?<strong>Chapter 1032:</strong>


    Kallie had nned to speak with Jake the following day. Yet, she hadn’t anticipated that Elma, who had seemed perfectly healthy the day before, would suddenly develop a high fever. And it was quite severe.


    Upon hearing the news, Kallie rushed over immediately. When she reached the door, however, she was stopped.


    “Who are you?”


    Kallie stared at the woman barring her entry, her face filled with confusion.


    Kallie scrutinized the woman, who had delicate features and a certain charm about her, though her aloof demeanor was hard to miss.


    When Kallie questioned her presence, the woman raised an eyebrow and replied coolly, “Kallie, what game are you ying?”


    Kallie didn’t have the time or patience for this. Her voice was urgent as she said, “You seem to know me and have something more to say to me, but now isn’t the time. My daughter is sick. Let me in.”


    Kallie nced at the servants and added, “The girl inside with the fever is my daughter.”


    One of the servants quickly stepped forward and addressed the woman politely, “Miss Payne, if Mrs. Reeves wants to see her daughter, you have no right to stop her.”


    The moment the servant referred to Kallie as “Mrs. Reeves,” Lacey’s expression darkened. She let out a cold, almost mockingugh.


    “You’re right. I can’t stop Kallie. But Elma is my patient. She’s unwell, and I’m here to treat her. However…” Lacey’s sharp gazended squarely on Kallie.


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    “You’re dying my treatment of Elma. If her condition worsens, could you handle the consequences?”


    It was then that Kallie understood the woman before her, Lacey, was Elma’s doctor. But the realization brought a question. Why did Lacey have to stick by the hot spring pool the night before, even refusing to leave after Jake told her so?


    The hostility in Lacey’s eyes wasn’t lost on Kallie. And it didn’t stem from caution but jealousy.


    Just then, Elma’s faint coughing from the room reached Kallie’s ears, snapping her back to the present.


    Despite her frustration, Kallie stepped back, gazed at Lacey, and said sincerely, “Miss Payne, please treat Elma and lessen her difort.”


    Lacey’s lips curled into a sneer, and her tone carried an edge of mockery.


    “I don’t need you to remind me of this.”


    Then, as if to make a point, Lacey added, “Jake has entrusted Elma’s care to me and stressed her condition to me privately several times.”


    The way Lacey uttered Jake’s name held an unsettling closeness. And the word “privately” lingered in the air, sharp and deliberate.


    Kallie’s expression shifted subtly, a bitter emotion stirring within her for reasons she couldn’t quite ce.


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