The Stepdaughter (2024) Movie Script
I love you, Mom.
So are you taking Jordan
or you taking LeBron?
Ooh.
Jordan or Bron-Bron?
You gotta think about that.
Uh-uh. Uh-uh.
- Hey, hey, hey.
- What?
- MJ is...
- What
the GOAT.
- Why are we still doing this?
- Thank you.
I'm getting some wine. Do you want?
- You too want?
- Yes.
Two more beers, baby. Thank you.
-Make that two, Whit.
-Thank you.
-Two more beers.
-Don't be mad.
No, I ain't mad.
He makes all of this...
He is amazing, isn't he?
Uh-hmm.
He's something.
Oh, my gosh.
Cass, what's that supposed to mean?
Nothing.
Ugh. Her nothing is never nothing.
Always fully loaded.
Really, Rhonda?
- I mean...
-Really?
I'm just saying.
I just...
-The GOAT.
-Yeah. Yeah.
Don't you think four months
is a little too quick, Whit?
Of course it is.
I'm in love and I'm not
getting any younger.
Okay.
Well, tell me you at least
got him to sign the prenup.
I'm in love, but I'm not in stupid.
We are still newlyweds.
Okay. See that?
Keep that to yourself.
- One second.
- Okay.
You like... oh, you was
a North Carolina guy?
Here you go, babe.
You talking about the team... hey.
-Oh.
-That's for you.
Oh, thank you, babe.
Hi.
I'm looking for Michael Lawrence,
is he here?
You're Joanna?
Yeah, I am. How do you know?
I've seen so many pictures of you.
I would never forget a beautiful face.
Your dad talks about you all the time.
I'm Whitney, his wife.
I know.
It's nice to meet you.
- Come in. I'm sorry. Get...
- It's okay.
Um, Michael.
This is Jordan, right?
- Look. Hey, hey...
-Yeah, don't
ask her who's the GOAT?
Listen, she won't even go there.
Baby, come here.
-Bro, no.
-You're not... stop.
Don't touch... don't touch. Go mess him up.
Just -Please, let me play.
- No.
- Come on, bro.
Bro, this is a real game we're having.
How many times you're gonna call me, baby?
- You're tripping.
-Hi, Dad.
Joanna.
What are you doing here, baby?
I know I should have called,
but I thought it would be
better if we spoke in person.
Is everything all right?
Granny Linda died.
Babe, wow.
I'm sorry.
Are you okay?
Should I call and-and check
in with the family or something?
Oh, I wouldn't call.
They're all taking it
pretty hard right now,
so it would probably
be best if you didn't call.
You didn't leave on the best terms.
You're right.
I almost forgot about that.
Well, how are you holding up?
Because I know that was
your favorite grandmother.
You know, she was my favorite grandma,
but that was also because
your mother hated me.
She did not hate you, Joanna.
- She hated me.
-No.
She hated me.
-She...
-She hated me.
You just weren't her favorite.
I'm an only child.
How can I not be the favorite?
I'm guessing Granny Linda
was your mother's mother?
Yeah.
We're really sorry for your loss.
It's okay.
That's why I couldn't
make it to your wedding.
Right.
What happened?
She fell down the stairs.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Are you sure you're all right, baby?
Yeah, I'm fine.
It's just really weird living with someone
and seeing them every day.
Then all of a sudden, they're just gone.
Yeah.
I understand the feeling.
Do you have anywhere to stay or...
Um, my Aunt Debra offered
for me to move in with her family,
but she already has
six kids, so I don't know...
No, we are really happy that you came here.
You are going to stay with us.
What?
-No questions asked, please.
-Really?
-Yes.
And in our guest bedroom,
we gotta fix it up a little bit,
but it's gonna be perfect.
Thanks.
Don't worry about your bag.
Uh, baby, let her meet the boys.
Perfect.
And we have a barbecue
going so it's great timing.
-Just... yeah.
-Come. Come, please.
Okay.
So how did you get here?
- I Ubered.
- You Ubered.
You're not good.
You're not good at all, kid.
- I can't.
-Boys...
- Bro, this is like...
- Huh?
Pause the game for a
minute. I need to talk to you.
Just go and hit the three.
Oh, damn. Fine.
Yes?
Boys, this is my daughter, Joanna.
She's your new stepsister.
Hi, I'm Eric.
Hi, Eric.
And this handsome young man
is Whitney's older son, Brian.
Uh, but yeah, everyone calls me BK.
No, we don't.
No, we don't.
Yes, you do.
My friends call me BK.
It's nice to meet you, BK.
BK.
Um, and this is my friend, Dante, so...
How you doing?
I'm Dante.
- He comes with the house.
- Hey.
Uh-hmm. We find you in the pantry.
And you guys love me for it.
Your house is so beautiful.
When my dad first told
me that you were dating,
I looked you up
and I ordered some of your products
and they were really good.
Oh, you didn't have to do that.
I could've given you them for free.
This is a really nice photo.
Oh, what's this?
Oh, um, that's my mother's urn.
She passed away a little over a year ago,
and we we're really close,
so I like to keep her here
with me, and no one touches it.
Well, that's really sweet.
I really wish I would've
done something like that.
Um, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to upset you.
It's okay.
It's just been a lot.
No, it's fine.
It's okay, right?
Hey, baby,
I got Joanna all settled
in down there, so...
-Hmm.
-Yeah, she's good.
That's great.
Is it?
Yes, it is.
It's... that's great news.
I'm just... like I said, I
just wanna apologize
because we never really
talked and discussed it...
-Honey...
- and she just popped up.
-It wasn't planned...
-I know.
- you know?
-Yes, it was...
it is an unexpected surprise,
but she's your daughter
and we're a family now,
so we just gotta roll
with the punches, right?
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay.
You ready for beds?
I'm ready now.
Let's go.
I got permission, you know.
Hey, can I come in?
Yeah, come on in.
Oh, shoot.
I didn't... I didn't know you could paint.
Oh, yeah, I do it for fun.
Um, I just wanted to tell you
that they're about to make lunch.
It's gonna be turkey sandwiches, so...
Okay. Thanks.
Is that supposed to be you?
Oh, yeah, this is me.
Um, the painting basically just represents
the two women I love
the most in my life dying.
Well, you are... you are talented.
Appreciate it.
Apparently, I get it from my mother.
Is this her?
Uh, yeah, that's her.
Wow. I mean, she's gorgeous.
You look just like her, you know?
Do you, uh, you miss her a lot?
Yeah, I do.
I just get lost in
thought a lot of the time
thinking about how she
feels about certain things.
Like what?
Like if she's angry at the
drunk driver that killed her.
I couldn't...
I couldn't even imagine something like that
happening to my mom, you know?
Left, right, left, right.
If you gonna cut it, cut it right.
What are you doing?
You just in time for the party, baby.
Just in time. Lunch is almost ready.
Yay.
Uh, hey, Mom, uh, and Mike,
can Dante spend the night tonight?
I don't see why not.
You okay with that, babe?
You know, I don't make the rules.
It's your mama house.
- You right.
- And you know that.
Okay. Yeah.
All I do is make sandwiches.
Let's see what this tastes like.
Hey, Whitney,
what is all this stuff for?
Oh, these are samples that I'm prepping
for my pitch meeting I have coming up.
What's a pitch meeting?
I have a meeting with
some execs from Walmart,
so if all goes well,
they'll start to carry my
products in their stores,
and that means worldwide distribution.
That would be huge for us.
Wow.
This is all so cool.
You're really like an inspiration
to a lot of girls like me.
I really do hope that one day
I can be somewhat like you.
Aw, you're so sweet and beautiful.
And your dad tells me how
creative and smart you are.
Uh-hmm.
Because I'm always bragging about my baby.
Leave her alone.
You ain't too big for kisses.
If you work really hard,
I'm sure you'll be able to
accomplish whatever you want.
I hope you're hungry.
-Yeah, I'm starving.
-Yeah?
Put this away.
You know, I was thinking
maybe we could have
a girls' day this weekend
and go get our nails done
or a facial or something like that.
What do you... what do you say?
Yeah, that sounds great.
Um, let me think about it.
Okay.
Let me get this out of your way.
No, no.
No, no, no.
What...
Oh, sh...
What happened, baby?
- Hey, hey, hey!
- Oh, my God.
What are y'all doing?
-Oh.
-Oh, my God.
I don't know how this happened.
Mom, Mom.
No, no, no, don't touch...
Don't touch anything.
-Can I help?
-No, no, no. I got it.
It's okay.
What do you... what do you want, baby?
Do you want a container or something?
I... can I do that? Yes.
Can you get me a container, please?
I can't believe this.
Baby, what?
Accidents happen, but
the fact that she acted
like she didn't even do it,
it's a little troubling.
I mean, she was probably
scared to say something.
Think about it.
If it was you,
don't you think you
would be a little afraid too?
Put yourself in her shoes?
I'm saying she just got here.
I guess you're right.
I mean, at least we were
able to get most of the ashes.
I can always get a new urn.
Right.
Please do not tell
Joanna that Eric told me.
He does not want her not to like him.
I'm not gonna tell.
Trust me.
Oh, he's so cute.
I do wanna say thank you, you know,
just for being understanding
about Joanna popping up like this.
She's a good kid, baby, trust me.
Yeah,
she seems like it,
which is what makes me wonder
why you didn't take her
after her mother died.
I mean, there's a reason why.
I mean, we just
we never talked about it.
I'm listening.
Oh, wow.
Um... this is funny. I haven't, um...
I hadn't talked about
this to anyone in years.
Baby, you can... you can tell me anything.
I'm here.
I mean, I told you that she was killed,
um, by a drunk driver, but I didn't
never go into detail about
what happened afterwards.
It was about five years ago.
Um, and then after the accident,
it was
you know, it was just bad for me.
It was rough on Joanna too.
And, you know, I started drinking
to deal with the pain
and... drinking heavy,
so heavy that I would... um,
I would pass out,
black out at hotels for days
and I would leave Joanna.
She would be at home by herself.
Can you imagine that little girl,
12 years old, all alone?
No money, no food.
Just
she's so smart.
Jo is so smart. That
girl is a survivor, man.
She was walking to the store, you know,
to get something to eat.
And I was at home, blacked out
on one of my episodes,
and she got picked up by the cops.
And long story short,
that's how she ended
up with Chantal's mother.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
That little girl, man, she loved me.
She loved me so much,
she wasn't gonna tell on me,
but they took her and it was for the best,
because I wasn't, um...
I wasn't good for her and, you know,
I was... I wasn't good for anyone,
you know, at that time, so...
I'm sorry.
That sounds really tough.
I'm sorry you two both
had to deal with that.
I am...
I just kind of thought like this
would be my second chance,
you know,
so I could finally give that little girl
the father that she deserves.
Uh-hmm.
You will.
You are.
You're an amazing person
and you are so good to the boys.
Yeah?
She'll see that.
It's coming around.
-Thank you.
-Uh-hmm.
-I love you.
-I love you too.
Wait, he is just now
telling you about this?
Whoa, whoa, well, maybe he was ashamed.
But we're talking about
his wife and daughter.
He should have come clean
before he popped the question.
I do not fault him for not telling me.
Are you insane?
After everything you've been
through in your first marriage?
I'm just saying I'd be extra cautious.
Michael is nothing like James.
I'm really worried about Joanna.
You know how it was when we lost mom?
Uh-hmm.
I would be worried too.
There's no telling how
an incident like that
has shaped her mentally.
And she did break your mom's urn.
It was a honest mistake.
But she lied about it.
She didn't lie.
She just
she didn't wanna tell me,
because she didn't wanna get in trouble.
Well, speaking of trouble,
has she gotten into
any trouble in her past?
Michael hasn't mentioned anything.
Well, Michael hasn't
mentioned a lot of things lately.
Stop it, Rhonda.
I'm just saying.
I can have Terrance
do a little bit of digging.
It can't hurt.
We are not looking into anything.
Michael has told me everything.
Well, new information about
your husband and his daughter.
Baby, sometimes there is more to the story
than what we are told.
I can have Terrance just
do a little digging into them.
It cannot hurt.
No.
Michael is an amazing man
with a sweet daughter,
nothing more to the story.
Yeah, but don't you find it a little odd
that he decided to wait
until she popped up before he told you?
No one expected her to pop up, Cass.
You know what, Whit, you're right.
You should let it go. We should let it go.
Let's do what we came here to do
which is toast Whitney,
sending her all the good
energy and positive vibes
for her big pitch tomorrow.
