The series may be called Will Trent, but this week’s episode could easily pass as a spin-off. Faith Mitchell is ready for a fresh start in her new apartment, but a visit from her mother, Evelyn, quickly complicates things. What starts as a tense family reunion turns into a desperate race against time when Evelyn is kidnapped from Faith’s home. As Faith, Will, and the GBI unravel a mystery tied to an old case, they uncover hidden connections, a missing fortune, and a dangerous game of survival. Meanwhile, Faith’s personal history with her mother resurfaces, forcing them to confront painful wounds from the past. Let’s recap.
Season 3, Episode 5 – “Breathe with Me” – Written by Inda Craig-Galván
A bathtub. Bloodied water. A lifeless man. This is how Mike Cole (Steven Crane) died.
Faith Mitchell (Iantha Richardson) steps into the same bathroom—but now, it belongs to her. She’s just moved in, eager to build a life of her own. The past lingers, but Faith is focused on the future. That is, until a knock at the door disrupts her peace.
Standing outside is Evelyn Mitchell (LisaGay Hamilton), Faith’s mother, perched on a knee scooter with one foot in a medical boot. A pickleball injury. Faith assumed she’d be recovering at home, but with her brother Zeke out of town, Dr. Anderson has ruled she can’t be alone. Now, she’s here—to stay. Evelyn surveys the apartment immediately. “Is this the place where a man killed himself?” she asks bluntly. In the bathroom, she notices scratches on the wall behind the tub’s support bar, a detail Faith hadn’t paid much attention to.
Faith, uninterested in ghost stories, dodges further conversation. She has plans tonight—line dancing class. Evelyn doesn’t bother to hide her judgment. She critiques everything, from Faith’s still-unpacked boxes to her choice in decorations. Faith grits her teeth. It’s going to be a long two weeks.
At the GBI, Faith vents to Amanda Wagner (Sonja Sohn), hoping to pass Evelyn off on her mother’s best friend. Amanda isn’t biting. Before she can push further, Faith’s phone buzzes. It’s Evelyn. “I think it’s serious,” she says, panic in her voice.
Faith rushes home. Instead of an emergency, she finds Evelyn peering through binoculars at the neighbors. Raymond, an elderly man across the street, has been feeding the same cat over and over. Six times today. Evelyn believes he might have dementia. Faith exhales, frustrated. Then, Evelyn changes the subject. She wants to know why Faith suddenly cares about dancing. Faith pushes back, accusing her mother of only ever encouraging her to do what she wanted. Evelyn’s next words cut deeper. She brings up Faith’s teenage pregnancy, as if it’s proof that Faith made poor choices. Faith finally lets her walls crack. She remembers the day she told Evelyn she was pregnant at fifteen. Evelyn went into her room and screamed. “I felt like you were ashamed of me,” Faith declares, going back to work upset.
Evelyn spends the rest of the day trying to be useful, helping Faith unpack. She meticulously color-codes her daughter’s closet. But her mind keeps wandering back to the window. Through her binoculars, she sees a blonde woman at the apartment across the street, arguing with two men. The fight turns physical. Instead of calling Faith, Evelyn calls 9-1-1.
When Faith returns home, police lights are flashing outside her building. APD informs her that an elderly woman placed a call. Inside, Faith finds her apartment torn apart. Blood streaks the mirror. Evelyn is gone.
Amanda and Will Trent (Ramón Rodríguez) arrive at the crime scene, but Faith is distracted. Her glucose monitor beeps, warning her of dangerously low blood sugar, but she ignores it. She mutters to herself, responding to her mother’s critical voice in her head. Will recognizes this. He used to hear Paul Campano in his own head, calling him “trash”. Faith refocuses. There was no forced entry. Someone had a key. She notices a framed picture of herself in Angie (Erika Christensen) and Ormewood (Jake McLaughlin) pull records from the apartment’s office. The building’s manager, Juanita, didn’t come into work today.
