Flowers in the Attic (2014) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Corrine forced her children into hiding because her wealthy father Malcolm Foxworth disinherited her upon learning she married his half-brother Christopher Sr., producing children from incest. Since Malcolm didn't know these children existed, Corrine hid them in the attic until she could secure her place in his will. She promised it would only be days, but it stretched into years.

Foreshadowing: Corrine's initial promise that the hiding would last only a few days plants the seed for her eventual betrayal.

• corrine foxworth
• hidden children
• attic confinement
• malcolm foxworth
• inheritance

Christopher Sr., the children's father, was Malcolm Foxworth's younger half-brother, making Corrine's marriage to him a union between half-siblings. This incestuous relationship was the reason Malcolm disinherited Corrine, and it made the children the products of incest, a fact the Grandmother used to justify calling them "the Devil's spawn."

Foreshadowing: The reveal of the incestuous relationship retroactively explains why Corrine was disinherited and why she was so desperate to return to her father's good graces.

• incest
• christopher sr
• malcolm foxworth
• half-brothers
• family secret

Cory did not die of pneumonia as Corrine claimed. Chris discovered that both the Grandmother and Corrine had been poisoning the children with rat poison (arsenic) mixed into their food, specifically through powdered-sugar doughnuts. Cory was the first victim of this poisoning, deliberately left to die by his own mother.

Foreshadowing: The mysterious doughnuts given as a rare treat, followed by the children's recurring minor illnesses, foreshadow the poisoning.

• cory death
• arsenic poisoning
• rat poison
• doughnuts
• corrine poisoning children

Both Corrine and the Grandmother were responsible for poisoning the children. While the Grandmother claimed it was due to a "mouse infestation" and left tainted food, Chris learned that Corrine's inheritance was conditional upon having no children from her first marriage. Corrine had been absent for months on her honeymoon and had permanently left with her new husband Bart, knowing the children would die from the poisoning she orchestrated.

Foreshadowing: Corrine's long absences, her new marriage, and her reluctance to take Cory to a hospital all hint at her willingness to let the children perish.

• corrine poisoning
• grandmother poisoning
• arsenic
• inheritance murder
• foxworth hall

Corrine abandoned her children because her inheritance from her dying father Malcolm was conditional upon her having no children from her first marriage to Christopher Sr. By keeping the children hidden and eventually letting them die from poisoning, Corrine could claim the fortune without revealing their existence. When she remarried Bart Winslow, she chose her new life and wealth over her own children.

Foreshadowing: Corrine's promise that the children would only be hidden for a few days, combined with her increasingly rare visits, foreshadows her ultimate betrayal.

• corrine abandonment
• inheritance condition
• corrine betrays children
• foxworth inheritance

One night Cathy secretly visited Corrine's suite and kissed her sleeping stepfather Bart. When Chris learned of this kiss, he was consumed by jealousy and raped Cathy. The assault occurred in an environment of extreme emotional stress, isolation, and suppressed sexual tension from their years of confinement together. Chris immediately regretted the act, while Cathy struggled with conflicting feelings due to her love for him.

Foreshadowing: The years of puberty in close confinement with no healthy outlets created the dangerous emotional tension that led to the assault.

• chris assault catherine
• incest assault
• attic sexual abuse
• chris catherine attack

Malcolm Foxworth's will stipulated that Corrine could only inherit his fortune if she had no children from her marriage to Christopher Sr. This meant the four children, Chris, Cathy, Carrie, and Cory, were obstacles to Corrine's wealth. Rather than reveal their existence to her dying father, Corrine chose to hide them in the attic and eventually allow them to be poisoned.

Foreshadowing: This inheritance condition explains why Corrine tolerated the children's prolonged confinement and why she never intended to free them.

• malcolm foxworth will
• inheritance condition
• corrine fortune
• disinherited children

The Grandmother was obsessed with the sin of incest after learning the children were products of a half-sibling marriage. She believed the children were "the Devil's spawn" and enforced strict gender separation, forbidding any contact between boys and girls. Her hatred extended to actively poisoning the children, framing it as eliminating an abomination.

Foreshadowing: The Grandmother's extreme religious conviction and her role in enforcing the attic isolation set the stage for her participation in the poisoning.

• grandmother foxworth
• devil spawn
• incest obsession
• child abuse
• foxworth hall grandmother

Chris and Cathy planned their escape over several months. Chris crafted a wooden skeleton key to unlock their room, and both children took turns stealing cash and jewelry from Corrine's suite to fund their outside life. After discovering the poisoning plot and learning Corrine had permanently left, they fled with the surviving twin Carrie to catch a train to Florida.

Foreshadowing: The wooden key Chris made earlier becomes the tool that enables their final escape.

• escape foxworth hall
• wooden key
• train to florida
• chris catherine escape

Carrie survived the poisoning and escaped Foxworth Hall with Chris and Cathy. The three remaining children fled together on a train to Florida, where they would attempt to build new lives. However, the twins' health had been severely damaged by years of malnutrition and poisoning, leaving them with lasting physical consequences.

Foreshadowing: The twins' declining health throughout the story sets up the stakes for the escape.

• carrie twins escape
• surviving twin
• florida
• children escape foxworth