Harold wanted the meeting in his office.<\/p>\n
Victoria refused.<\/p>\n
Not by phone.<\/p>\n
Not through text.<\/p>\n
She sent one message with an address and a time.<\/p>\n
Eleven-thirty.<\/p>\n
A small public library two towns away.<\/p>\n
I recognized the place.<\/p>\n
Ruth used to take Daniel there when he was young because their children\u2019s section had an aquarium built into one wall.<\/p>\n
I wondered whether Victoria knew that.<\/p>\n
Probably not.<\/p>\n
Harold objected.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe won\u2019t come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we find somewhere neutral with counsel present.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe specifically said alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat should concern you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still going.\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave me the expression lawyers use when clients begin behaving like clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she has documents, chain of custody matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not taking them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she asks you to?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll call you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she tells you something damaging?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll remember it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not how evidentiary preservation works.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to hide in the nonfiction section?\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not laugh.<\/p>\n
Eventually we compromised.<\/p>\n
Harold would wait nearby.<\/p>\n
I would meet Victoria alone.<\/p>\n
If she produced records, I would not touch them until we determined how they should be handled.<\/p>\n
At eleven-twenty, I entered the library.<\/p>\n
It smelled exactly as libraries always do.<\/p>\n
Paper.<\/p>\n
Dust.<\/p>\n
Carpet that had survived too many wet shoes.<\/p>\n
A children\u2019s story hour was taking place near the front.<\/p>\n
I walked toward the back.<\/p>\n
Victoria sat at a corner table beside a tall window.<\/p>\n
No pearls.<\/p>\n
No carefully arranged hair.<\/p>\n
No elegant Thanksgiving dress.<\/p>\n
She wore jeans, a gray coat, and dark glasses.<\/p>\n
A cardboard archive box sat under the table.<\/p>\n
For the first time since I had known her, she looked her age.<\/p>\n
Maybe older.<\/p>\n
She removed the glasses when I approached.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictoria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither of us sat immediately.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Thanksgiving?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor many things.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled out the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart with Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard told me you were not coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel invited me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were standing at the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed there had been a disagreement between you and Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere hadn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still told me I wasn\u2019t invited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward the children\u2019s area.<\/p>\n
A little boy laughed loudly at something the librarian had said.<\/p>\n
Victoria lowered her voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Richard told me if you stayed, he would create a scene.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s your defense?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s different.\u201d<\/p>\n
She accepted that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did he want me gone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, I thought because he was angry with Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout the shares.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I think he was afraid you might speak to Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was new.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Martin had been drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds normal enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Then she looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin talks when he drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever makes him feel important.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he going to say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly. But Richard told me before dinner that you could not be allowed into a conversation with Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose words?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you question it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me it was business.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe magical phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I\u2019m weak.\u201d<\/p>\n
I considered lying.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not expect her to agree.<\/p>\n
She folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard has spent thirty-two years turning disagreement into disloyalty. At first it only happened at work. Then it happened at home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat still doesn\u2019t explain why you helped him humiliate me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice remained steady.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made that choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
We sat in silence.<\/p>\n
I respected the lack of excuses more than any excuse she could have offered.<\/p>\n
Finally I glanced toward the box.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Ruth tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe scared me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat also sounds normal.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time she smiled briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had a way of asking questions that made lying feel childish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEleven years ago, I discovered Richard had been buying shares through companies I didn\u2019t recognize.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIntermediaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did that bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause some belonged to friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOurs. At least I thought they were ours.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rubbed one thumb against the other.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard had persuaded them to purchase shares on his behalf. Informally at first. Then through agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLegal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy go through other people?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make his influence look smaller.\u201d<\/p>\n
That matched Ruth\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you confront him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me I didn\u2019t understand corporate strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Victoria saw it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she said. \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI copied everything I could find.\u201d<\/p>\n
My gaze dropped toward the box.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then you went to Ruth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had challenged him before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLots of people challenged Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMost eventually accepted money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruth would have appreciated that sentence.<\/p>\n
Victoria continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe listened to me. Then she told me something I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard had approached her privately about your shares.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wrote that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked startled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found her letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she really did leave one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me she would.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt a strange warmth.<\/p>\n
Even dead, Ruth was coordinating people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat records did you keep?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria glanced around.<\/p>\n
Then reached under the table and lifted the box onto the chair beside her.<\/p>\n
She did not open it.<\/p>\n
\u201cShare purchase agreements. Emails. Copies of board materials. Letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you keep them from Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHer house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Richard know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re certain?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was honest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the signature you mentioned?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria finally opened the box.<\/p>\n
She removed a folder.<\/p>\n
Inside was a photocopy.<\/p>\n
She pushed it toward me, then stopped before I touched it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said your lawyer wants evidence handled properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead it without moving it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
The document was fourteen years old.<\/p>\n
An agreement among several shareholders.<\/p>\n
At first, it looked ordinary.<\/p>\n
Then I saw the purpose.<\/p>\n
A voting pool.<\/p>\n
Several supposedly independent investors had agreed to vote their shares according to recommendations from an entity connected to Richard.<\/p>\n
At the bottom was Richard\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat am I looking at?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cControl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria pointed toward a paragraph.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The agreement required confidentiality.<\/p>\n