Faith realizes the kidnappers stole Juanita’s master key. But if they weren’t after Evelyn, then they were after something—or someone—connected to the apartment itself. The previous tenant? Mike Cole. Ormewood recognizes the name. Mike’s brother, Stacey Cole, had harassed Juanita, believing she had lied to the police about Mike’s suicide.
Faith and Will drive to Stacey’s house. The moment Will announces he’s with the GBI, Stacey (James Andrew Kientzy) bolts. Faith tackles him.
Evelyn wakes up in a storage garage, her head bleeding. She isn’t alone. The blonde woman from earlier—Juanita (Andrea Syglowski)—is chained beside her. Two men storm in, furious. They demand to know why Juanita didn’t warn them they were breaking into a cop’s house. A gun is pressed to her head. “Where is it?” one of the men asks. Juanita claims she doesn’t know.
Back at the GBI, Faith and Will discover that Mike’s body had been too waterlogged to prove murder. His relationship with Juanita had been omitted from reports. Faith rushes back to her condo, scanning for any clue her mother may have left behind. In her color-coded closet, a single white shirt is out of place. A word has been written on it in blood – INONI. Faith’s vision blurs. She stumbles, dizzy and dehydrated. She collapses.
At the GBI, EMTs tend to Faith. Amanda is furious. “Inoni” isn’t a name—it’s a rare coin worth millions. A receipt for one was found in Juanita’s safe. Amanda orders Faith and Will to an antique store linked to the coin. As Faith steadies herself, Amanda expresses concern for her daughter’s best friend. “I can’t lose you in this.”
Evelyn tugs against the cold metal of the cuffs binding her to the pipe, her wrists aching from the strain. Then, a strange sense of déjà vu washes over her. Her vision blurs, and suddenly, she’s no longer in the dark, grimy storage garage—she’s in Faith’s bathroom. The bloody water, the lifeless body of Mike Cole slumped in the tub. But this time, she’s not just watching—Faith is there beside her, staring at the scene, piecing together the truth. Evelyn’s mind reconstructs what happened that night. Juanita was there. She sees her fastening cuffs onto Mike’s wrists, chaining him to the tub’s support bar. It was meant to be playful at first, a moment of intimacy turned deadly. But something went wrong. Mike struggled, his arms yanking against the restraints. The scratch marks behind the bar—the same ones Evelyn noticed in Faith’s bathroom—were from him, desperately trying to free himself as he realized he was trapped. Juanita had lied. She knew exactly why Mike died.
Evelyn’s vision shifts again, bringing her back to reality. She sees Juanita sitting across from her. Faith’s voice echoes in her head: Hang on just a little longer. She breathes, steadies herself, and focuses on finding a way out.
At the GBI, Amanda tracks down the name of the antique store that dealt with the rare Inoni coin—Tucker Stevenson (Terence Rosemore). He had served time with Mike Cole. Faith and Will waste no time heading to Tucker’s store, but when they start pressing him for answers, he plays dumb, acting as if he doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Faith isn’t in the mood for games. She reaches for expensive glass objects, breaking them. Tucker gives in. He admits that he ran communications for Juanita—she sent her guy to him, and they made a deal. The man she sent? Scottie, someone Tucker describes as an odd guy who wears suits and a handkerchief. Will is insulted by the description. Faith demands Tucker call Scottie in.
Scottie (Rabon Hutcherson II) is brought in to the GBI, and Faith wastes no time asserting control. She shows him a photo of her in uniform, the one that was broken in her condo. He grows anxious as Faith tells him her mother was kidnapped. Faith leans in, quoting an address—the place where his family lives. “I never use my badge as a weapon. I don’t pull rank. But my mother is the most important thing to me. I will destroy everyone and every single thing you care about if you do not tell me where my mother is.” Scottie’s composure shatters.
Back in the garage, Juanita whispers to Evelyn that they can’t fight back without a weapon. Evelyn assesses their situation. If Juanita can slip her scarf through the cuffs, she might be able to free one hand—and then use it to do the same for her. Juanita works at it, pulling the fabric taut. It’s working.
