For several seconds, I could hear only the faint beeping of Dad\u2019s monitor.<\/p>\n
Daniel Mercer.<\/p>\n
The name would not fit beside the word father.<\/p>\n
I looked at Arthur.<\/p>\n
He had raised me, carried me when I was sick, worked overtime to buy my first bicycle, sat through school concerts he clearly hated, taught me how to shave, and stood beside me at my wedding.<\/p>\n
None of those memories belonged to Daniel.<\/p>\n
Still, the truth sat in the room with us.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d I asked Dad.<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the beginning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward Elena.<\/p>\n
She had both hands clasped tightly in her lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
She took a slow breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cI met Daniel before Arthur.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t explain anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice trembled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was twenty-two. Daniel was older, already working for my family. He was intelligent, confident, and very good at making people believe he understood them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked away.<\/p>\n
I understood why.<\/p>\n
Even after thirty years, hearing this hurt him.<\/p>\n
Elena continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he loved me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if Daniel ever loved anyone in the way most people mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward the hospital window.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe liked possession. Influence. Knowing something about a person they didn\u2019t want known.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you had a relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor how long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLess than a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Victor know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he allowed it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena gave a bitter smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor thought Daniel was useful. At first, he saw the relationship as another way to keep me close.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI became pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word landed softly and somehow did more damage than shouting would have.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted me to marry him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
Elena noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t owe me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
But his voice said the past was still alive.<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you marry Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause by then I had begun seeing what he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
She told me Daniel had already started interfering with family accounts. Nothing large enough to prove, but enough to create questions. Employees who challenged him suddenly lost their positions. One bookkeeper vanished from the company after accusing him of altering records.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first I defended him,\u201d Elena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you loved him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were young.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena glanced at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Arthur. I ignored things because the truth was inconvenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentence sounded too familiar.<\/p>\n
I thought about Jessica.<\/p>\n
About duplicate keys.<\/p>\n
About all the small inconsistencies I had dismissed because believing my marriage was safe had been easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened when you left Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe became calm.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalm?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was how he frightened people. Victor shouted. Daniel became polite.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rubbed her thumb across her palm.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me I would come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd did you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you meet Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few months later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe worked in the same building.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never asked how we met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Mom was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face fell.<\/p>\n
There was no answer to that.<\/p>\n
Elena continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur knew I was pregnant when we started seeing each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Dad.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew I wasn\u2019t yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you married her anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s expression softened as though the answer should have been obvious.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I loved her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something in my throat tightened.<\/p>\n
Elena looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel hated Arthur immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad took you away?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Arthur couldn\u2019t be controlled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad gave a humorless laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOffered me money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than I\u2019d ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, I did.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened after I was born?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s face changed again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is where this gets worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorse has become a flexible word this week.\u201d<\/p>\n
She did not smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you were born, Daniel attempted to have himself added to the birth certificate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Dad is listed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArthur signed an acknowledgment of paternity.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou lied legally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI protected you legally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a difference?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena explained that Daniel had threatened to establish paternity and seek custody rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t want to raise you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted access to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad added, \u201cAnd later, to the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Daniel knew I was a beneficiary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot immediately,\u201d Elena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did he find out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my grandfather amended the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
That brought us back to the document in the metal case.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather knew Daniel was my biological father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt another piece shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why would he put assets in my name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he wanted to keep them away from Victor and Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather distrusted Daniel before I did. He had investigators look into him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did they find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShell companies. Undisclosed accounts. Connections to people who specialized in applying pressure without attracting police attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought about the fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he still let Daniel work for the family?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor protected him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
The whole family had been a machine built from bad loyalties.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my grandfather know about the relationship?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the trust amendment was really about protecting me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd controlling succession,\u201d Elena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather believed Victor was becoming reckless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad shifted carefully in the hospital bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently there always is.\u201d<\/p>\n
He accepted the jab.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena\u2019s grandfather created a contingency clause.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat contingency?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Daniel Mercer was ever legally established as your biological father, his rights to act on your behalf were specifically excluded.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a baby. Why would that matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you controlled assets before you were old enough to control anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo someone had to manage them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Victor wanted that role.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
I finally understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why they fought over me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were not only my child to them. You were a legal pathway.\u201d<\/p>\n
The disgust in her voice sounded old.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel know Dad wasn\u2019t my biological father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t he challenge the birth certificate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad answered that one.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe filed a paternity claim when you were two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cElena\u2019s grandfather intervened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe case disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCases don\u2019t disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn powerful families, sometimes they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s voice came from the doorway.<\/p>\n
