Riverdale Apr 2026

Jughead’s pen stopped scratching. “Alice Cooper is in a facility two counties over. Medicated. Watched.”

Jughead stiffened. Percival Pickens. The name alone tasted like ash. The newcomer who’d bought up half the town’s debts, who’d turned the Babylonium into a private club, who’d smiled at town council meetings while sliding a knife between Riverdale’s ribs.

“Archiekins,” she said, sliding a folded gala invitation across the counter to Pop, who accepted it without comment. “I see the Scooby gang is already assembled. Good. Because the navy suit won’t cut it this time.”

The door opened. Veronica Lodge stepped out, heels splashing in puddles, her black dress immaculate, her diamond choker catching the light. She didn’t run. She walked, slow and deliberate, like a queen returning to a kingdom she never truly left. Riverdale

Betty’s eyes widened. “What did you do, Veronica?”

“And nothing. That’s the problem. ‘And nothing’ is the scariest sentence in the English language.” Archie leaned forward. “She didn’t say ‘I miss you.’ She didn’t say ‘I’m sorry.’ She just said, ‘Wear the navy suit, Archie. The one that fits.’ Like I’m an accessory.”

“The very same,” Betty said. “And here’s the detail the police report missed. The barn was sold six months ago to a shell company. A shell company that traces back to a certain Mr. Percival Pickens.” Jughead’s pen stopped scratching

She entered, shaking water from her hair, and locked eyes with Archie. For a moment, the diner held its breath.

“You’re doing it again,” Jughead said, not looking up. “The jaw clench. The thousand-yard stare. You’re composing a sad song about it, aren’t you?”

A silence fell, heavier than the rain. Archie looked from Betty’s grim determination to Jughead’s calculating stare. Outside, a flash of lightning illuminated the parking lot—and a single, sleek black town car pulling in. Watched

“Always,” Archie replied.

“Pickens is collecting relics,” Jughead said, his mind racing. “Properties tied to old traumas. He’s not after land. He’s after leverage. Emotional real estate.”