The Housemaid’s Wedding by Freida McFadden Millie Calloway is a thriller novel of a woman who just got out of prison and has no job or home. She’s been living in her car and is desperate for work. She gets a job as a live-in maid for a rich family, the Winchesters. At first, everything seems fine. Nina, the wife, is friendly at first but soon acts strangely and becomes cruel. Her husband, Andrew, seems kind, and their daughter Cecelia is rude and spoiled. Millie is given a small attic room that locks from the outside and has scratch marks on the door, which makes her uneasy.
Nina’s behavior gets worse—she blames Millie for everything and acts like she’s mentally unwell. Millie thinks Nina has problems and feels bad for Andrew. She starts to fall for him and even begins a secret relationship with him. One day, Andrew kicks Nina out and says he wants to be with Millie. But the next morning, Millie wakes up locked in the attic. Andrew tricked her.
Then the story switches to Nina’s side. She tells how Andrew abused her for years and made her think she was crazy. He even tried to drown their baby and blamed her for it. Nina explains that she hired Millie on purpose, knowing Andrew would do the same to her. She hoped Millie would fight back, since she has a violent past and could stop Andrew.
Back in Millie’s view, Andrew starts to torture her. But after suffering for days, she finally fights back. Millie locks Andrew in the attic and makes him go through the same pain he caused. When Nina returns, she finds Millie standing over him. Millie is scared she’ll go to jail, but Nina tells her to leave and promises to take the blame.
The police question Nina, but she is let go thanks to a detective who knew Andrew was dangerous. A year later, Millie is living a better life with money Nina gave her. She goes to a job interview and meets a woman who seems to be in a similar abusive situation. Millie realizes what she has to do—help other women like Nina. She accepts the job and begins a new life as a protector of abused women.
