John Schneider as Jim Cryer and Tika Sumpter as Candace Young

Judge Jim Cryer, a prominent judge considering a run as the governor of Georgia, has just finished a tryst in his study with his mistress, Candace, who is demanding $100,000 and a sports car as blackmail to keep their relationship under wraps. "I want my money tomorrow, or I'm going to the news," she says.

"You're a law student; I'm sure you know that this is illegal," Jim says. "Karma's a bitch."

Candace says she's well aware of what karma is. "Like when a man meets a woman who is overweight. He's broke, comes from a broken family with no pedigree. All he wanted was to feel special," she says. "So, being the good-looking jock, he goes after the chubby, rich girl from the wealthy family. Although he has a few cheerleaders on the side, they marry."

Jim takes a drink as Candace continues. "She can't believe that she was the one he chose. But being so young, she didn't know that he was just trying to come up," she says. "They have two kids, and he realizes that this life is not all that he thought it would be, but by now he's in too deep. So, going through his midlife crisis, he meets a woman who is doing the same thing to him that he did to the fat girl."

Jim says Candace doesn't really know him. "What you don't know about me is what's most dangerous. I've had to deal with a lot of very bad people to get where I am. People far worse than you," he says. "You have no idea of the evil I'm capable of. I could make you disappear."

"So you're a magician?" Candace says.

"One of the very best," he says.

"So am I," she says. "I could make your career go bye-bye in the blink of an eye. Your time is running out."
Aaron O'Connell as Wyatt Cryer and John Schneider as Jim Cryer

As Candace walks up the stairs, she is spotted by Jim's son, Wyatt, and his drug rehabilitation counselor, Jeffery, who has accompanied him home for the weekend. Wyatt confronts Candace, saying he heard the door lock behind her when she went in for an alleged study session with his father. "So you're screwing my father?" he says.

"You should ask him," she says. "Now's the perfect time. He's right behind you."

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An angry Jim demands to see Wyatt in his study. "You think your father is screwing around on your mother with her?" he says.

"Well, she was in here a long time," Wyatt says.

"She was studying—something that you have never been too keen on. You know, getting a degree, bettering yourself? Remember that plan for your life that literally went up in a puff of heroin smoke?" Jim explodes. "How can you have the audacity to suggest such a thing?"

Jim won't let Wyatt speak. "Your mother and I have given you chance after chance. But when you start making these kinds of foolish, careless comments, you are bordering on losing it all," Jim says. "This is your last shot, pal. If you don't get clean—"

"I am clean," Wyatt says.

"Then stay clean," Jim says. "If you don't stay clean, you are out on your ass."

Jim orders Wyatt to leave. "And Wyatt? If you every make a comment like that again about me, I will break your neck," Jim says. "Now get out of my sight."

Aaron O'Connell as Wyatt Cryer and Gavin Houston as Jeffery Harrington

Wyatt returns to the living room, where Jeffery is waiting for him. "Tell me what's going on in your head right now," Jeffery says.

"I don't feel like talking," Wyatt says.

"Do you feel like using?" Jeffery asks.

"Every damn day," Wyatt says.

Jeffery continues to ask Wyatt about his feelings and puts a hand on his knee. "You know what bothers me?" Wyatt says. "You're sitting so damned close to me. Why do you always have to sit this close? And why do you always have to touch me when you talk to me?"

"I'm sorry," Jeffery says. "I'll move away."

"Yeah, do that," Wyatt says. "Stay away."

Renee Lawless as Katheryn Harrington

Jim heads upstairs to bed, where he's disappointed to see his wife Katheryn is still awake. "So are you really running for governor?" she asks. "I want to know what I'm in for as your dutiful wife."

"Don't pretend that you won't enjoy every moment of the spotlight," he says.

"Spotlights are hot, darling. I'm not sure if this family can handle it," she says. "You know my family's reputation is stellar in this state. I don't want to be the one that destroys it because of my beautifully dysfunctional family...reputation is everything around here."

