Page 38 of Burned

I deleted Magdalena from my search and typed, ‘children of Claude Wilkerson and Magdalena Harris.’ When the links appeared, Van Wilkerson’s name came up first in the search, with Niles Wilkerson below it.Coincidence?I didn’t think so. This search was getting too weird. Van Wilkerson was the son of these two people, and so was Niles. The only difference was that Niles took his mother's maiden name instead of his father’s. Somehow, this didn’t surprise me. When I first met Niles Harris, he went by the name of Dice. The different names he used made me wonder how many other aliases he had.

There had to be something more to this article. I continued reading until my eyes were glued to an obituary that was in theChicago Sun-Times. Not only were Van and Niles the sons of Claude and Magdalena, they also had a third son.River Wilkerson, the oldest of three sons.I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was not another coincidence. Not many men carry that name. River Wilkerson and my River, it couldn’t be true.

My heart was about to pound out of my chest as I picked up my cell. As I held it in my hand, all I could think about was the lie River was keeping from me. Axe knew the truth, yet he didn’t tell me.Why?My hand shook as I put my cell to my ear.

“Kenzi, what is it? Are you okay?”

I hadn’t said a word, but I couldn’t hold in the emotions stirring up a storm inside me. The flood gates opened, but I managed to get out my findings. “He lied, Axe. River Stevenson isn’t even his real name. He, Van, and Niles are brothers. Do you know? Why didn’t you tell me?”

The tears rolled down my face as I waited for Axe to answer. “I wanted to tell you, Kenzi, but I knew you wouldn’t have believed me. I wanted you to find out for yourself what kind of man River Stevenson was.”

“Axe Riley, I want you to tell me everything you know. No more lies.”

There was a hesitation on the other side of my cell. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the truth, but I had to know the truth before I made the biggest mistake of my life.

“The information you found is true,” Axe began. “River, Van, and Niles are brothers. Their father, Claude Wilkerson, was a kingpin drug lord with operations in Chicago. Magdalena is their mother. She lives in Italy. She moved there after Claude’s death. We are still trying to find the reason River changed his name. The only thing we could come up with was that he didn’t want to share the last name of a man who bought and sold drugs. I’m guessing Niles took Magdalena’s name to fake his death.”

My ear was glued to the phone, listening to everything Axe was telling me. I wasn’t sure how much Axe knew, but after sharing what he did, he should also know the truth behind River’s father’s death. “I know how Claude Wilkerson died. River never told me his name, but he admitted that he might have caused his death. He told me that he set his father up and made it look like he was stealing money from the head guy that he sold drugs to. It had something to do with obtaining Triage.”

“So that was what he was hiding all these years. Kenzi, I know you have been through a lot. And I know I’m the last person you can trust, but I’m begging you. Please let me come and get you and get you away from Stevenson. You don’t have to come back to Atlanta, but you're not safe with him.”

“I don’t know, Axe. I’m so confused. I don’t know who to believe.”

“I’m going to find a way to get to Chicago. With this new lawsuit hanging over me, maybe I can convince my attorney to make a plea bargain with the judge to allow me to come.”

When I got off the phone with Axe, my head was spinning. Axe was right, I needed to get away from River. Remembering the apartment offered to me, I dialed Burt’s number. As I waited for him to answer, all I could think about was River and his deception. Everything he had done for me was only to save his own ass. I wouldn’t be surprised if he and his two brothers had planned my whole kidnapping thing together. Maybe the thing with Gretta being taken was also part of the plan. He used me for his own personal gain, so that I would fall in love with him. Maybe this was his plan all along.

The more I thought about how stupid I was to fall into his plan, the sicker I got. I had to get out of here. Pushing from the sectional. I hurried to the bedroom and began packing my things. I wasn’t sure how long River would be, but there was no way I would be around for him to explain why he lied. At this point, I didn’t care. I was done with him. Matter of fact, I was done with men.

~

After my call to Burt Marsh, I had one less worry. I had a place to hide until I could figure out what to do. A key would be left for me at the front desk. Thankfully, there was still an apartment available, and it came furnished.

Once I started packing, it didn’t take long for me to grab a few other items and leave the penthouse. As I headed down the elevator, I contacted Uber to have someone pick me up and take me to the apartment the law firm offered.

The twenty minutes it took me to pack a bag were twenty minutes too long. When the elevator door opened to the main floor of the Triage building, a call from River came through my cell. I wanted to avoid it, but then he would know something was up. Somehow, I had to get through this call. Swiping the screen, I acted like everything was normal. “Hey, handsome. I was just thinking about you.”

“My security team said they saw you in the lobby. What’s going on?” he asked, concerned.

I couldn’t hold back the tears, no matter how I tried. The truth came out in buckets. “I know who you are and who your brothers are. You lied to me.”

Silence fell over everything around me. It was as though I was inside a tiny bubble, and it was smothering my air by the second. I needed to get out of here. Before he could say another word. I chucked the cell he had given me in a nearby trash bin and headed toward the door. Relief consumed me when I saw the Uber I called was waiting by the curb. It was my ride to freedom or hell. I didn’t know which one, but at least I was away from the lies and from River.

Giving the driver the address to the apartment building, I stared ahead without looking back. This was my life, alone and betrayed. Why had every man I’ve ever loved broken my heart? More importantly, why did I let them?