Back in court, Anna was testifying, being questioned by O'Boyle. She stated she loved her family and wanted to hide them from the ugliness of the world. She grew up in a basement apartment, her family had nothing and had to work for everything she had. Everywhere she looked, in books, magazine, movies, TV, she saw happy, successful women. She had to do it to be perfect. She stated it felt like she was outside of herself when she killed them and watched as another woman stabbed them to save them from the pain and ugliness of a life that just wasn't perfect.

This argument was rather getting on Rafael's nerves.

Thankfully, he hadn't had that large of a caseload lately compared to normal, and he was able to focus on this case more than he might have been able to otherwise. He knew he'd be back to insane amounts of overtime before long, though.

O'Boyle finished questioning her and says, "She was saving them from the pain. From the ugliness of a life that just wasn't perfect."

Shaking his head, Rafael got to up to do his cross-examination.

He cleared his throat. "I'd like you to look at this photo if you don't mind, Mrs. Mill. I know it's hard."

"Objection."

"Withdrawn." He changed the image to another crime scene photo. "The guilt's probably overwhelming."

"Your honour!" O'Boyle called.

"Move on, Mr. Barba."

"So, you testified that it was like watching another woman," Rafael said. "Did you communicate with her at all? Make any attempts to stop what transpired?"

"No."

"Why not?" he asked. "Is it because you wanted them dead?"

"I wanted to protect them. They're better off now."

"You wanted to protect them?"

"Yes."

"From what?" Rafael said. "You said that they are better off now? But better off than what?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?"

"No. It's not, Mrs. Mill," Rafael said. "Be more specific, please."

"Without me."

"So, you messed up and got yourself in deep," Rafael said. "Instead of going to your husband for help, or anyone for that matter, you planned their deaths."

"I didn't plan to hurt them."

"Alright," he said, "then let me ask you this: what does 'Buenas noches' mean?"

"It means, 'Good night.'"

"Exactly." He smirked some. "Can you please tell me what 'Adios' means?"

"It means goodbye."

"In what context?" he inquired.

"Objection!" O'Boyle called. "Irrelevance."

"You'll find it is very relevant, Your Honour." Please let me do this. I need this line of questioning.

"You may proceed, Mr. Barba, but keep it relevant." The judge looked at Anna. "You may answer."

"It's used when you don't know when you'll see someone again," she explained with a frown.

"And you've known this for a while?"

"My nanny has worked with us for a long time," she said. "She became family, and we all learned some Spanish over the years."

"Thank you." He smirked again. "Can you please tell me what happened when you relieved Miss Alverez that night?"

"When I came home we talked some about the children," she said.

"Can you be more specific?"

"I asked if Rachel had done her homework," she said.

"But you did not mention Julian or Charlie?"

"No."

"Ok," he said, "now walk me through you saying goodnight to Miss Alverez. I want you to use the exact wording, meaning if you used Spanish I want you to use the Spanish. If you used English, use English."

"I said 'Adios' and kissed her goodbye."

"'Adios.' Was this normal for you, Mrs. Mill?" he asked wryly. "If not, what would you normally do?"

"I never usually kissed her and normally I would say 'Buenas noches.'"

"What was different about this particular night?" he asked. "I mean, Miss Alverez hadn't taken any time off. You knew she was scheduled for work the next day."

"I don't know."

"So, it wasn't because you knew she would never be watching your children again?"

"No!"

"You knew the significance of the phrases, and you said farewell," he said. "You then proceeded to let the police believe that it was Miss Alverez who killed your family and only came forward once a pair of your shoes with blood was found."

"I had to protect them."

"You wanted them dead."

"Objection!"

"Nothing more from the people." Pleased with himself, he took a seat.

"Everything has to be perfect," O'Boyle said. "That that is exactly what Anna Mill had in her head." O'Boyle glanced around at all the jury members. "I have to. I have to. I have to!" the defence continued. "I have to go to school, get a job, get married, beget 2.3 children. If I don't, I have failed. What happens to my 2.3 children?"

The defence counsel paused.