Cheers!
-Cheers.
-Cheers to you.
-Love you guys.
-Love you.
-Wakey, wakey...
-Hmm.
Sleepy face.
Hmm. I'm up.
-I'm up, I'm up, I'm up.
-You up?
Yeah.
Good morning, baby.
You ready for the big day?
Oh, goodness.
Yeah.
I'm ready, ready.
Well, go get ready then.
Okay, baby.
And I'll get your breakfast ready.
Even better.
Uh-hmm.
Okay, ladies.
Show 'em what we got.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Have a seat.
Hello, everybody. Thank you.
-Mrs. Lawrence, I presume.
-Yes.
Mr. Robertson, it is so nice
to finally meet you in person.
Likewise.
Really looking forward to this one.
-Great.
-Well, let's get started.
Wonderful.
Uh, we've taken the liberty to
place my business prospectus
in front of you there,
so please feel free to take a look.
Oh, wow.
-This is nice.
-Yeah.
Nice.
So as you can see, my primers all have
a very nice golden undertone.
And you said this is
all natural ingredients?
Oh, absolutely.
I rely heavily on a coconut
and aloe Vera base.
According to our researchers,
you've done very well for yourself.
So tell me why change
your sales strategy now
and get in bed with us?
It's simple, Mr. Robertson.
Your stores can target young,
low income Black women
and I simply cannot.
Great answer.
- Thank you.
- Um, Whit?
I'm really sorry, but I think
I need to go wash this off.
One second. Yeah.
Uh, wait. What?
Are you serious?
Um, I think I'm having
some type of reaction.
- Okay.
-No, me too.
I thought I was going
crazy, but it doesn't feel right.
Okay. Okay. One second.
Um, this, uh, normally doesn't happen.
Okay. Here. Here.
Ooh, it feels like my face is on fire.
Oh, are you serious?
Oh, my God.
Shh.
Oh, my God!
I-I am... I am so sorry.
I promise this has never happened.
Are you okay?
Keep it back on.
Someone call 911!
Michael?
Michael?
I'm here.
Hey, what's wrong? No.
What happened?
I was... I don't know.
It was terrible. Just...
It's okay, baby. I'm here.
Tell me what happened.
I can't. Oh, my God.
Hi.
Hi.
Sorry.
It's okay.
-Hi.
-Hi. I just...
I just wanted to tell you
that my dad told me what happened.
I'm so sorry that everything fell through.
- Oh, thank you, Joanna.
- Yeah.
Uh, and there's gonna
be other opportunities.
Yeah, for sure.
So I just wanted to ask
if your offer still stands.
What offer?
A girls' day would be good.
Oh, yeah.
Yes. Uh, why don't... yes.
Let's do it this Saturday.
That sounds great.
- Works for me.
- Yeah.
Yeah. Me too.
All right. Well, see you tomorrow.
- Good night.
- Yes.
Okay. Good night.
What is this? Fluxamine?
Hmm.
This is exactly what we needed.
I know, right?
So did my dad ever explain to you
why I've been living in Louisiana?
He brought it up.
And what did he say?
Uh, just that he hit a really rough patch
when your mom passed,
which is why you went to go
stay with your grandmother.
Yeah. I guess it's the gist of it.
I want you to know that
you don't have to worry
about anything like that
ever happening here.
Your dad's in a really good place and
the past is the past for a reason.
Aw. Thanks, Whit.
But I'm not scared it'll happen again.
Good.
I am so tired.
Oh, I'm not feeling very well.
Oh, no.
Can you drive?
Yeah, of course.
Are you... are you okay with that?
Yeah, I have my license.
Okay.
I'm gonna... oh gosh.
Let me take this. Are you okay?
This is so strange.
I've got you.
Thank you.
Okay.
Just gonna need...
Okay. Slow.
Watch your step, baby.
I see it, baby.
It's not funny.
This is just silly.
Get...
-I...
-Easy.
-Uh-huh. I told you.
-Nuh-uh, relax.
-Ugh.
Stop fussing over me. I'm fine.
-You're fine?
-Yes.
Joanna told me you literally
almost fell on your face
when you came out of the spa.
Yeah. Well, lucky for me she was there.
Lucky for you, huh?
You know what? I'm not going on my trip.
What?
Yeah. No, I'm canceling my business trip.
Why?
What do you mean why?
Between what happened
to you at your meeting
and the day you almost passing out?
Oh, my gosh.
Clearly, I don't need
to leave you right now.
I need to be here so I
can take care of you.
Don't be ridiculous.
And you've been planning
this trip for months.
Yeah, I have.
But what am I supposed to do, Whit?
Take the trip
and go to your real estate conference,
and it'll give Joanna and I
some time to spend together and bond.
Trust me. I'm fine.
Trust you?
-Uh-hmm.
Well, can you at least go to the doctor
so you can make sure everything is okay?
I'm serious.
Baby, I'm fine.
I have the boys and Joanna.
They'll take care of me if I need them.
All right. All right.
I'm gonna think about it.
But until then,
can you promise me that you
will relax and get some rest?
I'll think about it.
What are you doing?
Minding my own business.
Something you should learn how to do.
I know you did something to my mom.
What are you talking about?
She left and she was totally fine.
She came back and she fell out.
Listen here, chief.
And I'm only gonna tell you this once.
You need to be careful
what you accuse me of.
You don't know me.
And you don't know me.
You don't wanna get on my bad side.
I can be a dream
or your worst nightmare.
I'm watching you.
I'm watching you.
And if you want your mommy to be okay,
you didn't see anything tonight.
Yeah. No, I'll be fine.
I just need to take some
time away from the office.
You know, clear my head a little
after everything that happened.
Um, did you take care of
the lady's medical costs?
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Hold on.
Uh, I don't know where my credit card is.
Uh, have you guys seen my credit card?
Uh, no. No.
Um, hold on. Let me call you back. Okay?
The grapes are here.
Eric, baby, have you seen my credit card?
No, I haven't seen it.
Joanna, have you seen it?
Seen what?
My credit card.
Your credit card?
Why are you asking me?
I'm asking you because
the last time I remember using it
was at the spa when I was with you.
No.
Well, I really don't appreciate
your little passive-aggressive accusation.
First of all, I didn't
accuse you of anything.
I asked you the same
question that I asked the boys.
Hey, just cut the shit.
Excuse me? What did you just say?
I said cut the shit, Whit.
Hey!
You need to watch your
mouth in my house, little girl.
Oh, in your house?
This is what this is all about, isn't it?
Your house?
And I am not your little girl.
Hey. Hey, hey, hey!
-You...
What was all that about?
Your wife here is accusing me
of stealing her credit card.
I didn't accuse her of anything.
- Yeah, she did.
- Baby.
She did.
All right.
You mean this credit card?
Yes.
Where did you find it?
You left it on the dresser.
I'm not shocked.
Joanna, we need to talk.
I'm done with this conversation.
You two, come with me.
I'd like to speak to you.
You can go.
What the hell was that?
I asked her had she seen my card,
just like I asked the boys.
It was a simple question.
- You need to go check her.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-She's out of line.
-I will.
It's not really like you to accuse anyone,
but still, come on, baby.
Joanna's a teenager.
She's full of emotion, man.
She just lost her grandmother, so, yeah.
And she's probably on
her little... teenage period,
monthly woman thing, whatever y'all do.
So, yeah, she probably is crazy right now.
You know what, look,
I was worse when I was 17.
There you go.
-I'mma talk to her, all right?
-Okay.
But stop fighting with my daughter.
Get outta here. I'm trying.
God, I cannot catch a break.
Hello?
Hello?
Hey.
What are you doing out here?
My God, Jesus, you scared me.
I couldn't sleep.
I know what you're doing.
I'm not five.
I saw you smoking weed.
Listen. Why don't you come
take a seat right next to me?
Look
you'll be fine.
Just sit down.
Oh.
Listen, buddy.
I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.
You know, we're brother and sister now.
We should establish a
real bond with each other
where we can keep secrets to ourselves.
What do you say? Truce?
You're just trying to be nice to me
so I don't snitch on you, huh?
What are you doing?
Is it working?
A little.
Come on.
Truce.
Have you ever had a beer before?
I'm 12 years old.
Why would I have a beer?
I started drinking beer when I was 11.
Here. You should try one.
You're crazy.
Look at the view. It's nice.
Here. Here's a beer. You should try it.
You'll like it. I promise.
They say real men drink beer.
Hmm.
It's not that bad.
I knew you'd say that.
I knew you'd love it.
It's not the best.
I wonder how much you can drink.
I-I feel dizzy.
Why don't you have another one?
Another one?
Yeah.
I don't feel like...
I should have another one.
Why not?
You're doing so good.
Babe?
Wanna drink together? Cheers?
So good.
Why are you making that
face? You know you like it.
Babe?
You know
people are always complaining
about being an only child.
It was lonely and they
wish they had more kids
in the house with them.
You know, I actually didn't mind it.
Hell, actually, I enjoyed it.
I got all the toys to myself,
I didn't have to deal
with any other little boys around me.
It was great.
Then my dad decided to
play Super Dad for your family.
Got to deal with you little rascals.
It's fine.
Hello?
Now I have to take care of this mess.
Ugh.
It's time for you to die.
Babe. What?
Babe, what are you doing?
No!
Dammit.
What are you doing?
I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know how I got out here.
-Oh, my God.
-Are you
are you sleepwalking?
-I dunno.
I-I-I had, uh, a dream. And...
-Baby, you could've drowned.
-I know.
Come on.
Okay.
All right, guys. About to get outta here.
See y'all in about two weeks.
-Peace out.
-Oh, yeah, "Peace out"?
-Oh, you a tough guy now?
-Oh, yeah.
Take care of your mom, tough guy.
Safe travels.
Thank you, bro.
Mr. Lawrence, you take care.
You two take care.
-You watch him.
-Bye, Dad.
-Have a safe trip.
-Up the stairs.
You in charge now, all right?
You take care of the house.
Oh, a house full of kids.
Yeah, you and all your kids.
- Lucky me.
-Uh-hmm.
You know I don't wanna leave you, right?
Baby. Go. I'll be fine.
You'll be fine?
How can you say you're gonna be fine, baby,
with all this stuff that's
been happening to you?
I promise it's not gonna happen again.
Okay. What if we wasn't here?
I'll lock the bedroom
door. Just in case. Okay?
Don't worry.
I can cancel the trip.
I don't have to go.
Don't worry, okay?
-Now you gonna go. Get out.
-Oh.
- Come on.
-You're kicking me out now?
Yes.
You got somebody else coming over here?
That's for me to know
and for you to find out.
-I'll be calling you.
-Okay.
-Every chance I get.
-Out.
Safe travels.
Hello?
This is Kevin from Quick-Chem-labs.
I'm calling about those
make-up samples you sent us.
Yes.
Did you find out what
happened with my samples?
Yes, ma'am.
So most of the samples are perfectly fine
but I don't know, some of
them have a high concentration
of sodium hydroxide.
Sodium hydroxide?
Yeah, they're mixed in.
How would lye get into my...
Listen, ma'am, as-as you
know, lye is highly toxic.
Okay. Thank-thank you.
You're welcome.
Joanna, hi.
Hi. Lose something?
Yeah, I was looking
for a cleaner that I had,
that might've gotten
into my makeup samples.
Would you happen to
know anything about that?
No. Not a thing.
But if I were you, I would
be a little more careful
about what I leave lying around.
Hey. I need to talk to you now.
Mike is out of town and I don't think...
Okay. Just spit it out. What is it?
I changed my mind.
I do want you to ask Terrance
to look into Joanna for me
- if you could, please?
- Yes, of course, of course.
But why the sudden change of heart?
I don't know. I just... I have
this funny feeling.
Before, she was so sweet.
And now... I don't know, I
thought we were getting along.
Okay, so what happened?
You know the disaster
at work with my products?
Yeah?
So I talked to the chemist this morning
and he proceeds to tell
me that they detected lye
in my samples.
Joanna was the only one near those samples.
So I'm going through the garbage,
trying to see maybe I left something.
I don't know. And then she tells me,
"Maybe you shouldn't
leave stuff lying around."
What?
I don't even think about it at first.
And the other day I asked
her, I can't find my credit card.
I said, I'm searching for my credit card.
I asked her, "Have you seen it?"
And she flipped out on me.
I'm like, I don't know.
Maybe-maybe I'm going crazy.
No, no, you are not going crazy.
