“Doctor Gomez, please get here now,” Luca ordered.
Carmen clutched Marco’s hand, her heart hammering.
“You’re okay,” she whispered, but she wasn’t sure if she was telling him or herself.
Within twenty minutes, Doctor Gomez arrived, kneeling beside Marco. “He just collapsed,” Carmen said quickly, her voice too tight, too fast. “He hasn’t been sleeping, hasn’t been eating—”
“And I told you to rest,” Doctor Gomez muttered under his breath, checking Marco’s pulse.
He frowned, pressing against Marco’s forehead, then his chest. After a long, tense minute, he sighed.
“He’s exhausted,” Doctor Gomez said, pulling back. “His body shut down from stress, lack of sleep, and overexertion. He needs complete bed rest.”
Carmen exhaled sharply, relief and frustration crashing into each other.
“No major concerns?” Luca asked, arms crossed.
“No, but if he keeps this up, he’ll end up right back in the hospital.”
Carmen nodded, but the doctor didn’t leave right away.
Instead, he turned to her. “And you,” Doctor Gomez said, giving her a long look. Carmen blinked. “What?”
“When’s the last time you slept for more than two hours?” His voice was firm.
Carmen tensed. Luca gave her a pointed look. “He has a point.”
“I’m fine,” she said quickly, waving them off.
Doctor Gomez sighed. “No, you’re not. You look like you’re seconds away from collapsing too.”
Carmen clenched her jaw, refusing to break in front of them.
“You’re carrying too much alone,” Doctor Gomez continued. “If Marco is out of commission, someone has to step up. But you can’t do everything yourself, Carmen.”
She knew that. God, she knew that. She felt it in her bones, the weight of it pressing her down, drowning her.
She was suffocating. After Doctor Gomez left, she sat on the couch, rubbing her temples, exhaling slowly.
Then Luca exhaled and looked at Carmen. “You need a nanny.”
The words sounded foreign when she heard it. Carmen’s head snapped up. “What?”
Luca heaved a sigh and gave her a light pat on the shoulder. “You need someone to help you look after Matteo. As much as I want to be there for you and him, my highest priority right now is keeping Marco and your family’s safety.”
Carmen leaned back against the couch, her hands covering her face.
“Matteo won’t let anyone touch him but me,” she whispered. “He won’t sleep, won’t eat without me there. I haven’t been able to breathe since the shooting. And Marco—”
Her eyes drifted to him, still out cold on the couch.
”—he’s falling apart too.”
Luca was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I know you’ve never wanted a nanny before, but if you don’t get help, it won’t just be Marco’s health at risk—yours will be too. You heard what the doctor said.”
“I know,” Carmen muttered. “But Marco wouldn’t like bringing in a new person in this house.”
Marco doesn’t trust easily. Neither of them would. They never wanted outsiders in their home. Never wanted to trust their son with someone they barely knew. But what choice did they have?
“I don’t like this,” Marco muttered that startled Luca and Carmen. He’s awake, but still too pale, his movements sluggish as he tried to get up from bed.
Carmen hurried to him, gently cupping his face. “Honey, I don’t like this either,” she confessed, her fingers tightening around her coffee mug. “But we can’t keep pretending we can handle this on our own.”
Luca stepped closer, his hands tucked into his pockets. “Boss, Carmen’s right.”
“We’re strangers to Matteo right now,” Carmen whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat.
Marco’s jaw tightened. He knew it was true. Their son flinched every time Marco tried to hold him. And that killed him more than anything.
Marco sighed, rubbing his temples. “Fine. But I need Luca to do background checks in every applicant. If they don’t pass the initial check, they don’t step foot in my house. Is that clear, Luca?”
Luca nodded to him. “I’ll make sure of that.”
Marco sighed and looked at Carmen. “We can’t let our guards down.”
***
A week later, Luca handed him the folders of the applicants who had passed the screening. There wasn’t just one, but multiple thorough checks done on each—Luca had investigated where they lived, their previous employers, and their family backgrounds.
After several rounds of interviews, Carmen sat stiffly in the living room, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The first nanny was too strict. The second one seemed too distant. The third was just plain strange. By the time the fourth left, Carmen’s head was pounding.
“This is impossible,” she muttered, pacing the room. “None of them feel right.”
“Those are the safest candidates we found, maybe you just need to give one of them a chance,” Luca said from the doorway.
“This is my son,” she snapped, then softened. “If we’re bringing someone into this house, they have to be perfect.”
Luca sighed, then pulled out his phone. “I might have someone.”
Carmen looked at him, surprised. “Who?”
Luca scrolled for a moment before turning the phone toward her.
Eleanor ‘Ella’ Moreau.“She’s worked with a dozen high-profile families,” Luca explained. “No criminal record. Keeps her mouth shut. Glowing recommendations. Over thirty years of experience.”
Carmen studied the picture—a woman in her fifties, soft brown eyes, warm smile. She looked safe. Looked… right.
“Why didn’t you include her then?” Carmen asked curiously.
“Well, she didn’t apply,” Luca said. “But if you’re interested, I can poach her from her current employer.”
Carmen hesitated for a moment, then exhaled.
“Fine. Schedule an interview with her.”