Vanya
“So, I’ll send those comps over to you—”
“Funny thing about my sister. They never found her body in the fire. Tried to say it would turn up but it never did.” Mr Thornton’s eyes were still focused on me and that feeling returned.
Quentin had now pulled out his phone and started typing. “That’s strange.”
“Yeah, it is. But something about this ain’t right.”
I was feeling more nervous the longer we just stood there and I wanted to leave to help the feeling abate. “I’m not sure what you want me to say to that.”
With a glance to Quentin, he turned back to me and asked something I would’ve never expected. “I know it’s unorthodox, but would you agree to a DNA test?”
“For what?”
“Because I think you’re my sister.”
I chuckled because he said that so smoothly like it was a daily thing. “You said she died. Besides, you’re a famous NBA player. Shouldn’t you be trying to keep yourself out of DNA situations instead of volunteering yourself for them?”
“Crazier shit has happened. A few years back, there was this football player in the league who found out he was a Black man. His ass is blond with blue eyes. He got a fine ass wife, too.”
“He don’t play about his lady so if you like breathing…” Quentin let his words trail off and I looked and him confused. How many people did he know?
Mr. Thornton smirked before he looked back at me. “I have no problem with setting up—”
“If you’re serious about this Vanya we can set this up, but let Xerxes know. We can do it at the medical facility in Uptown.”
Now Mr. Thornton looked offended at Quentin’s interference. “It’s like that? I know plenty of private—”
Quentin pushed up from the wall and pulled himself up to his full height. “Her DNA isn’t about to be entered into a database and the information sold once the people run into financial difficulties. They’re about to screw over about thirty-five million Americans with that right now. Our facility or none.”
“Damn, Quentin can I speak for myself?” I sat back on the edge of Navi’s desk thinking about everything that had gone down in the last few hours.
“You can. But I already see you doing that soft-hearted thing you do and I gotta look out for you because I like my head on my neck.” He waved his phone at me and shrugged.
Mr. Thornton nodded as though he knew the results were going to be worth the hassle. “Fine. Y’all tell me where and when—”
I stood up ‘cause now I was too anxious to work. First seeing my brusband to having this potential client claim me as his sister, I was ready for some answers and a nap. “Now. Right now. You’ve got my nerves bad and I won’t be able to relax until I know.”
“You want Xerxes to meet us there?” Quentin was still holding out his phone and I had to roll my eyes at his ridiculousness.
My hands shook as I put my tablet back inside my tote bag and sighed.
“As if I could keep him away.”
“Baby, are you alright?”
I was pulling on my fingers nervously because I wasn’t able to stop fidgeting. I looked back over at Xerxes who wasn’t his normally composed self.
“Yeah. Just wasn’t feeling good.” And he didn’t look it. His face was slightly flushed and he looked uncomfortable. He’d pulled his tie off and his shirt was completely open. He was sitting on the sofa in front of the French doors in our bedroom and looked too tired to even put his clothes away. He was always meticulous with his clothing so I was concerned.
Immediately, I walked over to him and put the back of my hand to his forehead. He was sitting down on the sofa with his head thrown back. Xerxes felt slightly warm and now I was worried about him. “What’s wrong?”
He shifted and put his arm around me a slight smile on his face. “Felt clammy. Like I ate somezing bad because my stomach was all messed up.”
“Messed up out the mouth or out the ass?”
He chuckled as he shook his head and pecked my forehead. “Zibā, I will wipe your ass if necessary, but zhere will never be a day vhen you need to know about mine.”
I pinched his nipple playfully and he gripped my ass in retaliation. “Stop being ridiculous, baby. I’m trying to figure out if you need nausea meds or if you need Pepto or something.”
“All I need is you. Just having you here makes me feel better. My head was dizzy but now I feel comfort. Do you zhink it’s possible I was going zhrough wizdrawals from you? We will have to fix that.” He pulled me down on his lap and nuzzled the side of my neck.
“You’re crazy.” I didn’t move though because I had missed him.
