Page 35 of Burned
The line went dead for a moment. Her voice came over with a hesitation. “Yes. This is not good, Axe. Saxton, Marsh, and Peters are representing CMW Holding Company. Mr. Marsh wants me to try the case.”
Mixed feelings ran through my head. On the one hand, I was glad, because it meant I would see her again. But on the other, there was the possibility that I would lose the suit. Kenzi was an intelligent woman and more than capable of winning the case. Her call wasn’t about winning. It was about helping me. “Why are you telling me this, Kenzi?”
“Because I want to help you. If we can prove your innocence, they won’t have a case. I need to know everything about Van Wilkerson and Niles Harris.”
Already I could see her twisting her beautiful hair between her fingers. It was something she did whenever she got nervous or worried. The thing was, I wasn’t sure if I should tell her the truth about River Stevenson. After the lies I kept from her, I wasn’t sure if she would believe me if I did. For now, I would keep that bit of information to myself. This was the closest I would come to having her back in my life, and I would be stupid to risk that. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
~
Thirty minutes later, Kenzi knew as much as I did about Wilkerson and Harris. Everything except the two of them being River Stevenson’s brothers. I might have given her enough clues to find the same information we did on him. By giving her the name Magdalena Harris, I had no doubt that once she started putting things together, she would find the order that was filed where Stevenson changed his name. Her search would lead her to the rest of the documentation showing his relationship to Wilkerson and Harris.
I was late getting back to the warehouse, but hearing Kenzi’s voice, even if it was for the wrong reason, was well worth the delay. The document I held in my hand was my only concern. I called Davian on my way to the warehouse, asking him to meet me. I also told him to notify Felix Shields. It was important that he was notified since he was my attorney.
With only one mission, I swung open the heavy metal door and headed to the computer room. When I entered, Davian and Felix were conversing with Patton. I wasn’t sure what the conversation was about, but when they all looked over at me, I quickly became aware that I was the topic.
“Just in time,” Davian said as he made his way toward me. “We have a lot of information to catch you up on.”
Davian placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but the way he looked at me, I knew whatever information needed to be shared wasn’t good.
As we approached Felix and Patton, both looking defeated, Patton handed me a document. I gave him a small nod before reading the words written on the sheet of paper. I never thought things could get worse. Everything I knew was a lie. The words, ‘what goes around comes around,’came to mind and I was getting it tenfold. I should have known that something was off with my dad. Everything I did was never good enough for him. He hated me as much as I hated him.
Unable to stomach what I read, I looked to Davian for answers. “Is this real? How could this be real?”
“I’m afraid it is, Axe. We were shocked as much as you are now,” Davian replied. “Patton found the information when he continued his search on Claude Wilkerson. Remember, you are nothing like him.”
“How could I not know that my mom wasn’t faithful to my dad?” I choked.
I wanted to punch something. All this time, I thought my mom was a saint. She worked two jobs waitressing and cleaning houses just to help keep food on the table while my dad continued to drink himself to death. No wonder I disgusted my dad. I wasn’t even his. I was the son of a drug dealer. Even worse, the man Kenzi was in love with was my half-brother. This couldn’t be happening.
“Axe, as bad as it is, this could be the break you need,” Davian broke in, distracting me from the legal document.
“How could this possibly be good? Nothing about Claude Wilkerson being my father is good.”
“CMW Holding Company stands for Claude and Magdalena Wilkerson. Felix is looking for a loophole in the lawsuit. He believes you can’t be sued by a company that was owned by your father, especially when you are a shareholder.”
“What are you talking about?” I was clueless. This was too much information to handle. “I’ve never heard of CMW Holding.”
“Thanks to Patton and his connection to the dark web, he found the company's financial statements and corporate bylaws. Someone wanted them to remain hidden pretty bad. You, Van Wilkerson, and Niles Harris own equal shares in the company. Magdalena lost her shares with the company when you turned twenty-five.”
“All this time. Damn. How could I not know?”
~26~
Kenzi
Instead of working on the case I was handed, all I could think about was how to tell River that Axe wasn’t completely out of my life. More than that, how was I going to explain to him I had to find the evidence needed to clear Axe of the charges brought against him?
Bringing up my computer and researching the information Axe gave me on Van Wilkerson and Niles Harris had to wait. This was the biggest - and first - case I ever tried, and I wanted to make sure I was fully prepared with no surprises. Before I did anything, I had to research CMW Holding. There had to be some sort of business filing for them with the state of Illinois. The best place to start was with the Secretary of State.
I pulled up the SOS site and searched CMW Holding. The company was in good standing, which was no surprise. I clicked on the Articles of Incorporation and watched the wheel spin as I waited for the information to come up. An error message kept coming up even after I refreshed the page. At first, I thought it was my computer, but then I remembered that the SOS of Illinois only provided information on whether a company had dissolved or was active and in good standing. At the very least, I got the name of the agent who filed the documents, who was also the president of the company.
I was frustrated with what little information I found. Staring at the files Mr. Marsh gave me, I started with the file on top and looked through the information. The first file was mostly on Axe. I already knew most of the information inside. After skimming through the documents, I closed the file and took the next file. The file contained information on CMW Holding and the lawsuit that was filed with the court. For whatever reason, most of the information on the annual reports and financial statements were blacked out. The only information left unhidden was the net worth and summations of profits and losses. The names of all the board members and shareholders were blacked out.
I picked up the receiver and dialed Mr. Marsh’s extension to see if I could get some answers.
“One moment please, Kenzi,” he said before placing my call on hold.