I told you to watch out for that kid.
You sure I'm not overthinking this?
I am sure.
And if anyone is gonna
be staying in your home,
you need to know everything about them.
I will have Terrance do a
quick background check on her
and see what he finds.
Thanks, Cass.
Of course, sis.
I don't hear you talking.
Yeah. Done.
You're done. You're garbage.
-Bro, I keep telling you.
-You're trash.
- Bro, you're cheating, bro.
- You're trash.
-Bro, I keep telling you.
-You're not good.
-I'm done with the game.
-All right, bro.
I'm done with the game.
That's about it. Wraps.
You're stupid, bro.
Hey, bro, where's your, uh...
Where's your, uh... your steps is at?
Probably downstairs. Why?
I mean, okay, bro. So, listen, like...
Okay. Come on, bro.
We've been... look, so we've
been texting back and forth, right?
Why you acting all funny about it?
Y'all not even blood-related.
And I'm not gonna lie, she's been on one.
Look at this, uh... look at this
picture she sent me right here.
-Bro, look at this one.
-No.
Look at that one.
Stop. Stop.
Stop. Stop.
-Oh. Hey, well...
-That's not okay.
I gotta pee.
Yeah.
What are you telling me that for?
You know where the bathroom is, right?
Oh, yeah. I got it.
- Yup.
- Don't trip.
Oh, yeah. I would never.
Joanna.
Hello?
Hey, beautiful.
It's me.
Hey, yo.
What is this?
What the heck?
Hey, yo, Brian, your sister is weird, bro.
I mean, we might as well see what's inside.
Feel like I just hit the jackpot.
No way.
Was that a diary?
Oh, my God.
I gotta tell Brian about this.
Okay. Go Brian. Go Eric.
You got it, big head.
Yeah!
Hello, Whitney.
Oh, I just had the most terrific day.
I took the boys to the park
and I watched them play basketball.
How was your day?
Work as usual.
I need to take this.
-Cass.
-You're on speaker.
-It's me and Terrance.
-Hey, Whit.
Hey, y'all. How's it going?
So I was able to pull some strings
and some information
about your stepdaughter.
Joanna Lawrence isn't her real name.
It's actually Maggie Dillon.
- What?
- Yeah.
So I started checking
out her online presence
and I couldn't find anything,
so I dug a little deeper.
So apparently, Joanna Lawrence
been going by this name for years.
Does she have a juvie record?
Just a couple minor infractions
but, uh, nothing alarming.
What about Michael?
Well, so far, Michael
background checks is good,
you know, so so far he's clean.
Yeah. A real clean liar.
Oh, come on, Cass.
Okay.
Uh, thank you guys so much.
Yes. Anything for you, sis.
Just be careful.
Maybe what you should do is talk to Michael
and find out why he's been
lying about his daughter's name.
I will. All right.
Okay.
Let me go. Bye.
Hey, baby, I miss you.
Why didn't you even tell me that Joanna
is not her real name?
- Wait. What?
- Yeah. That's right.
I know that her name is Maggie Dillon.
Who told you that?
Cass asked Terrance to check her out.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
You had your sister's cop husband
do a background check on my daughter?
Yeah. That's right.
Things are off, Michael.
She changed her name for a reason,
and you're sitting here
lying to me and covering.
Well, I need answers.
Baby, baby, baby, calm down.
Okay? I'm sorry.
Don't tell me to calm down.
Okay. You're right.
Yes. Joanna did get her name changed. Okay?
But it wasn't me, it was her grandparents.
Listen to me. You gotta understand.
This is... this was around the
time when I was getting drunk.
Then I started dating this woman.
Her name was Heather.
You know, I thought it
was going to fix things,
but it only made it worse.
Heather was abusing Joanna, Whitney,
mentally, physically.
And when Joanna told
me, I didn't even believe her.
I didn't believe my baby.
Not until I called Heather myself.
And that's when they
took Joanna away from me.
Heather went to jail,
and Joanna went to live
with her grandparents.
And I was all alone again.
So when Heather got out,
her grandparents thought
that as a safety precaution,
it would be better if Joanna
got her name changed.
And, yeah, I didn't tell you
because I figured that it
wasn't my business to tell you.
I figured Joanna would tell you
whenever she felt
comfortable enough with you.
But now, I don't even
think that's possible.
Are you saying it's my fault
that she doesn't feel comfortable?
No. No. No. No. Baby, no.
Listen, okay?
Joanna's been through a lot.
All right? And if you're
saying that she's acting out,
she has trust issues.
And all I'm telling you
is that if she's acting out,
it's probably because she's
been triggered, you know?
Now, I feel like a complete jerk.
No, no, no.
Listen, baby, it's not your fault.
Like I said, I should have told you.
Yeah, you should have told me a lot
before we adopted your daughter.
What's that supposed to mean?
It means that there's been a
series of strange occurrences.
My mother's urn, my presentation,
the chemist calls and tells me
that there's lye in my samples.
Lye, Michael.
How does something like that get in there?
Whitney, whoa, whoa. Calm down.
Listen to yourself. You're
not even making sense.
What reason would Joanna
have to do all this to you?
I don't know.
It doesn't mean that she didn't.
It don't mean that she did either.
You just said that she could
be acting out and triggered.
I'm not doing this with you.
Listen to me. I love you, all right?
But I love my daughter too.
Can we just try to work
this out as a family?
We already got people talking
about we got married too quickly.
And I know it messed things
up when Joanna popped up.
But I love you, and I
need you to have my back.
We can get through this.
We can make this work.
We are making this work.
I just... I need you to be honest with me.
No more keeping secrets.
Yeah. Yeah.
No more secrets,
I promise.
Okay.
I love you.
And I know how important it is
for Joanna to have a
mother figure. I get it.
And I'll do my best to be that for her.
I love you too, baby.
Thank you.
Brian, Eric, come on. Let's go.
Hurry.
- Where are you going?
- To the movies.
You didn't run it by me first.
Uh, I asked my dad.
And he said it was fine.
I took the boys to the park last
week and there wasn't an issue.
Well, I don't think it's a good idea
for them to go anywhere with you
without your father or me present.
Why?
What do you think, they're
unsafe with me or something?
I didn't say that.
Listen, Whitney,
I think that's a little bit
hypocritical coming from you,
Mrs. Almost-hurt-herself-sleepwalking.
Maybe too much pill popping you're doing.
You better watch your
slick ass mouth, little girl.
Yeah, or what? Are you gonna hit me?
Yeah. I wonder what my
dad would feel about that.
No. I'm not gonna hit you,
but I'm sure your dad would love to hear
about this little discussion.
So let's just wait until he comes back
to have this conversation, Maggie.
What did you just say?
Keep playing with me.
It's gonna be trouble for you, little girl.
Hey, what's going on?
Oh, Joanna was just telling me
that she can't take you two to the movies.
So I'm gonna be taking you guys.
She has other plans. Come on.
-Wait, what?
-Let's get in the car.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Can I come in?
Yeah, come in.
So your mom kind of swung
left on me this morning.
Oh, I knew something, something happened.
So I was thinking I'm
gonna find a place to stay
for the next couple of days
while my dad's still out of town.
I really don't wanna
cause any more trouble,
especially after what
happened with the urn.
The urn? You... that was an accident.
Yeah. But still,
I really should have just
told your mom right away
that I dropped it accidentally.
Joanna, you shouldn't have to stay
anywhere else, you know.
So, um, hell, I'll talk to her.
I'll get her to chill or something.
Really?
Yeah. Yeah.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I appreciate it.
Of course.
And, uh,
you look... you look real pretty by the way.
Thank you.
Son?
You know you can tell me
anything no matter what it is.
You can tell me and you
won't get in trouble, right?
Yeah.
I know, Mom.
Everything's cool.
- Okay.
-Are you all right?
You look tired.
My sweet boy.
I'm okay. Mommy's okay.
Uh, lights out, all right? I love you.
- Love you too.
-Goodnight.
Yeah. I'm-I'm a rizz guy. I'm, like...
I mean, if you wanted to talk to me,
you could've just said that.
I mean, there's no problem.
- Yeah.
- Hmm. Son.
One second. Yeah?
I'm waking you up at 6:30
whether you get sleep or not,
so I suggest you get off that phone,
turn these lights out.
I know.
Are you okay?
Yes, baby.
All right.
Look like you're the one
who needs sleep, so...
Get the posters off the
wall. Come on. Go to bed.
Poster?
Hey.
Hey.
What's up?
Um, I was wondering if you got the chance
to talk to your mom yet.
Uh, no, actually, I haven't. Not yet.
-Oh.
-Yeah.
Well, yeah.
That's okay.
Whenever you get the chance.
Uh, yeah.
I can... I can do it now actually.
Really?
Yeah.
That would be really great.
My dad will still be out of
town for a couple more days
and I really don't want
things to be as awkward
as they were tonight at dinner.
Yeah.
Thanks, BK.
It's no big problem.
It's, um
it's cool.
And you're a really good guy.
-You know that?
-Thank you.
We, um
it's what family is for.
Right.
Well, let me know how it goes.
Okay.
Be right back.
Hey, Mom? Um...
I-I-I just really wanted to
talk to you about Joanna.
Um, I just think you're overreacting.
I really do.
Like at dinner, we... you can hear me, right?
Mom?
Are you sleeping?
Mom? Mom? Mom?
Mom? Mom? Oh, my God. Oh my God.
Oh, my God. Mom? Mom? Mom.
Joanna! Joanna, come here now! Joanna!
- What's wrong?
- Hurry! Hurry up!
- Joanna!
- Yeah?
Joanna, hurry up! Hurry up!
- What's wrong?
- Hurry up!
Oh, my God.
Give me... give me a towel. Give me a towel.
What happened to her?
-Wake up. Wake up.
- She's asleep. I don't know.
- Oh, my God.
Give me a towel. Go get me a towel.
-Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
-Mom!
Oh, no. Don't let Eric see this.
Mom!
-Yes, yes. Okay.
She... uh, there's still a pulse.
Call 911.
And you're sure she's never done
anything like this before?
No. No.
I mean, she-she suffered
from depression before
but she's never tried to
commit suicide, you know?
Okay.
That's all I need.
Officer, when can Whitney be released?
Typical standard
procedure in a case like this
is over 72 hours.
You guys have someone
coming to pick you up?
Oh, yes.
Poor baby. How's your mom?
-Where is she?
-I don't know.
I take it you're...
I'm Cassandra.
I'm their mother's sister.
Well, good news. She's fine.
Stable condition.
But the bad news is we're
gonna have to keep her here
a few more days just as a precaution,
just to take further tests.
But she's okay though, right?
Yes.
I understand. Can we see her?
Actually, she would like to only speak
to you just for the moment.
But I wanna see my mom!
We should all be able
to see our... see our mom.
It's okay. It's all right. It's fine.
Just stay with your brother, okay?
Stay with your brother. Do you mind?
-Anything you need.
-Okay.
-Yeah.
-Where is she?
Cass. You have to get me out of here.
I didn't do it. You have to believe me.
Honey, look at you.
I don't know what happened.
I was in my bathroom
taking my medicine and now I'm here.
What
they think you tried to commit suicide.
No, I didn't. I
do you think it could've been Joanna?
You think Joanna tried to kill you?
I don't... I don't know.
It doesn't make any sense.
God. And my boys.
Oh, my God. My boys are out there.
I cannot let them see me like this.
They're not gonna let me leave.
So will you please take the boys with you
until I can get out of here?
Yes. Of course.
Do not let them near my stepdaughter.
I don't know if she is trying to hurt them
or you or something.
-Don't worry.
Don't worry. The boys will be fine with us.
But if you think this
little girl is capable
of something like this, then
she needs to be locked up.
What does Michael think about all this?
I haven't told him yet.
I don't wanna worry
him until I know for sure.
Okay.
You need to get some rest.
Come here. Come here.
It's okay. It's okay.
I've got you.
I've got you.
Thank you.
Can we see her? We can see her?
No. No. Not right now.
No. She needs to rest.
But she wants you guys to come home with us
until she feels better, okay?
I just wanna see her.
We should be able to see our mom.
I know, buddy. And
she wants to see you too.
But she just needs to rest, all right?
And I promise you'll see her soon.
Until then, you guys are
gonna come home with me
and Uncle Terrance, okay?
So is this just a family affair
or is everything invited to the sleepover?
Oh, Joanna, of course you are.
Actually, she just
mentioned Brian and Eric.
What are you talking about?
That's not fair. She's family.
