I couldn't believe someone could sink so low as to report on a minor's kid, who had no say in the fact that her father was famous. It was incomprehensible. I didn't have the reporter's name, just the publication. And I had Vanessa Nadal on my side. We were going to win.
We knew Nora didn't like this, but at this point we didn't have a choice. We couldn't let a publication invade her privacy like this. Vanessa filed the necessary paperwork the next day. The publication was served with the lawsuit. To put it nicely, we threatened to sue for a large amount of money unless they withdrew the story before publication. My understanding was that it would have to be a very quick turnaround. Like, by the end of the day.
We all wondered how the story had gotten out. Probably some kid at school. Nora wasn't the only one with connections at Hunter. Some of the students were children of prominent people in the city, the press, actors, musicians. It was irrelevant at this point. Someone had leaked it and now it was out.
Vanessa and I were talking on the phone throughout the day with updates. Their lawyer was in contact with them, throwing out the usual bullshit of freedom of the press. Really, they had nothing to gain from publishing the story. If they did, they'd get sued for a massive amount of money, and they'd be forever known as the assholes who trashed Lin-Manuel Miranda's innocent daughter.
We knew what they were after. Celebrities and celebrity children behaving badly sold papers. I got it when the celebrity kid was full-grown, but 15? She was just a kid.
I got more and more nervous as the end of the day neared. They still hadn't called and agreed to pull the story. My agent was already working up a press release just in case the lawsuit failed. I started thinking about what I might post on Twitter.
The boys had been put to bed, and V and I were both sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for a phone to ring. V was still on her computer, looking into more legal options in case this one failed. Finally, the number for the publication's lawyer came up. V answered it immediately.
"Vanessa Nadal," she answered, sounding very lawyerly and serious. "yes....Yes, I understand....no....definitely not."
I was watching her intently for any sign of a positive or negative reaction. Finally, she pumped a fist in the air in victory.
"Thank you, sir. You made the right decision. Goodbye."
We immediately felt relief. Vanessa got up and hugged me. I yelled for Nora to come out, and we told her the good news. She was relieved as well and hugged us. We all went to bed later, feeling much better about things. Unfortunately, it was a bit pre-eminent.
The next morning, social media had erupted with the story. It was all over Twitter and Facebook. There was no picture, but the story was everywhere. Unfortunately, there wasn't one person who could be blamed. I woke up to my phone exploding. I still had Nora's phone, thank goodness, so she was sleeping through the storm. I scrolled through my feed and rubbed my eyes, already exhausted. Then I swung myfeet over the bed and headed to Nora's bedroom. She deserved to know.
I knocked on her door and she didn't respond, predictably. She was fast asleep, dead to the world. I wished I could just let her sleep and not have to face the world, but I knew that wasn't possible. I knelt next to her bed and gently shook her upper arm.
"Sweetheart? It's time to wake up," I told her gently. She grumbled and fluttered her eyes open.
"What's wrong?" she croaked out, seeing the look on my face. I sighed.
"Unfortunately, your story's all over social media," I told her reluctantly. "No picture, but there's lots of gossip. I wanted you to find out from me."
Nora sighed and then scrunched her eyes closed. "Why the hell does anyone care?"
I felt terrible because he knew it was due to my fame. If she wasn't my daughter, no one would care. It wouldn't have gone past her school. Unfortunately, she was stuck in this predicament.
"If you wanna stay home from school, that's fine," I said, standing up. "I'll ask your teachers to email me your work."
Nora turned over in her bed and pulled the covers over her head. Just when she thought things might be dying down, now this. I took Sebastian to school and then came home to find Nora up.
"Hey," I told her as she sat on the couch with a cup of coffee, examining her nails.
"Hi," she said quietly. "Dad, can I have my phone back?"
I set Cisco down and looked at her. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"It's gonna happen eventually," she sighed.
"Okay, if that's what you want," I said. I went back to my bedroom and found her phone. I also stopped at her bedroom to grab her charger. I handed it to her and hoped she could stomach it.
