staying here last night, in this room." "Well, he's not here anymore." "Mm." "Stop." "I know what you're doing." "I know you know what I'm doing." "What are you doing?" "Please leave." "You were better in my memory." "Jacob?" "You are not coming into this house." "Get out of here." "Mom, wait." "That guy is a friend." "A friend, really?" "Because that is an FBI agent." "Your friend brought an FBI agent here to talk to you." "Is she really an FBI agent?" "Rhonda Lashever." "Come on, Letty." "Open the door." "If you want custody of your son on Monday, you will let us in." "You really should've led with that tidbit." "I would've let you in 10 minutes ago." "Who wants sandwiches?" "No mayo on mine, thanks." "None for me." " Calcium's good for the bones." " Not mine." "Well, it's your osteoporosis." "If the lady doesn't have to have milk," "I shouldn't have to have milk." "That makes sense." "You still have to have milk." "Come on, Jacob." "Let's go eat outside." "Bye, Jacob." "So, what, you turn yourself in?" "I got caught." "Went in to quit, they were waiting for me." "Got fired, actually." "Got fired." "Thank you for clarifying." "Your former parole officer, here..." "Come here." "So, your former parole officer, here, starts telling us about one of his former parolees, says he is the smartest he ever worked with." "Unconventional, real sharp thinker, wears wigs, that she..." "And the she is you, Ms. Raines, in case you weren't following..." "Had something to do with the $100,000 he had rolled up in a duffel bag full of cheap sweaters." "You said something about helping me getting custody of Jacob?" "They will also expunge your entire criminal record." " You'll be able to..." " Then he starts talking about this suave Latin guy that's hanging around with this woman." "Said he was real mysterious." "Ding." "I..." "I don't know." "Something about the wigs and the mysterious Latin guy..." "I just had a hunch that he might be a guy we've been looking for for a very long time..." "A guy named Javier." "What did you mean when you said you can help me get custody of my son?" "Finally, as you may have guessed by now, your parole officer said that you, Ms. Raines, under the right circumstances, might be willing to help me locate this man." "Well, he was wrong." "That's interesting." "I'm hoping that's not the case, because, of course, if your current circumstances do produce that willingness, it sure would minimize the hailstorm of iced shit that's about to come raining down on you." "Just so you know, the way you talk makes you sound like an asshole." "I'm an FBI agent, Ms. Raines." "I think you will find it easier to deal with me if you change your attitude." " Or you could change your personality." " Letty." "They will guarantee you get custody of Jacob, and they'll wipe your entire record." "They can use it to wipe their entire ass." "You might be okay with selling someone out, but I'm not." "If I even knew who this guy was, which I don't." "Letty, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry that I got caught, but this is a good deal." "I mean, they will erase all of the shit from your past that stops you from..." "You can start over." "Clean slate, with Jacob." "Clean slate, with Jacob." "For sure?" "For sure." "Ms. Raines." "We know your friend gets most of his work through the Deep Web." "All you have to do is give us his handle, then we'll offer him a job." "I can't do that." "I think you can." "I don't know him." "I think you do." "I'm asking nicely, so I can see why you think you have a little room to wiggle, but let me be clear with you." "I can tell the judge that he has no choice but to see the good in you on Monday, that he has no choice on Monday but to see what a wonderful mother you will be to little Jacob." "Or I can do the opposite." "Just do what she's asking." "If he responds to our job request, that's on him." "We just need a little nudge in the right direction." "Nothing big, just a nudge." "You want me to just nudge him into a gas chamber." "For the sake of little Jacob." "Please stop calling him little Jacob." "You're making him sound like a character from "Oliver Twist."" "I'm losing patience, Ms. Raines." "Please stop calling me Ms. Raines." "Please stop thinking you have the power here." "Oh, I definitely have the power here." "I don't know who that man is." "You can leave now." "If you change your mind, you have to do it by the end of the day." "Tomorrow is too late." "Let me know." "He has my info." "I'm so sorry." "How could you put me in that position?" "Because I hunted you down to a hotel where you convinced me to help you steal $200,000" " and then I got arrested." " You're saying this is my fault?" " I'm saying you started it." " Oh, my God." "And I'm really glad you did." "That was the best day of my life." "I'd do it all again." "And if the final outcome of all of this is you getting Jacob..." "I mean, holy shit." "That'll be the best day of yo life." "He's a murderer." "Letty, all you have to do is give them his name on that Web thing." "You can even give it to me." "I'll give it to them." "Javier is not a moron." "If that car alarm of a woman contacts him, he'll know something's up." "Then there's nothing to be conflicted about." "Betrayal is not a tree falling in a forest." "You feel like telling me why I was making sandwiches for your parole officer and a fed this afternoon?" "Because you offered them sandwiches." "I'll wait." "They wanted me to rat on one of my old dealers." "Okay." "And how does Jacob fit into that request?" "In a quid pro quo sort of way." "I-If you have a picture of that drug dealer they want you to flip on, we could do a side-by-side comparison, decide which one is cuter." "Maybe I'm crossing the line by asking, but where on earth is that man of yours?" "He's not my man." "Of course he is." "If I were you, I would go find him and apologize for whatever it is you did." "What can I get you?" "Oh, I think..." "I'll have a milkshake." "Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry?" "I don't know." "What do you think I should get?" "For you, I'd go with strawberry." "Why's that?" "You want vanilla?" "No, I think you're right." "Strawberry." "Hi." "Thanks for answering." "Where are you?" "Nowhere, really." "Nowhere?" "Where's that?" "I don't know." "Are you sober?" "Are you my sponsor?" "I want to tell you something, and I want to do it when you're sober." "What is it?" "Tell me you're sober first." "Jesus, yes." "I'm sober." "Just say what you have to say." "I'm sorry I could not do what you asked me to do." "And I'm sorry I hurt you." "Letty?" "I'm here." "Good." "I wanted you to know that before I say goodbye." "What?" "You're not saying goodbye." "I am." "No, you're not." "Don't be such a drama queen." "Okay." "It's still goodbye." " No, it's not." " Take care of yourself, Letty." "_"