Honey, do you mind taking them to the car?
No.
You just call me.
-Yes.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
-Welcome.
See you.
I suppose, Joanna,
you're old enough to take care of yourself
at the house while
Whitney is in the hospital.
You're right.
I can take care of myself.
-Okay.
-I'll be at home.
Good morning, Mrs. Lawrence.
I hope you were able to get some rest.
Would you be able to if you
were accused of being crazy,
tried to kill yourself?
Okay. Well, about that, seeing the state
you were in last we spoke,
I put a rush on your toxicology report
and well, I just got the
results in this morning.
And I have to admit,
I mean, it looked very
troubling to say the least.
Now, a woman of your standing,
I shouldn't have to
remind you, Mrs. Lawrence,
that mixing recreational
drugs and antidepressants
is a very dangerous game.
I don't... what are you talking about?
Look, everything is right here
in black and white, Mrs. Lawrence.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I've never done drugs in my life.
Then how do you explain us finding cocaine,
Diphenhydramine, and
Temazepam in your system,
along with your prescribed medication?
I mean, that combination is
beyond a recipe of disaster.
And it's very likely that
mixing those drugs together,
you could've been in
an alternate state of mind
and then inadvertently attempted suicide.
No. No, I'm telling you.
I've never... I've never...
Either way, Mrs. Lawrence,
the police are here and they
would like to have a word.
Ms. Lawrence,
I wanna start by saying
you're not under arrest,
but your case has been
passed on to Social Services.
What?
No, no, this is... no, no.
I... I'm a damn good mother.
No. I need my phone!
Give me my phone! You can call my husband!
This is... this is... this is... this
is my stepdaughter's doing!
Yeah, she said that you might say that.
Oh, my God.
Now, I need you to tell me
about an incident that
happened a few weeks ago
when you were
sleepwalking in your backyard.
What?
I'm reporting to you
live from Orange County,
where this afternoon,
the body of missing teen,
Dante Owen has been recently discovered
in a local park...
-No.
where he tragically fell
from the James Davis Bridge.
For more on this,
-tune in tonight...
-No.
on the 10 o'clock news.
This is crazy.
Wait, what?
What's crazy? What?
That's the same park that
Joanna took us to the other day.
Then she disappeared for, like,
15 minutes and then, came back.
No.
Do you think she did this to Dante?
No.
No, no.
I mean, the last time Dante
was seen was at our house.
Hell, no.
Oh, hell. I'm calling Joanna.
It... it's just... calm down.
- I'm calling Joanna.
- Just calm down, all right?
There is no need call anyone right now.
Why?
You know what...
Auntie, that was our best friend Dante.
Baby.
Look, babe, I hear you.
And trust me, I think weird things
have been happening since she's been here
but it's nothing to bring
her in on for questioning.
Then figure something out.
Baby, even if I did,
you know I can't do that
without her legal parent
or guardian present.
And with Michael out of town
and your sister in the hospital,
my hands are tied for the time being, baby.
Oh, God, Whitney.
I gotta let her know.
Babe, can you send me
over all the information
you have on Joanna.
Sure. But it's not much.
What about her mom?
They said they're gonna take the kids away.
No.
They said they're gonna take them.
No, you know we will not let that happen.
I brought you a change of clothes
for when it's time for you to be released.
I still have 48 hours in here.
The doctor came in here
and he told me that they found
drugs and cocaine, and
all that stuff in my system.
And I swear... you know,
you know me and I swear.
I know. I know, honey, I know. I know.
I...
I need you to listen to me, okay?
-Okay.
-They found Dante dead.
What?
They found this body this morning
at the Hammel's Creek
beneath the old James Davis Bridge.
Oh, my God.
Cops are thinking it
was an accidental fall,
but I overheard the boys talking.
Dante was last seen at your house
before he went missing.
-Oh, my God, no.
And Joanna, she took
the boys to the same park.
Now, Eric said that she disappeared
for 15 minutes before she came back.
What?
It's my opinion that
she may have killed him.
No. No way.
Have you... have you told anyone?
Well, the cops can't question her
until either you get out of here
or until Michael gets back.
Oh, my God. Michael.
No, Michael... Michael's never...
He's never going to agree to that.
I think there is something else
you need to take a look at.
What is it? What is this? Oh, my God.
It's Chantal Lawrence's case file.
Joanna's mother.
Now you said that she
was killed by a drunk driver,
but it says it right here
that she was the one that was inebriated.
She had cocaine, Temazepam,
diphenhydramine all in her system, too.
Why would Michael tell me
that she was killed by a drunk driver?
I don't know, maybe Michael was too ashamed
to admit that his wife was an addict.
But let's be real, sis,
Michael has not been honest
about anything relating to his past.
Do you think that Joanna's responsible
for her mother's death?
At this point, I don't... I don't know.
Anything is possible.
I don't... I don't understand, Cass.
How did... how did she...
how could she have given me
all of that crap and I
didn't... I didn't know?
Just think.
-Did she... did she cook for you?
-No.
Did she... did she make you a protein shake?
-No.
-Come on. You gotta think.
Never.
The... my pills.
She saw me taking them every day.
Oh, my God. She must've
poisoned them or something.
That has to be it.
'Cause if she doctored your medicine,
then her fingerprints are on the bottle
and on the capsule.
If I can just get that over to Terrance...
Wait. Where are you going?
To your house, to get your pills.
And while I do that,
it's time for you to call
Michael and tell him
what is really going on here.
-Cass,
if she is as dangerous
as we say she is, you cannot go over.
I am not going alone.
Okay?
Hey, what's up, baby?
I promise you, you are
not gonna believe this.
You better get out of my way, little girl.
I know what your game is.
What game?
I read your mother's case file.
I know how she died.
And I'm willing to bet
that once I get these pills to the police,
they'll see that you've
been trying to take my sister
out the same way.
Get up!
Hey, Whit. I just got to the house.
I see a car on one side.
Cass, thank God, you answered.
- Hey.
- I'm sorry.
Cass can't come to the phone right now.
Joanna?
Where's Cass?
Come play, Whitney.
Come play.
Joanna, this is not a game right now.
- What are you doing?
- You have two choices, Whit.
Either you come play,
no more cops or
surprise visitors, just you,
or I go find the boys and
play with them instead.
Oh, what
okay, bitch.
Okay.
You wanna threaten my family?
Thank you.
You're making this so
much harder than it has to be!
Stop complicating things!
No! You don't have to do this!
Was that really that hard, Whit?
You're complicating things so much.
If only you knew how
much planning went into this,
maybe you would be a little
bit more respectful of my time!
You're a lot more difficult than my granny.
Come on.
"I killed my granny today."
"I honestly thought it would be harder,
but it was actually easy"?
"At least she didn't feel any pain."
You're probably wondering
what I hit you with.
It's a concentrated dose of Temazepam,
which is one of the main ingredients
in the little cocktail I replaced
some of your pills with.
I don't know how you
caught onto that so quickly.
Hey, I'm not gonna kill you.
Terrance, your sister, they're still alive.
Just easier to manage.
Now we're just waiting for
the guest of honor to arrive.
You know, this was
supposed to be so easy, Whit.
A simple murder/suicide.
I was gonna make it look
like you took out your family,
you offed yourself, then
you set your house on fire.
The headlines would've read,
"Mentally insane businesswoman
goes crazy and murders
her family then kills herself."
But that's not what happened!
You know, it was supposed
to just be a little tragic blurb
in the media, maybe trended
on social media for a day or two,
then we would've all been
able to move on with our lives!
But look at the mess you created!
The cops are involved,
your brother-in-law, your sister.
My God!
It was supposed to be so easy!
But you made it so personal!
You see, Whit, it was never personal!
You were just a victim of circumstance!
Oh, please, stop.
- Stop.
- Stop whining!
Whitney!
We're coming!
Now it looks like the
guest of honor has arrived.
All I'm saying, I just wanna make sure
everything is at place, you know?
Well, what's wrong?
- Don't you trust me?
- Come on now, baby girl.
You know Daddy trust you.
It's just that this our biggest job ever.
We never had a score like this.
And I need to make sure that you down to do
whatever needs to be done.
-Like killing kids?
-Exactly.
About killing the damn kids.
With them out the way and Whitney gone,
we stand to inherit everything.
Okay?
I need to know if you're ready to win.
Sacrifices gotta be made if you wanna win.
Are you ready to sacrifice?
Hey.
I told you this was never personal.
Daddy dearest have had his
eyes set on you for over a year now.
- Uh-hmm.
- Usually, his targets
were little old ladies
looking for one last thrill.
He'd set the op, figure
out the entire scheme,
and then the old bags
would mysteriously kneel over,
and we'd get their inheritance
or their life insurance,
or both, then we just move on.
But you were special.
The self-made millionaire, hey.
You were easy enough to steal from,
but also you didn't make
enough money to the point
where people would look
at us sideways for killing you.
All right, Maggie.
-That's enough.
-Oh, yeah.
Maggie, that's my real name.
We had to change it a couple years back
because he got his
hands a little too dirty.
He was worried that the
police were gonna catch on
to all he was doing and
start asking him questions,
so now I'm Joanna but
I actually was Maggie.
All right, yeah. Mag, that's enough.
No more time for games.
Where them damn boys? Are they here?
And matter of fact, why
are these two even here?
-Huh?
-Like I told you on the call,
-there were complications.
-No.
Ain't no complications.
The only complication is them boys.
Because if they still alive,
that's the problem, okay?
See...
I knew I couldn't trust your ass.
I shouldn't have put you in charge.
Now I gotta fix everything.
I gotta get all this plastic out.
-Look at this?
-Don't you just hate it
when he talks to us like this?
Like he's talking down
on us like we're little ants
in his farm, like, my God.
Grow the hell up, Maggie.
Because we on a time crunch now.
So go ahead and call
Brian like I told you to do.
Tell him to come home and
bring his little bad-ass brother.
I'll handle the rest of this.
I always gotta fix everything
where did you even get that gun?
-Huh?
-It's right here.
Good girl.
Give it to me.
Give me the gun.
The boys weren't the
complication, daddy dearest.
What?
This file is.
What the hell is that?
It's the case file from mom's accident.
The one you told me she was murdered in.
-Hmm.
-I don't know
what you're talking about, Maggie,
but I ain't got time for games.
-Give me the gun.
-Whitney.
Heather, she wasn't just
my dad's first girlfriend
after my mom died.
She was his first murder.
Hey.
Hey, ain't nobody got time for this.
Let's go, Mag, we don't have time!
At least that's what I was told
because she was the one
that was behind the wheel.
She was the one who had murdered my mom.
Maggie...
-Which is the only reason
why he picked her.
At least that's what I was told.
Look, enough is enough, all right?
Just give me the gun, baby.
But that's not the truth.
Is it, Dad?
Because this says that my mom
was the one who was under the influence.
That my mom
was the one who passed
out behind the wheel.
My mom is the one who hit Heather.
Look at here, Maggie.
I'll talk to you about
whatever you wanna know
whenever we get done with
this but right now, I need that gun.
They found three substances in her system.
Would you like to see?
Hey...
Benadryl, cocaine, and Temazepam.
The three main ingredients
to your little cocktail.
Isn't that right, Pops?
Maggie, give me the gun, baby.
Did you kill my mom?
Stop pointing that gun at me.
You poisoned my mom?
Stop pointing that damn gun at me.
And what was I?
Just collateral damage?
What if I was in the car?
Would I have just died, too?
Would you have even cared?
- Maggie...
-You killed my mom!
Stop it, okay?
You killed my mom!
I love you, baby girl.
Daddy would never do nothin' to hurt you.
Now give me that damn gun.
Stop playing with me.
Playtime is over.
We gotta fix your mistakes.
Clearly, you can't do nothin' right.
You didn't even give this girl enough
of the damn medicine, did you?
She's getting her feelings back.
Damn!
No, you're right.
I didn't give her all of
it, I was saving some.
Saving it for what?
Because I was saving some for you.
What?
What are you doing?
Damn it!
Do not fight me!
You killed my mom!
What are you doing?
What are you doing, Maggie?
You killed my mom!
- Hey, Bradford, what's going on?
- Hey.
Sorry, Mrs. Lawrence.
No body was found.
Your husband's missing.
What about Joanna?
She was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Her condition's critical.
You have no idea what she is capable of.
She's contained, ma'am.
Trust me.
She isn't going anywhere.
You all have a great night.
So are you taking Jordan
or you taking LeBron?
