The First Daughter

01 Spotlight

"If I had learned anything from the last few hectic months, it was that nothing is ever as it appears to be. And sometimes, what is most threatening are not those who judge us from afar, but those who watch us closely, just waiting for the right moment to hit. Making sure not to miss their shot."

///

November. Seven months earlier.

"And now, please welcome the new President of the United States of America: Mrs. Kimberly Hamilton!"

In all the points that were on my list of "things that will happen when penguins can fly," becoming the President's Daughter was at the very end. In fact, if it had been there, that's the place I would have given it. But that had all taken us by surprise. Even if we kind of should of expected it. The day before, I was a teenager like any other - with a few exceptions -, who went about her own business. The next day I was in the sights of all American photographers. And for what? I still wonder. Without warnings, my mother became the new president of the United States of America after the former leader gave his resignation. At the same time, the country fell into a great national panic and our family was left with all the fallout of this presidential tragedy under the hands. In November, rumors were running across all the newspapers. Some said he was retiring from the Presidency to focus on his recovery, which he had just made a heart attack. Well, that's what the White House claimed. But others went so far as to denounce a mounted blow. Most of the population was on the same side as the official report of the Oval Office. However, some radical groups claimed that my mother was on to something. Which, by the way, did not make sense. At least then.

"Thank you, it is an honor for me to be here with you today."

As the American law specified, if the present President was to give up its duties for any reason in an ongoing mandate, the power was passed to his nearest successor, the Vice-President. More specifically, my mother. If she had ever considered climbing to the top of the US hierarchy, I'm sure she didn't expect to do it that fast. But that day, when the news came, the story was written as well. The first woman to lead the country. And yet, in this room, standing on the stage, I only saw people who trusted. Trusting my mother's skills. Trusting her reputation. Our reputation.

"I know you all have many questions, and I can assure you that I will respond with the utmost honesty."

The damage were immediate. It had to be said that our family had already gained some fame before this scandal, my mother having sat in some of the highest positions of the US government before taking control of the country. People were already interested in our various activities, and I was known as the "daughter of Mrs. Hamilton" wherever I set foot, but nothing had prepared me for what was to come. It's true: have you ever imagined your life in the spotlight? The looks turned to you twenty-four hours seven? The photographers perched at your smile, as you stroll the red carpet and greet the crowd that ovations and idolize you? And well, that was the feeling I had, at the very moment when I laid my feet on the stage that would welcome my mother's first speech as President. But I would be lying if I said I was the exception to the rule. I had long dreamed of this moment, where all would be at my feet and where I would have everything I wanted. In my young and innocent childhood, at most, where everything seemed so simple and so magical. Only, most of the time, we realize too late that these false illusions so envied do not exist in the real world. Invented by Hollywood to sell its products, we understand the trap in which we fell when evil is already done. And I, like an idiot, plunged headlong into this shallow basin. The truth is that we no longer have any freedom. All our slightest moves are analyzed and commented on daily. And if, by misfortune, we commit a misstep - we are condemned for ever. That's what I was living, right now. All I wanted was to get my previous life back.