The room where I met Brooke had no windows.<\/p>\n
Mercer arranged it at an interview facility rather than the hospital or jail because Brooke had not yet been formally charged.<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
He explained that prosecutors were still deciding how to handle her cooperation.<\/p>\n
I did not ask whether cooperation would save her.<\/p>\n
Part of me did not want to know.<\/p>\n
She sat on the opposite side of a rectangular table when I entered.<\/p>\n
For one second, she looked like my sister again.<\/p>\n
Not the woman in bank footage.<\/p>\n
Not the owner of Blue Ridge.<\/p>\n
Not the person who photographed me through my windows.<\/p>\n
Just Brooke.<\/p>\n
Tired.<\/p>\n
Pale.<\/p>\n
Hair pulled into a loose ponytail.<\/p>\n
A bruise darkened one wrist.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered the forged signatures.<\/p>\n
The missing money.<\/p>\n
Linda\u2019s investment.<\/p>\n
The apartment building.<\/p>\n
The acquisition plans.<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
Mercer remained near the door.<\/p>\n
Brooke looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Her jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look tired.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what you want to start with?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I placed a copy of the receipt on the table.<\/p>\n
She froze.<\/p>\n
Mom\u2019s photograph.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s payment.<\/p>\n
Her signature.<\/p>\n
Final satisfaction.<\/p>\n
Brooke stared at it for several seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked almost impressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI forgot she did that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you sign it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Dad pay you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much total?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Mercer.<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrooke.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeventy thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a twenty-five-thousand-dollar loan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you keep telling everyone I owed you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it wasn\u2019t about the loan anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat back.<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at the receipt again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know what Dad told me when he asked for the money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I would do the same for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you had found the opportunity that was going to change your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me I had a chance to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse slowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said if the project worked, we\u2019d all benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he promise you ownership?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEquity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPercentage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe made it sound like we were building something together.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even know you gave him money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes it impossible for us to have been building anything together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You knew then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke looked up sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew you didn\u2019t know. I didn\u2019t understand how little you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sentence makes no sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
She leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad always acted like you were too proud to talk about money. Martin said that was normal. He said founders hide things from family all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you thought I secretly knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the first property sold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad paid me thirty thousand. Then another payment later. I assumed it came through you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were the person hiding the original loan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Dad told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then you spent years blaming me for not discussing something I didn\u2019t know happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell me the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
She wiped beneath one eye angrily.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you started Holt Ridge, Martin told me the company grew from the capital I provided.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is false.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-five thousand got you the first property.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It filled one financing gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout it, you might not have bought the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how is it false?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause an early loan does not give you ownership of every later thing I built.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a bank lends someone money to open a restaurant, the bank does not own every restaurant that person opens forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin said private capital was different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFour.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer changed everything.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew four years ago that he was exaggerating your claim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you kept going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
The expression in her eyes was not anger.<\/p>\n
It was shame.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause by then I liked what I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Finally.<\/p>\n
No Dad.<\/p>\n
No Martin.<\/p>\n
No misunderstanding.<\/p>\n
No inheritance.<\/p>\n
Just choice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you have?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProperty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAttention.\u201d<\/p>\n
She flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom and Dad rescuing you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were always the one they bragged about.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey didn\u2019t even know I owned Holt Ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. That was the result of what you told them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were still the capable one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you were the one they chose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
Neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n
That was the real wound between us.<\/p>\n
I had envied the care she received.<\/p>\n
She had envied the competence they assigned to me.<\/p>\n
We had each wanted the other person\u2019s version of love.<\/p>\n
Our parents never understood the damage in that.<\/p>\n
Brooke whispered, \u201cYou never needed anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looked true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause nobody came.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled again.<\/p>\n
I surprised myself by feeling no victory.<\/p>\n
Only grief.<\/p>\n
She looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hated you for making everything look easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched me work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI watched you win.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sat back.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin noticed that about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I thought you had more than I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe used it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer remained silent.<\/p>\n
I appreciated that.<\/p>\n
No one rescued either of us from the conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did the fraud start?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Blue Ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho suggested using my identity?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you agree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said it was temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom said the same thing about signing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was good at making everything sound temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Blue Ridge originally do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHold Dad\u2019s repayment obligation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich was his debt, not mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe bought a small note.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith whose money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen another?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you stole from him too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLinda?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many people?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger has more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome were prospects.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProspects for fraud?\u201d<\/p>\n
She winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on lies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the twenty-three profiles?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel collected most.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCredit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor loans?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you use all of them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer wrote something.<\/p>\n
Brooke looked irritated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already know this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Miranda to hear your answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
For once, I was grateful he had stayed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the insurance policy on me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t create that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter it was already active.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin said it was key-person coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlue Ridge had no legitimate key-person interest in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever intend for me to die?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke\u2019s eyes snapped to mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Martin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever threaten me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTalk about an accident?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuggest anything physical?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her answers came fast.<\/p>\n
I believed her.<\/p>\n
At least about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the accounting sabotage?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke looked at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI helped recruit Evan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him Blue Ridge had a legitimate claim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you want Evan to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive us information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCash flow. Debt. Project schedules.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo know when to approach you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo hundred and fifty thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a repaid twenty-five-thousand-dollar loan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t framed that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd later?\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin wanted five million.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cFive million dollars?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Holt Ridge\u2019s value justified it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJustified what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA buyout.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had nothing to buy out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you realize that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yet the sabotage continued.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the accounting problem last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not before Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Martin stopped talking about settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he talk about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe acquisition document.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted Holt Ridge to fail.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you kept quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is everything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe building. The accounts. The money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe things built on my identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice cracked.<\/p>\n
I looked at her for a long moment.<\/p>\n
There was no version of this conversation where Brooke became innocent.<\/p>\n
Martin could be worse.<\/p>\n
Daniel could be more technical.<\/p>\n
Evan could be greedier.<\/p>\n
My parents could have started the secrecy.<\/p>\n
But Brooke had made hundreds of choices.<\/p>\n
She had signed.<\/p>\n
Forged.<\/p>\n
Taken.<\/p>\n
Lied.<\/p>\n
Recruited.<\/p>\n
Hidden.<\/p>\n
Watched.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s on the drive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes shifted toward Mercer.<\/p>\n
\u201cProof.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin\u2019s accounts. Messages with Daniel. Payments to Evan. Drafts of the insurance documents. Acquisition plans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy keep it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInsurance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAgainst Martin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause one person in his department has been leaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Martin always knew where warrants were coming from by luck?\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became still.<\/p>\n
Mercer stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why say that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause twice he moved things hours before searches.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich searches?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mail suite. The first office.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard Daniel say their friend had warned them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer stopped writing.<\/p>\n
This was no longer family.<\/p>\n
No longer just business fraud.<\/p>\n
Now the investigation itself might be compromised.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is the drive?\u201d I asked again.<\/p>\n
Brooke looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Grandma\u2019s cemetery plot.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot buried with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind the stone border. There\u2019s a loose section.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
A place nobody in the family visited often enough to notice.<\/p>\n
Mercer immediately made a call.<\/p>\n
Brooke looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is always one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin has another acquisition plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Holt Ridge?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour house.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can\u2019t acquire my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thinks he can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a lien.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no lien.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is if the document he filed is still active.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat document?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke looked at me with something close to fear.<\/p>\n
\u201cA private construction loan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never took one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEight hundred thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
The house around me seemed suddenly very far away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is the lender?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke answered quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlue Ridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo your company claims I owe it eight hundred thousand dollars on my own home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if I default?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlue Ridge can attempt foreclosure.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never made a payment because the loan does not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen is it due?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooke\u2019s face told me before her mouth did.<\/p>\n
\u201cJanuary first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five days away.<\/p>\n
The room where I met Brooke had no windows. Mercer arranged it at an interview facility rather than the hospital or jail because Brooke had not yet been formally charged. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6495","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\/6495","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=6495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6515,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6495\/revisions\/6515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}