Ooh.
Jordan or Bron-Bron?
You gotta think about that.
Uh-uh. Uh-uh.
- Hey, hey, hey.
- What?
- MJ is...
- What
the GOAT.
- Why are we still doing this?
- Thank you.
I'm getting some wine. Do you want?
- You too want?
- Yes.
Two more beers, baby. Thank you.
-Make that two, Whit.
-Thank you.
-Two more beers.
-Don't be mad.
No, I ain't mad.
He makes all of this...
He is amazing, isn't he?
Uh-hmm.
He's something.
Oh, my gosh.
Cass, what's that supposed to mean?
Nothing.
Ugh. Her nothing is never nothing.
Always fully loaded.
Really, Rhonda?
- I mean...
-Really?
I'm just saying.
I just...
-The GOAT.
-Yeah. Yeah.
Don't you think four months
is a little too quick, Whit?
Of course it is.
I'm in love and I'm not
getting any younger.
Okay.
Well, tell me you at least
got him to sign the prenup.
I'm in love, but I'm not in stupid.
We are still newlyweds.
Okay. See that?
Keep that to yourself.
- One second.
- Okay.
You like... oh, you was
a North Carolina guy?
Here you go, babe.
You talking about the team... hey.
-Oh.
-That's for you.
Oh, thank you, babe.
Hi.
I'm looking for Michael Lawrence,
is he here?
You're Joanna?
Yeah, I am. How do you know?
I've seen so many pictures of you.
I would never forget a beautiful face.
Your dad talks about you all the time.
I'm Whitney, his wife.
I know.
It's nice to meet you.
- Come in. I'm sorry. Get...
- It's okay.
Um, Michael.
This is Jordan, right?
- Look. Hey, hey...
-Yeah, don't
ask her who's the GOAT?
Listen, she won't even go there.
Baby, come here.
-Bro, no.
-You're not... stop.
Don't touch... don't touch. Go mess him up.
Just -Please, let me play.
- No.
- Come on, bro.
Bro, this is a real game we're having.
How many times you're gonna call me, baby?
- You're tripping.
-Hi, Dad.
Joanna.
What are you doing here, baby?
I know I should have called,
but I thought it would be
better if we spoke in person.
Is everything all right?
Granny Linda died.
Babe, wow.
I'm sorry.
Are you okay?
Should I call and-and check
in with the family or something?
Oh, I wouldn't call.
They're all taking it
pretty hard right now,
so it would probably
be best if you didn't call.
You didn't leave on the best terms.
You're right.
I almost forgot about that.
Well, how are you holding up?
Because I know that was
your favorite grandmother.
You know, she was my favorite grandma,
but that was also because
your mother hated me.
She did not hate you, Joanna.
- She hated me.
-No.
She hated me.
-She...
-She hated me.
You just weren't her favorite.
I'm an only child.
How can I not be the favorite?
I'm guessing Granny Linda
was your mother's mother?
Yeah.
We're really sorry for your loss.
It's okay.
That's why I couldn't
make it to your wedding.
Right.
What happened?
She fell down the stairs.
Oh my God.
Yeah.
Are you sure you're all right, baby?
Yeah, I'm fine.
It's just really weird living with someone
and seeing them every day.
Then all of a sudden, they're just gone.
Yeah.
I understand the feeling.
Do you have anywhere to stay or...
Um, my Aunt Debra offered
for me to move in with her family,
but she already has
six kids, so I don't know...
No, we are really happy that you came here.
You are going to stay with us.
What?
-No questions asked, please.
-Really?
-Yes.
And in our guest bedroom,
we gotta fix it up a little bit,
but it's gonna be perfect.
Thanks.
Don't worry about your bag.
Uh, baby, let her meet the boys.
Perfect.
And we have a barbecue
going so it's great timing.
-Just... yeah.
-Come. Come, please.
Okay.
So how did you get here?
- I Ubered.
- You Ubered.
You're not good.
You're not good at all, kid.
- I can't.
-Boys...
- Bro, this is like...
- Huh?
Pause the game for a
minute. I need to talk to you.
Just go and hit the three.
Oh, damn. Fine.
Yes?
Boys, this is my daughter, Joanna.
She's your new stepsister.
Hi, I'm Eric.
Hi, Eric.
And this handsome young man
is Whitney's older son, Brian.
Uh, but yeah, everyone calls me BK.
No, we don't.
No, we don't.
Yes, you do.
My friends call me BK.
It's nice to meet you, BK.
BK.
Um, and this is my friend, Dante, so...
How you doing?
I'm Dante.
- He comes with the house.
- Hey.
Uh-hmm. We find you in the pantry.
And you guys love me for it.
Your house is so beautiful.
When my dad first told
me that you were dating,
I looked you up
and I ordered some of your products
and they were really good.
Oh, you didn't have to do that.
I could've given you them for free.
This is a really nice photo.
Oh, what's this?
Oh, um, that's my mother's urn.
She passed away a little over a year ago,
and we we're really close,
so I like to keep her here
with me, and no one touches it.
Well, that's really sweet.
I really wish I would've
done something like that.
Um, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to upset you.
It's okay.
It's just been a lot.
No, it's fine.
It's okay, right?
Hey, baby,
I got Joanna all settled
in down there, so...
-Hmm.
-Yeah, she's good.
That's great.
Is it?
Yes, it is.
It's... that's great news.
I'm just... like I said, I
just wanna apologize
because we never really
talked and discussed it...
-Honey...
- and she just popped up.
-It wasn't planned...
-I know.
- you know?
-Yes, it was...
it is an unexpected surprise,
but she's your daughter
and we're a family now,
so we just gotta roll
with the punches, right?
Yeah. Yeah.
Okay.
You ready for beds?
I'm ready now.
Let's go.
I got permission, you know.
Hey, can I come in?
Yeah, come on in.
Oh, shoot.
I didn't... I didn't know you could paint.
Oh, yeah, I do it for fun.
Um, I just wanted to tell you
that they're about to make lunch.
It's gonna be turkey sandwiches, so...
Okay. Thanks.
Is that supposed to be you?
Oh, yeah, this is me.
Um, the painting basically just represents
the two women I love
the most in my life dying.
Well, you are... you are talented.
Appreciate it.
Apparently, I get it from my mother.
Is this her?
Uh, yeah, that's her.
Wow. I mean, she's gorgeous.
You look just like her, you know?
Do you, uh, you miss her a lot?
Yeah, I do.
I just get lost in
thought a lot of the time
thinking about how she
feels about certain things.
Like what?
Like if she's angry at the
drunk driver that killed her.
I couldn't...
I couldn't even imagine something like that
happening to my mom, you know?
Left, right, left, right.
If you gonna cut it, cut it right.
What are you doing?
You just in time for the party, baby.
Just in time. Lunch is almost ready.
Yay.
Uh, hey, Mom, uh, and Mike,
can Dante spend the night tonight?
I don't see why not.
You okay with that, babe?
You know, I don't make the rules.
It's your mama house.
- You right.
- And you know that.
Okay. Yeah.
All I do is make sandwiches.
Let's see what this tastes like.
Hey, Whitney,
what is all this stuff for?
Oh, these are samples that I'm prepping
for my pitch meeting I have coming up.
What's a pitch meeting?
I have a meeting with
some execs from Walmart,
so if all goes well,
they'll start to carry my
products in their stores,
and that means worldwide distribution.
That would be huge for us.
Wow.
This is all so cool.
You're really like an inspiration
to a lot of girls like me.
I really do hope that one day
I can be somewhat like you.
Aw, you're so sweet and beautiful.
And your dad tells me how
creative and smart you are.
Uh-hmm.
Because I'm always bragging about my baby.
Leave her alone.
You ain't too big for kisses.
If you work really hard,
I'm sure you'll be able to
accomplish whatever you want.
I hope you're hungry.
-Yeah, I'm starving.
-Yeah?
Put this away.
You know, I was thinking
maybe we could have
a girls' day this weekend
and go get our nails done
or a facial or something like that.
What do you... what do you say?
Yeah, that sounds great.
Um, let me think about it.
Okay.
Let me get this out of your way.
No, no.
No, no, no.
What...
Oh, sh...
What happened, baby?
- Hey, hey, hey!
- Oh, my God.
What are y'all doing?
-Oh.
-Oh, my God.
I don't know how this happened.
Mom, Mom.
No, no, no, don't touch...
Don't touch anything.
-Can I help?
-No, no, no. I got it.
It's okay.
What do you... what do you want, baby?
Do you want a container or something?
I... can I do that? Yes.
Can you get me a container, please?
I can't believe this.
Baby, what?
Accidents happen, but
the fact that she acted
like she didn't even do it,
it's a little troubling.
I mean, she was probably
scared to say something.
Think about it.
If it was you,
don't you think you
would be a little afraid too?
Put yourself in her shoes?
I'm saying she just got here.
I guess you're right.
I mean, at least we were
able to get most of the ashes.
I can always get a new urn.
Right.
Please do not tell
Joanna that Eric told me.
He does not want her not to like him.
I'm not gonna tell.
Trust me.
Oh, he's so cute.
I do wanna say thank you, you know,
just for being understanding
about Joanna popping up like this.
She's a good kid, baby, trust me.
Yeah,
she seems like it,
which is what makes me wonder
why you didn't take her
after her mother died.
I mean, there's a reason why.
I mean, we just
we never talked about it.
I'm listening.
Oh, wow.
Um... this is funny. I haven't, um...
I hadn't talked about
this to anyone in years.
Baby, you can... you can tell me anything.
I'm here.
I mean, I told you that she was killed,
um, by a drunk driver, but I didn't
never go into detail about
what happened afterwards.
It was about five years ago.
Um, and then after the accident,
it was
you know, it was just bad for me.
It was rough on Joanna too.
And, you know, I started drinking
to deal with the pain
and... drinking heavy,
so heavy that I would... um,
I would pass out,
black out at hotels for days
and I would leave Joanna.
She would be at home by herself.
Can you imagine that little girl,
12 years old, all alone?
No money, no food.
Just
she's so smart.
Jo is so smart. That
girl is a survivor, man.
She was walking to the store, you know,
to get something to eat.
And I was at home, blacked out
on one of my episodes,
and she got picked up by the cops.
And long story short,
that's how she ended
up with Chantal's mother.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
That little girl, man, she loved me.
She loved me so much,
she wasn't gonna tell on me,
but they took her and it was for the best,
because I wasn't, um...
I wasn't good for her and, you know,
I was... I wasn't good for anyone,
you know, at that time, so...
I'm sorry.
That sounds really tough.
I'm sorry you two both
had to deal with that.
I am...
I just kind of thought like this
would be my second chance,
you know,
so I could finally give that little girl
the father that she deserves.
Uh-hmm.
You will.
You are.
You're an amazing person
and you are so good to the boys.
Yeah?
She'll see that.
It's coming around.
-Thank you.
-Uh-hmm.
-I love you.
-I love you too.
Wait, he is just now
telling you about this?
Whoa, whoa, well, maybe he was ashamed.
But we're talking about
his wife and daughter.
He should have come clean
before he popped the question.
I do not fault him for not telling me.
Are you insane?
After everything you've been
through in your first marriage?
I'm just saying I'd be extra cautious.
Michael is nothing like James.
I'm really worried about Joanna.
You know how it was when we lost mom?
Uh-hmm.
I would be worried too.
There's no telling how
an incident like that
has shaped her mentally.
And she did break your mom's urn.
It was a honest mistake.
But she lied about it.
She didn't lie.
She just
she didn't wanna tell me,
because she didn't wanna get in trouble.
Well, speaking of trouble,
has she gotten into
any trouble in her past?
Michael hasn't mentioned anything.
Well, Michael hasn't
mentioned a lot of things lately.
Stop it, Rhonda.
I'm just saying.
I can have Terrance
do a little bit of digging.
It can't hurt.
We are not looking into anything.
Michael has told me everything.
Well, new information about
your husband and his daughter.
Baby, sometimes there is more to the story
than what we are told.
I can have Terrance just
do a little digging into them.
It cannot hurt.
No.
Michael is an amazing man
with a sweet daughter,
nothing more to the story.
Yeah, but don't you find it a little odd
that he decided to wait
until she popped up before he told you?
No one expected her to pop up, Cass.
You know what, Whit, you're right.
You should let it go. We should let it go.
Let's do what we came here to do
which is toast Whitney,
sending her all the good
energy and positive vibes
for her big pitch tomorrow.
Cheers!
-Cheers.