Nora plugged her dead phone into the wall and then powered it up. She went to the kitchen to get a refill as it powered up.
"Log off if you start getting upset," I told her. "And remember that I'm here for you and I love you."
She nodded and sighed, a pit in her stomach. Nora sat on the floor with her phone for the next fifteen minutes, just scrolling through feeds. I watched her closely, checking for any sign she was getting upset. She was a tough cookie, though. I didn't see her get upset at all, just stone-faced. Finally, she sighed, and set her phone down.
"You okay?" I asked her.
"Super," she said.
"You don't seem too upset," I observed.
"They're all just stupid," she said. "And if I see them on the street I'll punch them."
"Please don't," I told her. "I don't want to bail you out of jail."
"It would just be juvie," she reminded me. "I've been before."
I didn't think she'd really just punch someone on the street, so I let it go. We both busied ourselves around the house. She had make-up work to do. I called her school and they agreed to let her make up the work she was missing today. When she was done, I took mercy on her and didn't make her do any more chores. I think she ended up taking a nap in her room. I left her alone for most of the day.
The cool thing about the situation, if you could call it that, was that all my friends defended her. There were tons of threads that had words of encouragement from my old Hamilton castmates, coworkers, and tons of random people. They all defended that Nora was just a kid and she didn't deserve all this attention just because she was my kid. I know it lifted Nora's spirits as well.
The next day, I took Nora into school to meet with the principal about my concerns. As far as I knew, no other kid in the school has had to deal with this sort of situation. I wanted to make sure teachers were being vigilant with the students. The principal agreed to meet with us in his office.
"I kept Nora home yesterday since everything seemed to explode," I explained to him. "I'm concerned this will interfere with her learning."
"Absolutely," he agreed. "We want all our students to be able to make it through the school day without any interference. Nora, if anyone bothers you, let me know and it will be dealt with. Unfortunately, we can't do anything about kids posting outside of school. That's a matter for parents to deal with."
"Have any other students been caught distributing the photo?" I asked him.
"As far as I know, no," he said. "Nora, do you have any questions for me?"
She just shook her head, slumped in her chair. She really didn't want to be here. I thanked the principal for his time and we shook hands. I had a brief conversation with Nora and reminded her that if someone bothered her, she was not to use violence. She needed to tell an adult.
"That's something lame kids do," she told me.
"Well, you might have to be lame for a few days," I told her, raising my eyebrows. She laughed and rolled her eyes, which was a good sign.
"I guess I have a good role model in you," she quipped as she turned to walk away. I just laughed and then left to go back home. I thought about her all day, hoping no one was bothering her.
After school, she wandered in with a Starbucks cup, looking tired but not upset. She gave me a half-hearted greeting and disappeared to her room. I hated seeing her so beat down. All my castmates had been adamant that if they could do anything to help, to let them know. I got an idea.
I texted Jazzy, Renee and Pippa to see if they might be able to take Nora out for a girl's day that Saturday. They could go shopping, get pedicures, the whole works. Between her mother's death and this whole picture shebackle, Nora was having a terrible year. All three responded immediately that they'd love to come. I knocked on Nora's door a little while later.
"Did people leave you alone?" I asked.
"For the most part," she said, looking at a novel she was reading. "I think most people decided to keep their mouths shut after I punched that girl. See how that works?"
I sighed and cleared my throat. That was one way to handle it, but it wasn't very lady-like.
"I texted the Schuyler sisters," I told her. "They're taking you out Saturday for a girl's day."
She closed her book and sat up. "Really?"
"Yep," I said. She had immediately perked up. She let her legs swing to the side of the bed, excitement on her face.
"That's so awesome!" she said, then crushed me with a big hug. "Thank you Dad!"
I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes. It was so nice to see her happy. That night at dinner, she actually participated in the conversation and laughed a bit. She volunteered to read the boys their bedtime story. From outside the room, I could hear the boys cackling. When I went to kiss her good night, she seemed at ease. Hopefully, with the girls' day this Saturday, things would turn around for her.