Chapter 3: The Game Begins

DEADLY CARD

Maria couldn’t sleep.
The second Joker card — clean, crisp, untouched — sat on her bedside table like a silent threat. No blood this time. Just the same mocking grin, and the note:

“Thanks for trying, Doc. But he already lost the game.”

She read those words again and again, her fingers trembling just slightly.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
This was personal.

---

The next morning, she walked to the village library — a small, creaky building with more dust than people. She needed records. Articles. Anything about deaths like this.

She searched for an hour. Then she found something.

A news clipping from three years ago:

“Local Teen Dies by Suicide — Found With Playing Card in Hand.”

The photo showed a different boy. Same age. Same method. Same Joker card.

Maria’s breath caught.

What the hell was happening?

She jotted down the name. Aryan Sharma.
No further investigation. No police follow-up.
Just grief. Just silence.

And a card.

That afternoon, Maria decided to do what doctors weren’t supposed to: visit the boy’s parents at their home.

The house was tucked near the forest’s edge. Too quiet. Too neat.
She knocked. The mother opened the door — eyes red, smile forced.

“Oh, doctor…” she said softly. “You didn’t have to come.”

“I just wanted to check on you both. The past few nights… haven’t been easy.”

The father joined them in the living room. “We’re doing… better now. Thank you.”

Something about his tone. Flat. Cold tea.

Maria nodded. “Did your son ever talk about cards? Games? Maybe something he was scared of?”

The mother blinked, almost too slowly. “No. He… liked puzzles. But nothing strange.”

Maria looked around the room — a wall lined with family photos. All smiles.
Too many smiles.

And then she saw it.

A small photo, almost hidden in the corner frame.
Their son, holding a deck of cards.
The Joker was at the top — facing out. Smiling.

That night, Maria sat back at her desk, flipping through her notebook.

Two deaths.
Two Joker cards.
Both teens.
Both suicides.
No signs of struggle.
No real questions asked.

And one constant:
The parents.

Maria got a call around midnight. Unknown number.

She picked it up.
Silence.

Then — a whisper.
Male. Familiar.

“You should stop digging, Doctor. You don’t want to be next in the deck.”

The call ended.

Maria stood frozen, heart pounding.
Not because of the threat.
But because she recognized the voice.

It was the boy’s father.

🃏 The deck is darker than it seems...
The Joker isn’t just a card — it’s a clue, a code, maybe even a curse.

What do you think the parents are hiding? Why the cards? Why the silence?

💬 Drop your theories in the comments — who do you think is behind the mask?

🔜 Stay tuned for Chapter 4: Behind the Mask, where Maria uncovers a truth that was never meant to be found.

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