Walter did not come to the house the next morning.<\/p>\n
He called Evelyn at seven twelve and said he had spent most of the night searching his own records.<\/p>\n
By eight, we were sitting around my kitchen table again.<\/p>\n
I was beginning to resent that table.<\/p>\n
Harold and I had bought it at an estate sale because one leg was shorter than the others and the seller knocked forty dollars off the price. Harold fixed the wobble with a maple shim he insisted would outlive both of us.<\/p>\n
Now maps, affidavits, geological reports, and corporate filings covered the scratches where we had eaten breakfast.<\/p>\n
Evelyn placed her phone in the center of the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalter, start with the twenty-four-million-dollar offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice came through the speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was about eleven months before Harold\u2019s diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saw it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA draft.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSigned?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Cardinal presented terms at a meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho attended?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold, Carrick, two other Cardinal people, and me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernard looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold asked me to come because I knew the old mining records.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly were they buying?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSurface ownership, permanent pipeline access, subsurface storage rights, rights to expand facilities, and restrictions preventing Harold from leasing competing underground rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn wrote quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cEssentially complete strategic control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy twenty-four million?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey never explained the calculation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Harold knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot then.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the circled figure in his notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold started studying their alternative route.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn unfolded the map Cardinal had used in public filings.<\/p>\n
The preferred corridor crossed my parcel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat alternative?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter described a second alignment running around the creek property and approaching the compression site from another direction.<\/p>\n
On paper it seemed simple.<\/p>\n
Add distance.<\/p>\n
Avoid Harold.<\/p>\n
Build anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat made it impossible?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot impossible in the engineering sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPermitting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter said the western route crossed a protected watershed, two additional private properties, and an area containing habitat for an endangered freshwater mussel.<\/p>\n
I stared at the map.<\/p>\n
\u201cA mussel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernard looked almost apologetic.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnvironmental law is rarely dramatic in the way people expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo a shellfish made my land valuable?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMollusk,\u201d Evelyn said automatically.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
She lifted one hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter continued.<\/p>\n
Cardinal had initially studied the western alignment before settling on the creek route.<\/p>\n
The environmental consultants warned that using it could require new state and federal reviews.<\/p>\n
Worse, one of the required permits had already been evaluated based on Cardinal\u2019s representation that the preferred corridor minimized ecological disturbance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey argued your land was the environmentally better route,\u201d Evelyn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now they can\u2019t easily argue the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat back.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if I refuse, they don\u2019t just spend more money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey risk reopening approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter said, \u201cHarold estimated eighteen months to three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained the twenty-four million.<\/p>\n
Not dirt.<\/p>\n
Not coal.<\/p>\n
Not even underground storage by itself.<\/p>\n
Time.<\/p>\n
A company planning a major infrastructure project had spent years obtaining approvals around one corridor.<\/p>\n
Harold controlled a critical point on that corridor.<\/p>\n
The underground rights increased his leverage.<\/p>\n
The geological formation increased it again.<\/p>\n
And Cardinal had apparently represented that the access problem was already solved.<\/p>\n
I looked at Evelyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much does delay cost them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need their project economics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we get them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome information is public. Some isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Harold think?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than thirty-eight million.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why write thirty-eight point four?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that was his estimate of what a negotiated rights package might reasonably command without trying to capture every dollar Cardinal could lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded like Harold.<\/p>\n
He liked good deals.<\/p>\n
He hated greedy ones.<\/p>\n
Once, when a neighbor offered him twice what an old tractor was worth because the man desperately needed it before harvest, Harold sold it for the original asking price.<\/p>\n
When I asked why he had not taken the extra money, he said there was a difference between having leverage and being a thief.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would he have accepted?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Walter went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think somewhere around thirty-eight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not because the land had a magical market price.<\/p>\n
Because Harold believed that amount compensated him for permanent rights while still leaving Cardinal better off than rerouting.<\/p>\n
Evelyn circled the figure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat gives us context, not a target.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa arrived before lunch carrying coffee for everyone.<\/p>\n
She put mine beside me without asking how I took it.<\/p>\n
Two creams.<\/p>\n
No sugar.<\/p>\n
She remembered.<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought another box,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Evelyn immediately cleared space.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad\u2019s old planning files.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy basement.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took planning files too?\u201d<\/p>\n
She flushed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took everything from the study that looked like Dad\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could have reminded her that she had done so before probate was complete.<\/p>\n
Instead I opened the box.<\/p>\n
Harold had labeled folders in thick black marker.<\/p>\n
ROADS.<\/p>\n
WATER.<\/p>\n
COUNTY.<\/p>\n
CARDINAL.<\/p>\n
The Cardinal folder contained copies we had already seen.<\/p>\n