-Cheers to you.
-Love you guys.
-Love you.
-Wakey, wakey...
-Hmm.
Sleepy face.
Hmm. I'm up.
-I'm up, I'm up, I'm up.
-You up?
Yeah.
Good morning, baby.
You ready for the big day?
Oh, goodness.
Yeah.
I'm ready, ready.
Well, go get ready then.
Okay, baby.
And I'll get your breakfast ready.
Even better.
Uh-hmm.
Okay, ladies.
Show 'em what we got.
- Hi.
- Hey.
Have a seat.
Hello, everybody. Thank you.
-Mrs. Lawrence, I presume.
-Yes.
Mr. Robertson, it is so nice
to finally meet you in person.
Likewise.
Really looking forward to this one.
-Great.
-Well, let's get started.
Wonderful.
Uh, we've taken the liberty to
place my business prospectus
in front of you there,
so please feel free to take a look.
Oh, wow.
-This is nice.
-Yeah.
Nice.
So as you can see, my primers all have
a very nice golden undertone.
And you said this is
all natural ingredients?
Oh, absolutely.
I rely heavily on a coconut
and aloe Vera base.
According to our researchers,
you've done very well for yourself.
So tell me why change
your sales strategy now
and get in bed with us?
It's simple, Mr. Robertson.
Your stores can target young,
low income Black women
and I simply cannot.
Great answer.
- Thank you.
- Um, Whit?
I'm really sorry, but I think
I need to go wash this off.
One second. Yeah.
Uh, wait. What?
Are you serious?
Um, I think I'm having
some type of reaction.
- Okay.
-No, me too.
I thought I was going
crazy, but it doesn't feel right.
Okay. Okay. One second.
Um, this, uh, normally doesn't happen.
Okay. Here. Here.
Ooh, it feels like my face is on fire.
Oh, are you serious?
Oh, my God.
Shh.
Oh, my God!
I-I am... I am so sorry.
I promise this has never happened.
Are you okay?
Keep it back on.
Someone call 911!
Michael?
Michael?
I'm here.
Hey, what's wrong? No.
What happened?
I was... I don't know.
It was terrible. Just...
It's okay, baby. I'm here.
Tell me what happened.
I can't. Oh, my God.
Hi.
Hi.
Sorry.
It's okay.
-Hi.
-Hi. I just...
I just wanted to tell you
that my dad told me what happened.
I'm so sorry that everything fell through.
- Oh, thank you, Joanna.
- Yeah.
Uh, and there's gonna
be other opportunities.
Yeah, for sure.
So I just wanted to ask
if your offer still stands.
What offer?
A girls' day would be good.
Oh, yeah.
Yes. Uh, why don't... yes.
Let's do it this Saturday.
That sounds great.
- Works for me.
- Yeah.
Yeah. Me too.
All right. Well, see you tomorrow.
- Good night.
- Yes.
Okay. Good night.
What is this? Fluxamine?
Hmm.
This is exactly what we needed.
I know, right?
So did my dad ever explain to you
why I've been living in Louisiana?
He brought it up.
And what did he say?
Uh, just that he hit a really rough patch
when your mom passed,
which is why you went to go
stay with your grandmother.
Yeah. I guess it's the gist of it.
I want you to know that
you don't have to worry
about anything like that
ever happening here.
Your dad's in a really good place and
the past is the past for a reason.
Aw. Thanks, Whit.
But I'm not scared it'll happen again.
Good.
I am so tired.
Oh, I'm not feeling very well.
Oh, no.
Can you drive?
Yeah, of course.
Are you... are you okay with that?
Yeah, I have my license.
Okay.
I'm gonna... oh gosh.
Let me take this. Are you okay?
This is so strange.
I've got you.
Thank you.
Okay.
Just gonna need...
Okay. Slow.
Watch your step, baby.
I see it, baby.
It's not funny.
This is just silly.
Get...
-I...
-Easy.
-Uh-huh. I told you.
-Nuh-uh, relax.
-Ugh.
Stop fussing over me. I'm fine.
-You're fine?
-Yes.
Joanna told me you literally
almost fell on your face
when you came out of the spa.
Yeah. Well, lucky for me she was there.
Lucky for you, huh?
You know what? I'm not going on my trip.
What?
Yeah. No, I'm canceling my business trip.
Why?
What do you mean why?
Between what happened
to you at your meeting
and the day you almost passing out?
Oh, my gosh.
Clearly, I don't need
to leave you right now.
I need to be here so I
can take care of you.
Don't be ridiculous.
And you've been planning
this trip for months.
Yeah, I have.
But what am I supposed to do, Whit?
Take the trip
and go to your real estate conference,
and it'll give Joanna and I
some time to spend together and bond.
Trust me. I'm fine.
Trust you?
-Uh-hmm.
Well, can you at least go to the doctor
so you can make sure everything is okay?
I'm serious.
Baby, I'm fine.
I have the boys and Joanna.
They'll take care of me if I need them.
All right. All right.
I'm gonna think about it.
But until then,
can you promise me that you
will relax and get some rest?
I'll think about it.
What are you doing?
Minding my own business.
Something you should learn how to do.
I know you did something to my mom.
What are you talking about?
She left and she was totally fine.
She came back and she fell out.
Listen here, chief.
And I'm only gonna tell you this once.
You need to be careful
what you accuse me of.
You don't know me.
And you don't know me.
You don't wanna get on my bad side.
I can be a dream
or your worst nightmare.
I'm watching you.
I'm watching you.
And if you want your mommy to be okay,
you didn't see anything tonight.
Yeah. No, I'll be fine.
I just need to take some
time away from the office.
You know, clear my head a little
after everything that happened.
Um, did you take care of
the lady's medical costs?
Oh, yeah, for sure.
Hold on.
Uh, I don't know where my credit card is.
Uh, have you guys seen my credit card?
Uh, no. No.
Um, hold on. Let me call you back. Okay?
The grapes are here.
Eric, baby, have you seen my credit card?
No, I haven't seen it.
Joanna, have you seen it?
Seen what?
My credit card.
Your credit card?
Why are you asking me?
I'm asking you because
the last time I remember using it
was at the spa when I was with you.
No.
Well, I really don't appreciate
your little passive-aggressive accusation.
First of all, I didn't
accuse you of anything.
I asked you the same
question that I asked the boys.
Hey, just cut the shit.
Excuse me? What did you just say?
I said cut the shit, Whit.
Hey!
You need to watch your
mouth in my house, little girl.
Oh, in your house?
This is what this is all about, isn't it?
Your house?
And I am not your little girl.
Hey. Hey, hey, hey!
-You...
What was all that about?
Your wife here is accusing me
of stealing her credit card.
I didn't accuse her of anything.
- Yeah, she did.
- Baby.
She did.
All right.
You mean this credit card?
Yes.
Where did you find it?
You left it on the dresser.
I'm not shocked.
Joanna, we need to talk.
I'm done with this conversation.
You two, come with me.
I'd like to speak to you.
You can go.
What the hell was that?
I asked her had she seen my card,
just like I asked the boys.
It was a simple question.
- You need to go check her.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-She's out of line.
-I will.
It's not really like you to accuse anyone,
but still, come on, baby.
Joanna's a teenager.
She's full of emotion, man.
She just lost her grandmother, so, yeah.
And she's probably on
her little... teenage period,
monthly woman thing, whatever y'all do.
So, yeah, she probably is crazy right now.
You know what, look,
I was worse when I was 17.
There you go.
-I'mma talk to her, all right?
-Okay.
But stop fighting with my daughter.
Get outta here. I'm trying.
God, I cannot catch a break.
Hello?
Hello?
Hey.
What are you doing out here?
My God, Jesus, you scared me.
I couldn't sleep.
I know what you're doing.
I'm not five.
I saw you smoking weed.
Listen. Why don't you come
take a seat right next to me?
Look
you'll be fine.
Just sit down.
Oh.
Listen, buddy.
I feel like we got off on the wrong foot.
You know, we're brother and sister now.
We should establish a
real bond with each other
where we can keep secrets to ourselves.
What do you say? Truce?
You're just trying to be nice to me
so I don't snitch on you, huh?
What are you doing?
Is it working?
A little.
Come on.
Truce.
Have you ever had a beer before?
I'm 12 years old.
Why would I have a beer?
I started drinking beer when I was 11.
Here. You should try one.
You're crazy.
Look at the view. It's nice.
Here. Here's a beer. You should try it.
You'll like it. I promise.
They say real men drink beer.
Hmm.
It's not that bad.
I knew you'd say that.
I knew you'd love it.
It's not the best.
I wonder how much you can drink.
I-I feel dizzy.
Why don't you have another one?
Another one?
Yeah.
I don't feel like...
I should have another one.
Why not?
You're doing so good.
Babe?
Wanna drink together? Cheers?
So good.
Why are you making that
face? You know you like it.
Babe?
You know
people are always complaining
about being an only child.
It was lonely and they
wish they had more kids
in the house with them.
You know, I actually didn't mind it.
Hell, actually, I enjoyed it.
I got all the toys to myself,
I didn't have to deal
with any other little boys around me.
It was great.
Then my dad decided to
play Super Dad for your family.
Got to deal with you little rascals.
It's fine.
Hello?
Now I have to take care of this mess.
Ugh.
It's time for you to die.
Babe. What?
Babe, what are you doing?
No!
Dammit.
What are you doing?
I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know how I got out here.
-Oh, my God.
-Are you
are you sleepwalking?
-I dunno.
I-I-I had, uh, a dream. And...
-Baby, you could've drowned.
-I know.
Come on.
Okay.
All right, guys. About to get outta here.
See y'all in about two weeks.
-Peace out.
-Oh, yeah, "Peace out"?
-Oh, you a tough guy now?
-Oh, yeah.
Take care of your mom, tough guy.
Safe travels.
Thank you, bro.
Mr. Lawrence, you take care.
You two take care.
-You watch him.
-Bye, Dad.
-Have a safe trip.
-Up the stairs.
You in charge now, all right?
You take care of the house.
Oh, a house full of kids.
Yeah, you and all your kids.
- Lucky me.
-Uh-hmm.
You know I don't wanna leave you, right?
Baby. Go. I'll be fine.
You'll be fine?
How can you say you're gonna be fine, baby,
with all this stuff that's
been happening to you?
I promise it's not gonna happen again.
Okay. What if we wasn't here?
I'll lock the bedroom
door. Just in case. Okay?
Don't worry.
I can cancel the trip.
I don't have to go.
Don't worry, okay?
-Now you gonna go. Get out.
-Oh.
- Come on.
-You're kicking me out now?
Yes.
You got somebody else coming over here?
That's for me to know
and for you to find out.
-I'll be calling you.
-Okay.
-Every chance I get.
-Out.
Safe travels.
Hello?
This is Kevin from Quick-Chem-labs.
I'm calling about those
make-up samples you sent us.
Yes.
Did you find out what
happened with my samples?
Yes, ma'am.
So most of the samples are perfectly fine
but I don't know, some of
them have a high concentration
of sodium hydroxide.
Sodium hydroxide?
Yeah, they're mixed in.
How would lye get into my...
Listen, ma'am, as-as you
know, lye is highly toxic.
Okay. Thank-thank you.
You're welcome.
Joanna, hi.
Hi. Lose something?
Yeah, I was looking
for a cleaner that I had,
that might've gotten
into my makeup samples.
Would you happen to
know anything about that?
No. Not a thing.
But if I were you, I would
be a little more careful
about what I leave lying around.
Hey. I need to talk to you now.
Mike is out of town and I don't think...
Okay. Just spit it out. What is it?
I changed my mind.
I do want you to ask Terrance
to look into Joanna for me
- if you could, please?
- Yes, of course, of course.
But why the sudden change of heart?
I don't know. I just... I have
this funny feeling.
Before, she was so sweet.
And now... I don't know, I
thought we were getting along.
Okay, so what happened?
You know the disaster
at work with my products?
Yeah?
So I talked to the chemist this morning
and he proceeds to tell
me that they detected lye
in my samples.
Joanna was the only one near those samples.
So I'm going through the garbage,
trying to see maybe I left something.
I don't know. And then she tells me,
"Maybe you shouldn't
leave stuff lying around."
What?
I don't even think about it at first.
And the other day I asked
her, I can't find my credit card.
I said, I'm searching for my credit card.
I asked her, "Have you seen it?"
And she flipped out on me.
I'm like, I don't know.
Maybe-maybe I'm going crazy.
No, no, you are not going crazy.
