The Baby

Ann Gentry, a guilt-ridden social worker, is assigned to a new case involving the eccentric Wadsworth family. She arrives with a sense that something is off and begins to focus on their youngest member, a man who is never named and kept in infant-like care. The case introduces the unsettling dynamic of a family built around a vulnerable adult.

Ann quickly develops a special interest in Baby, the family's seemingly mentally impaired adult who is treated like a baby. She notes how the Wadsworths depend on him for care and income. The initial meeting sets the stage for a troubling investigation.

Ann discovers that Baby's infant-like state is not due to any physical or mental disability but due to severe neglect and abuse. The family maintains the infantilization to keep him dependent and under their control. This realization reframes the case from medical mystery to moral horror.

Ann learns that Baby is forced to remain in diapers and infantilized, often restrained and punished when he tries to act like an adult. He is beaten and even shocked with an electric cattle prod for attempting normal self-care. The cruelty reveals the depth of the family's control.

The family grows tired of Ann's meddling and plots to get rid of her during a party at their home. They scheme to remove the outsider who threatens their charity scam and infantilization routine. The plan introduces a deadly turn in the story.

During the confrontation, Ann escapes the attempt on her life and abducts Baby, taking him to her own house. She decides to keep him there rather than turning him over to a professional facility. The act marks a shift from investigation to possession.

Ann sends pictures of Baby performing 'adult' tasks to the Wadsworths, who become convinced they can reclaim him. Their sense of entitlement drives them to break into Ann's home with murderous intent. The scene heightens the stakes as the family crosses a line.

The Wadsworths break into Ann's house, hoping to take Baby back by force. Ann resists, using whatever means she has to protect herself and Baby as the danger escalates. The confrontation becomes a turning point from abduction to violent defense.

During the confrontation, Ann stabs Baby's two sisters, a brutal act that reveals how far she will go to protect her own version of family. The violence escalates quickly as the house becomes a scene of tragedy. The sisters' deaths are a grim prelude to the final act.

After stabbing the sisters, Ann and her mother-in-law bury Mrs. Wadsworth alive beneath the floor of a pool that Ann was building in her yard. The murder is both a getaway and a statement, sealing the Wadsworths' fate. The pool area becomes the macabre tomb where they conceal her body.

In the aftermath, it is revealed that Ann's interest in Baby was not altruistic plea for rehabilitation. She wanted him as a playmate for her husband, who himself has the mental capacity of an infant after the accident. The revelation reframes Ann's actions as a misguided and cruel manipulation.

With Baby now under the care of Ann and her mother-in-law, he remains trapped in perpetual infancy. His husband exists as a kind of brother, completing a sick, improvised family unit built on neglect and control. The ending leaves Baby in a compromised, dependent state.