The Housemaid's Secret

Three years ago, Wendy is pushing Douglas to get ready for a party, but he’s in the kitchen eating Nutella out of the jar. Wendy has worked hard to improve Douglas’s wardrobe and his reputation but finds it almost impossible to get him to lose a few pounds. Douglas, however, isn’t interested in any of the social expectations that Wendy is obsessed with. Douglas suggests they skip the party and go to a movie instead, but Wendy refuses. As Douglas gets dressed, Wendy imagines the home they will live in once they are married. Wendy grew up poor and remembers the shame and frustration that went along with that.

As Wendy and Douglas prepare to leave, Joe Bendeck, Douglas’s lawyer, shows up at the door. Wendy overhears Douglas arguing with Joe over the prenuptial agreement he insists that Douglas and Wendy sign before they get married. In the end, Douglas agrees to sign it.

Days later, Wendy and Douglas are in their living room with Joe discussing the prenup. It is a large document, so Joe has highlighted the important sections for Wendy, pointing out that in the event of a divorce, Wendy gets 10 million dollars. Wendy resists signing, even crying to try to convince Douglas not to make her do it. However, Douglas stands firm, and Wendy is determined that they’ll never divorce, so she signs it.

Two years ago, Wendy and Douglas bought a house on Long Island, and now Wendy has convinced Douglas to buy a penthouse in Manhattan. When they find a penthouse that Wendy loves, she and the real estate agent team up to convince Douglas of its worth. Although Douglas is careful with his money, he agrees.

Wendy has lunch with her friend Audrey. They gossip about Ginger Howell, a woman who just got a divorce from her abusive husband. Audrey says Ginger never could have left her abusive husband if it hadn’t been for Millie, a cleaning woman with a reputation as a person who helps women escape their abusive partners. Audrey says that Millie went to prison for killing a guy who was trying to sexually assault her friend. The subject then changes to a discussion of Wendy and Douglas’s desire to get pregnant. Audrey recommends a fertility doctor. Wendy takes the number but has no intention of calling.

One year ago, Wendy attempted to force Douglas to lose weight by serving only a salad for dinner. Douglas turns the tables on Wendy by pointing out that she rarely eats and that she nearly passed out after her run the other day. Douglas also wonders if being so skinny is preventing Wendy from getting pregnant. Douglas leaves the house to get food from a fast-food restaurant, leaving Wendy feeling as though she no longer respects her husband.

Wendy is leaving her penthouse apartment when she runs into Marybeth, Douglas’s secretary. Marybeth asks to see Douglas, but he’s not at the penthouse. Wendy dislikes Marybeth because she is overeager and refers to Wendy by her first name as though they are friends. When Marybeth learns Wendy is furniture shopping, Marybeth gives Wendy her husband’s business card because he sells antique furniture.

Worried she might have been unfairly mean to Marybeth, Wendy decides to check out her husband’s store. When she walks in, Wendy immediately spots a dresser that fits her tastes exactly. Russell Simonds, Marybeth’s husband, comes over and Wendy finds him to be exactly what Douglas would be if he lost weight. He is handsome and charming, and he convinces her to buy thousands of dollars’ worth of furniture. Russell also gives Wendy his cellphone number.

Wendy and Russell have been having an affair for the past six months, and Wendy believes she might be in love. She thinks Russell is the perfect man except for his small bank account. They are currently eating lunch in an expensive restaurant. When Wendy goes to pay, understanding that Russell cannot afford the bill, her credit card is declined as is a second one. Russell ends up paying after all.

Wendy has learned that her credit cards were canceled. She goes to the Long Island house to confront Douglas. When he arrives home, he reveals that he knows about her affair with Russell. At first, he asks her to go to marriage counseling with him. When Wendy announces that she cannot get pregnant because of scarring in her fallopian tubes, which she knew long before she married Douglas, he is outraged, but still insists they can fix their marriage and adopt children. Wendy refuses, admitting she doesn’t love Douglas.

Wendy feels confident in leaving the marriage with the 10 million dollars the prenup provides her. However, Douglas informs her that the prenup has another clause that says Wendy gets nothing if she is unfaithful. Douglas insists he has proof of her affair via cameras he had installed in the penthouse. Wendy tells Douglas she won’t sign divorce papers, and Douglas counters by saying he won’t give her access to his money, and she can live in the penthouse, but he’s going to sell it in a few months. It is then that Wendy decides she will kill Douglas.

Four months ago, Wendy continues her affair with Russell at the penthouse having removed the cameras Douglas had installed. They talk about the future and Russell tells Wendy they will be fine without Douglas’s millions, but Wendy does not want to be poor again. Wendy wishes that Douglas would just die, and then she remembers the conversation with Audrey in which they discussed Millie. Wendy then comes up with a plan to kill Douglas and blame it on Millie.

A few weeks ago, Wendy has learned to use makeup to create bruising by watching videos on YouTube. She’s in the hall bathroom with Russell, preparing to convince Millie that Douglas has beaten her. Wendy likes the way the bruises look, but knows that to really sell it, she needs a real injury. She convinces Russell to punch her by calling him names and insulting his ambitions. Russell’s blow gives her a split lip and a bloody nose that causes Wendy to leave a bloody handprint on the sink.

The night of the murder, after Millie leaves the apartment, Wendy calls Douglas to meet her at the penthouse so that she can sign the divorce papers. When Douglas arrives, Russell is waiting in the kitchen and is supposed to shoot Douglas as he enters the apartment, but he doesn’t. Wendy makes an excuse and goes into the kitchen to find Russell having a mental health crisis. Wendy takes the gun and returns to the living room where Douglas is organizing the divorce papers. Douglas suggests to Wendy that they put the divorce aside and try to reconcile, and Wendy briefly considers it. However, when Douglas says he wants to sell the penthouse and start over, maybe even give all his money to charity, Wendy knows she has to kill him. Wendy pulls the gun. Douglas asks if she ever loved him, but Wendy refuses to answer. She shoots him in the chest and apologizes, saying she wished they could have made it work. Russell comes out of the kitchen, shocked she went through with it.