"Anna Mill, she heard voices in her head. She heard the voice of her own mother telling her, 'You need to earn money, or the world will eat you and your offspring raw.' She heard Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem telling her, 'You are equal to any man.' She heard Hillary say, 'Aim high, but rely only on yourself.' I have to, I have to, I have to, I - And then what happens when you can't?" O'Boyle paused again. "It's enough to drive you crazy. Crazy. To do what Anna Mill did... You would have to be crazy."

Rafael got up and made his way to where O'Boyle had been standing moments before. "You know, I almost fell into Mr. O'Boyle's trap when he started to talk about feminism. You see, this case, it isn't about feminism. Is it an issue? Certainly. However, that is not what is behind Anna Mill's actions."

He moved closer to the jury, adding just a touch more emotion to his voice.

"This case comes down to one very simple question. 'What was going on in Anna Mill's head when she stabbed her son, her daughter, and her husband?'" He paused. "Did she know what she was doing? She told us she wanted them dead. Did she know it was wrong? She let the police believe her nanny was the murderer."

He threw his hands up in front of him in a pleading gesture.

"That's it. It's that simple. She knew it was wrong and she planned this. It wasn't a moment of insanity. It had been planned days before. She planned this." He shook his head. "Now, I feel for every woman in this courtroom and the completely unrealistic expectations that society holds. However, that does not allow you to kill without consequence. She planned this. She wanted her family dead and put her plan into action. That is all you need to know to convict her of her crimes."

"Like you were convicted of yours?" Anna said.

He had to fight to keep his calm and think of how to undermine the comparison. He couldn't let his choices interfere with the verdict. "Our situations are not comparable. I would also like to remind the court that I am not the one on trial today," he said calmly. "Regardless, I will have to live with my choice for the rest of my life. As will you, yours. You planned the murders well in advance." He took a deep breath. "I also owned up to my mistakes - every step of the way. My question is, can you own up to yours?"

With a shaky breath, Rafael took his seat again.

The judge glanced at Rafael and decided to have pity on him. "Jury will disregard the accused's last remarks. As Counsellor Barba said, this isn't his trial." The judge gave Rafael a quick nod of the head. "The jury will now deliberate."

Now came the fun part. The waiting.

"You did well back there, Rafa!" Liv said. "That was a good cross. You handled the comments about your trial well too. Now, no matter what the jury decides, you did your job."

"Thanks, Liv," he said. "Let's just hope the jury agrees on a verdict sooner rather than later and the comment didn't do too much damage."

"Agreed."

Despite their hopes, the jury had a hard time deliberating and kept popping out to say that they were deadlocked. It wasn't the longest wait he had had yet, so he wasn't too concerned. However, the longer it went on, the worse the outcome usually. It meant the jury members were struggling.

Finally, after about five hours of deliberation, the jury called for the court to reconvene.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have, Your Honour."

Rafael licked his lips nervously.

"On the first count of the indictment of murder in the second degree of Charles Mill, we find the defendant guilty." A wave of relief hit him. "On the second count, murder in the second degree of Rachel Mill, we find the defendant guilty." Yes! "On the third count of the indictment, murder in the second degree of Julian Mill, we find the defendant, Anna Mill, guilty."

Immediately, the court proceedings wrapped up and everyone started to file out.

He walked over to O'Boyle. "You win some and lose some, Counsellor. Better luck next time."

O'Boyle shook his head, amused. "Some things never change, Rafael. I have to say, I'm impressed you came back here. More courage than I would give most people, even myself, credit for."

"Coming back wasn't actually planned," Rafael said dryly. "I came back for an event for a friend's son, and things just sort of happened."

"Still, after what you did -"

"As lovely as this chat is, I do have other commitments," he deadpanned. "I'll be taking my leave."

"Foot in mouth," O'Boyle said.

Rafael rolled his eyes. "Not for the first time, William."

"Good day, Counsellor."

Rafael gave a curt nod and watched the man walk away. He then glanced to see where the quad was, his mind racing. "En el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del espíritu santo," he said under his breath, as he crossed himself, before walking over to Liv and the squad.