I told you to watch out for that kid.
You sure I'm not overthinking this?
I am sure.
And if anyone is gonna
be staying in your home,
you need to know everything about them.
I will have Terrance do a
quick background check on her
and see what he finds.
Thanks, Cass.
Of course, sis.
I don't hear you talking.
Yeah. Done.
You're done. You're garbage.
-Bro, I keep telling you.
-You're trash.
- Bro, you're cheating, bro.
- You're trash.
-Bro, I keep telling you.
-You're not good.
-I'm done with the game.
-All right, bro.
I'm done with the game.
That's about it. Wraps.
You're stupid, bro.
Hey, bro, where's your, uh...
Where's your, uh... your steps is at?
Probably downstairs. Why?
I mean, okay, bro. So, listen, like...
Okay. Come on, bro.
We've been... look, so we've
been texting back and forth, right?
Why you acting all funny about it?
Y'all not even blood-related.
And I'm not gonna lie, she's been on one.
Look at this, uh... look at this
picture she sent me right here.
-Bro, look at this one.
-No.
Look at that one.
Stop. Stop.
Stop. Stop.
-Oh. Hey, well...
-That's not okay.
I gotta pee.
Yeah.
What are you telling me that for?
You know where the bathroom is, right?
Oh, yeah. I got it.
- Yup.
- Don't trip.
Oh, yeah. I would never.
Joanna.
Hello?
Hey, beautiful.
It's me.
Hey, yo.
What is this?
What the heck?
Hey, yo, Brian, your sister is weird, bro.
I mean, we might as well see what's inside.
Feel like I just hit the jackpot.
No way.
Was that a diary?
Oh, my God.
I gotta tell Brian about this.
Okay. Go Brian. Go Eric.
You got it, big head.
Yeah!
Hello, Whitney.
Oh, I just had the most terrific day.
I took the boys to the park
and I watched them play basketball.
How was your day?
Work as usual.
I need to take this.
-Cass.
-You're on speaker.
-It's me and Terrance.
-Hey, Whit.
Hey, y'all. How's it going?
So I was able to pull some strings
and some information
about your stepdaughter.
Joanna Lawrence isn't her real name.
It's actually Maggie Dillon.
- What?
- Yeah.
So I started checking
out her online presence
and I couldn't find anything,
so I dug a little deeper.
So apparently, Joanna Lawrence
been going by this name for years.
Does she have a juvie record?
Just a couple minor infractions
but, uh, nothing alarming.
What about Michael?
Well, so far, Michael
background checks is good,
you know, so so far he's clean.
Yeah. A real clean liar.
Oh, come on, Cass.
Okay.
Uh, thank you guys so much.
Yes. Anything for you, sis.
Just be careful.
Maybe what you should do is talk to Michael
and find out why he's been
lying about his daughter's name.
I will. All right.
Okay.
Let me go. Bye.
Hey, baby, I miss you.
Why didn't you even tell me that Joanna
is not her real name?
- Wait. What?
- Yeah. That's right.
I know that her name is Maggie Dillon.
Who told you that?
Cass asked Terrance to check her out.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
You had your sister's cop husband
do a background check on my daughter?
Yeah. That's right.
Things are off, Michael.
She changed her name for a reason,
and you're sitting here
lying to me and covering.
Well, I need answers.
Baby, baby, baby, calm down.
Okay? I'm sorry.
Don't tell me to calm down.
Okay. You're right.
Yes. Joanna did get her name changed. Okay?
But it wasn't me, it was her grandparents.
Listen to me. You gotta understand.
This is... this was around the
time when I was getting drunk.
Then I started dating this woman.
Her name was Heather.
You know, I thought it
was going to fix things,
but it only made it worse.
Heather was abusing Joanna, Whitney,
mentally, physically.
And when Joanna told
me, I didn't even believe her.
I didn't believe my baby.
Not until I called Heather myself.
And that's when they
took Joanna away from me.
Heather went to jail,
and Joanna went to live
with her grandparents.
And I was all alone again.
So when Heather got out,
her grandparents thought
that as a safety precaution,
it would be better if Joanna
got her name changed.
And, yeah, I didn't tell you
because I figured that it
wasn't my business to tell you.
I figured Joanna would tell you
whenever she felt
comfortable enough with you.
But now, I don't even
think that's possible.
Are you saying it's my fault
that she doesn't feel comfortable?
No. No. No. No. Baby, no.
Listen, okay?
Joanna's been through a lot.
All right? And if you're
saying that she's acting out,
she has trust issues.
And all I'm telling you
is that if she's acting out,
it's probably because she's
been triggered, you know?
Now, I feel like a complete jerk.
No, no, no.
Listen, baby, it's not your fault.
Like I said, I should have told you.
Yeah, you should have told me a lot
before we adopted your daughter.
What's that supposed to mean?
It means that there's been a
series of strange occurrences.
My mother's urn, my presentation,
the chemist calls and tells me
that there's lye in my samples.
Lye, Michael.
How does something like that get in there?
Whitney, whoa, whoa. Calm down.
Listen to yourself. You're
not even making sense.
What reason would Joanna
have to do all this to you?
I don't know.
It doesn't mean that she didn't.
It don't mean that she did either.
You just said that she could
be acting out and triggered.
I'm not doing this with you.
Listen to me. I love you, all right?
But I love my daughter too.
Can we just try to work
this out as a family?
We already got people talking
about we got married too quickly.
And I know it messed things
up when Joanna popped up.
But I love you, and I
need you to have my back.
We can get through this.
We can make this work.
We are making this work.
I just... I need you to be honest with me.
No more keeping secrets.
Yeah. Yeah.
No more secrets,
I promise.
Okay.
I love you.
And I know how important it is
for Joanna to have a
mother figure. I get it.
And I'll do my best to be that for her.
I love you too, baby.
Thank you.
Brian, Eric, come on. Let's go.
Hurry.
- Where are you going?
- To the movies.
You didn't run it by me first.
Uh, I asked my dad.
And he said it was fine.
I took the boys to the park last
week and there wasn't an issue.
Well, I don't think it's a good idea
for them to go anywhere with you
without your father or me present.
Why?
What do you think, they're
unsafe with me or something?
I didn't say that.
Listen, Whitney,
I think that's a little bit
hypocritical coming from you,
Mrs. Almost-hurt-herself-sleepwalking.
Maybe too much pill popping you're doing.
You better watch your
slick ass mouth, little girl.
Yeah, or what? Are you gonna hit me?
Yeah. I wonder what my
dad would feel about that.
No. I'm not gonna hit you,
but I'm sure your dad would love to hear
about this little discussion.
So let's just wait until he comes back
to have this conversation, Maggie.
What did you just say?
Keep playing with me.
It's gonna be trouble for you, little girl.
Hey, what's going on?
Oh, Joanna was just telling me
that she can't take you two to the movies.
So I'm gonna be taking you guys.
She has other plans. Come on.
-Wait, what?
-Let's get in the car.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Can I come in?
Yeah, come in.
So your mom kind of swung
left on me this morning.
Oh, I knew something, something happened.
So I was thinking I'm
gonna find a place to stay
for the next couple of days
while my dad's still out of town.
I really don't wanna
cause any more trouble,
especially after what
happened with the urn.
The urn? You... that was an accident.
Yeah. But still,
I really should have just
told your mom right away
that I dropped it accidentally.
Joanna, you shouldn't have to stay
anywhere else, you know.
So, um, hell, I'll talk to her.
I'll get her to chill or something.
Really?
Yeah. Yeah.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
I appreciate it.
Of course.
And, uh,
you look... you look real pretty by the way.
Thank you.
Son?
You know you can tell me
anything no matter what it is.
You can tell me and you
won't get in trouble, right?
Yeah.
I know, Mom.
Everything's cool.
- Okay.
-Are you all right?
You look tired.
My sweet boy.
I'm okay. Mommy's okay.
Uh, lights out, all right? I love you.
- Love you too.
-Goodnight.
Yeah. I'm-I'm a rizz guy. I'm, like...
I mean, if you wanted to talk to me,
you could've just said that.
I mean, there's no problem.
- Yeah.
- Hmm. Son.
One second. Yeah?
I'm waking you up at 6:30
whether you get sleep or not,
so I suggest you get off that phone,
turn these lights out.
I know.
Are you okay?
Yes, baby.
All right.
Look like you're the one
who needs sleep, so...
Get the posters off the
wall. Come on. Go to bed.
Poster?
Hey.
Hey.
What's up?
Um, I was wondering if you got the chance
to talk to your mom yet.
Uh, no, actually, I haven't. Not yet.
-Oh.
-Yeah.
Well, yeah.
That's okay.
Whenever you get the chance.
Uh, yeah.
I can... I can do it now actually.
Really?
Yeah.
That would be really great.
My dad will still be out of
town for a couple more days
and I really don't want
things to be as awkward
as they were tonight at dinner.
Yeah.
Thanks, BK.
It's no big problem.
It's, um
it's cool.
And you're a really good guy.
-You know that?
-Thank you.
We, um
it's what family is for.
Right.
Well, let me know how it goes.
Okay.
Be right back.
Hey, Mom? Um...
I-I-I just really wanted to
talk to you about Joanna.
Um, I just think you're overreacting.
I really do.
Like at dinner, we... you can hear me, right?
Mom?
Are you sleeping?
Mom? Mom? Mom?
Mom? Mom? Oh, my God. Oh my God.
Oh, my God. Mom? Mom? Mom.
Joanna! Joanna, come here now! Joanna!
- What's wrong?
- Hurry! Hurry up!
- Joanna!
- Yeah?
Joanna, hurry up! Hurry up!
- What's wrong?
- Hurry up!
Oh, my God.
Give me... give me a towel. Give me a towel.
What happened to her?
-Wake up. Wake up.
- She's asleep. I don't know.
- Oh, my God.
Give me a towel. Go get me a towel.
-Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
-Mom!
Oh, no. Don't let Eric see this.
Mom!
-Yes, yes. Okay.
She... uh, there's still a pulse.
Call 911.
And you're sure she's never done
anything like this before?
No. No.
I mean, she-she suffered
from depression before
but she's never tried to
commit suicide, you know?
Okay.
That's all I need.
Officer, when can Whitney be released?
Typical standard
procedure in a case like this
is over 72 hours.
You guys have someone
coming to pick you up?
Oh, yes.
Poor baby. How's your mom?
-Where is she?
-I don't know.
I take it you're...
I'm Cassandra.
I'm their mother's sister.
Well, good news. She's fine.
Stable condition.
But the bad news is we're
gonna have to keep her here
a few more days just as a precaution,
just to take further tests.
But she's okay though, right?
Yes.
I understand. Can we see her?
Actually, she would like to only speak
to you just for the moment.
But I wanna see my mom!
We should all be able
to see our... see our mom.
It's okay. It's all right. It's fine.
Just stay with your brother, okay?
Stay with your brother. Do you mind?
-Anything you need.
-Okay.
-Yeah.
-Where is she?
Cass. You have to get me out of here.
I didn't do it. You have to believe me.
Honey, look at you.
I don't know what happened.
I was in my bathroom
taking my medicine and now I'm here.
What
they think you tried to commit suicide.
No, I didn't. I
do you think it could've been Joanna?
You think Joanna tried to kill you?
I don't... I don't know.
It doesn't make any sense.
God. And my boys.
Oh, my God. My boys are out there.
I cannot let them see me like this.
They're not gonna let me leave.
So will you please take the boys with you
until I can get out of here?
Yes. Of course.
Do not let them near my stepdaughter.
I don't know if she is trying to hurt them
or you or something.
-Don't worry.
Don't worry. The boys will be fine with us.
But if you think this
little girl is capable
of something like this, then
she needs to be locked up.
What does Michael think about all this?
I haven't told him yet.
I don't wanna worry
him until I know for sure.
Okay.
You need to get some rest.
Come here. Come here.
It's okay. It's okay.
I've got you.
I've got you.
Thank you.
Can we see her? We can see her?
No. No. Not right now.
No. She needs to rest.
But she wants you guys to come home with us
until she feels better, okay?
I just wanna see her.
We should be able to see our mom.
I know, buddy. And
she wants to see you too.
But she just needs to rest, all right?
And I promise you'll see her soon.
Until then, you guys are
gonna come home with me
and Uncle Terrance, okay?
So is this just a family affair
or is everything invited to the sleepover?
Oh, Joanna, of course you are.
Actually, she just
mentioned Brian and Eric.
What are you talking about?
