The Wife Upstairs

Victoria is especially sluggish in the morning when Sylvia tries to feed her. Adam comes to give her some medication, but Sylvia asks for more time to feed Victoria, especially since she now seems more alert and lucid than usual. Victoria again mentions the gun and manages to tell Sylvia that it’s in Adam’s closet. Sylvia tells Victoria that she’ll do something about it, but she knows that she won’t.

Adam heats up frozen Swedish meatballs for them, and Sylvia decides to eat in her room to avoid the tension between them. Before she can go upstairs, the doorbell rings. When Adam answers, Freddy is there, asking to speak to Sylvia. Sylvia tells Freddy to leave, and when he doesn’t, Adam threatens him until he goes. Sylvia bursts into tears, and Adam consoles her, almost kissing her until Sylvia pulls away. She tells Adam that they can’t act on their feelings because of Victoria. Adam is frustrated because he can’t have a real relationship with Victoria and he’s lonely. Sylvia tells him that Victoria is still somewhat herself and that she is unwilling to betray her. He apologizes and asks Sylvia to forget it, and Sylvia lies and says that it’s forgotten.

Sylvia finds a dozen roses and an apology note outside her bedroom door. She sees Eva leaving Victoria’s room and worries that Eva thinks she slept with Adam. She goes into Victoria’s bedroom and greets her, ready to give her breakfast. Adam arrives and asks if Sylvia wants eggs, but she refuses. When he leaves, Sylvia reassures Victoria that she didn’t sleep with Adam. Victoria then clearly tells Sylvia that Adam will kill her and asks her again to get the gun.

On March 22, 2017, Victoria wrote about a horrific day. Her friends from work, namely Carol and Mack, wanted to take her and Adam out to celebrate their engagement. They went to a diner and ordered beers and lots of fried food. Behind the scenes, Victoria was getting less certain about Adam and his eccentricities, as he began to control what she wore when they went out. She justified the behavior by highlighting his good qualities, but his behavior at dinner made her upset. He criticized her for eating too much in front of all their friends and then flirted with the waitress and kept the napkin she gave him with her phone number on it. Victoria went to the bathroom to compose herself, and Mack followed her and confessed that he broke up with his girlfriend because he was in love with Victoria. Victoria threw up in the bathroom before Adam took her home.

At home, she wanted to go to sleep, but instead, Adam began a fight, accusing her of sleeping with Mack and dismissing her concerns about him flirting with the waitress and taking her number. He demanded the password to Victoria’s phone, and when she refused to give it, he threw her phone at her head, missing and smashing it against the wall. He stormed out of the apartment, and Victoria wrote that she felt stupid for thinking that Adam would be her husband or the father of her children.

Three days later, Victoria sheepishly admits in her diary that she took Adam back. He came back at 10 o’clock in the morning, apologizing profusely and promising never to treat Victoria that way again. She couldn’t imagine her life without Adam, though she wished that her mother were alive to give her advice about what to do. She agreed to move forward in her relationship with Adam but assured herself that she’d make him work to earn her trust back.

Sylvia finds the story about the engagement dinner shocking with what she’s seen of Adam. She hopes that Victoria was exaggerating, as she cannot envision Adam throwing a phone at anyone. As they eat takeout for dinner, she asks him about Mack, and he says that he doesn’t know anyone by that name. She claims that Victoria said his name and wants to get her visitors, but Adam says that she had visitors after her injury but it was upsetting for everyone involved. With Thanksgiving coming up, Adam offers to let Sylvia go home to her family. Sylvia tells him that she doesn’t speak to her family. Adam claims that his parents are going to his uncle’s house for the holiday and suggests that he and Sylvia have a Thanksgiving of their own. She insists that they include Victoria, and though Adam pushes back, claiming that Victoria has the mind of a toddler and is incapacitated, Sylvia stands her ground. Adam agrees to a three-person Thanksgiving.

Sylvia reads Victoria’s diary dated April 19, 2017. Victoria and Adam got married in a chapel in Las Vegas. Victoria was happy that Adam began treating her well after their violent fight. He even bought a new tube of toothpaste for them to share. Victoria was ecstatic during their trip and during the wedding ceremony. Adam carried her across the threshold of their hotel room, and they stayed in bed together for hours before ordering room service. Adam then wanted to go to the casino and play Blackjack, but Victoria decided to stay in the room. She read her book happily, reflecting on Adam’s novel All in the Family and his strained relationship with his family. Without her parents alive or any siblings, Victoria hoped that she could rekindle the relationship with her in-laws.

An entry from very early the following morning states that Victoria tried to stay up to wait for Adam, but he didn’t return to the room. At three o’clock in the morning, she went to the casino to look for Adam, but she couldn’t find him. She worried about him but also was angry that he had abandoned her on their wedding night.

Another entry from later that day states that Adam returned in the morning and blew off Victoria’s concerns about his whereabouts, saying that he went to another casino and lost track of time. Victoria accused him of cheating and being with the waitress who flirted with him at their engagement dinner, and Adam called her a nagging wife. After fighting for hours, Adam packed up his stuff and told Victoria that he was going back to New York alone, leaving her with no bag and no ticket home until the end of the week.

An entry dated April 24, 2017, states that Victoria returned to New York and decided to make her marriage to Adam work, especially when he took her in his arms. She tried to reassure herself that every marriage has growing pains.

Sylvia is horrified by Victoria’s depiction of Adam’s behavior. As they plan their Thanksgiving menu, she cannot stop wondering if he cheated on Victoria on their wedding night. When Adam leaves the kitchen, Maggie gives Sylvia a suspicious look, as if she’s engaging in romantic acts with Adam. Sylvia assures her that nothing is going on, and Maggie warns her that Victoria is more aware of situations in the house than Sylvia might think. Maggie tells her that Victoria was fiercely jealous of Irina, believing that she was having an affair with Adam. She also tells Sylvia that Victoria and Adam did not have a good marriage, warning Sylvia to be careful.

