Lifetime: 5 shocking moments from V.C. Andrews’ Heaven

The beginning of Lifetime’s 5-movie event adapting V.C. Andrews’ Casteel series begins with Heaven. We’re recapping five of the most shocking moments.

If you haven’t heard of V.C. Andrews Casteel series before, don’t worry, Lifetime has ordered an adaptation of each book in the series. You’ll be able to see the whole story play out and tonight’s film, Heaven, was only the beginning.

V.C. Andrews is also the author behind Lifetime’s other successful film series, Flowers in the Attic. If you’ve watched those movies you probably have some idea of how wild these stories can get.

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Heaven Casteel is the protagonist of this film series and the daughter of Luke Casteel and supposedly, Sarah Casteel. We find out early on that Heaven is not really Sarah’s daughter.

She was born to a woman named Leigh. Leigh came from an extremely wealthy family but she and Luke fell in love. Her parents disapproved strongly so she ran away from them. While giving birth to her, Leigh died.

Her death devastated Luke and he treated Heaven cruelly ever since. Sarah had other children but the Casteels were incredibly poor and looked down on by everyone in town. They were frequently called “hillbilly scum” and other horrible nicknames. The only person Heaven really had to talk to was her grandmother.

5. Sarah’s newest baby and Granny both die.

Sarah Casteel gets pregnant again. She has always wanted to give Luke the child that would finally make him happy, that would finally make him love her as much as he loved Leigh. But sadly, her child is stillborn.

On the same day her newest baby dies, Granny also dies. Heaven is truly left with no one to care for her and Luke becomes desperate. Sarah runs away and abandons her kids and Luke, leaving him more alone than ever.

4. Luke comes up with a plan to make money.

Eventually, Luke comes up with a horrible plan to sell off his children to make money. Heaven’s brother Tom is sent to work on a farm, her two youngest siblings are sold to another family together, and her sister Fanny is sent to live with a preacher.

Heaven is given to a couple named Cal and Kitty. Kitty appears to be a lovable, if not a slightly off-kilter woman. She is obsessed with cleanliness and expects Heaven to clean every single day to her standards. She also constantly berates her husband Cal, as Kitty is the breadwinner of the family and expects her husband and daughter to worship her when she gets home from work every day.

3. The other side of Kitty.

From the moment you meet Kitty, it’s pretty clear there is something strange about her. We find out later on that Kitty used to be with Luke and is still in love with him. She got pregnant with Luke’s child and he forced her to have an abortion. Kitty always believed Heaven (Leigh’s daughter) should have been hers and now she finally is. But Kitty is abusive and cruel.

She almost drowns Heaven in a bathtub where the water is much too hot. She also finds out that her husband and new daughter have been hooking up behind her back which is all kinds of squick.

Eventually, Kitty falls sick with cancer. The family moves in with Kitty’s mother and Heaven begins to understand where her cruel streak comes from. Cal even pretends to beat her raw with a belt to pacify her thirst for cruel and unusual punishment.

2. The affair.

It’s pretty gross to think about a teenage girl having sex with her step-father, but that is exactly what happens. Cal and Heaven getting together are one of the worst things that could happen to her despite how happy it makes her.

The relationship gets her blackballed from town and even the boy she had begun to have feelings for, Logan Stonewall, ices her out and tells her he never wants to see her again. By the end of the movie, she realizes her affair with Cal cannot carry on and leaves him so she can go find her mother’s family. (Someone should definitely arrest him though.)

1. The truth about Fanny.

In one of the most shocking and skin-crawling moments of the movie, Heaven visits her sister and discovers she is pregnant. The preacher impregnated her the night he got his hands on Fanny. But no one would ever believe her because of her status as a lowly Casteel girl and the preacher’s respected reputation.

It’s horrific and sad, especially because we don’t get any closure. Fanny is just trapped. Hopefully, Heaven will come into some money and come back to rescue her sister. I’d hate to think she just forgets about her.

What did you think of Heaven? What were the most shocking moments for you? Do you plan on watching the other film adaptations of the Casteel saga? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

The next film in the Casteel saga, Dark Angel, premieres on Aug. 3 at 8/7c on Lifetime.