When she arrives back at her apartment, Casey she heads straight for her closet. She takes out the black box again and opens it.
Looking in through the box's contents, she silently marvels at the fact that her daughter is still alive. She finishes going through the photographs and documents in the box, then shoves back into the back of her closet.
She strips off her grey pencil skirt and matching blazer and removes her satin blouse. She replaces her work clothes with a pair of navy blue NYPD sweatpants and her Sex Crimes baseball tee. She climbs into bed, still astonished that her baby is alive.
As she lays in her bed, she tries to envision what her life would've been like had Charlie let her keep the baby. Would she still have graduated law school? Would she have delayed taking the Bar exam to care for her daughter? Hundreds of questions zoom through her mind at lightning speed.
Thinking about all of these hypothetical questions eventually wears Casey out, and she drifts into a restless slumber.
~ The Next Morning ~
Casey walks into the precinct and finds a note on her door telling her to see Captain Cragen. She takes the note off of her door, unlocks it, then enters her office. She places the note on her desk and sets her belongings down on her desk, before finding Cragen.
She finds the Captain sitting in his office. She softly knock on the door and peeks her head in. "You wanted to see me?" she says. Cragen motions for her to come in. She enters the room and closes the door behind her. Cragen tells her to take a seat, and she pulls up a chair in front of his desk.
"Casey, I'm taking you off of Gabby's case. I'm also sending you home for the rest of the day, so you can let yourself deal with all of the new information that's come up," Cragen tells the young ADA.
Casey jumps up from her chair. "You can't take me off this case! I've worked so hard on it!" she indignantly exclaims.
Cragen tells Casey to sit back down, and she does. He tells her that he believes she has become too emotionally invested in the case. He also tells her that he doesn't want her personal issues regarding Charlie to negatively affect the case.
"I need to be there for Gabby!" Casey says.
"You can be there for her, just not as her lawyer," Cragen tells her, "Casey, you can't argue with me about this. I'm sorry, but your past relationship with Mr. Williams complicates things. Cabot will be handling the case from now on"
Casey leaves the room in an angry huff and goes back to her office.
Back at her home, Casey changes out of her work clothes and slips on a pair of flannel pajama pants and a fitted white t-shirt.
She grabs her remote and turns the television on. The news story immediately grips her attention.
"Alleged child rapist, Charles Williams, also known as Liam Williams, has been released on bail a few hours ago. He made the following statement to reporters outside the courthouse: 'I'm coming for you, Casey Novak. I lost track of you once, but I've found you again. I'll make you regret leaving me!'" a reporter on the television states.
Casey feels a lump form in her throat. Her mouth goes dry. She starts shaking. Her phone rings, startling her. She rushes to answer it.
It's Cragen. He tells her that she's going to be taken to a safe home for the time being and that they're sending a squad car over to her apartment building, in case Charlie shows up there. Casey thanks the Captain, but assures him that she'll be fine in her apartment, then she hangs up.
She nervously paces around her apartment, trying to calm herself down. Cragen told her that the judge filed a temporary order of protection for Casey and Gabby, so Charlie isn't allowed get within two hundred feet of them. She keeps telling herself this, however, repeating this to herself doesn't help at all because she knows that Charlie will disobey the order if he's determined enough.
She hears a knock at the door. She cautiously makes her way to her door, hoping that it's just the police that Cragen sent against her objection. She looks through the peephole.
It isn't the police.
It's Charlie.
"Open up! I know you're in there!" Casey hears Charlie bark.
She starts to back away from her door, praying that this is all just a vivid nightmare.
Suddenly, Charlie kicks the door down. He stomps into Casey's apartment and approaches her.
Casey backs up, finally hitting a wall.
"You bitch! You left me to live in this cushy apartment, while I'm living in a dilapidated piece of shit!" he yells, grabbing Casey's arm and jerking it roughly towards him.
"Charlie, you paid you brother to tell me that you were dead! What the hell did you expect me to do!?" Casey fire back, pushing Charlie away from her.
Charlie grabs Casey's shoulders and pins her to the wall. "You disloyal little slut! I'm gonna make you pay for leaving me!" he growls. He relaxes his grip on her shoulders and spins her around, so here face is pressed against the wall. He twists her arms behind her back and holds her wrists. "If you resist, I'll kill Gabbi," he threatens.
Casey stops fighting Charlie. She doesn't want him to cause Gabbi anymore suffering. Charlie pulls her away from the wall and ushers her out of her apartment.
Charlie throws Casey into the backseat of his car. He binds her wrists and ankles with duct tape, then puts cloth in her mouth to gag her. He slams the door shut and slides into the driver's seat. He speeds away, leaving skid marks on the street.