After the fireworks (which were amazing), Henry stopped by to "chat."

"Henry, I can tell when you're up to no good," Katherine whisper-yelled as they sat in her room. Diana had left, promising to return as soon as she could with even bigger and better fireworks. And as much as she loved her aunt, her cousin was the one who she had the most fun with. Plus, she had missed him terribly.

"Kat, do you know where your mother is?" He had a mischievous grin.

"Uh, at a meeting?"

"What for?"

"Business, I think. Look, what's all this about?"

"Doesn't your mother leave an awful lot, and make tons of money?"

"Henry. Get to the point."

"I'm trying to make you see the connection. Hello, your mother's the governor of California!"

"That's crazy. Wouldn't I know something as important as that? No, she runs a business."

"Yeah, of running the entire state!"

She stared at the floor, not comprehending. Why had her mother lied to her? Or, okay, she just hadn't told Katherine anything. Whenever she'd asked, her mother would give her a brisk, "Not now," and resume whatever it was she did. Surprisingly, the press hadn't come, nor any partners in the business. She had kept Katherine away.

Things were starting to make sense.

"Okay, so she's on a business trip. Why are we talking about this?"

"Because! Don't you want to see what she does? I sure do." He took out two laminated slips of paper, which looked awfully "official." He flashed it in front of her eyes. "Katherine, my dear, I hold in my hands two access passes to the capitol building of California."

"No. No! This is crazy. If she finds out—"

"Which she won't."

"—she'll kill us both."

"She's leaving me for babysitting duty. I've never done anything like this, so she trusts me. She'll never know, plus she'll be gone for two, probably three days."

"I don't know…"

"Just say yes."

"I'll probably regret this, but…okay."

He whooped. "Sacramento, here we come!"

After an extremely long car ride, her first road trip, they arrived in the city before nightfall. She was nervous, imagining every cop they passed out to get her. But, no, her mother was hiding her, so why would she bring up her existence?

"We'll stop at the hotel, and then go to the capital. Their meeting doesn't let out until nine."

"You really thought this through, didn't you?"

"I guess you could say that." He didn't say any more, a small smile on his face.

Katherine was surprised Henry could just do whatever he wanted. But at 20, she supposed that was a given. He looked young but responsible, devilishly handsome but smart and respectable. She was proud to be related to him. The woman at the front desk of the hotel practically swooned in his presence. They went up to their room—top floor—and put their stuff down. She finally worked up the courage to ask her questions, playing with her fingers.

"Henry, what will we do when we get there?"

He shrugged. "Listen to their discussion. You'll be amazed at your mother's passion when she talks about this stuff."

"Oh. Will we be hidden?"

"Of course."

"Who else will—"

"Everyone."

"Okay, but—"

"Katherine."

"Yes?"

"Why don't we go see for ourselves?" She reluctantly nodded, then grabbed her suitcase and stepped into the bathroom to change while he did the same.

"Do I look appropriate?" she asked fifteen minutes later, coming back into the room. She stood self consciously, hands clasped behind her back.

She looked down at her designer clothes: fitted black skirt and jacket with a white shirt underneath, and shoes with a tiny heel. Her long hair was pulled into a braid that hung over her shoulder. She hardly wore any makeup, but Henry still smiled and nodded like she was a goddess.

"You look beautiful. Mature."

"And you look like a politician's son." He was dressed in a snazzy black suit and red tie, with his blonde hair smoothed back. His amber brown eyes were especially striking, every bit as charming as they were cunning.

"Well, I am a politician's nephew."

"Close enough," she winked.

"Okay, let's go," he smiled and grabbed her hand, and together they went down the elevator and back into the world.

She was…awestruck. As a girl who hardly left her home, even the Sacramento streets seemed like a whole different world. Plus, she'd never seen so many people. It reminded her of the magazines Henry snuck in to her, with the colorful blinking lights and so many different varieties of people. Most were older, as it was getting dark, but some had their children who clung happily to their sides. She yearned for that kind of parental attachment. And when she saw the couples, holding hands and smiling like they owned a piece of heaven…she couldn't contain the hot waves of jealousy. For the first time in her life, she wanted a man by her, taking care of her. She couldn't see why her mother hated men. They seemed like when they had a girl, they would never let anything happen to them.

