Page 14 of He Had It Coming

Maeve and her whispering behind my back.

I didn’t hate her. Not when I was growing up, not even eight years ago when I lost everything as she celebrated with thinly disguised glee. No, the disgust built over time. Watching her run meetings and circle the life I’d planned for myself only intensified my contempt.

Now I hated her for being clueless and plunging us further into danger. She aimed all her blame at me and none at the cracked woman who threatened her with a knife. Typical. Even in an emergency Maeve had time to call a break to punish me.

“You stomped over here to reprimand me. Of course you did.” Such a waste of the Hayes last name. “How’s that working out for you?”

Sabrina cleared her throat. “You two seem close.”

The noise or Sabrina’s words, one of those finally grabbed Maeve’s attention. “What are you doing here?”

“Chatting with your brother. One of my least favorite things in the world, to be honest. I prefer hitting him or hurting him.” Sabrina smiled. “So, I’m happy you could join us.”

“She’s unhinged,” I said, just in case Maeve missed that bit of news in her rush to focus all her anger on me.

Sabrina sighed. “Your brother—sorry, half—likes to use aggressive mental health slurs to prove he’s a big man. Yet another facet of his charming personality.”

Maeve shook her head. Had the audacity to still look bewildered. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

“That’s simple, Maeve.” Sabrina’s singsongy voice returned. “The Hayes family saved Jerek once. I’m wondering if you’ll step in and do it again. Let’s see, shall we?”

Chapter Fifteen

The Truth About Jerek Hayes

Ruby walked along Washington Square Park and Jerek followed her. She normally avoided the area around the West Fourth Street subway station but ended up there that night.

We know the route because the two of them can be seen on security cameras. Her walking. Him stalking. Eventually, they talked until they ended up arguing. We can’t hear the words, of course, but the video is clear.

They weren’t alone for most of the trek. The park had closed but people lingered. This was New York City after all and a popular part of it. Not far from their university. Close to restaurants and bars.

A police patrol spotted them around after 12:30, and the officers insisted Ruby and Jerek looked like a couple taking a romantic stroll. Not drunk. Not fighting. The same patrol saw Jerek running out of the closed park less than an hour later. They described him as wild, strung out at that point, so they stopped him.

Jerek begged to go home and threw his family’s name around. Talked about lawyers and knowing the mayor. The officers hesitated but then dragged him through the iron gate with the broken lock, deeper into the park. To Ruby’s unmoving body with the silk scarf wrapped around her neck.

Then the excuses started. He didn’t do it! Someone attacked them! It was an accident! Jerek eventually landed on his final version of the sad story. He blamed Ruby for her own murder. He insisted he didn’t have a choice but to kill her.

We’re even because I don’t have a choice but to unmask him as the lying psychopath he is.

—Anonymous

Sabrina

Chapter Sixteen

The Hayes family sucked. Every last one of them.

The father, Conrad, was a piece of work. Quieter now. Not in the news as much as before. Less likely to overtly throw his money around, buying political access and turning elections in his favor in an attempt to overthrow any powerful person who didn’t support his plans for world domination. No longer a headliner on news shows where he’d spout his supposed business expertise but still referenced as a “game changer” in real estate or some other overblown term.

The Hayes wives were more of a mystery, both number one and number two. Both clothing designer dreams with perfect figures and plastic surgeons on speed dial. Women who looked prettier and happier before hooking up with Papa Hayes. Neither woman garnered much attention outside of pro forma charity functions and events with their blowhard husband. Mostly, I pitied the wives for taking a dunk in the Hayes gene pool swamp.

I know, I know. They made the choice to marry into a dynasty of psychopaths and accepted all the self-indulgent benefits without blinking. They’re equally culpable.

Yeah, got it. Blah, blah, blah. News flash, women sometimes made bad, even self-defeating, decisions. That’s what everyone always wanted to focus on. Why did she marry him? as opposed to Why is he such a piece of shit?

Women couldn’t want more without being called gold diggers. They couldn’t make compromises without every move being called into question and dissected. Women couldn’t risk being flawed and human. Men could almost exclusively consist of flaws.

I’d let everyone else assess the Hayes women for imperfections. I wanted to keep my focus on the real villain of this story and my life. The one who turned my family inside out and never looked back. Never took one ounce of responsibility.