We turned.<\/p>\n
She had apparently heard enough to understand where the conversation had reached.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought something you should see.\u201d<\/p>\n
She carried a file.<\/p>\n
Dad frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou work too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do people who hide thirty-year-old legal disasters from their attorneys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Maya pulled a chair closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe police recovered several items from Daniel when he was arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything useful?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
She opened the file.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey found a key to a private storage facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart sank.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother one?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis one belongs to Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice are obtaining a warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
Maya noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer came too quickly.<\/p>\n
I looked at my mother.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena.\u201d<\/p>\n
She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Dad whispered, \u201cTell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked furious.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt what point did everyone decide this was easy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one thinks it\u2019s easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I am done discovering pieces after they become emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her anger faded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a ledger Daniel kept.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one we found?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it contain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNames.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat names?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople Daniel paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s attention sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSurveillance. Bribes. intimidation. Information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe week before the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took the wrong ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI took what I could.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas Daniel\u2019s ledger in the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. He kept it somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya slowly closed the file.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf police find that ledger in his storage unit, it could connect him to multiple crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncluding the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the man sitting in handcuffs while still insisting we did not know everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else is Daniel hiding?\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat question frightened me for thirty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following morning, Daniel\u2019s attorney filed for an emergency bail hearing.<\/p>\n
Maya called me before breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought his accounts were connected to fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome are. That doesn\u2019t mean all of them are frozen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan he get out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
Dad was still hospitalized.<\/p>\n
Elena had moved from the motel to a location police knew about.<\/p>\n
Jessica was staying with her sister because neither of us knew how to share the same house anymore.<\/p>\n
Everything felt temporary.<\/p>\n
That afternoon, Detective Ortiz met me in Dad\u2019s hospital room.<\/p>\n
She placed a photograph on the table.<\/p>\n
A storage unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey executed the warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena, sitting by the window, closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
Ortiz continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were payments going back decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPrivate investigators. Lawyers. Several people with criminal histories.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything connected to the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found a payment made two days before it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA man named Raymond Pike.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that name.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was questioned after the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe died in 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Daniel paid him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entry only says property clearance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase made me sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz placed another sheet beside the photograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger also contains payments made after Victor died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica entered the room at that moment.<\/p>\n
Nobody had expected her.<\/p>\n
She stopped when she saw the documents.<\/p>\n
Ortiz looked at me.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe should hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica approached cautiously.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat payments?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz turned the page.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne recipient appears repeatedly over six years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica\u2019s face changed before Ortiz even said the name.<\/p>\n
I saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJessica.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cBennett Consulting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica sat.<\/p>\n
That was her company.<\/p>\n
A small business she had created five years earlier, supposedly providing administrative consulting to local firms.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust under four hundred thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest went tight.<\/p>\n
I could barely speak.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel paid my wife four hundred thousand dollars?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica looked horrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never received that kind of money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe account is registered to Bennett Consulting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling you, I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz remained calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen someone used your business.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan, I swear.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to believe her again.<\/p>\n
I hated that reflex.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow us the bank records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
Within an hour, we had statements.<\/p>\n
The payments existed.<\/p>\n
But they did not remain in the account.<\/p>\n
Each deposit had been transferred within twenty-four hours to another account Jessica claimed not to recognize.<\/p>\n
Ortiz examined the routing information.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis account belongs to an offshore institution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t authorize those transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho had access?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy accountant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName?\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad sat straighter.<\/p>\n
Elena\u2019s face went white.<\/p>\n
I looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elena whispered, \u201cThat wasn\u2019t his real name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at the transfer sheet.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin Cole was one of Daniel\u2019s people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jessica looked physically ill.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy accountant worked for Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years,\u201d Elena said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause thirty years ago, he used the name Michael Crane.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz picked up her phone immediately.<\/p>\n
I looked at Jessica.<\/p>\n
Daniel had found his way into her company.<\/p>\n
Into our finances.<\/p>\n
Perhaps into our entire life.<\/p>\n
Then Maya\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
Her expression hardened.<\/p>\n
When the call ended, she looked at all of us.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel\u2019s bail hearing has been moved up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo when?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach drop.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the prosecution?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill oppose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya did not answer directly.<\/p>\n
Dad did.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe might walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maya looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor at least long enough to do more damage.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several seconds, I could hear only the faint beeping of Dad\u2019s monitor. Daniel Mercer. The name would not fit beside the word father. I looked at Arthur. He had … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chapter-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1831,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1819\/revisions\/1831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}