The Sleeper's Wrath and His Wife's Strike novel Chapter 9

Mr. Quigley Sr.’s cloudy eyes suddenly sharpened, his gaze dark and heavy as it landed on Althea. His deep voice carried a hint of anger.

“Is what Lindsay said true?” He’s not dead yet, and you’re already bold enough to mistreat my son?

“Of course not.” Althea sobbed, shaking her head as if she were the most wronged woman in the world. “Those two caregivers were handpicked by me. Every single day, I reminded them to look after Yves. But he’s been in a coma for so long, lying there day after day—it’s inevitable he’d get some rashes, isn’t it?”

“And what about the bedsores? How do you explain that?” Lindsay shot back, her voice ringing through the room. “If your carefully chosen caregivers were really doing their job, do you think Yves would have developed bedsores?”

Everyone knew bedsores only happened when someone was left lying in the same position for far too long, the pressure cutting off circulation and damaging the skin. Lindsay suspected that during all these months with Yves in a vegetative state, no one had bothered to even turn his body.

“If he’s going to get them, what am I supposed to do?” Althea’s words only threw fuel on the fire burning in Mr. Quigley’s chest.

He let out a cold laugh, his eyes narrowing with a hard edge. “Yes, perhaps bedsores can’t always be avoided. But you were responsible for hiring the caregivers. Their negligence is your failure, and that’s a responsibility you can’t shrug off.”

If Althea’s caregivers had turned Yves regularly, bedsores wouldn’t have happened. Clearly, her so-called careful arrangements were nothing but a sham.

Althea tried to argue, but Mr. Quigley cut her off. “Daniel, take her to the chapel and administer ten lashes. She’s to spend a week there in reflection.”

Althea’s breath hitched, her eyes wide with panic. Ten lashes? She couldn’t even endure one.

“Mr. Quigley, my health is fragile. If I have to go through with this, it’ll kill me.”

“If you want to be the lady of the Quigley house, then you need to accept the responsibilities that come with it. Admit your mistake, unless you’d prefer to give up your position.” He deliberately pressed her with the weight of her title.

“At least this should serve as a wake-up call for everyone in the Quigley household. No one will dare mistreat Yves again,” Mr. Quigley said.

“I hope so. Because if anyone tries, I won’t let them get away with it.” Lindsay’s eyes flashed coldly, her voice steely with resolve.

Mr. Quigley looked at her with newfound respect. She had guts—if Yves ever woke up, maybe this would turn out to be a good match after all.

…

Word of Althea’s punishment spread quickly through the Quigley estate. Delicate and pampered as she was, she fainted after the lashes and had to be rushed to the hospital by Daniel for treatment.