“Are you going to tell me about your day?”
I rolled my eyes at his ridiculousness because I knew that had gone on. “Why? You already know about it.”
“Yes. The brusband and someone who thinks you’re his blood sister.” He was back to laughing and I guess this was better than him feeling like he was going to pass out.
“How much information have you dug up about him?” I just knew that he was gonna tell me that Mr. Thornton was a professional hustler and was running out of money and targeted me.
“Enough to know zhat he might be telling zhe truz.”
I didn’t have to ask if he was being serious, Xerxes never said anything that he didn’t mean. “What?” I couldn’t even look at him because I was too nervous.
He nodded his head slowly and I wasn’t sure if it was from his feeling better or the weight of what he had to say. “Your adoption paperwork was notarized by a Mormon man in Virginia. Several weeks after the fire that killed the Thorntons.”
The idea of this man actually remembering a sister from so long ago was crazy. For her to potentially be me was even wilder. “You’re joking.”
“Never about somezing so serious and never when it comes to you.”
The nerves that fled when worry replaced it were back full force. “So you think he might be right?”
“I do.”
I scratched the side of my head nervously trying to remember if there was anything about his features that mirrored mine. He was way taller than me, and his hair was almost black and not red. I wasn’t sure how he thought we could be related. “That would be crazy.”
“Not crazy. I believe zhat once you began to walk in zhe path zhat was meant for you, everyzing else around you falls into place. We were always destined so of course our merging our lives togezer would allow yours to go back to where it needed to be.” Xerxes wrapped his fingers around mine and gave me space to process what he’d said.
“And what about you? You’re over here sick not even a month after we get back from our honeymoon. Am I a plague on you?”
“It is temporary, love. But come and lay down with me. We have an appointment to attend to later and I don’t want us to be interrupted.” He stood up from the loveseat with me in his arms and, before I could protest, he gave me a kiss to silence me.
“An appointment?”
He nodded as he strode to the bed and placed me on top. I watched as he finished removing his shirt and he climbed into bed next to me. “At zhe penthouse. Zhe results will be in by zhen and I invited Mr. Thornton to meet us zhere to discuss them.”
I was pacing in the family room of the penthouse I had only lived in for two weeks before all of this happened. The view of the Charlotte skyline stretched out before me and I felt like I was about to throw up. Xerxes must have tired of my nervousness because he called out to me.
“Zibā. Come sit. You’re making me nauseated pacing.”
The doorbell rang and I knew Quentin and Sho were handling seeing him into the apartment. Shortly after I moved out, I had the apartment staged with furniture that had been used in one of the other empty units. Most people didn’t think it was smart to show the very best unit in a rental building because if they weren’t there for that, they might get jealous. But with the type of market that Charlotte was, seeing something luxurious would make the right person want it. And even if it didn’t, having it decorated nicely would give them inspiration and show what they could do with a unit they could afford. To me it was a winning situation either way.
Vincent walked in nodding appreciatively at the apartment as Xerxes stood up next to me. With a hand extended, Ahmad approached us almost nervously.
“You must be Mr. Cannon.” They shook hands and I noticed that despite his taller height, Mr. Thornton seemed intimidated by my husband. It was either that or the situation had him as nervous as me.
“Xerxes. You obviously know my wife.” Xerxes held his hand out to me and I gave an awkward wave because I wasn’t sure what to do.
“It’s good to see you again, Vanya.” Ahmad looked like he wanted to say something else but put his hands behind his back and waited for me to take the lead.
“Ugh, maybe same.” I didn’t know what to do with myself so I just stood there like a fool.
He didn’t take my indifference as an issue, just nodded and smiled almost apologetically. “I understand it might be a weird situation.”
I had a tight smile on my face even though I was trying to be gracious. “That’s putting it lightly.” I’d replaced my business clothing with a pair of yellow linen pants and a matching cropped shirt.
“I’m not trying to cause static, but this has been something that has been on me for years. I realize that this has completely come out of left field for you.”
“What you mean?”