Well, her mother had certainly done that for her. But in the process, she didn't have anything happening around her. Not even good things. She didn't even know enough people to count on one hand.

A half hour later, they pulled up to the white building, resembling the pictures she saw of the white house. My mother works here? She thought wildly. She most definitely had to be the governor, someone so special to reside here.

When they had parked, he handed her the pass and looked at her seriously. "We're not here to play or make a scene. We are responsible adults, here only to observe the way the government makes decisions. Alright?" She nodded. "That's the story."

"I'm ready."

They walked from the parking lot to the entrance, and menacing guards stood with straight faces. "Empty your pockets please," one said.

She didn't have anything, but put out her arms so they could pat her down. It was a quick process, thankfully, but she still felt a little violated. Henry took out his wallet, cell phone, and passes and laid them in the bucket. They patted him down, too, and scanned both the passes. They nodded at Katherine and Henry and moved to the side to let them in. Katherine smiled at them, and one smiled for quick second back.

They walked in, and the long, marble hallways were silent. "Henry, where is everyone?" she whispered.

"In the meeting. It's about to start, so we better hurry." He grabbed her hand and they ran, to where she had no idea. Henry seemed to know where he was going. But suddenly he released her hand and turned a corner.

"Wha—Henry!" she whisper-shouted. Down another long hallway she spotted him turning another corner. "Henry!" She heard his distant laugh and huffed in frustration. This was not the place to get lost in. She could run into anyone, even her mother, she thought frantically, running. It seemed like she was running in circles when she still couldn't catch him. Oh, God, I probably will run into—

Abruptly she was stopped by something hard as she turned a corner. Her eyes travelled up the tall object and met with a dark pair. The man's handsome face transfigured into a scowl. Katherine gasped and stepped back as far as she could go without being even more rude.

Face burning with embarrassment and eyes downcast, she murmured, "Oh, I'm so, so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going, and—"

"Obviously. Why is a child like you here?"

Her head flung up. "Wha—I am not a child. I apologized already."

"You're not an adult. This is a government building. You shouldn't be here."

"My mother works here. I only came along because she wanted me to," she lied. He looked skeptical, one eyebrow raised, and smirked.

"Oh really now? And who, pray tell, is your mother?"

"Danielle Moore," she said obstinately, and he nearly choked.

"Danielle is your mother? That means…"

"What? What does it mean?" He looked down the long hallway and didn't answer. She waited a few seconds more, craving for proof that there was one other person in the world who thought her mother was insane. "Please, tell me," she begged, tugging at his black sleeve. He jerked it away as if a snake bit him.

"I believe that you're her daughter. But I'm busy at the moment. Go find a place where no one will bother you. This isn't exactly the place for children."

Before she could object, he walked quickly away.

Moments later Henry turned the corner and sighed in relief. "And here I thought the secret service had gotten a hold of you. I looked everywhere!"

"You're the one who said no playing around," she frowned. "And I ran into this vicious man. I think he knows my mother."

"What did he look like? And I'm sorry. I was just trying to hurry."

"Yeah, right. And he was tall, with dark hair. A mean face."

"Katherine, you just described half the men here." She laughed at that.

He turned serious. "Did he do anything to you?"

"What are you talking about? Of course he didn't. Why?"

"Well he could've been bad, I don't know," he said, flustered. "And you can't just trust everyone you meet. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Oh, Henry," she breathed. "Nothing bad will happen. I have instinct, you know."

"Barely. Not with you being in a house for 17 years."

That was the truth. She probably did trust too easily. But everyone had good in them, right? What if she could bring that out? But she didn't say anything. He would say it was a ridiculous notion and 'a girl like her was never safe,' whatever that meant.

"Well, let's actually go to the meeting and find a place to sit. I don't want to run into any more guys like that." But some part of her hoped she would.