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Nicholas had done a great job of hiding Kiera away and wiping away most traces of her life. When Kiera had Vanessa, she was checked into the hospital under a fictitious name, Valeria Campisi. How he managed that was a mystery. It spoke of a man with too much power, money, or both. She had no credit card activity, nothing after the marriage certificate. No hospital stays, no bank records, no passport, nothing. It was almost as if she had disappeared. The bile filled his stomach as he thought about what that meant for her. She was essentially a nonperson—not existing or known.
Nicholas Campisi lived on a large estate in southwestern Wisconsin. More than one thousand acres were in his name on deeds in the area. As the neighboring farms were ready to sell, they sold to Nicholas. Some of the reports claim that farmers were threatened if they refused to sell to him. But that was only a few reports.
According to the file, Campisi Enterprises, NJC, Inc., and NJC Real Estate, LLC were companies that listed Nicholas as the owner and registered agent. The registered office of each company was an office building located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
When he died, the beneficiary of his estate was NJC, Inc., the trustee, Carleene Campisi. The only property not left to the estate was a condo in Madison, Wisconsin and that was left to a trust, The Vanessa Campisi Trust, dated August 3, 1996. Kiera was the trustee and beneficiary of that trust if Vanessa expired before she turned 18. The fine print in the trust said that if Kiera sold the condo and began a new relationship, she would owe NJC, Inc. the money she made from the sale of the condo. The deed for the initial sale of the condo was signed by Carleene Campisi to the trust. Then, when Kiera sold it this year, she signed as the trustee to the new owner, a Sandra Johnson.
He looked up from the file. Kiera sat on the large leather sofa in his office watching his face. She’d told him to read the file first and then she would. Her hands twisted in her lap, and her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth.
“Are you ready to read this?”
She nodded. Her face showed fear or nervousness or both.
“I have questions after you read it.”
She simply nodded again. He stood from his chair and brought the file to her. “I need to use the bathroom and get something to drink. Can I get you something?
Barely above a whisper, she answered, “No.”
He watched as her shaky fingers opened the manila file and began reading the report. His heart thumped as he watched her read about her life or nonlife as it were.
Using the restroom, he washed his hands and took a look in the mirror. He looked tired. It had been an emotional week, beginning Saturday when he thought she’d left again. Then the past four nights, he’d slept very little, so afraid she’d leave in the middle of the night that he held her tight. Each time he began to nod off, she’d roll over or move, and it would wake him up. He’d need to get to a point where he could relax and know she wasn’t going to leave him. That would only come with trust. They weren’t there yet.
Walking to Luke’s office, he tapped on the doorframe. Luke’s head popped up from his computer. “I’ve got something else here. Take a look.”
David glanced at the large screen on Luke’s desk. “Carleene Campisi is a very wealthy woman. She runs a large company, CMC, Inc. NJC, Inc. and Nicholas’ other companies were then absorbed into CMC when he died.”
“What does her company do?” The knot tightened in his stomach. He’d always been able to read people. That was important in his line of work. Since Kiera came back, he’d lost his edge. When Carleene stopped at Kiera’s earlier, he’d sensed that she was irritated or pissy, but not that she was this powerful.
“Well, she had convenience stores, a mall in California, and it looks like several apartment complexes all over the US.”
“Thanks, Luke. Keep looking, okay?” He stood and stretched his back, stifled a yawn, and made his way back to Kiera.
As he turned into his office, she sat quiet as a mouse in the corner of the big sofa, looking at nothing on his wall. She started when he walked in, sniffed and swiped at her eyes. His heart ached for her. No one deserved the life she’d lived. The even bigger puzzle was why her parents didn’t do a damned thing to help her. Her father was always a piece of work—always in trouble, always wheeling and dealing, but not good at it. But even at that, he was a coward for not protecting his daughter. Any man worth his salt would do anything in the world to protect his children. He would kill anyone who laid a hand on Leesa.
“Hey.” He approached her cautiously. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I didn’t even exist. I mean I knew I was essentially a prisoner, but I didn’t even realize the lengths he went to to make me invisible.”
Sitting next to her, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “You’re not invisible now,amore mio.”
29
She’d worked her ass off to become the woman she was today. Though she still had so many days of feeling weak and powerless, she’d come a long, long way.
“Okay, David, ask me your questions and let’s get this over with.”
He twisted so they were face-to-face. “If you need a moment, I can wait.”
She bit her bottom lip and shook her head. “I’d rather get this out of the way.”
He took a deep breath, held her hand in his and asked, “Why didn’t your father do anything to help you, Kiera?”
Ouch. Her head fell forward. “He begged me to stay and be good until he could get his debt paid off. He was scared. When they’d be invited for dinner, he’d pull me aside and tell me to be good, don’t anger Nicholas and that he was working hard to pay back the money he owed Nicholas. As soon as he paid off his debt, we’d be free.”
Her hands felt cold and clammy. A shiver ran down her spine, and he stood quickly and walked to a closet in the corner and pulled out a jacket that said Haggerty Security on the breast. Wrapping it around her shoulders, he sat next to her again and held her hands between his in an effort to warm them.
“I still don’t get it. I’d never let …” His voice cracked, and he stopped, cleared his throat, and started again. “How much money did he steal?”
