His Wicked Obsession (Archer and Virginia) novel Chapter 101

While everyone else scrambled away from the danger, she pushed against the tide. For a moment, her pale blue shirt stood out sharply in the panicked crowd.

She stopped about fifteen feet away from the man.

She couldn't get any closer.

"Hello," she said, keeping her voice even and soothing.

The man’s head snapped up, glaring at her. The blade trembled against the child’s throat.

"Stay back! One more step and I'll kill her!"

Virginia Caldwell didn't flinch.

"I'm not moving." She raised her hands, palms facing outward. "I'm just standing right here to talk to you."

The man stared at her, his chest heaving violently. "I don't need to talk! No one ever listens to me anyway!"

"I'm listening," Virginia said, drawing her words out slowly. "Can you tell me what happened?"

The man froze for a second. His eyes were bloodshot, his lips trembling.

"They fired me... I worked there for eight years, and they just tossed me out! My wife ran off with the kids... even my own mother won't look at me!"

As he spoke, he grew more agitated, his grip on the knife tightening.

"You have children?" Virginia gently took the opening, her pace unhurried.

"...I have a little girl. She's three."

"Three." Virginia processed the information quickly. "The little girl you're holding must be about the same age as your daughter."

The man's entire body went rigid. He glanced down at the child trapped against his chest—pale-faced and practically rolling her eyes back in terror—and his lips parted slightly.

The tip of the knife wavered an inch away from her neck.

In that exact moment of distraction, the child's father lunged from the side, grabbing his daughter's arm and yanking her free.

It all happened in a flash.

Security and police rushed in simultaneously, three or four officers swarming the man to pin him firmly to the floor.

The parents huddled in the corner, sobbing as they clutched their daughter tightly.

Park staff hurriedly roped off the area with caution tape while others worked to manage the chaotic crowd.

Archer's jaw clenched tight. His gaze remained locked on Virginia. The beads on his wrist hung motionless in the breeze.

It was as if nothing in the world could affect him.

Virginia reached up to smooth her windblown hair, her voice returning to its usual cool composure.

"My daughter is exactly why I stepped in."

Archer frowned.

"Because I have a child, I couldn't just stand by and watch a man hold a knife to a little girl's throat."

She paused before adding, "Besides, I'm a professional psychologist. In that situation, there was no one better equipped to handle it than me."