Participants were not to disclose Richard\u2019s role unless legally required.<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does this matter now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Richard testified in a shareholder dispute nine years ago that no such arrangements existed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cTestified where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArbitration.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder oath?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. But I saw the transcript later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the box.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
This was no longer simply a suspicious acquisition.<\/p>\n
It was a pattern.<\/p>\n
A long one.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes Harold know any of this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you come forward before?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
Outside, bare branches moved in the wind.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Emily was eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because I was afraid of what Richard would do if I destroyed his company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
No performance.<\/p>\n
No elegant language.<\/p>\n
Just yes.<\/p>\n
I looked again at Richard\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n
\u201cRuth knew about this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew about some of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she see this agreement?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria\u2019s mouth trembled slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe told me to keep the original.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause one day Richard might convince everyone, including me, that I had misunderstood what I saw.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned back.<\/p>\n
That was Ruth too.<\/p>\n
Facts first.<\/p>\n
Feelings later.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else is in the box?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething more recent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow recent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight months.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were still collecting documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never stopped entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Richard never stopped being Richard.\u201d<\/p>\n
She removed another folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are copies. The originals are elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years ago he asked me to sign documents involving a family trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich trust?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it hold?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShares.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
She gave me the approximate amount.<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s significant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe moved them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo an entity controlled by Martin.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pieces shifted again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said estate planning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor about two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found correspondence showing the shares would return to Richard\u2019s influence after a series of transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt anger rising.<\/p>\n
Not for myself this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe used your trust?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you sign knowingly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI signed documents I did not understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the same question.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you have agreed if you understood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word barely came out.<\/p>\n
I nodded toward the folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd this connects to the current acquisition?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She showed me a chart.<\/p>\n
Northbridge Holdings sat in the center.<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s business assets.<\/p>\n
A trust connected to Victoria.<\/p>\n
And another entity.<\/p>\n
I followed the lines.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Northbridge was not merely an intermediary for Martin\u2019s assets.<\/p>\n
It also held an option to acquire additional Merritt voting shares if the deal closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Martin\u2019s structure receive Merritt shares?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard calls it alignment.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis could increase family control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd reduce outside influence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYours. Others too.\u201d<\/p>\n
I exhaled.<\/p>\n
The acquisition was not simply about rescuing Martin.<\/p>\n
It was about control.<\/p>\n
The overpayment funded the family.<\/p>\n
The structure consolidated votes.<\/p>\n
And the intermediary was designed to slide around Ruth\u2019s safeguard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Richard think will happen if the deal closes?\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thinks he\u2019ll become untouchable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence settled between us.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the children\u2019s section again.<\/p>\n
A mother was helping her daughter put on a coat.<\/p>\n
Small ordinary tenderness.<\/p>\n
Then my phone vibrated.<\/p>\n
Harold.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny documents?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t touch them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Harold said, \u201cI\u2019ll come inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five minutes later, he sat with us.<\/p>\n
Victoria repeated everything.<\/p>\n
Harold listened.<\/p>\n
Then he called Michael.<\/p>\n
Then Priya.<\/p>\n
The library table became an unofficial legal command center.<\/p>\n
We did not remove the documents immediately.<\/p>\n
Harold photographed the box exactly as Victoria presented it.<\/p>\n
He documented what she said about ownership and storage.<\/p>\n
Then they arranged proper transfer of copies while originals remained secured.<\/p>\n
I watched the process.<\/p>\n
Ruth would have approved.<\/p>\n
By one-thirty, Harold looked more troubled than I had ever seen him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis changes the scope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria asked, \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re no longer reviewing a questionable acquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are we reviewing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially years of governance failures and undisclosed control arrangements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill Emily be hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends what you mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Victoria.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that why you waited?\u201d<\/p>\n
She met my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill?\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
Then she shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was the first time I believed she had actually chosen a side.<\/p>\n
Not mine.<\/p>\n
Not Richard\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The truth.<\/p>\n
Her phone\u2014the borrowed one\u2014buzzed.<\/p>\n
She looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
Her face changed instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily.\u201d<\/p>\n
She answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetheart?\u201d<\/p>\n
I heard Emily crying through the phone.<\/p>\n
Victoria stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression drained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
Then looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay there. Don\u2019t sign anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ended the call.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Harold asked.<\/p>\n
Victoria gripped the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard went to Daniel\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe brought papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat papers?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily doesn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was already reaching for my coat.<\/p>\n
Harold stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo am I.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victoria grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told Emily if Daniel refuses to sign, he\u2019ll destroy his career.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her hand.<\/p>\n
Then her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Richard?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I called my son.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
The third call connected.<\/p>\n
But Daniel did not speak.<\/p>\n
I heard voices.<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
Calm.<\/p>\n
Controlled.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel.<\/p>\n
Angry.<\/p>\n
I said, \u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
The line went dead.<\/p>\n
A message appeared immediately.<\/p>\n
From Daniel.<\/p>\n
Dad, do not come here.<\/p>\n
A second followed.<\/p>\n
He says he has proof Mom changed the trust before she died.<\/p>\n
Then a third.<\/p>\n
He says if I sign, he\u2019ll show me where it is.<\/p>\n
I looked at Harold.<\/p>\n
\u201cRichard is using Ruth now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want Daniel to sign?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the dark screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re about to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harold wanted the meeting in his office. Victoria refused. Not by phone. Not through text. She sent one message with an address and a time. Eleven-thirty. A small public library … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5208","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\/5208","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=5208"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5226,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5208\/revisions\/5226"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}