Chapter 575

She was on the night shift tonight, busier than usual, and had left her phone charging in the office. When she finally finished dealing with an emergency and returned to the department, she spotted several missed calls on her phone. For a moment, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

Jamison–who had always dismissed her without a second glance–had actually called her first. She knew, of course, that it probably wasn’t good news. Still, she couldn’t suppress a surge of secret delight as she hurried to return the call.

“Hello,” Jamison answered, his tone brisk and to the point. “Did you learn about my wife’s severe adenomyosis from Professor Penn?”

Sitting in the hospital’s staff office, Celeste felt as though his words had struck her like a gong. The color drained from her face, and panic flickered in her eyes.

She immediately understood why Jamison was calling. It had to be that his mother had found out Ivy couldn’t have children and now wanted to break them up.

“Jamison, I-”

“You only need to answer yes or no.”

Ivy stood nearby, watching Jamison’s cold, implacable expression, and silently pitied Celeste. She really had picked the wrong person to cross. When Mr. Jamison turned on someone, not even his own sister or mother was spared–let alone an unwelcome admirer.

Celeste hesitated for two seconds, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Yes.”

Jamison pressed on. “Did you look it up yourself, or did Professor Penn tell you?”

Celeste bit her lip, her embarrassment mounting. She could easily try to shift the blame, say Professor Penn told her, but Jamison was far closer to Professor Penn than she was. He could call and confirm in seconds.

After a brief pause, she admitted, “I…saw it myself in the electronic medical records. It had nothing to do with Ms. Penn.”

“You accessed another patient’s records without permission, which is a violation of hospital policy,” Jamison said, his voice calm but cutting. “Worse, you disclosed private medical information–which is against the law. As the patient’s family, I have every right to hold you accountable.”

Celeste’s mind went blank with panic. “Jamison, what are you saying? I never told anyone about Miss Windsor’s condition.”

“You told my mother,” he replied icily. “Is that not disclosure?”

Celeste stammered, her mind racing back to the day she’d warned Adela Ludwig not to mention who had told her–maybe Jamison was only guessing, trying to trick her.

She steadied herself, determined to feign innocence. “Jamison, I don’t understand what you mean.”

He hadn’t expected her to keep up the act, and his tone grew even colder. “My mother went in for a check-up the other day. You were alone with her–you don’t remember what you talked about?”

“I was just concerned for her health, reminding her about things to watch for.”

“And, in passing, you told her that her younger daughter-in-law can’t have children and isn’t good enough for me, isn’t that right?” His voice sharpened. “Or did you take the chance to shamelessly suggest to my mother that you’d make a better wife?”

Ivy’s lashes fluttered in surprise as she glanced at him, caught off guard. Ever since they’d married–or rather, ever since Jamison had promised to stop lashing out at her–she hadn’t seen this side of him. It took her back to their earliest encounters, every meeting a clash of sharp tongues and sharper tempers. Back then, she’d wondered how anyone could be so caustic, so arrogant, so thoroughly insufferable–especially someone born to such privilege and power. Now, in comparison, she realized that Jamison had actually gone easy on her before.

The way he was skewering Celeste now–his words stung more than a slap to the face.