Chapter One: The Invitation
It arrived in a black envelope, sealed in silver wax. No address. Just a name: The Puzzle House. Inside was a card:
Theo, Jamie, Max, and a girl called Iris had each received one. They did not know each other—apart from Theo and Jamie, who were cousins. They all met at the edge of the woods where the house stood, tall and strange, with gears embedded in the walls and question mark-shaped stained glass windows.
A robotic voice greeted them at the door.
The door slammed closed behind them.
Chapter Two: The Rooms That Remember
The first room was a library. The walls were lined with books, but every title was blank. On the wall was a riddle:
Jamie took a book and found a hidden compartment. Inside: a key and a note.
Each room was stranger than the last. A hallway of mirrors echoing alternate reflections of themselves. A room where the tiles on the floor only lit up if they told the truth. A dining room where the food disappeared if they failed to solve a math riddle.
But the house wasn't just testing their minds—it was testing their relationships. Theo and Jamie argued. Iris worked alone. Max kept seeing flashes of memories he didn't recognize—like he'd been there before.
In the final room, they found a wall covered in photos. Each one showed them inside the house… but from years ago.
"I don't remember this," Max whispered.
"I do," Iris said slowly. "I think… we've all been here before."
Chapter Three: The Architect
The final riddle was a door without a handle. A message above it:
They turned to Max. He was shaking.
"I didn't design this," he said. "I couldn't have."
But the house responded.
Suddenly, the walls reconfigured themselves. A hidden room opened. It had blueprints, sketches, and notes—all in Max's handwriting.
"I was part of something," Max said, reading aloud. "A project to create a house that could teach people who they really are. But they erased my memory when it went wrong."
The others stared at him.
"You're the architect," Iris said. "You're the prize."
Max stepped forward. The door opened.
Outside, the world looked different—brighter, clearer. The house had given them more than puzzles. It had given them truth.
But Max stayed behind.
"I've got to fix what I made," he said. "Make it safe. Make it right."
The others left. And when the door closed, Max stood before the house.
"Let's start again."
Max wasn't a contestant. He was the builder. The house had been waiting for him to remember—and now, it was his to rebuild