The other guy, Grant (Brad Brinkley), re-enters the garage, looking furious. “Where the hell is Scottie?” Juanita asks, pretending to still be bound. Grant doesn’t know, and he proceeds to Evelyn with his gun drawn. Evelyn tells Grant that Juanita has the coin, and it’s in her locket. When Grant turns to look at Juanita, Evelyn pulls out an insulin shot with her one free hand, jabbing him in the leg with it. He stumbles, stunned. Juanita seizes the opportunity, grabbing his gun. Evelyn turns to her, expecting her to help unlock her remaining cuff. But Juanita hesitates. Evelyn’s stomach sinks. Juanita steps back, gripping the gun tightly. Then she bolts—leaving Evelyn behind with an unconscious Grant still chained to the pipe.
As Will drives, Faith is lost in a daze. Amanda’s voice crackles over the radio, begging them to bring Evelyn home safe. Faith’s mind drifts—to another time, another moment of fear.
Teen Faith (Justice Freedom Jones) has just given birth to her son, Jeremy,” with Young Evelyn (Imani Hakim) at her side. She remembers the ache in her chest, the fear that his adoptive parents wouldn’t love him like she did. She had been ready to give him away, but Evelyn had given her a choice. “You don’t have to do this,” she had said. “If you want to keep him, I’ll help you. I’ll raise him with you. You can still finish school.” Faith had broken down, sobbing.
The memory fades. Faith blinks, returning to the present. Will glances at her. “You okay?” Faith steadies her voice. “Drive faster,” she instructs.
Evelyn, still chained to the pipe, yanks on the cuff, trying to work herself free. Behind her, Grant stirs. He comes to, rage flashing in his eyes. He lunges at Evelyn, overpowering her, using his full weight to pin her down. She fights back with everything she has, slamming her medical boot against his chest, kicking wildly. But he’s stronger. His hands close around her throat. Suddenly, the garage door opens. Will and Faith rush in, backup following. Grant is ripped off Evelyn, dragged to the ground. Faith is at her mother’s side in seconds. Evelyn is shaking, breathless. Faith steadies her. “Breathe with me,” she whispers. Evelyn does.
At the hospital, Amanda sits beside Evelyn’s bed, relief clear on her face. Evelyn suffered a contusion, but she’ll be okay. Juanita was caught after foolishly going to Tucker to sell the coin. Amanda compliments Faith’s skills. “She’s come a long way, Evie. You’ve done good.”
Out in the waiting area, Faith sits alone, lost in thought. Will approaches with Betty. Faith admits her regret—how she made Evelyn feel like she couldn’t call her when she was in trouble. “I knew I was wrong, I just kept going,” she says, voice heavy with guilt. “It got uglier. What if I’d lost her?” Will places Betty in her lap. “It helps me,” he says simply. Faith holds the tiny chihuahua close.
At the APD, Ormewood admits to Angie that his divorce is draining him financially. He’s picked up a part-time job to stay afloat. Angie offers help, but he refuses. Ormewood gets up to leave.
Then, Martha Lamb (Zabryna Guevara), John Kelly’s parole officer, arrives, asking Angie for a reference on his job application. Angie refuses. Martha asks again. Angie doesn’t budge.
At a hotel, Evelyn and Faith sit in bed, playing cards in matching robes. Evelyn thanks Faith for saving her. Then, she finally tells the truth about Faith’s pregnancy. She hadn’t screamed out of anger at Faith. She had been angry at herself. She had failed to make Faith feel safe enough to come to her. “You and Jeremy are the best things that ever happened to me,” Evelyn says. Faith smirks. “What about Zeke?” They both laugh. For the first time in years, they understand each other.
Next Episode: “No Faith In Second Chances” – Airing Tuesday, February 11th, at 8/7c on ABC
Will investigates a murder with a familiar pattern, forcing him to confront his past while tracking a killer who’s always one step ahead. As the case unfolds, he begins to suspect the truth is closer—and more personal—than he ever imagined.