Three-card Monte Novels & Stories

The problem wasn’t over yet, but at least he’s gone for now. I turned slowly to face him again. His gray eyes, sharp and cold, were fixed on me. For a split second, I felt exposed, like he could see straight through me and through my thoughts. “I… thank you,” I said quickly, bowing and forcing a smile. “And… I’m sorry for the trouble.” “That’s the third time,” he murmured, almost under his breath, before turning and walking away. I stood frozen in time for a moment, watching his facade fade down the hallway. The words echoed in my mind. The third time? My pulse skipped. Does he actually remember me? My chest tightened as I realized what just happened. Or am I just possibly overthinking thing

One by one, they assemble the different materials until it forms a podium. “Good. Get her up there.” One of the guards drag me up, they tie my hands and they tie me to the podium they constructed. I shut my eyes as the first whip lands on my back. “Three! She’s A Thief!” “Four! She’s A Thief!” “Eight!” Tears roll down my eyes and I struggle to swallow my snot back inside my throat. “Thirty! She’s A Thief!” “Thirty One! She’s A Thief!” “Thirty Five!”

He had already exceeded that amount and even dipped into his own funds. The man was growing increasingly frustrated. “You’ve been winning non-stop and you’re always dealing the cards. I haven’t even had a chance to deal. And now it’s just the three of us. So, how about this? We’ll combine the numbers on our five cards. If it’s a double-digit number, we only take the last digit!” The man, frustrated by his losses, tried to change the rules. “You keep insinuating that we’re cheating. With all these people watching, how could we possibly cheat?”

he asked shakily. Alice giggled gleefully and looked at Liam pitifully. "You're hilarious! There's a three-year age gap between me and Vanessa. Can't you tell us apart? "Or is your brain just not all there? Or perhaps you've known the truth all along but are too afraid to admit it? Are you doing this to try to hide the fact that you are a sc*mbag?" Alice seemed to have lost her mind. Right now, it seemed that she wanted to take everyone down with her.

"Go ahead and count." “One! Two! Three!" The audience joined in, voices ringing out as the tension climbed. On three, both the masked man and Amelia flipped their final cards simultaneously. Both cards showed a two: one was the Two of Spades, the other the Two of Clubs. “You've lost." A faint smirk played on Amelia’s lips as she lifted the Two of Spades between her index and middle fingers, the motion smooth and full of quiet confidence. The audience couldn't hold back. "Oh my! Epic actually lost! That was way too close!"

He pulled out a third card. The machine beeped, it was declined.

He didn't really give a fuck and his vibe was screaming whatever you want. “…Sure,” I said. “Why not?” I shrugged playing alone. Her smile widened. She spread the deck facedown in a wide arc across the table. “Choose three cards,” she said softly. “Past. Present. Future, but be careful, the future would be scary.” I reached out. My fingers were hovering, then I picked three at random. She turned them over one by one. Past: The Tower. A stone tower struck by lightning, flames bursting from the windows, two figures tumbling through the air. Classic chaos card.

“Let’s play something.” “What, chess?” “Too slow.” “Dice?” “Too boring.” Suspicion narrowed my eyes. “Then what?” Minutes later, we were sitting over the centre table with a stack of cards for a game he swore was “simple.” It wasn’t. Or maybe it was, and Cade just made it impossible. He bent rules left and right, bluffing with the confidence of someone who thought charm could cover blatant cheating. “Hold up,” I said, snatching the cards from his hand. “You definitely had two queens a second ago. Now magically you’ve got three.”

It was just like a three-card Monte. It was the oldest con in the book. The three cards could be anything, but it is usually a queen and two low-numbered cards placed side by side face down on a table. The queen is the only card that matters and you have to find it. The dealer starts every game with the cards in his hands, face down, cradling the edges of the card with his fingers. Two on one hand, the queen on the bottom and the ten above it, and a single five of diamonds on the other hand. He then throws down the queen, face down, and throws the other cards around it. It's easy to see where the queen has landed and follow it as the dealer moves it around wit

“The man that just walked out is in charge of the nightclub, I own it but I do not manage it. Whatever happens in here is none of my business but my clients do like to get touchy so there are no restrictions involved as long as you keep bringing in the money. If you decide to be my bed partner, you’ll answer to no one else but myself. No one else would lay a finger on you because you’ll be mine to do with as I please.” I saw the wheels rolling in her head and I knew she was weighing in on both options. Either way, I had the chance to give or take away her freedom in exchange for pleasure. It was just like a three-card marney. It was the oldest con in the book. The three cards could be anythi