Jim grumbles that Katheryn is always reminding him of her family tree. "It's grown old," he says.

"Don't you forget that it was my family's wealth that made you a player at the high-stakes table," she says.

Jim says he wants one night without Katheryn's sarcasm. "We have lots of those nights when the children are not around, and you are sleeping in your room, and I'm in mine," she says. "And, by the way, don't leave your underwear on the bathroom floor anymore."

"Is that why the hostility, because of underwear?" Jim asks.

"That and the sight of cheap lipstick," she says.

"There's no lipstick on my collar," he says.

"As I said, don't leave your underwear on the floor," she replies.

Jim starts to crawl into bed, but Katheryn orders him to the couch. "You know I have a back issue," he says.

"You have a front issue too," she says. "You can't keep it in your pants."

Crystal Fox as Hanna Young and Tyler Lepley as Benny Young

Meanwhile, the Cryers' housekeeper Hanna is sitting at her kitchen table with a stack of bills. Her son, Benny, who has just started his own towing business, comes home after a successful night. He reaches for a bill. "Mama, look at this medical bill," he says. "How we going to pay this?"

"Little by little," Hanna says. "I thank God my house is paid for. That would be stressful."

Benny looks on nervously, knowing his sister took out a mortgage on the house—a mortgage she was supposed to be paying.

Hanna hands one more unopened bill to Benny before heading off to bed. "It's pink," she says. "They're getting ready to cut something off."

Benny opens the letter. Candace has not paid the mortgage in five months.

Tika Sumpter as Candace Young and Jaclyn Betham as Amanda Cryer

Candace is still in the Cryer house, helping a struggling Amanda with her law homework. "I don't want to be in law school," Amanda says.

Candace says Amanda needs to tell her parents she wants to do something else. "You don't know my parents," Amanda says.

Candace's phone rings. It's Benny calling about the mortgage. "Listen, I'm going to get all the money to pay it," she says. "I promise."

"Mama almost opened this," he says. "Candace, you can't do this to me. You've got to get this paid."

Candace tells her big brother to relax. "I'll have it tomorrow," she says. "I just need to turn up the heat on this situation."

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John Schneider as Jim Cryer and Peter Parros as David Harrington

The next day, David Harrington, Jim's fellow judge and friend, meets with Detective Marshall to see what he knows about Candace Young. David is not pleased with what Marshall has found so far. "I asked you to look under her skirt, not under her shoe laces," David says. "This gal can bring down this cabinet before it's even built. I want everything."

The detective has one question: "Who is this girl?"

"All you need to know is she is a problem that needs to be solved," David says.

Jim enters, unhappy to see Detective Marshall. As the detective exits, Jim wants to know why David is working with him. "You know I don't like to work with him," Jim says. "I don't trust him."

Jim tells David that Candace is still in his house and continuing to threaten him with blackmail. "She doesn't flinch at anything that I say. It's like she's solid," he says. "I can't get a read on her at all, not in any way. I've never met anybody like her in my entire life."

"You sound like you admire her," David says.

"Like I admire bleeding to death," Jim says sarcastically.

Jim tells David he thinks Candace will make good on her threats. David tells Jim to pay her. "I don't think that's wise," Jim says. "She's toying with me, and I'm toying with her. Like a cat in a trap."

"If I didn't know better, Jim, I would think you're enjoying this," David says.

"Of course not," Jim says. "What she doesn't understand is that if she comes after me, I will let loose a force on her that she will never forget."

Aaron O'Connell as Wyatt Cryer

Back at the Cryer house, Hanna is just getting to work. The other housekeeper, Celine, is due in soon.

Wyatt comes down before anyone else, asking for breakfast. "Celine should be here any minute," Hanna says.

Wyatt says he wants to eat now because he's not feeling well. "I have severe back pain," he says.