Xerxes nodded toward the sofa, and they moved to where I’d been standing.
Ahmad got comfortable on the armchair and we settled back on the sofa. “My parents’ people were real trifling about wanting to take me in. They did it for the check, but they were also trying to wait me out to get the money my parents left for my sister and I. It was them who had my sister declared dead so they could access the money that was left for her.”
“And zhe state let zhem do zhat?” I could absolutely see the wheels turning in Xerxes head and I knew someone was going to be investigated from every angle.
He was nodding and I could see how he was getting upset himself over the situation. “Yeah. Because no-one came forward with you—her. Since y-she was never found, they assumed that she was gone. They argued over how to spend the money and then blew through it quick as fuck.”
Xerxes held up a hand and I wondered what he was about to ask this man. “Please do not swear in front of my wife.”
I rolled my eyes because this was getting out of hand. “Xerxes—”
Mr. Thornton was shaking his head and I closed my mouth quickly. “Nah. I’m not trying to be disrespectful to anyone so that’s my fault. But yeah, they went through the money and they were angry they couldn’t do the same with my trust fund.”
“What did your parents do to have so much money put up?” Xerxes was back studying Mr. Thornton’s face and I was wondering why he was asking the question.
Ahmad smirked and I knew whatever he was going to say was something he was proud of. “My father was a kingpin.”
“Tony Zhornton was your people.” I looked at Xerxes trying to figure out who and how this man just knew everyone. He’d done research on Ahmad, so maybe that was why he knew his name. But he was speaking about him real familiarly.
Ahmad looked as surprised as I felt but clearly that was his father’s name. “Yeah. You know of him?”
Xerxes grin was respectful and now I was even more intrigued. “Many people know about him. Surprised the FEDs weren’t trying to keep your money.” He raised his brows questioningly and now I needed to add knower of legendary kingpins to my husband’s repertoire.
“Oh, they tried. But our mama was money smart and quick to invest money and have something to show for it. Everything that was ours had a paper trail two miles long. They couldn’t touch it.” Ahmad’s pride for his parents was all over his face.
Xerxes’ hand squeezed my shoulder and I was trying to understand why he was being so familiar. “I see where you get your brilliance from Vanya.”
I felt uncomfortable with his compliment because we didn’t know if the Thorntons were my parents. “We don’t know—”
“We know. The results are already back. Ahmad is your brother. Your actual brother.”
Ahmad looked between the two of us and I shifted, thinking about how weird all of this would look to him. He’d been adamant from just looking at me that I was his sister and suddenly he was proven right. I didn’t have time to prepare on how I was going to explain this to him. My emotions were arrested briefly
“Why does he say real brother like that?” Ahmad’s face was frowned like he was going to go off. There had to be a reason I was so attracted to Xerxes. My father was a kingpin and my brother looked like he was a hothead. The reason I was becoming so at ease with the antisocial nature that my husband presented was because it was in my DNA. Never stood a chance, Vanya.
“My adoptive parents had me marry my adoptive brother.” I waited for the judgmental comments but the only thing Ahmad did was narrow his eyes and flare his nostrils. It was like I could see his crazy start to ramp up.
“Zhey were weirdos who forced her into Mormonism and a weird social experiment. But zhat is for her to discuss.” Xerxes gave my shoulder another squeeze and I felt slightly more comfortable.
“So, not to be too obvious about what I do or don’t know. But if Quentin is here then I know you’re the type of man that has motion. Why are they still breathing?” Ahmad crossed his arms and looked angrily at my husband. I heard that chuckle coming from my left that meant nothing good. My eyes went to his face and I was surprised to see a smile there instead of the mug I’d expected.
“Zhat’s how you’re coming?” His tone sounded like he was…impressed by Ahmad’s anger.
“Behind my sister? Hell yeah.”
“You just met me.” I swore I was more emotional since I let Xerxes into my heart. Here I was hearing this man, a perfect stranger, care about me and little girl Vanya that started healing at the sight of a doll was once again finding a reason to smile.