Then Melissa found a folded map tucked inside a county transportation booklet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter, still on speakerphone, asked her to hold it toward the camera.<\/p>\n
He went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the western route.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn spread it flat.<\/p>\n
The map showed two corridors.<\/p>\n
Blue crossed my land.<\/p>\n
Red went west.<\/p>\n
Across the red route Harold had written:<\/p>\n
DEAD AFTER APRIL REPORT.<\/p>\n
Below that:<\/p>\n
ASK W. ABOUT FEDERAL LETTER.<\/p>\n
Walter swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat federal letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI forgot about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry remembering.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Fish and Wildlife Service sent preliminary comments on the western alignment. Cardinal\u2019s consultant showed Harold a copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Cardinal show Harold something proving they had no alternative?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t. One of their consultants did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter struggled for the name.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid something. Environmental engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn searched old project filings.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid Keene?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keene\u2019s company had worked on Cardinal\u2019s environmental review.<\/p>\n
Evelyn found him listed on an archived permit application.<\/p>\n
She called the company.<\/p>\n
He no longer worked there.<\/p>\n
She found a professional registration.<\/p>\n
Then a current employer.<\/p>\n
Two calls later, she reached him.<\/p>\n
Keene refused to discuss confidential work.<\/p>\n
Evelyn did not push.<\/p>\n
She asked one narrow question.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid a federal agency issue written concerns regarding Cardinal Midstream\u2019s western alternative corridor?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then Keene said, \u201cThat document should be in the administrative record.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know whether it is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would assume so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you object to us requesting it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s public information.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hung up.<\/p>\n
Evelyn smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was almost helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The federal letter took three hours to locate.<\/p>\n
When it arrived, its language was cautious.<\/p>\n
No prohibition.<\/p>\n
No dramatic rejection.<\/p>\n
But the meaning was clear enough.<\/p>\n
The western alignment could adversely affect protected aquatic habitat and would require additional consultation before federal authorization.<\/p>\n
Harold\u2019s note had been right.<\/p>\n
The alternative was not literally impossible.<\/p>\n
It was commercially dangerous.<\/p>\n
At four fifteen, Cardinal sent its response to Evelyn\u2019s demand.<\/p>\n
Thirty-eight pages.<\/p>\n
The company denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
It maintained that it had acted in good faith based on representations made by Redwater.<\/p>\n
It acknowledged that Harold later disputed the Redwater agreement.<\/p>\n
It stated that the dispute remained unresolved when Harold died.<\/p>\n
Then came the part that mattered.<\/p>\n
Cardinal claimed Harold had subsequently entered negotiations indicating willingness to ratify the arrangement.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Evelyn searched the attachments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey included meeting notes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrick\u2019s notes.<\/p>\n
According to them, Harold had said he was willing to \u201csolve the access issue commercially.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means sell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does not mean ratify Todd\u2019s forgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Cardinal\u2019s lawyers had written the response carefully enough to blur the difference.<\/p>\n
The company also disclosed the document on which its regulatory representations had been based.<\/p>\n
The Redwater agreement.<\/p>\n
The false one.<\/p>\n
Attached to it was a certification from Redwater stating that Harold\u2019s signature had been obtained legitimately.<\/p>\n
Signed by Grant Heller.<\/p>\n
I felt anger rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Todd wouldn\u2019t let him speak to Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Evelyn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe recorded himself saying he didn\u2019t trust the signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen certified it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to these documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa sat across from me, pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan they lose their permits?\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn did not speculate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agencies could review whether the representations were material and what Cardinal knew when it made them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens to Todd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends on facts we\u2019re still establishing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa stared at her coffee.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did this for money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
We searched Cardinal\u2019s production.<\/p>\n
Redwater\u2019s acquisition payment to Todd was not included.<\/p>\n
But a schedule listed transaction costs associated with securing the parcel.<\/p>\n
One entry caught Evelyn\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
LAND INFORMATION CONSULTING \u2014 $82,500.<\/p>\n
Recipient redacted.<\/p>\n
I looked at Melissa.<\/p>\n
\u201cTodd got more than seventy-five hundred.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
We requested the unredacted record.<\/p>\n
Cardinal refused.<\/p>\n
Evelyn sent another demand.<\/p>\n
While she worked, I read Carrick\u2019s meeting notes.<\/p>\n
One sentence bothered me.<\/p>\n
H. Vance says son exceeded authority but \u201cfamily will handle family.\u201d<\/p>\n
It sounded like Harold.<\/p>\n
Too much like Harold.<\/p>\n
He had spent years handling Todd privately.<\/p>\n
Paying debts.<\/p>\n
Settling problems.<\/p>\n
Protecting him.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Cardinal had interpreted that protection as weakness.<\/p>\n
Then another note appeared.<\/p>\n
H. Vance refuses to challenge underlying access publicly if C resolves directly.<\/p>\n
I showed Evelyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Harold promise silence?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot necessarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he wouldn\u2019t challenge them publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Carrick\u2019s notes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Harold\u2019s affidavit say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Cardinal requested silence while determining a private resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those were different descriptions of the same conversation.<\/p>\n
Neither could be automatically trusted.<\/p>\n
Harold was dead.<\/p>\n
Carrick was not.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need Carrick,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Evelyn nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll have counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to hear him explain May fifth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before she could answer, Bernard\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
He stepped into the living room.<\/p>\n
When he returned, his expression was troubled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was Todd.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa straightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoreen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Evelyn said immediately.<\/p>\n
