Chapter 6

Victoria changed outfits seven times. Nothing felt right.Some looked too formal,others casual.Black was expected but felt heavy.Navy blue was safer but felt weak.

"You're overthinking," Amanda said from where she sat on Victoria's bed, watching the fashion crisis unfold."It's a vigil, not a runway show."

"It's my first public appearance as a potential candidate." Victoria held up two dresses "Every detail matters."

"Then wear what makes you feel powerful." Amanda stood, walking over.

She pulled a dress from the closet, deep purple, modest but statement making. "Your father always said purple was the color of royalty,so here…take this"

Victoria's eyes stung,YES he had said that. During her university graduation, when she'd worn a purple gown,he joked that she looked like a queen preparing to overthrow a kingdom. "Purple it is then."

The Senate building blazed with lights and camera flashes. Hundreds of people had gathered,constituents, politicians,press. Planners had set up a memorial with flowers and candles and photos of her father. Victoria's hands trembled as King's car approached.

"Breathe," King murmured beside her. "You've got this."

"What if I cry? What if I break down and…" "Then you cry." King took her hand, his thumb stroking her knuckles. "Victoria, they expect you to grieve. You're his daughter.

 If you stand with dry eyes and perfect composure, they'd call you a robot."

"But Ngozi said…" "Ngozi said be authentic. Crying is authentic." His grip tightened. "Just remember what we practiced. Speak from your heart, honor your father, then pivot to the future. Showing them grief doesn't mean weakness."

The car stopped.Camera flashes exploded.

King exited first, then turned to the other side to help Victoria out. His hand in hers was the only thing keeping her chill,as they walked toward the hall. Cameras capturing every angle. Victoria kept her chin up and her eyes forward, just like her father taught her.

Chairman Dubem waited at the hall entrance with other party officials,his expression was unreadable.

"Miss Okereke." He grippedd her hands. "Your father would be proud to see this turnout."

"He'd be embarrassed by the attention," Victoria said,as she gently detangled her hands from his and kept moving with her prince charming by her side. 

She was so focused on getting to the front row. "He always said the work mattered more than the recognition." Her voice steady despite her racing heart.

Dubem's eyes twinkled. Cocurrence maybe. "Indeed.When you're ready, we've set up a microphone for family remarks."

Immediately,Victoria glanced around. “Where is Uche?” she quietly asked her mom who stood by the front row,elegant in black.

"He couldn't come," her mother said quietly,"He got dressed, made it to the car,and turned back when he saw the crowds."Victoria's heart broke for her brother. 

But she also felt a flash of something else…anger- frustration. Their father was dead,someone had to stand up,someone had to be strong.

It looked like that someone was her. "I'll do it," Victoria said. "I'll speak for all of us." 

Her mother kissed her cheek. "I know you will."

The microphone felt like a weapon.

Victoria stood behind it, looking out at hundreds of faces illuminated by candlelight. Some family friends, political allies, constituents who'd supported her father for years. Others were strangers and some looked hostile.

Senator Mbanefo stood behind,his expression sympathetic for the cameras but his eyes cold. Was this the man who'd ordered her father killed? Victoria's grief crystallized into rage.

"Thank you all for coming," she started, her voice echoed strong across the crowd.

"My father Senator Donald Okereke believed that leadership meant service and power was a responsibility, not a prize. he said the measure of a society was how it treated its most vulnerable citizens."

People nodded while a few wiped tears.

"He died fighting for those beliefs." Victoria's voice cracked, and she didn't hide it,she let them see her pain. "He died because he refused to compromise his principles, refused to be bought,and refused to let corruption win.

Murmurs rippled through the crowd,camera flashes intensified.

"My father's last words to me were about legacy." Victoria gripped the microphone firmer. "He said legacy isn't what you leave behind,it's what you inspire others to continue. He said the fight for justice doesn't end with one person. It spreads, grows, becomes unstoppable."

King watched from the side, his expression fierce and proud.

"So I'm standing here tonight not just to mourn my father, but to make a promise." Victoria's voice strengthened. "His work will continue. His fight for transparency, accountability, and justice will not die with him. Because I refuse to let it."

More murmurs. Chairman Dubem leaned forward slightly.

"Some of you are wondering if I'm qualified to carry that torch. If a twenty-seven-year-old woman with no political experience can possibly fill my father's shoes." Victoria smiled slightly. "Here's the truth: I can't fill his shoes. Nobody can. He was one of a kind."

Her mother made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh.

"But I can walk my own path. I can bring my own strengths,my education, my experience, my refusal to accept that things have to stay broken just because they've always been broken."

Victoria's eyes swept the crowd. "And most importantly, I can bring something my father never had; the perspective of someone who's been underestimated her entire life."

That landed. She could see it in the faces, especially the women's faces.

"Women know what it's like to be told we're unqualified and weak.

We know what it's like to work twice as hard for half the recognition. We know what it's like to have our emotions weaponized, our ambitions questioned, our capabilities doubted." Victoria's voice rang out clear and certain. "And you know what? That makes us fighters,it makes us resilient. That makes us dangerous to any system built on keeping people down."

A woman near the front started clapping,then another,and then a whole section erupted in applause.

Victoria felt power surge through her veins.

"My father believed in me," she continued over the applause. "He believed I was stronger than I thought, braver than I felt, and more capable than I imagined. And standing here tonight, looking at all of you, I'm starting to believe it too."

King's eyes burned into hers across the distance. His expression said everything: I told you so. You're magnificent.

"So this is my promise," Victoria said, her voice dropping to something intimate, like she was speaking to each person individually. "I will honor my father by finishing what he started. I will expose the corruption that killed him. I will fight for every person in this constituency who's been ignored, exploited, or betrayed by the people who were supposed to serve them.

The crowd roared. Even the hostile faces looked uncertain now.

"Thank you for loving my father," Victoria finished, tears finally streaming down her face. "Thank you for honoring his memory and thank you for giving me the chance to prove I'm his daughter in every way that matters."

She stepped back from the microphone as applause thundered. Her mother was crying openly. Amanda was grinning and filming everything. Chairman Dubem looked stunned.

And King pushed through the crowd, ignoring protocol and cameras, and pulled Victoria into his arms right there in front of everyone.

"You were perfect," he murmured against her hair. "Absolutely perfect."

Victoria clung to him, letting herself take strength from his solid presence. Around them, cameras captured every angle. Tomorrow's headlines would be brutal or beautiful, she didn't know which.

But right now, wrapped in King's arms with her father's legacy burning in her chest, Victoria felt determined.

Reporters swarmed, shouting questions. Party officials wanted meetings,constituents wanted to shake her hand, share memories of her father,pledge support. Victoria's face hurt from forcing smiles, her voice went hoarse from thanking people, her feet ? They screamed in her heels.

King stayed glued to her side. Finally,they made it back to the car. Security held the crowds as Victoria and King collapsed into the backseat.

"I need a drink," she said.

King pulled her against his side as the car pulled away. "You were incredible. You know that, right?"

"I barely remember what I said."

"You made half that crowd fall in love with you. Including several party officials who wanted to dismiss you this morning." "Ngozi's already called three times. She says social media is exploding. Videos of your speech are going viral,you should check your phone" 

Victoria pulled out her phone from her bag,notifications flooding in faster than she could read them.The few messages she stumbled on made her want to either drop her phone or continue reading.