The Sleeper's Wrath and His Wife's Strike novel Chapter 45

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Althea, livid with rage, jabbed her finger at Bertha and Helen, unleashing a torrent of insults. “You two just can’t stand to see my son succeed! You’re jealous of how outstanding he is. Your own sons are hopeless—utter disappointments—so now you want to drag my son down with them. You’re downright vicious.”

Helen rolled her eyes at Althea and let out a mocking laugh. “My son is a top-tier professional racer. He’s never needed the Quigley family’s help—not like some people, who’ve relied on the Quigley for everything from school to work.”

The moment Helen’s meaning landed, Lester’s face darkened. His hand, hanging by his side, curled into a tight fist, and he shot Helen a glare sharp enough to cut glass. If looks could kill, she’d be gone a thousand times over.

Truth was, Lester had never been much of a student. Since grade school, academics had always been a struggle. That’s why, after high school, he was shipped abroad to “polish his credentials” and study finance. But after years of clawing his way up, he truly believed he was already better than Yves.

What right did they have to look down on him?

Bertha, always quick to jump on the bandwagon, covered her mouth and stifled a giggle. “Didn’t someone once fail math and get called in for a parent-teacher conference? Was that in middle school or high school?”

Helen immediately played along, bursting into exaggerated laughter. “Come on! That was elementary school. He flunked math so badly the teacher had to call his parents in. My Leif was teased for weeks—everyone said he had a cousin who couldn’t even pass grade school math.”

Bertha was practically doubled over with laughter. “Oh, right! I almost forgot!” She knew Lester’s days of power were numbered. Now that Yves was awake, Lester didn’t stand a chance at clawing his way back to the top.

All that mattered now was cozying up to Yves. He wasn’t just any Quigley anymore; he was married, and still the president of Quigley Enterprises. Apart from Mr. Quigley Sr., his word carried the most weight in the family. If he wanted, he could have Bertha booted from her position as lady of the house at any moment and hand it over to Lindsay.