In a diary entry dated August 28, 2017, Victoria states that she got home to her and Adam’s apartment after a long shift. After changing into clothes that Adam would approve of, she sat on the couch with him. He told her that they needed to talk, which scared her, as she assumed that she’d done something to upset him. He instead told her that he had sold their apartment and bought a house. Victoria was upset that he didn’t consult her, and Adam patronizingly reminded her that he owned their apartment, so he could sell if he wanted to. He also reminded her that they wanted a lot of children, so a house would allow the space for their family to grow. He then told her that the house was in Montauk, hours away. Victoria tried to feel hopeful about the house.

An entry dated September 2, 2017, states that the drive to Montauk was long and that Victoria felt worried about being so far from the city and her life. She reflected on how most of the major decisions in her life were either intuitive or made for her, and she felt that the move was another decision she wasn’t able to make herself. On the drive, Victoria questioned how she would find work in a small community like Montauk, as the commute back to the city would be too long for her to keep her job in the emergency room. Adam suggested that she try staying home, as they were actively trying for a baby. Victoria agreed to consider it. When they arrived, Victoria loved the house, even though it was isolated and had no cell service, but she asked Adam for some time to consider moving and leaving her job. He got bitter and jealous, accusing her of wanting to stay in the city to be with Mack. Victoria realized that the move was happening and that they’d never move back to the city.

On September 10, 2017, Victoria had an emotional final day at work, saying goodbye to her job, her patients, and her friends, including Carol. Mack wasn’t working that day, but as Victoria left the emergency room for the last time, Mack was waiting for her outside. He hugged her tightly with tears in his eyes and promised to come visit her, even though he didn’t have a car. Victoria briefly thought that she had made the wrong choice in marrying Adam and that she should have chosen to be with Mack, but she knew her fate was set and resolved to make her marriage work.

In two months of working with Victoria, Sylvia still hasn’t seen her smile. She decides to try to find Mack to cheer Victoria up. When Sylvia asks Victoria about Mack and where to find him, Victoria cannot speak clearly. Sylvia decides to find Mack on her own.

Sylvia’s Google searches do not yield much information about Mack, given that all she has is his first name and that he was a paramedic. She decides to call Mercy Hospital, where Victoria used to work. The receptionist doesn’t know of any paramedics named Mack, so Sylvia’s search goes cold.

Sylvia reads Victoria’s diary dated September 28, 2017. Adam set up the Wi-Fi and cable in the house and purchased a Microcell so that they could have cell service. They merged their finances, with Victoria closing her credit card account to create a joint one with Adam. He also bought Victoria a Honda Civic, but Victoria worried that since the car was two-wheel drive, she would not be able to drive in the winter when it snowed. Adam dismissed her concerns about it. Victoria spent time decorating the house, but the sofas she looked at were never acceptable to Adam. When she ordered a sofa with his approval, he then stated that it was also wrong. He demanded that she replace it, which she was working on when Adam’s agent, Peter, arrived. She made food for him, but he barely ate, instead staring at his phone. Victoria asked Peter about Adam’s parents, and Peter revealed that they both died in a car crash, after which Adam’s brother took his own life.

Victoria threw up in the kitchen, realizing that Adam had lied to her. Adam came home and, noticing her nausea, asked if she was pregnant. Rather than answer, she confronted him about his lies. He admitted to lying, claiming that his relationship with his parents had been in a bad state before their death and that he had twisted the truth rather than explain it. He promised not to lie to Victoria anymore, but he also told her in a threatening manner not to ask Peter about him ever again. She took a pregnancy test, and to her relief, she was not pregnant.

An entry dated November 18, 2017, states that Victoria decided to join a gym, as she noticed her body changing during her months in Montauk. She was not pregnant, which was still a relief to her. Without a job, and with Adam having hired a chef and maid, Victoria spent most of her days watching TV and shopping. When she went to sign up for the gym, she couldn’t find her credit card. She got home and found Adam whispering to Irina in the kitchen. Victoria took Adam to their room and told him that she lost her card, and he admitted to taking it. He told Victoria that she was overspending and that he was going to start giving her $200 per week as a cash allowance until she could learn money management. Victoria was incensed, as she had given up her job and financial independence to move to Montauk. Adam also chastised her for seeking a gym membership, as he claimed that people only went to gyms to flirt with other single people. Victoria accused him of having an affair with Irina, and he called her “crazy.” He refused to let her join a gym. He told her to save up her allowance to buy running shoes and go jogging instead.

An entry dated December 2, 2017, says that Adam and Victoria got into a huge fight after Adam demanded that Victoria iron his dress shirt, which she did without meeting his exact specifications. He accused her of being a gold digger and threw their wedding photo on the floor, shattering the glass frame, and told her to clean it up before leaving. Victoria was deeply hurt and disturbed by the turn that her relationship had taken. Mack texted her that he missed her, and she realized that she missed him too. They texted for half an hour, and Victoria contemplated joining a book club, but she knew that it would upset Adam, who forbade her from joining social groups.

Sylvia goes to the minimart on Thanksgiving to get more butter as Adam works on the turkey. She doesn’t trust him after what she has read in Victoria’s diary, thinking that he’s lying about his parents and his marriage. When she returns, he expresses gratitude for her presence in his life. He also confesses that he and Victoria were unhappy before the accident and then states that he wants to start looking at nursing homes for Victoria after Christmas. Sylvia is upset by the idea, but Adam promises that she can stay with him for as long as she needs, even when Victoria leaves. Sylvia doesn’t trust him.