What begins as a peaceful autumn hike in Blackwood Forest turns chilling when Ashley and Jeff stumble upon an abandoned car—and a bloodied, bound man locked in the trunk. With no memory of who he is or how he got there, the mystery deepens. A single playing card left at the scene—the Queen of Spades—leads to a sinister underground gambling syndicate where the stakes are life and death. As Ashley helps uncover the man’s buried past, she begins to wonder: did they rescue a victim… or awaken a player in a far more dangerous game?
This story took 2nd Place in the Sleuths’ Ink 2025 First Quarter Contest.
Lynn Combs 
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