That's not fair. She's family.
Honey, do you mind taking them to the car?
No.
You just call me.
-Yes.
-Okay.
-Thank you.
-Welcome.
See you.
I suppose, Joanna,
you're old enough to take care of yourself
at the house while
Whitney is in the hospital.
You're right.
I can take care of myself.
-Okay.
-I'll be at home.
Good morning, Mrs. Lawrence.
I hope you were able to get some rest.
Would you be able to if you
were accused of being crazy,
tried to kill yourself?
Okay. Well, about that, seeing the state
you were in last we spoke,
I put a rush on your toxicology report
and well, I just got the
results in this morning.
And I have to admit,
I mean, it looked very
troubling to say the least.
Now, a woman of your standing,
I shouldn't have to
remind you, Mrs. Lawrence,
that mixing recreational
drugs and antidepressants
is a very dangerous game.
I don't... what are you talking about?
Look, everything is right here
in black and white, Mrs. Lawrence.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I've never done drugs in my life.
Then how do you explain us finding cocaine,
Diphenhydramine, and
Temazepam in your system,
along with your prescribed medication?
I mean, that combination is
beyond a recipe of disaster.
And it's very likely that
mixing those drugs together,
you could've been in
an alternate state of mind
and then inadvertently attempted suicide.
No. No, I'm telling you.
I've never... I've never...
Either way, Mrs. Lawrence,
the police are here and they
would like to have a word.
Ms. Lawrence,
I wanna start by saying
you're not under arrest,
but your case has been
passed on to Social Services.
What?
No, no, this is... no, no.
I... I'm a damn good mother.
No. I need my phone!
Give me my phone! You can call my husband!
This is... this is... this is... this
is my stepdaughter's doing!
Yeah, she said that you might say that.
Oh, my God.
Now, I need you to tell me
about an incident that
happened a few weeks ago
when you were
sleepwalking in your backyard.
What?
I'm reporting to you
live from Orange County,
where this afternoon,
the body of missing teen,
Dante Owen has been recently discovered
in a local park...
-No.
where he tragically fell
from the James Davis Bridge.
For more on this,
-tune in tonight...
-No.
on the 10 o'clock news.
This is crazy.
Wait, what?
What's crazy? What?
That's the same park that
Joanna took us to the other day.
Then she disappeared for, like,
15 minutes and then, came back.
No.
Do you think she did this to Dante?
No.
No, no.
I mean, the last time Dante
was seen was at our house.
Hell, no.
Oh, hell. I'm calling Joanna.
It... it's just... calm down.
- I'm calling Joanna.
- Just calm down, all right?
There is no need call anyone right now.
Why?
You know what...
Auntie, that was our best friend Dante.
Baby.
Look, babe, I hear you.
And trust me, I think weird things
have been happening since she's been here
but it's nothing to bring
her in on for questioning.
Then figure something out.
Baby, even if I did,
you know I can't do that
without her legal parent
or guardian present.
And with Michael out of town
and your sister in the hospital,
my hands are tied for the time being, baby.
Oh, God, Whitney.
I gotta let her know.
Babe, can you send me
over all the information
you have on Joanna.
Sure. But it's not much.
What about her mom?
They said they're gonna take the kids away.
No.
They said they're gonna take them.
No, you know we will not let that happen.
I brought you a change of clothes
for when it's time for you to be released.
I still have 48 hours in here.
The doctor came in here
and he told me that they found
drugs and cocaine, and
all that stuff in my system.
And I swear... you know,
you know me and I swear.
I know. I know, honey, I know. I know.
I...
I need you to listen to me, okay?
-Okay.
-They found Dante dead.
What?
They found this body this morning
at the Hammel's Creek
beneath the old James Davis Bridge.
Oh, my God.
Cops are thinking it
was an accidental fall,
but I overheard the boys talking.
Dante was last seen at your house
before he went missing.
-Oh, my God, no.
And Joanna, she took
the boys to the same park.
Now, Eric said that she disappeared
for 15 minutes before she came back.
What?
It's my opinion that
she may have killed him.
No. No way.
Have you... have you told anyone?
Well, the cops can't question her
until either you get out of here
or until Michael gets back.
Oh, my God. Michael.
No, Michael... Michael's never...
He's never going to agree to that.
I think there is something else
you need to take a look at.
What is it? What is this? Oh, my God.
It's Chantal Lawrence's case file.
Joanna's mother.
Now you said that she
was killed by a drunk driver,
but it says it right here
that she was the one that was inebriated.
She had cocaine, Temazepam,
diphenhydramine all in her system, too.
Why would Michael tell me
that she was killed by a drunk driver?
I don't know, maybe Michael was too ashamed
to admit that his wife was an addict.
But let's be real, sis,
Michael has not been honest
about anything relating to his past.
Do you think that Joanna's responsible
for her mother's death?
At this point, I don't... I don't know.
Anything is possible.
I don't... I don't understand, Cass.
How did... how did she...
how could she have given me
all of that crap and I
didn't... I didn't know?
Just think.
-Did she... did she cook for you?
-No.
Did she... did she make you a protein shake?
-No.
-Come on. You gotta think.
Never.
The... my pills.
She saw me taking them every day.
Oh, my God. She must've
poisoned them or something.
That has to be it.
'Cause if she doctored your medicine,
then her fingerprints are on the bottle
and on the capsule.
If I can just get that over to Terrance...
Wait. Where are you going?
To your house, to get your pills.
And while I do that,
it's time for you to call
Michael and tell him
what is really going on here.
-Cass,
if she is as dangerous
as we say she is, you cannot go over.
I am not going alone.
Okay?
Hey, what's up, baby?
I promise you, you are
not gonna believe this.
You better get out of my way, little girl.
I know what your game is.
What game?
I read your mother's case file.
I know how she died.
And I'm willing to bet
that once I get these pills to the police,
they'll see that you've
been trying to take my sister
out the same way.
Get up!
Hey, Whit. I just got to the house.
I see a car on one side.
Cass, thank God, you answered.
- Hey.
- I'm sorry.
Cass can't come to the phone right now.
Joanna?
Where's Cass?
Come play, Whitney.
Come play.
Joanna, this is not a game right now.
- What are you doing?
- You have two choices, Whit.
Either you come play,
no more cops or
surprise visitors, just you,
or I go find the boys and
play with them instead.
Oh, what
okay, bitch.
Okay.
You wanna threaten my family?
Thank you.
You're making this so
much harder than it has to be!
Stop complicating things!
No! You don't have to do this!
Was that really that hard, Whit?
You're complicating things so much.
If only you knew how
much planning went into this,
maybe you would be a little
bit more respectful of my time!
You're a lot more difficult than my granny.
Come on.
"I killed my granny today."
"I honestly thought it would be harder,
but it was actually easy"?
"At least she didn't feel any pain."
You're probably wondering
what I hit you with.
It's a concentrated dose of Temazepam,
which is one of the main ingredients
in the little cocktail I replaced
some of your pills with.
I don't know how you
caught onto that so quickly.
Hey, I'm not gonna kill you.
Terrance, your sister, they're still alive.
Just easier to manage.
Now we're just waiting for
the guest of honor to arrive.
You know, this was
supposed to be so easy, Whit.
A simple murder/suicide.
I was gonna make it look
like you took out your family,
you offed yourself, then
you set your house on fire.
The headlines would've read,
"Mentally insane businesswoman
goes crazy and murders
her family then kills herself."
But that's not what happened!
You know, it was supposed
to just be a little tragic blurb
in the media, maybe trended
on social media for a day or two,
then we would've all been
able to move on with our lives!
But look at the mess you created!
The cops are involved,
your brother-in-law, your sister.
My God!
It was supposed to be so easy!
But you made it so personal!
You see, Whit, it was never personal!
You were just a victim of circumstance!
Oh, please, stop.
- Stop.
- Stop whining!
Whitney!
We're coming!
Now it looks like the
guest of honor has arrived.
All I'm saying, I just wanna make sure
everything is at place, you know?
Well, what's wrong?
- Don't you trust me?
- Come on now, baby girl.
You know Daddy trust you.
It's just that this our biggest job ever.
We never had a score like this.
And I need to make sure that you down to do
whatever needs to be done.
-Like killing kids?
-Exactly.
About killing the damn kids.
With them out the way and Whitney gone,
we stand to inherit everything.
Okay?
I need to know if you're ready to win.
Sacrifices gotta be made if you wanna win.
Are you ready to sacrifice?
Hey.
I told you this was never personal.
Daddy dearest have had his
eyes set on you for over a year now.
- Uh-hmm.
- Usually, his targets
were little old ladies
looking for one last thrill.
He'd set the op, figure
out the entire scheme,
and then the old bags
would mysteriously kneel over,
and we'd get their inheritance
or their life insurance,
or both, then we just move on.
But you were special.
The self-made millionaire, hey.
You were easy enough to steal from,
but also you didn't make
enough money to the point
where people would look
at us sideways for killing you.
All right, Maggie.
-That's enough.
-Oh, yeah.
Maggie, that's my real name.
We had to change it a couple years back
because he got his
hands a little too dirty.
He was worried that the
police were gonna catch on
to all he was doing and
start asking him questions,
so now I'm Joanna but
I actually was Maggie.
All right, yeah. Mag, that's enough.
No more time for games.
Where them damn boys? Are they here?
And matter of fact, why
are these two even here?
-Huh?
-Like I told you on the call,
-there were complications.
-No.
Ain't no complications.
The only complication is them boys.
Because if they still alive,
that's the problem, okay?
See...
I knew I couldn't trust your ass.
I shouldn't have put you in charge.
Now I gotta fix everything.
I gotta get all this plastic out.
-Look at this?
-Don't you just hate it
when he talks to us like this?
Like he's talking down
on us like we're little ants
in his farm, like, my God.
Grow the hell up, Maggie.
Because we on a time crunch now.
So go ahead and call
Brian like I told you to do.
Tell him to come home and
bring his little bad-ass brother.
I'll handle the rest of this.
I always gotta fix everything
where did you even get that gun?
-Huh?
-It's right here.
Good girl.
Give it to me.
Give me the gun.
The boys weren't the
complication, daddy dearest.
What?
This file is.
What the hell is that?
It's the case file from mom's accident.
The one you told me she was murdered in.
-Hmm.
-I don't know
what you're talking about, Maggie,
but I ain't got time for games.
-Give me the gun.
-Whitney.
Heather, she wasn't just
my dad's first girlfriend
after my mom died.
She was his first murder.
Hey.
Hey, ain't nobody got time for this.
Let's go, Mag, we don't have time!
At least that's what I was told
because she was the one
that was behind the wheel.
She was the one who had murdered my mom.
Maggie...
-Which is the only reason
why he picked her.
At least that's what I was told.
Look, enough is enough, all right?
Just give me the gun, baby.
But that's not the truth.
Is it, Dad?
Because this says that my mom
was the one who was under the influence.
That my mom
was the one who passed
out behind the wheel.
My mom is the one who hit Heather.
Look at here, Maggie.
I'll talk to you about
whatever you wanna know
whenever we get done with
this but right now, I need that gun.
They found three substances in her system.
Would you like to see?
Hey...
Benadryl, cocaine, and Temazepam.
The three main ingredients
to your little cocktail.
Isn't that right, Pops?
Maggie, give me the gun, baby.
Did you kill my mom?
Stop pointing that gun at me.
You poisoned my mom?
Stop pointing that damn gun at me.
And what was I?
Just collateral damage?
What if I was in the car?
Would I have just died, too?
Would you have even cared?
- Maggie...
-You killed my mom!
Stop it, okay?
You killed my mom!
I love you, baby girl.
Daddy would never do nothin' to hurt you.
Now give me that damn gun.
Stop playing with me.
Playtime is over.
We gotta fix your mistakes.
Clearly, you can't do nothin' right.
You didn't even give this girl enough
of the damn medicine, did you?
She's getting her feelings back.
Damn!
No, you're right.
I didn't give her all of
it, I was saving some.
Saving it for what?
Because I was saving some for you.
What?
What are you doing?
Damn it!
Do not fight me!
You killed my mom!
What are you doing?
What are you doing, Maggie?
You killed my mom!
- Hey, Bradford, what's going on?
- Hey.
Sorry, Mrs. Lawrence.
No body was found.
Your husband's missing.
What about Joanna?
She was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Her condition's critical.
You have no idea what she is capable of.
She's contained, ma'am.
Trust me.
She isn't going anywhere.
You all have a great night.