The soup-soaked dinner at Maya Quinn's villa had left Ethan Black dodging awkward parental vibes from her folks, Helen and Tom Quinn. Back at his own Westfield pad, Ethan shook off the rom-com misunderstanding—Maya wiping his shirt was not a date, despite Helen's side-eye. Tom, a burly ex-cop with a soft spot for young hustlers, had warmed to Ethan, especially after learning he was StarPulse Entertainment's $500M CEO and NewWest Plaza's owner. "Kid, you're killing it," Tom had said, offering his number. "Need a hand? I know a few Westfield bigwigs—billionaires, not chumps."
Ethan grinned, pocketing the contact. "Appreciate it, Tom. I'll holler if the game gets rough." Tom's "bigwigs" could be handy, especially with the Syndicate's Vortex Media Smear Campaign alert still buzzing on his phone. For now, though, Ethan had bigger fish to fry—like Avery Brooks' pop star journey and Monica Vance's plot to tank StarPulse.
At 10 p.m., Ethan's phone lit up with a message from Claire Hudson, StarPulse's COO. She'd sent a detailed plan to launch Avery as a singing streamer on Twitch, repurposing Vanessa Steele's old resources—studio time, vocal coaches, and PR muscle. Ethan scanned the PDF, impressed. "Not bad, Claire," he muttered. The plan was tight: weekly cover streams, collabs with top Twitch musicians, and a viral single by month three. It was the first step toward the Monthly Pay $3,000, I'm the World's Richest game's $15B NovaVibe challenge.
Ethan texted Claire: Greenlight it. Avery starts on Twitch tomorrow. Test run, low-key. Keep Vanessa's crew on lockdown—Syndicate's watching. Claire replied instantly: On it, Mr. Black. Avery's live at noon. Security's tightened. Ethan nodded, satisfied. Twitch was StarPulse's focus now—TikTok's algorithm was a bloodbath, but Twitch's music scene was ripe for Avery's voice.
Meanwhile, across town, Vanessa Steele was in Vortex Media's sleek studio, filming smear videos under Monica Vance's orders. Monica, Vortex's pearl-choker-wearing CEO, wanted Ethan's rep in the gutter, and Vanessa's 8M TikTok followers (pre-StarPulse exile) made her the perfect weapon. The script? Juicy lies: Ethan forced her to "entertain" shady investors, skimmed her pay, and ran StarPulse like a frat-house dictator. Vanessa knew it was BS, but Monica's $13M contract—and her own grudge—kept her compliant.
"More venom, Vanessa," the director snapped. "Make it believable, like Ethan's the lovechild of a Bond villain and a used-car salesman."
Vanessa rolled her eyes but leaned into it, snarling for the camera: "Ethan Black's a creep. He made me schmooze with gross execs, held my checks hostage, and bragged about it!" Her voice dripped with fake outrage, and she couldn't help smirking. Take that, Ethan. No guilt, just glee—she'd been humiliated, and now it was his turn.
Monica watched, sipping espresso, her smile pure shark. "Perfect. These drop tomorrow after Vanessa's Twitch debut. My $5B tycoon buddy's ready to blast this on X—#EthanSucks will trend by dinner." She didn't mention the tycoon's Syndicate ties, but Vanessa and Greg Thornton, sweating nearby, sensed the deal was darker than a Netflix crime doc.
That night, Vanessa went live on Twitch, her new Vortex-backed channel exploding thanks to her old fanbase and Monica's promo cash. "Hey, lovelies!" she cooed, batting her lashes. "Miss me? I'm back, and tea's coming!" Gifts flooded in—SkyKing sent a Jetpack! CoolCat dropped a Mega Rocket!—and her viewer count soared past 500K in 20 minutes. Vortex's homepage banners didn't hurt, pushing her to 1M viewers by hour's end. "Y'all are the best," Vanessa purred, dodging questions about StarPulse. "Big news soon—stay tuned."
