Luke Cage sought Murdock's help in clearing "Big" Ben Donovan of a false murder charge. Dakota began investigating the case, convincing Murdock to join her and fight his depression. When Dakota got close to the truth, she was assaulted by a man she later identified as FBI agent Moss. After she attacked Moss with a baseball bat, daring him to come after her again, she was shocked to see her estranged father at her apartment, warning her off the case. More determined than ever, Dakota learned Donovan had a son who had been threatened, but Moss shot her before she could report to Murdock. Dakota was rushed into surgery while Matt cleared up the case with SJ's help, exposing mobster Eric Slaughter for the set-up, exonerating Donovan, and seeing Moss arrested. After having Iron Fist accelerate her healing, Murdock trained with Dakota back at his townhouse, leading to a brief romantic tryst, which Murdock almost immediately regretted as he considered it a betrayal of his wife. Dakota tried staying professional, but an unidentified investigator had photographed the affair for Milla's parents, who were fighting for legal custody of Milla. Ashamed of the damage she had inadvertently caused, Dakota subsequently avoided Murdock.