Chapter 9 - After Baby
Garrett had planned beyond the river.
That was the twist that finally broke Penelope.
AFTER BABY contained no explicit murder plan.
That mattered.
It contained legal research.
If Penelope became controlling Hayes family beneficiary and later died while their child was a minor, who would influence the child’s interests?
Answer:
Not automatically Garrett.
The trust used an independent corporate trustee.
A surviving parent could have some guardianship rights over the child personally but no unilateral authority over trust assets.
Garrett nevertheless researched ways to become family adviser, board nominee, and guardian representative.
He overestimated what fatherhood would give him.
Then life insurance.
Penelope had purchased a $3 million policy eight months earlier.
Beneficiary:
Garrett.
Normal for unmarried couple with child? Maybe not entirely.
He encouraged.
Then an unsigned estate draft.
Penelope’s will.
Naming Garrett executor.
Guardian of child.
Giving him broad authority over personal property.
Did Penelope authorize draft?
She knew an estate plan was being discussed.
Had not signed.
Then a note:
Once P controls family block, separate her from board counsel.
P.
Penelope.
Then:
After birth, move her into Hayes house? No.
Better:
After birth, obtain durable proxy if she’s overwhelmed.
Pattern.
Future consent.
Then one chilling line:
P emotional. Easy to frame decisions as postpartum instability if necessary.
Penelope read.
Her attorney asked:
“What did you think?”
She began cooperating next morning.
Not because conscience suddenly arrived.
Because she realized Garrett’s architecture included her vulnerability too.
Her proffer lasted two days.
She admitted affair.
Inheritance discussions.
River plan.
What exactly did she know before crash?
Garrett told her he would cause an “accident” that left Rosalind and Tobias unable to survive.
She knew car would go into water.
She agreed to be on shore and support accident story.
Did she help alter SUV?
No evidence.
Did she know restraints?
She said no.
Garrett told her:
“They won’t be able to get out.”
Enough.
Did she call help?
No.
Why?
“Because I wanted them dead.”
The sentence was brutal.
No minimizing.
Why?
Resentment.
Greed.
Garrett.
Pregnancy.
She believed if Tobias and I died, she would finally become “real Hayes.”
Prosecutor asked:
“You were already Marianne Hayes’s daughter.”
Penelope cried.
“I know.”
Then parents crash.
Did Garrett tell her?
Yes.
Eight months into affair.
He showed Victor’s ledger.
Told her:
“My father did what your family was too weak to do.”
Penelope was horrified initially.
Why stay?
Because Garrett reframed.
Victor intended scare, not death.
Arthur’s arrogance caused risk.
Family history complicated.
Then he said:
“Rosalind knows enough to suspect.”
I did not.
He lied.
Penelope became convinced I had hidden truth to protect Hayes image.
That fed resentment.
Then Garrett told her Tobias’s injury made him legal obstacle but “not real leader.”
Ableist contempt.
Then affair deepened.
Pregnancy.
Plan accelerated.
Penelope admitted she suggested donor dinner because she knew Tobias and I would be together.
Not Garrett alone.
Culpable.
Then shore.
She arrived early.
Waited.
Saw SUV enter river.
For one second she wanted to call 911.
Garrett surfaced.
She asked:
“Did it work?”
He said:
“Wait.”
They watched.
Three minutes.
Then he called.
She hugged him because she was shaking.
Not because celebration? Video looked intimate. She admitted kiss was intentional.
“I thought it was over.”
Then she said something worse.
“I said, ‘Your real family is with me now.’”
Exactly seed.
No excuse.
Then after police interview, Garrett told her:
“Stick to story.”
When told we survived, he texted her before phones seized:
Do not panic. Tobias will destroy credibility when walking comes out.
He planned defense immediately.
Then Penelope gave prosecutors the oldest messages on a hidden email account Garrett did not know she preserved.
One from before he began dating me.
Garrett to Penelope.
Wait—were they communicating before he dated Rosalind? This is big twist. Did Penelope know him earlier? Could work.
Five years ago.
Penelope:
Rosalind will never sell.
Garrett:
Then I need closer access.
Penelope:
She won’t trust a Vale.
Garrett:
She might trust one who hates Victor.
My blood went cold.
Their alliance predated my marriage.
Maybe not affair yet.
Penelope had contacted Garrett first to explore buying out her share? She resented company. They planned access. This means Penelope helped target Rosalind from start. Strong twist.
Then:
Penelope:
Don’t hurt her.
Garrett:
I said access, not harm.
At beginning, perhaps financial infiltration only.
The murder plot evolved later.
May you like
But my courtship was never accidental.
My half-sister introduced me to my future husband without ever standing in the room.