He stopped smirking, and his lips turned into a full-blown smile. “I just met you again . I can remember how you looked coming home from the hospital. Asking our mother why you were so noisy. That was the thing people underestimated about me because of my age. My memory is crazy long and people thought I was just making shit up. But I knew I wasn’t. I heard voices the night of the fire. Ones that weren’t our parents. But people tried to rule it an accident when I knew it wasn’t.”
Xerxes shifted forward, taking his arm from around me and I knew that didn’t bode well for anyone. “That sounds ominous. But why didn’t anyone listen to you all these years?”
The smirk returned he glanced at Xerxes before he spoke. “I, much like your husband, am a part of things that could be deemed less than legal.”
It was my turn to smirk because for him to be a professional athlete; he pulled that gun far too easy for him to be completely on the up and up. “I gathered as much when you didn’t seem bothered with the way Navi pulled a gun on you.”
He, my brother, perked up immediately at the word of Navi. “She’s fine as hell, by the way. I gotta see about her. But that can always wait until later on. Right now, I need to get to know you. To be real, you ain’t have much of a personality as a toddler.”
I couldn’t help but laugh seeing how another kid might think that of a baby. But having been around Skye, I knew that she had a full-blown personality since birth.
I thought about the parents that I would never know and the thing that always tugged at my mind. “Did she sing?”
“Say what?”
I was slightly nervous but I wanted to have my memory validated. “Did she sing?”
His laugh was quick but his eyes were dreamy like he’d sunken back in to a memory and I wished I could join him. “Mama, couldn’t carry a tune—”
That almost crushed me because the one memory that I felt was real wasn’t. “Oh, I’d always thought—”
He’d been rubbing his face as I spoke before he interrupted me. “But she would sing a song, hum it really. I didn’t know the words or even how to find it, but it sounded like this.” He started to hum the tune that I’d heard in my head for so long. Before I knew it, I was crying and humming along with him and he looked surprised but didn’t stop humming until the tune ended.
“I guess we didn’t need a DNA test after all.” His voice cracked slightly and I had to squeeze Xerxes’ hand to keep it together.
“We had to make sure you weren’t anozer brozerly weirdo.”
“Speaking of, we need to get up on that.” His face turned serious again while he and Xerxes silently plotted whatever actions were coming to fruition for the Kennedys.
Hearing about murder and mayhem wasn’t on my agenda. I was very much going to bask in the joy that having my husband and a blood relative would mean. “So no one looked for me because they declared me dead.”
“Yeah. Our people, and I use that term lightly, were real fucked up. They ain’t even follow any of the orders that they were supposed to with their funerals. They had the nerve to say they didn’t want to waste money on a casket for you because there was no body.”
“Zhe list seems to get longer, zibā.” Xerxes’ fingers started to rub circles on the back of my hand to keep himself calm.
“I just want to focus on joy for now, baby.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, who are the people that adopted you?” My brother was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees like he was processing all of this now.
“A white couple who moved here from Virginia. They had a bunch of—”
“Kids of all nations like they wanted to redo Noah’s Ark but with humans?” Ahmad was frowning like he was remembering something for the first time.
Xerxes sat up abruptly as he snapped his finger almost shifting me off the sofa before he caught me. “Zhat, Zibā! Zhat is zhe reference I was missing. And zhat is exactly how zhey behaved even zhough zhey were racist.”
“How do you know about them?”
“They’d stopped by the house like some Jehovah’s witness with a bunch of kids. I’d asked one boy to play basketball with me and he looked afraid of me. Mama said they were weird and wouldn’t let them in the house. They were gone within two weeks.”
His revelation left me speechless and now I had a thousand thoughts running through my head.
“I assume the guns we purchase are yours and not Quentin’s.” I was thankful that Ahmad had changed the subject because my brain would’ve blown up if I thought too much about this.
I felt tense not understanding if this was something that we could talk about. Xerxes didn’t hesitate to respond. “Your assumptions would be correct.”
“So, what do we do now? I understand this is your wife, but this is the only blood that means anything to me.”