Bernard continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he has original Redwater records that are not on the flash drive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says Harold told him something before he died that changes ownership of the underground rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa muttered, \u201cOf course he does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo private meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bernard said, \u201cTodd says if anyone else comes, he won\u2019t show.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Harold\u2019s declaration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he doesn\u2019t show.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melissa looked surprised.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t meet him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m done being rushed because Todd creates urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn nodded once.<\/p>\n
That evening Cardinal\u2019s unredacted transaction schedule arrived.<\/p>\n
Apparently somebody inside the company decided fighting over one line was not worthwhile.<\/p>\n
The recipient of the $82,500 payment was not Todd.<\/p>\n
It was a company.<\/p>\n
TGV Land Services LLC.<\/p>\n
Registered three years earlier.<\/p>\n
Owner:<\/p>\n
Todd G. Vance.<\/p>\n
Melissa covered her face.<\/p>\n
But another payment appeared six months later.<\/p>\n
$150,000.<\/p>\n
Same company.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
$275,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cHalf a million dollars,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Evelyn added them.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive hundred seven thousand five hundred.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor information?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDescription says consulting and acquisition support.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
Todd had received more than half a million dollars from parties involved in acquiring rights Harold refused to sell.<\/p>\n
Then Melissa pointed at the dates.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final payment occurred after Harold confronted Todd about the forged agreement.<\/p>\n
After Harold told Redwater no.<\/p>\n
After Cardinal had been notified of the dispute.<\/p>\n
Evelyn checked the recipient.<\/p>\n
TGV Land Services.<\/p>\n
Paid through a Redwater affiliate.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey kept paying him after they knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to establish who knew what and when.\u201d<\/p>\n
But her voice had changed.<\/p>\n
This was no longer merely Todd deceiving a corporation.<\/p>\n
Somebody had continued using him.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
Evelyn nodded for me to answer on speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Vance?\u201d<\/p>\n
A man.<\/p>\n
Older voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Lewis Carrick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand you wanted to speak with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Evelyn.<\/p>\n
She gave the smallest nod.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrick exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there are things you should know about your husband\u2019s last negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat things?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThings Cardinal\u2019s lawyers would prefer I not discuss informally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why are you calling?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I retired six weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced at Evelyn.<\/p>\n
Carrick continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because Harold Vance told me that if this ever reached his wife, I should stop hiding behind people who were paid to make simple facts sound complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was Harold.<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat simple fact?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrick\u2019s answer came slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour husband was right about the Redwater agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew it was forged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did Cardinal keep using it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrick was silent for several seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause by the time I learned the truth, the company had already built its regulatory strategy around claiming your husband\u2019s property was secured.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd instead of correcting it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to buy him out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor twenty-four million?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes went to Walter\u2019s map.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was twenty-four million?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first serious acquisition offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after you learned the agreement was false?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrick breathed out.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat number became thirty-two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold rejected thirty-two million dollars?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the offer required him to sign a release stating Cardinal had relied on the Redwater agreement in good faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Harold would never have signed that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he ask for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrick answered without hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty-eight million four hundred thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exact number in Harold\u2019s notebook.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCardinal refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Harold\u2019s price wasn\u2019t the real problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted us to correct the regulatory record.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
Money could settle the land.<\/p>\n
It could not erase the lie.<\/p>\n
Carrick\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something else, Mrs. Vance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour son-in-law\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have a son-in-law involved in this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry. Todd. Harold\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t only being paid to deliver documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he being paid for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo persuade Harold to sign the correction Cardinal needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat correction?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA document ratifying the Redwater agreement retroactively.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand went cold.<\/p>\n
Carrick continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold refused every time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Todd kept trying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow far?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carrick hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cFar enough that Harold changed his estate plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walter did not come to the house the next morning. He called Evelyn at seven twelve and said he had spent most of the night searching his own records. By … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3271","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\/3271","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=3271"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3287,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3271\/revisions\/3287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}