With Hiram hospitalized after a near-fatal shooting, Veronica hires Jughead to find the culprit. The investigation reveals a web of infidelity and betrayal:
While Jughead hunts a shooter, Betty investigates a string of "suicides" that she correctly identifies as murders by poison. [S3E2] Chapter Forty-Six
The episode concludes with Veronica and Reggie burning Hiram’s drug operation to the ground, though they remain unaware of the financial and legal fallout that will soon follow. Riverdale – Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia Riverdale – Chapter Forty-Six: The Red Dahlia :
: Jughead discovers that Mayor Hermione Lodge has been having an affair with the supposedly dead Sheriff Minetta. The two were plotting to finish Hiram off and frame FP Jones for the crime. Archie ends up shooting the intruder instead, effectively
: Just as Archie prepares to shoot, Minetta enters the room to finish the job. Archie ends up shooting the intruder instead, effectively saving Hiram's life.
: Betty connects the deaths of Claudius and Clifford Blossom, along with others like the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.
: This act leads to an unexpected face-to-face meeting where Archie and Hiram agree to a tenuous truce, putting their long-standing war on hold.