“What happens now is up to Vanya. I’ll not keep her from anyzing zhat makes her happy. My only joy in life is hers. But I also am an extremely overprotective husband. I want whatever is best for her. If zhat’s not you, I’d prefer you leave her alone.” He was rubbing the back of my neck again and I felt comforted but damn I didn’t want my newly found brother to run away because he was acting like a maniac.
“Xerxes you can’t tell him that!”
Ahmad was wagging his finger and nodding his head like he more than agreed with Xerxes. “Nah, that’s exactly what he should be telling me. You need someone that’s going to come behind you like that. Vincent’s ass was really torn up telling me about the fine ass realtor that shot him down. I gotta go beat his ass just because now.”
Xerxes’ smile turned malevolent as Ahmad’s words. “Allow me to join you—”
I threw my hands up because they both seemed to be completely ridiculous. “Xerxes! You can’t do that! He was always nice to me. You can’t fight people for nothing at all.” I pushed him playfully and he laughed like I was something to play with.
“But, eshgham , why are you not telling your brozer zhat? You are not scolding him! I must react this way because the love I have for you makes me feral at the zhought of someone trying to disturb it.” He brushed his wavy hair off his face as he kept laughing at me.
“Not that I’m trying to make waves, but tell me something is up so I can leave my mark on this. Our mama and daddy are smiling now that we’re together. But they’re both in heaven ready for me to get their lick back.”
“Zhere are plans in zhe works for zhe people who harmed her. But now, with zhis additional information, they may have to change.” Xerxes was rubbing his chin again and I wondered what plans were in the works.
“Change how?”
Xerxes glanced at Ahmad and then back to me. “Because if zhey took you, zhey either killed your parents or know who did. Zhey cannot be allowed to linger any longer than zhey already have. And I zhink zhat your brother is justified in witnessing zheir destruction.”
“But I can’t?”
“I never said zhose words, zibā. I want you around for as little or as much as you can tolerate as long as it does not alter your perception or your love for me. If you say it will not, I believe you wholeheartedly.”
“When do we start?” The way Ahmad was looking at Xerxes showed he meant business and I was looking between the two of them, wondering how this would play out.
Xerxes was rubbing my leg as though he didn’t want me to worry. I hadn’t processed the fact that I had a sibling yet, a real one this time. I didn’t want the two obviously alpha men to get into it on their first meeting.
“You’re a high-profile professional basketball player, why would you want to be involved in this?” The question was posed lightly, not as a test but as a way to seek information.
Ahmad smiled slightly and it looked like a mutual understanding passed between them. “I’m Antonio and Valencia Thornton’s son. People lied to me for years about my family and I had to take that sh—take it. I did the little dirt I needed to in order to survive up until I made it. There was never a time when I made it to the level my pops did, at least not illegally, but I’m not some show choir kid sitting on the sidelines waiting to get put in the play. I’m a shoot first, help bury the body kinda nigga.”
“She doesn’t like zhat word.”
I appreciated him protecting my space, but I didn’t want to put up all these rules when we’d just met. “Stop it, Xerxes. You’re going to have this man thinking I’m lame.”
“Be lame. Ain’t no one size fits all to being Black. Your husband has an Arab looking shell, but real ones know. I already know his mama is the Black parent.” Ahmad looked smug as he waited on confirmation that he was correct.
I waited for Xerxes to get annoyed but he only smiled. “She will be pleased to know zhat all of her effort into ensuring I didn’t walk around like the mama white biracial paid off.”
“I don’t know much about Middle eastern people, but you’re good in my book. If my sister could build up all this business on her own to where she was repping’ clients like me without having you, I know she wouldn’t willingly give up that freedom unless the man was worth it.” He shrugged and I was truly astonished and how easily he seemed to fall into the role of big brother. Like he had never stepped out of it even though they said I was gone. It was wild how he’d had this unwavering belief that I was out there and, by some miracle I’d been found.
“How do you know zhat?”