At noon the next day, Avery Brooks went live on Twitch, her first step toward pop stardom. StarPulse kept it low-key—no heavy promo, just a few sidebar ads to ease her in. Avery's setup was pro: a sleek mic, soft lighting, and a guitar for acoustic covers. "Hey, everyone," she said, voice shaky but warm. "I'm Avery, and, uh, I sing stuff. Hope you like it." Her chat was chill, with 2,000 viewers trickling to 10,000 as she belted a flawless cover of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy." Comments lit up: Yo, she's fire!New fave streamer! Her nerves faded, and by hour two, she hit 20,000 viewers, a solid debut.
To spice things up, Avery tried Twitch's PK mode, battling other streamers for viewer gifts. Her first three PKs were easy wins—random gamers with 5K followers, crushed by her vocals and charm. "This is fun!" she laughed, chat hyping her up: Avery's slaying! Feeling bold, she hit Random PK for her fourth battle.
Across town, Vanessa, mid-stream with 1.2M viewers, was also PK-hopping, steamrolling noobs under Vortex's orders to boost her clout. "Let's keep the streak, fam!" she cheered, hitting Random PK. Her fans spammed Queen Vanessa! as the countdown began.
Six seconds later, the PK loaded, and both streamers froze. Avery's screen showed Vanessa Steele, smirking in her glitzy setup. Vanessa's screen showed Avery, guitar in hand, eyes wide. "No freakin' way," Avery whispered, recognizing her ex-StarPulse rival. Vanessa's chat exploded: It's that StarPulse newbie! Crush her!
Vanessa leaned in, voice syrupy. "Well, well, Avery Brooks. StarPulse's new pet project, huh? Ready to lose?" Her fans flooded the gift bar—Rocket Storm! Diamond Blitz!—pushing her score to 50,000 points in seconds.
Avery's chat rallied: Don't let her flex, Avery! Sing! Heart pounding, Avery grabbed her guitar and launched into an impromptu original, a soulful ballad about chasing dreams. Her voice soared, raw and electric, and her viewers answered—MoonGazer sent a Starship! DreamChaser dropped a Galaxy Pass! Her score climbed to 30,000, closing the gap.
Ethan, monitoring from his villa, got Claire's alert about the PK. He pulled up Twitch, jaw dropping at the matchup. "Avery vs. Vanessa? That's no coincidence," he muttered. His phone pinged:
[Syndicate Alert: Vortex Media Orchestrating PK to Humiliate Avery. Counter or Risk Challenge Setback.]
Ethan's blood boiled. Monica was playing dirty, rigging the PK to crush Avery's debut. He texted Claire: Pump Avery's stream—banners, homepage, now. Claire replied: Done. StarPulse's pushing her to the top. Within minutes, Avery's viewer count spiked to 100,000, gifts pouring in.
Back in the PK, Vanessa's smirk faltered as Avery's score hit 45,000. "Nice try, rookie," Vanessa taunted, but her voice cracked. Avery, lost in her song, didn't bite—she just sang harder, hitting a high note that gave chat goosebumps. Holy crap, she's a legend! The final seconds ticked down, and Avery's bar surged past Vanessa's—52,000 to 50,000.
Victory: Avery Brooks! The screen flashed, and Avery's chat went wild: Queen slayer!Vanessa who? Vanessa's stream fell silent, her face a mask of fury. "Glitch," she snapped, ending her stream. Her fans jumped to X, posting #AveryOwnsVanessa—trending at 20K likes.
Monica, watching from Vortex's HQ, slammed her desk. "That wasn't the plan!" she hissed, dialing her Syndicate contact. "Black's countering. Fix this."
Ethan grinned, texting Avery: Nailed it. You're a star. But the game's warning lingered. Vanessa's smear videos were next, and the Syndicate wasn't done. As Avery's stream glowed with new fans, Ethan knew the real battle was just warming up.