Motives

Emery Simms, a highly educated business tycoon, begins an adulterous fling with Allanah James. A man who tries to force information on him ends up dead, and another witness flees the scene. Terrifyingly, Emery doesn't notice the dead man's cell phone still on the ground, which has every call logged between them.

After the killing, Emery tries to phone a friend, but the call goes unanswered. The lack of an alibi soon begins to weigh on him as he navigates the fallout. The tension foreshadows the chain of consequences to come.

Allanah's car breaks down and Emery offers her a ride to her job. He remains unaware that she is orchestrating an angle to secure something from him. The encounter marks the start of their complicated dependency.

Emery and Allanah arrange a dinner, but police tails them while a crazed follower also tracks Allanah. The man bursts into the restaurant and attacks Emery, escalating the danger around both of them.

To secure control, Allanah moves into one of Emery's properties, turning the place into a base of operations. She even invites a friend over and organizes a sexual arrangement, testing Emery's commitment and setting terms for continued access.

Emery visits his friend Brandon Collier, giving him a box cutter and asking him to help unpack something, while they reminisce about college days. The moment hints at how Brandon could be pulled into deeper schemes. The seeds of manipulation begin to sprout.

In a park where children play, Allanah informs Emery that she is pregnant. He urges her to abort, but Allanah refuses, heightening the stakes of their affair. The pregnancy becomes a leverage point that drives the subsequent plots.

Allanah orchestrates a meeting with Emery's wife, Connie, by sending a romantic note she believes is from Emery. In the park, Allanah reveals the pregnancy and asks for money; Connie provides a check for $100,000 and begins packing to leave Emery.

Emery returns to confront Allanah and her husband Derrick at the condo. He finds them together and orders them to leave, demanding the return of the check. A struggle ensues and Allanah flees with the check, leaving Emery furious and alive.

Shortly after the confrontation, Allanah is found dead with her throat slit. Emery is brought to the police station and interrogated by Detective Morgan, each maintaining that the other was alive when he left the condo.

Before Emery's arrest, he confronts Brandon about Connie and his life; they fight, and Brandon leaves alive. The film later reveals that Brandon staged the chain of events, murdered Allanah, and sent incriminating evidence to detectives to win Connie away.

At a wayward-youth event, Emery is arrested for Allanah's murder. The trial proceeds toward sentencing, and Connie visits with divorce papers. The twist becomes clear as evidence points to Brandon, and Emery awaits his appeal.