“Because Black women ain’t built like that. They not built to fold under pressure. They stand tall even in the face of death. I know the woman she comes from. My mama would bust back at anyone and the only reason they got the drop on us was the fire. If you have any way to look into things—” It didn’t seem to bother him to ask Xerxes for help and I knew Xerxes was more than willing to give it.
“It had been on my list to do for some time. I’d done a cursory look but wasn’t sure if zhe years of her birz had been fudged or not. It wasn’t zhat urgent because we’ve had several ozer factors zhat needed to be handled more urgently. Bebakshid mano, eshgham (forgive me, my love). I should’ve been more diligent in ensuring you had zhe information you desired.” He raised the back of my hand and kissed it apologetically but there was nothing he had to be sorry for.
“I never had a thought to look back because I wasn’t sure if there was something worth looking back for. I’m sorry that I don’t remember you. But I remember being happy despite what they said. Is it okay if I hug you?”
“Of course. It’s been decades in the making.” He stood up with a smile like he’d been waiting on me to ask.
I stood up at the same time and even though I felt awkward; I walked into my brother’s embrace. He gave me a squeeze and despite his ridiculous height; he lifted me off my feet slightly again. “Thank you for remembering me.”
“I think your husband would agree you’re fairly unforgettable.”
Xerxes spoke up from behind us immediately. “From zhe moment I laid eyes on her.”
We separated and went back to our seats and I felt lighter than before. “How did they explain your past to you? Not to say things to upset you, but maybe there are clues we can use to figure out who else needs to join these people in hell.”
Xerxes wiped my tears as I tried to blink them back. “A lot of stereotypical stuff. Like my father was a thug and my mother was a nobody. I hated hearing it because even if what they said was true, I remember feeling good. But then I tricked myself into believing that it couldn’t have been possible and my brain was lying to me. I thought they gave me away, I didn’t think they’d died.” Xerxes’ hands went around mine and he squeezed it gently.
“Loved is an understatement. I’m sorry about the stuff you went through when you were with those people. I’m hoping we can find out how that happened. So what’s the move?”
“Zhey die.”
Ahmad’s eyes flickered to me as though he were waiting for me to speak up. “You not spooked by that?”
“My wife, your sister, she understands zhat sometimes people are irredeemable. Zhose people have lived far longer than they should have and if they are found to have caused harm to y’all’s parents…” Xerxes shrugged as though their end was a foregone conclusion.
Ahmad was nodding his head vigorously the way I saw athletes do as they got hype before a game. “Yeah, I need to be in the mix.”
“Aren’t you worried about your career?” Because I knew nobody knew who I was but Ahmad was an easily recognizable figure.
“I understand that your husband got bread, but I ain’t a slouch. I invest, I’m wealthy by most standards but I know your husband thinks my ass is broke.”
“Not at all broke. And as my wife’s brother you never have to worry about money.”
Xerxes was grinning as Ahmad mugged the fuck out of him. “Yeah, I ain’t built like that. You got her and that’s good. I do too—”
I held up my hands because they were both playing in my bank account’s face. “Hold on, I had me before either of y’all.”
Ahmad huffed like now I was the one insulting him by bringing up my independence. “Facts, but that don’t mean you’re not gonna be the spoiled brat you were supposed to be all this time.”
Xerxes grinned and sat back and put his arm around me again. “I like him, zibā.”
“Of course you would. He’s bossy like you.” I pouted and rolled my eyes at the both of them, which caused them to laugh at me.
“Get used to it, Vanya. I’m more than ready to step into big brother mode. Thankfully, the husband you picked is one that I more than approve of. That first one? He gone have to feel me though.”
Xerxes stood with his hand outstretched and I wondered what the hell they were about to do.
“We can consider his kill zhe first brozerly bonding event we do togezer.”
Ahmad stood and dapped him up and I could only sit there and watch these two making plans to handle the people who hurt me. I couldn’t help but feel protected because my blood family and the family I chose were doing everything they could to ensure I was good. And there wasn’t a woman on earth who would interfere with that.