Chapter 8 - BEFORE TALIA
Megan Price did not want to talk.
Dominic called once.
She declined.
Martin called.
She declined.
Then Talia, through Serena Walsh, sent a message asking only:
Were there concerns with Bianca during your time at the Rinaldi home? You do not owe me an answer. I’m trying to understand whether my experience was isolated.
Megan replied forty minutes later.
Can we meet somewhere public?
They met at a coffee shop in Evanston.
Megan was thirty-three now.
She had left nannying and worked as an occupational therapy assistant.
Talia recognized the way she chose a seat facing the door.
“You're scared of Dominic?”
“No.”
Megan looked at her.
“Of Bianca.”
That surprised Talia.
“What happened?”
Megan stirred her coffee without drinking.
“I worked there three months after Gianna died.”
Talia knew Gianna Rinaldi, Luca’s mother, had died unexpectedly after a medical complication when Luca was still an infant.
“I was there before Bianca moved in.”
“When did she start coming?”
“Almost immediately.”
Megan’s expression tightened.
“At first she was wonderful.”
“Of course.”
“She brought food. Helped Dominic with memorial arrangements. Sat with Luca.”
“What changed?”
“When Dominic started depending on her.”
Megan described little things.
Bianca correcting staff publicly.
Changing Luca’s feeding schedule without asking.
Insisting she be included in pediatric appointments despite not being a parent.
Referring to herself as “the woman of the house.”
Then one afternoon, Megan found Luca crying.
Bianca had taken away a comfort toy because she thought he depended on it too much.
“He was nine months old,” Megan said.
Talia stared.
“What did you do?”
“I gave it back.”
“And?”
“She told me I undermined her.”
Same language.
“What happened next?”
“She complained to Dominic that I was disrespectful.”
“Did he fire you?”
“No.”
Megan looked away.
“I quit before he could.”
“Why?”
“Bianca told me she would make sure no family in Winnetka hired me if I embarrassed her again.”
Talia felt cold.
Exactly.
“Did you tell Dominic?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Megan laughed without humor.
“You work for him. You know why.”
Talia did.
Dominic was controlled.
Often fair.
But his reputation entered rooms before he did.
People did not casually bring accusations into the life of a man whose surname carried fear and influence.
“He never threatened me,” Megan added.
“That almost made it worse.”
“How?”
“Everyone assumes he doesn’t need to.”
Talia understood.
Power created silence without direct orders.
“What did Bianca say about marriage?”
Megan looked at her.
“She wasn't engaged yet.”
“Anything about Luca?”
Megan nodded.
“Once she said, ‘When I’m officially part of this family, every employee in this house answers to me.’”
Talia wrote it down.
Megan noticed.
“You're fighting this.”
“I’m protecting my license and career.”
“You want the job back?”
Talia thought.
“I want my name back.”
That answer seemed to satisfy Megan.
“Then I'll give a statement.”
Talia looked up.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Megan smiled sadly.
“But I should have done it the first time.”
When Dominic received Megan’s written account, he did not immediately believe every word.
He cross-checked employment records.
Dates matched.
Bianca had indeed filed a complaint about Megan.
Language:
Overattached to Luca.
Resistance to family boundaries.
Undermining future household structure.
Dominic stared.
Nearly identical to the complaint against Talia.
He called Bianca into the library.
“Tell me about Megan.”
Bianca’s face changed.
“Why?”
“Tell me.”
“She quit.”
“Why?”
“She couldn't handle boundaries.”
“Did she threaten Luca?”
“No.”
“Hurt him?”
“No.”
“Then what boundary?”
Bianca looked away.
Dominic slid the two complaints side by side.
Megan.
Talia.
Same language.
“You wrote both.”
“Yes.”
“Two nannies. Same problem.”
“They were similar.”
“Or you were.”
Bianca’s eyes flashed.
“You’re letting staff build a story about me.”
Dominic’s gaze remained steady.
“No.”
He tapped the paper.
“You built the repetition.”
For the first time, Bianca had no explanation ready.
And Dominic began to suspect the confrontation in the living room had not been spontaneous at all.
Maybe Bianca had simply reached the end of a pattern that had been running for months.
Remove the caregiver.
Replace her.
Control the story.
May you like
The only difference this time was that Luca had cried loudly enough for Dominic to come home early.
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