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- Herausgeber: Twist & Tether Press
- Sprache: Englisch
Aunt Mildred is dead. Allegedly.
When failed entrepreneur Nick Grayson receives an opulent invitation to The Inheritance Gameshow, he expects family squabbles and thinly veiled greed. Instead, he arrives at Mildred Blackwell’s crumbling estate to find a spectacle beyond belief: a live-streamed contest where the last heir standing claims a $200 million fortune.
Each absurd challenge is more dangerous than the last—from cat trivia to wrestling raccoons—broadcast to millions of gleeful online viewers. The family descends into paranoia as contestants are sabotaged, disappear, or collapse under mysterious circumstances. But when Nick discovers a hidden feed labeled Private Stream — Mildred, the game tilts into nightmare.
Reality begins to fracture. Time twists. Forgotten memories claw to the surface. And someone—something—is still pulling the strings behind the scenes.
As the estate locks down for the final round, Nick and his only ally, Lana, must confront the truth: the gameshow was never about inheritance. It was about control. And escape might not be an option.
Would you trust your own mind... if the house didn’t want you to?
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
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The Inheritance Gameshow
To Win Aunt Mildred’s Fortune, All You Have to Do is Survive
TURNING POINTS: Twisted Tales for the Bold & Curious
Margot Elise Winters
Copyright © 2025 by Margot Elise Winters
All rights reserved. This book, including all individual stories and original content, is protected under international copyright law. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission from the author, except for brief excerpts used in reviews or academic commentary, which must be properly credited.
Fiction Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Creative Tools Notice:
Some aspects of this book including cover artwork, illustrations, or other visual and creative elements were developed with the assistance of licensed generative technologies under appropriate commercial-use terms. These elements are original compositions intended solely for this publication.
Thank you for reading this book. I hope you enjoy every page inside.
Table of Contents
The Inheritance Gameshow
Description
Chapter 1: The Invitation
Chapter 2: Round One Welcome to the Circus
Chapter 3: Round Two Survival of the Fittest
Chapter 4: Round Three Trust No One
Chapter 5: The Midpoint Shift
Chapter 6: The Twist
Chapter 7: Endgame
The Inheritance Gameshow
Description
Aunt Mildred is dead. Allegedly.
When failed entrepreneur Nick Grayson receives an opulent invitation to The Inheritance Gameshow, he expects family squabbles and thinly veiled greed. Instead, he arrives at Mildred Blackwell’s crumbling estate to find a spectacle beyond belief: a live-streamed contest where the last heir standing claims a $200 million fortune.
Each absurd challenge is more dangerous than the last from cat trivia to wrestling raccoons broadcast to millions of gleeful online viewers. The family descends into paranoia as contestants are sabotaged, disappear, or collapse under mysterious circumstances. But when Nick discovers a hidden feed labeled Private Stream Mildred, the game tilts into nightmare.
Reality begins to fracture. Time twists. Forgotten memories claw to the surface. And someone something is still pulling the strings behind the scenes.
As the estate locks down for the final round, Nick and his only ally, Lana, must confront the truth: the gameshow was never about inheritance. It was about control. And escape might not be an option.
Would you trust your own mind... if the house didn’t want you to?
Chapter 1: The Invitation
Nick Grayson opened the mailbox with the same dull sense of dread he reserved for Mondays, tax season, and family reunions. Bills, pamphlets, and one envelope so thick and ornate it seemed out of place in his peeling metal box. He pulled it out, weighing it in his hand. Heavy. Embossed with gold filigree. His name written in cursive so elegant it could only belong to someone with too much time and far too much money.
He glanced at the return address. Blackwell Estate.
His stomach tightened. Aunt Mildred.
He hadn’t thought about her in years not since the last grim Christmas gathering when she’d theatrically announced her will had been updated, again, and anyone who so much as wore the wrong color to her funeral would be cut out entirely.
Nick tore open the envelope with a thumb, unfolding the creamy cardstock.
You are cordially invited to participate in The Inheritance Gameshow. To win Aunt Mildred’s fortune, all you have to do is survive.
Below, in a smaller font:
Attendance mandatory. Failure to appear forfeits all claim to the estate.
A date. Two days from now. A location: Blackwell Estate. Dress code: Festive.
He laughed a bitter sound that echoed in his barren kitchen.
***
The cab ride to the estate was a study in contrasts. As the city gave way to long stretches of countryside, the landscape grew darker, less defined. The cab’s headlights carved brief tunnels through the thickening fog.
Nick glanced out the window, phone clutched in his lap. No signal. No reception for the last twenty miles.
“You ever been out this way before?” the driver asked.
Nick shook his head. “Not since I was a kid.”
But had he ever really come here?
He thought he remembered towering iron gates, stone lions with missing teeth, a garden that smelled of rot. A memory surfaced or did it? of his mother gripping his hand too tightly as they approached the front door.
"Be polite, Nicky. Don’t touch anything. Don’t speak unless spoken to."
But the memory ended there. No faces, no voices. Just that cold marble floor beneath his feet.
***
The estate loomed ahead like something from a fever dream its gables sharp against the sky, windows like dark eyes watching.
Nick paid the driver, stepping out into the damp night. The iron gates creaked open by themselves.
"Welcome, Mr. Grayson," a voice intoned from a hidden speaker.
He shivered. The cab drove away, its tail lights vanishing into mist.
Nick walked up the gravel path alone.
At the front door, two production assistants in headset mics greeted him with forced smiles.
"Invitation?" one asked.
He handed it over. They scanned it with a small device that beeped green.
"You’re cleared. Please proceed to the Grand Hall. The others are waiting."
Others. Of course. This wasn’t about legacy. It was about spectacle.
***
The Grand Hall was exactly as he remembered and not at all.
Crystal chandeliers blazed overhead, though some bulbs flickered. A long velvet carpet stretched toward a dais where cameras on sleek black tripods pointed at a rococo throne.
And seated on the throne Mildred herself.
Nick’s breath caught.
Then she moved jerkily, looping. A hologram. No, a projection.
Welcome, dear relatives, her voice echoed through hidden speakers. You have come to compete. One of you will inherit my fortune. The rest… well. Do try to enjoy the show.
The room was filled with cousins, aunts, uncles all faces Nick half-remembered, like a deck of cards shuffled too many times.
He spotted Lana near the back, alone. Her black dress clashed defiantly with the festive theme.
Nick made his way to her.
"Did you get the same invite?" he asked.
Lana smirked. "Of course. Wouldn’t miss the chance to watch this circus burn."
A man with an unnaturally white smile climbed the dais. Simon Knox. A minor celebrity, all teeth and bravado.
"Welcome, contestants!" he boomed. "I am your host. Over the next three days, you’ll face challenges designed to test your loyalty, cunning, and resilience. All broadcast live to our exclusive subscriber base."
A ripple of disbelief passed through the room. Cameras shifted to capture every reaction.
Simon continued. "Elimination is permanent. Medical assistance is limited. You may withdraw at any time by forfeiting all claim to the estate."
Nick leaned toward Lana. "This is insane."
She whispered, "It’s exactly what Mildred wanted."
"Or is it?"
A flicker of doubt stirred in Nick’s mind.
Had he dreamed of this place before?
A flash children running through endless corridors, doors slamming, a voice screaming his name. A game, always a game.
His head swam.
