Chapter 2 - HE DIDN’T DEFEND HER
Dominic did not accuse Talia of hurting Luca.
That distinction mattered to him.
It did not matter to Talia.
By six o’clock that evening, she had received a formal call from Lakeshore Domestic Staffing informing her that she was suspended pending an allegation of inappropriate child handling.
The agency director, Serena Walsh, sounded apologetic.
“I’m required to document the complaint.”
“Who filed it?”
“You know I can’t discuss that.”
“Bianca.”
Silence.
Talia sat on the edge of her bed in her one-bedroom apartment in Rogers Park.
“I need you to understand what happened.”
“I do want your statement.”
“Not tomorrow. Now.”
Serena paused.
“Okay.”
Talia told her.
The crying.
The wrist.
Her intervention.
The shove.
Dominic arriving.
Bianca lying before she could explain.
Serena listened without interruption.
When Talia finished, she asked:
“Did you photograph Luca’s wrist?”
“No.”
“Any marks?”
“Redness. I don’t know if it lasted.”
“Did anyone else witness the initial interaction?”
“No.”
“House cameras?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you ever document concerns about Bianca before?”
“Yes.”
That changed Serena’s tone.
“Where?”
“The Rinaldi household caregiver log.”
“Do you have copies?”
Talia closed her eyes.
“No.”
The system belonged to the family.
Serena sighed.
“Then request preservation immediately.”
“How?”
“Email Dominic. Email the household manager. Copy me.”
Talia stood.
“Will you keep me suspended?”
“I have to.”
“I didn't hurt him.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
“But the outcome is the same.”
Serena did not disagree.
That was the first lesson of the evening.
Procedural neutrality could feel identical to punishment when your livelihood disappeared first.
At the Rinaldi estate, Bianca had already begun shaping the story.
She sat beside Dominic in the library while Luca slept upstairs.
Her hands trembled theatrically around a glass of water.
“She has become possessive.”
Dominic watched her.
“How?”
“She corrects me constantly.”
“About Luca?”
“About everything.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Bianca’s mouth tightened.
Dominic had not yelled since Talia left.
Bianca preferred anger.
Anger could be directed.
Silence had to be interpreted.
“She acts like I’m dangerous around him.”
“Are you?”
Bianca stared.
“What kind of question is that?”
“A simple one.”
“Of course not.”
Dominic looked at the faint redness around Luca’s wrist in the photograph he had taken before bath time.
“Did you grab him?”
Bianca’s expression changed.
“I tried to help him stand.”
“How hard?”
“Normal.”
“He has a mark.”
“Talia was holding him when you came in.”
Dominic looked up.
“So?”
“She could have done it.”
There was no evidence in the sentence.
Only possibility.
Dominic recognized that.
But possibility cut both ways.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Bianca repeated her version.
Talia pulled Luca.
Luca cried.
Bianca intervened.
Talia became defensive.
Talia pushed Bianca.
Dominic listened.
Then asked:
“Where were you standing?”
Bianca showed him.
“And Luca?”
“Near the sofa.”
“What was he doing?”
“Crying.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Dominic’s gaze sharpened.
“You were already in the room.”
“Yes.”
“And you don't know why my son was crying?”
Bianca hesitated.
“He’s a baby.”
That answer bothered him.
Not because it proved anything.
Because Bianca usually narrated Luca as if she understood every mood better than anyone.
Tonight, uncertainty became convenient.
Upstairs, Luca woke screaming.
Dominic left immediately.
Bianca followed.
The moment she entered the nursery, Luca’s crying intensified.
Dominic noticed.
Bianca did too.
“He’s overtired.”
She reached toward him.
Luca twisted away.
Dominic picked him up instead.
“Give him to me,” Bianca said.
“No.”
Her face changed.
Dominic saw it.
Not anger exactly.
Something wounded.
“Why?”
“He’s settling.”
“You're treating me like I did something.”
“I’m treating him like he’s tired.”
“That’s not what this is.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Then what is it?”
Bianca did not answer.
Twenty minutes later, after Luca finally slept against his father’s shoulder, Dominic checked his phone.
An email from Talia.
Subject: PRESERVATION REQUEST — LUCA CARE LOG.
He read it twice.
Talia listed dates of earlier concerns.
Asked that no records be deleted or modified.
Copied Serena Walsh.
Copied Martin.
Professional.
Calm.
No accusation beyond facts.
Dominic forwarded the email to his attorney.
Then called Martin.
“Lock the caregiver system.”
“Sir?”
“Read-only.”
“Immediately?”
“Yes.”
Martin paused.
“There’s a complication.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“One entry was already deleted.”
“When?”
“Two days ago.”
Dominic went still.
“By who?”
“The system says Talia.”
Bianca stood behind him in the nursery doorway.
He did not turn.
“Can you verify?”
“I’ll call IT.”
Dominic ended the call.
Bianca asked:
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
She watched him.
Dominic had lied to her for the first time in their relationship.
Not because he knew she was guilty.
May you like
Because suddenly he was no longer sure she deserved to know what he knew.
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