His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 469

Meanwhile, inside the Vanderbilt Group Executive Office.

Archer sat in his expansive leather chair, the sleeves of his dark gray designer shirt rolled up as he listened to Zachary report the progress of the manhunt. Suddenly, his private phone vibrated on the desk—

An unknown virtual number.

He furrowed his brows and hit accept.

"Archer," Chloe's raspy, neurotic voice hissed through the speaker. "I have Virginia."

Archer's frown deepened into a severe scowl, his heart violently lurching into his throat. The temperature in the office plummeted to freezing, leaving Zachary too terrified to even breathe.

"What do you want." Archer's voice was deathly low, devoid of any discernible emotion, yet his knuckles turned stark white around the device.

"I want you to come alone to The Rusty Hub Scrapyard on the west side of The Docks District. Remember, no cops, no backup! If I see a single extra person, I'm slicing Virginia's face open! If you aren't here in twenty minutes, you can come collect her corpse!"

The call clicked off instantly.

Archer's eyes flooded with crimson. He raised his arm, instinctively wanting to obliterate the phone against the wall, but in a fraction of a second, he lowered his hand, his expression lethal.

This was his private line, the only way Chloe could contact him. If he broke it and she couldn't reach him, her psychotic break might cost Virginia her life...

Gripping the phone, he shot up from his chair and stormed toward the door.

"Mr. Vanderbilt!" Zachary scrambled to keep up. "The police have already locked onto the signal. You can't go alone, it's a suicide mission!"

Anticipating a retaliatory strike from Liam and Chloe, the police had secured Archer's permission to install a real-time tracking system on his phone.

Now, it was their lifeline.

Seeing him step through the light, tears instantly flooded Chloe's eyes.

"Archer, you finally came."

She stumbled toward him, reaching out for his hand, but realizing she reeked of stale sweat, her hand froze in midair.

Instead, she looked up at him, caught between sobbing and laughing. "You still care about me, don't you? It was that bitch Virginia who seduced you. If not for her, our family of three would still be perfect..."

Archer stood firmly in place. His gaze shot right past her, locking onto Virginia tied to a chair thirty feet away.

His pupils constricted.

Virginia was in horrific shape. Her normally flawless hair was in disarray, her right cheek swollen and bruised, and a vivid red welt ringed her pale neck where her collar was slightly torn.