His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 451

Blackie Graves had been waiting in the open space on the second floor. When he saw Archer Vanderbilt appear, he instinctively swallowed hard.

The aura surrounding the head of the Vanderbilt Group was simply too overwhelming. Even standing a floor away, Blackie felt as though all the oxygen had been sucked out of the air.

"Mr. Vanderbilt," Blackie said, walking downstairs and swallowing again as he forced himself to speak.

Archer said nothing. He merely tipped his chin up slightly.

Zachary Cole immediately stepped forward, placing a briefcase on a dust-covered concrete block. It opened with a satisfying click, revealing neat stacks of cash inside.

"Here is ten million dollars," Zachary said with a calm expression.

Blackie's eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

He had originally asked for five million, but he never expected the CEO to be so generous and bring ten million!

"The money is here," Archer said, his voice as calm as a placid lake. "Speak."

Blackie didn't hesitate, spilling everything in a desperate rush.

"Mr. Vanderbilt, that cloned van that hit the Caldwell family's oldest daughter, and that kidnapping at the cement factory with the two kids—it was all Liam Kendrick's doing!"

"He gave me a massive sum of money back then and told me to run her over and make sure she was dead! The kidnapping was ordered by the woman he was with. I heard him call her Chloe at the time, and only later did I find out she was the other Caldwell daughter!"

Archer's jaw tightened, the veins on the back of his hand bulging against his skin.

The car crash. The kidnapping.

Each incident had nearly cost Virginia and Cynthia their lives!

The thought that he had once abandoned his own flesh and blood for the sake of that wretched woman's son made Archer want to beat himself senseless.

"Mr. Vanderbilt, I've told you everything. This money..." Blackie rubbed his hands together, reaching out for the briefcase.

Archer took a deep breath, suppressing the monstrous fury raging in his chest, and asked in a dangerously low voice, "How do I know if what you're saying is the truth?"

Blackie froze for a second before scrambling to pull out his phone, pulling up the transfer receipts and an audio recording.

The bodyguards stuffed a gag in Blackie's mouth and dragged him forcefully toward a commercial van parked in the back.

Archer stood right where he was, staring out at the wasteland in the distance, his eyes as dark and cold as an abyss.

His hatred for Chloe and Liam had reached its absolute peak.

...

Two days later, at the Caldwell Estate.

The air conditioning in the living room was blasting, but Chloe, dressed in high-end Chanel loungewear, still felt suffocated by a restless heat.

She paced frantically back and forth across the cashmere rug, clutching her phone tightly.

She dialed the number again, only to be met with a busy signal. Frustrated, she threw the phone onto the sofa.

That gambling addict usually called her a hundred times a day when he wanted money. Why had he suddenly gone completely off the grid for the past two days?!