WICKED GAMES | COMPLETE

TWENTY EIGHT

Miles

"GAMERS AND GENTS, PLEASE WELCOME NOW - GOLDEN VAULT!"

The crowd clapped and cheered as Aiden and Jayden strutted on stage, pointing finger guns at the audience and high-fiving each other.

Miles watched them from the dark backstage. He rolled his eyes at their flashy antics, but his heart clenched tight with dread.

"GamersUnite, make some noise!" Jayden bellowed into the mic. "Okay now SHUT UP. As you all know by now, Golden Vault is officially launching our latest game Straight To Dawn right here, so you can head straight to our booth and grab your copies while they're hot and juicy!"

"Well, well, if it isn't my favourite Lab Rat," a sweet voice chimed from behind Miles. He whirled around to find Carly sauntering up to him.

"Carly." Miles gritted his teeth. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You might want to change your tone around me. I may just make you an offer you can't refuse."

"What are you trying to say?"

"You really hurt me that day, Miles. I gave you my heart and you took advantage of me," she curled her lips into a mocking pout.

"You and I know that's bullshit. I never touched you."

"Really? Because from what I recall, it was super dark and the cameras couldn't capture anything. So it's my word against yours, and let's face it, the odds are in my favour."

Miles felt his stomach bottom out. This was pure blackmail that could ruin his career - send him to prison even - and he felt utterly powerless to stop it.

He clenched his jaw. "What do you want from me, Carly?"

She twisted her blonde curls around her fingers. "Let's just say, I promised Golden Vault something valuable, and they promised me something in return. But this is not all for me, you know. I can get you what you want."

She slid closer to Miles.

"I know they took your third game. The code you and your team burned so many nights on. What if you could have it all back? Complete the final game for your little trilogy?"

Against his better judgement, Miles' expression weakened at the thought of reclaiming the dream he thought he had lost. A large chunk of the script was locked away, unused by Golden Vault. If he got those assets back, the team wouldn't have to spend so many nights crunching code anymore.

Carly caught his change of heart and smirked.

"All you have to do is let me in. Tell me what your team has been working on, and I'll get them to return your code."

Aiden's voice suddenly boomed from the stage.

"But that's not the biggest news we have for you today, gamers! Hold on to your panties, because this is our big announcement! Golden Vault has signed on an exclusive streaming partnership with our very own Golden Girl - CARLY!"

The audience erupted into a wild frenzy at the news. Miles felt his mind whirl as he tried to process what fresh hell Golden Vault had unleashed.

No matter how much he despised Carly, she was still the most popular streamer online. Golden Vault was getting a huge boost from her that would eclipse any new launches from Mad Labs. Many other streamers would follow her lead, essentially shutting out Mad Labs.

"Do what's right for you, my little Lab Rat. I'll see you soon." Carly blew him a kiss before strutting out on stage, her gold jumpsuit shining in the light.

Jayden hooted. "That's right gamers! Give a big welcome to our Golden Girl and her golden girls!"

A/N: Carly has shown her true, snakeskin colours! The threat she threw at Miles is too real. What did you think of it?