Hanna says he should see a doctor. Wyatt tells her he does—and he's out of his prescription. Then, he asks Hanna to get his refill. "Ask for William, the son, not the old man," he says. "Just tell him that Wyatt sent you, and he'll fill it for you."

Katheryn enters, immediately suspicious upon seeing Wyatt awake. "I know what you want," she says to her son.

Hanna says she'll go get Wyatt's prescription. Katheryn stops her. "Don't fall for his foolishness. Before he went to rehab for the second time, he would wait up early for my maid and tell her he was sick and that he needed a prescription filled," Katheryn says. "That's why she was fired."

"It was worth a shot," Wyatt says.

Gavin Houston as Jeffery Harrington and Renee Lawless as Katheryn Cryer

Jeffery enters the kitchen. "Wyatt, I've been looking all over for you," he says.

Katheryn turns to Jeffery. "You probably couldn't see him because of that sleep in your eyes," she says. "If we are paying you to be with him at all times, then you need to be with him at all times."

Wyatt leaves, but Katheryn isn't finished with Jeffery. "If you give him an inch, he will take the whole damn marathon," she says.

"I'm on it, but this whole thing was an inch," Jeffery says. "With all due respect, Mrs. Cryer, he should not have come home. It's too soon."

"Well, get him the hell out of here," Katheryn says.

Renee Lawless as Katheryn Cryer and Jaclyn Betham as Amanda Cryer

Wyatt and Jeffery find Candace and Amanda, who are packing to go back to school. Candace urges Amanda again to tell her parents she wants to leave law school. "I think she should say something rather than be miserable all the time," she says, casting a glance at Jeffery.

With Candace by her side, Amanda confronts her mother. "I want to be a fashion designer," she says. "You're not upset?"

Katheryn turns sarcastic. "Why would I be upset? Three years of college you changed your major every semester. Several hundred thousand dollars down the drain," she says. "But no, I'm not upset."

Amanda tells her mother school is tough. "Then you suck it up," Katheryn says. "Every time things get rough, you want to run and hide. Well, not anymore."

Amanda storms out. "I'm going to talk to Dad," she says. "I'm sure he has an opinion about this."

Tika Sumpter as Candace Young and Aaron O'Connell as Wyatt Cryer

Before Candace leaves, Wyatt pulls her aside. "If you want to see my father pissed, mention my sister," he says.

"Why would you tell me anything to hurt your father?" Candace asks.

"Did you not hear the way he spoke to me last night?" he says. "She's the apple of my father's eye. You want to see him pissed? Mention her."

Candace wants to know why Jim would be so upset. "She's fragile," Wyatt says.

Before Candace can get more information, Wyatt walks into his room. "Come on, Jeffery," he says.

John Schneider as Jim Cryer, Tika Sumpter as Candace Young and Jaclyn Betham as Amanda Cryer

Later that day, Candace and Amanda stop by Jim's office to tell her father she wants to go to design school. Amanda asks David and Candace to stay as her moral support.

The news does not go over well. "I know it's a lot, but you can get through this, honey," Jim says.

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David asks if Candace had anything to do with Amanda's change of heart. Amanda denies it. "Why isn't anyone listening to me?" she says. "You know what happens when I'm ignored, Dad."

Amanda storms out. Jim asks David to leave and confronts Candace.

"This was her idea, but she's easily persuaded. Such a weak little thing," Candace says. "I wonder what she would think if—"

"Don't you mention a word of this to my daughter," Jim says. "She has nothing to do with this."

"I knew that if I waited long enough I'd find your Achilles," she says. "When are you going to get my money?"

Jim tells her there is no money. "Blackmail won't work with me, and if you as much as breathe a word of this to my daughter, you will regret it for the rest of your very short life," he says.

"I won't have to," she says. "She will read it in the papers."

Then, Candace asks Jim whether he likes to play chess. "I love to play chess, and I'm very good at it," he says.

"Okay," Candace says. "My move."