\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn was silent.<\/p>\n
Not because she lacked questions.<\/p>\n
Because she understood the answer had changed the shape of the conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Malcolm Bennett living?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have contact with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow not much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen him in almost three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the closed bedroom door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may need complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course we did.<\/p>\n
My father had always existed in the category of things I could avoid explaining by changing the subject.<\/p>\n
He and my mother divorced when I was twelve.<\/p>\n
He remarried twice.<\/p>\n
Started businesses.<\/p>\n
Lost businesses.<\/p>\n
Moved frequently.<\/p>\n
Borrowed money.<\/p>\n
Reappeared with apologies and ambitious plans.<\/p>\n
Then disappeared when those plans failed.<\/p>\n
By the time I met Grant, I had learned to keep Malcolm at a polite distance.<\/p>\n
He attended my wedding.<\/p>\n
He made a speech.<\/p>\n
He told Grant to take care of his girl.<\/p>\n
I suddenly felt nauseated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow does Grant say Malcolm was involved?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis attorney has not provided the full statement yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he provide?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat MD Ventures originated from a venture involving Grant, Derek, and Malcolm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApproximately nine years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I met Grant.<\/p>\n
My father knew him first.<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant told me they met at our engagement party.\u201d<\/p>\n
Evelyn went quiet.<\/p>\n
I laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied about that too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
At our engagement party, Dad had arrived late.<\/p>\n
Grant shook his hand.<\/p>\n
They exchanged the stiff, slightly awkward smiles of two men meeting for the first time.<\/p>\n
I had believed the performance.<\/p>\n
Maybe because I had no reason not to.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of venture?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to establish that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to call my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if Malcolm is connected to conduct investigators are examining, contacting him without preparation may complicate things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Evelyn. My husband says my father was his business partner before I met him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand exactly why you want to call.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I am asking you to wait until Marcus speaks with the investigator.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Waiting had become another form of torture.<\/p>\n
I told Mara.<\/p>\n
She stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe barely knew Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently he knew him before I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara stood.<\/p>\n
She paced toward the kitchen, then back.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember the engagement party?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey acted like strangers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo both of them lied.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cCall him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn said not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course she did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. I hate them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
We searched old photographs.<\/p>\n
My father appeared in dozens.<\/p>\n
Wedding.<\/p>\n
Engagement.<\/p>\n
One Christmas.<\/p>\n
A barbecue.<\/p>\n
Always smiling.<\/p>\n
Always slightly outside the center.<\/p>\n
Then Mara found something.<\/p>\n
A photograph from my engagement party.<\/p>\n
Grant and Malcolm stood near the garage.<\/p>\n
They were not shaking hands.<\/p>\n
They were talking.<\/p>\n
Grant\u2019s back faced the camera.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s expression was serious.<\/p>\n
I zoomed in.<\/p>\n
Nothing else.<\/p>\n
No proof.<\/p>\n
Only a moment that now looked different.<\/p>\n
Mara whispered, \u201cWe thought they were getting acquainted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe they had been arguing.<\/p>\n
Planning.<\/p>\n
Warning each other.<\/p>\n
The past had become unstable because context kept changing.<\/p>\n
At noon, Marcus called.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can contact your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatel already interviewed him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he contacted police himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant\u2019s attorney apparently informed him that his name had come up.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Dad say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe likes arriving early to disasters and calling it responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat may be useful here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I call him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. But assume anything substantive may eventually matter legally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
I dialed Malcolm.<\/p>\n
He answered on the first ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaurel.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice had aged.<\/p>\n
I hated that I noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Apparently everyone in my life had decided those two words were an opening statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long did you know Grant before I met him?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes closed.<\/p>\n
Mara sat beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou introduced us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know I had met him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you find out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few weeks after you started dating.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pressed my fingers against my forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMD Ventures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA promotions company at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what Grant said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTicket resale. Event marketing. Small sponsorship deals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPayment processing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor illegal businesses?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot initially.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnline betting. Unlicensed gaming. Some other things.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you were involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow deeply?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI helped set up accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn other people\u2019s names?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Grant learned this from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek was already doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you participated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did Grant get involved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was good with paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase nearly made me laugh.<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot millions. Enough to make stopping difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you leave?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne account got flagged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore you met Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got scared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you walked away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek didn\u2019t want to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Grant?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t either.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you warn me about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he had left it too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would you think that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believed Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWelcome to the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara touched my shoulder.<\/p>\n
Dad said, \u201cLaurel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I learned you were dating him, I confronted him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat MD Ventures was finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you accepted that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not belief.<\/p>\n
Desire.<\/p>\n
The same thing I had done repeatedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he threaten you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlackmail you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why didn\u2019t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s voice broke slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause telling you meant telling you what I had done.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
That answer was painfully believable.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou protected your reputation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt my expense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
No defense.<\/p>\n
No excuse.<\/p>\n
Just yes.<\/p>\n
It hurt differently from Grant.<\/p>\n
Maybe because Dad had spent years disappointing me.<\/p>\n
I had no illusion left to shatter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know about L.B. Consulting?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a filing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you still didn\u2019t tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI confronted Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat he was closing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou confronted him instead of telling the person whose identity he stole.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think you do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid you\u2019d find out about my involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying that like it explains anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt explains my cowardice.\u201d<\/p>\n
That silenced me.<\/p>\n
My father had always been good at excuses.<\/p>\n
That sentence contained none.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cDid you ever receive money from L.B. Consulting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMD Ventures?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, before I left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the whole period? Maybe forty thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProfit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the rest?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPayments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSetting things up.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you give Grant my information?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he get it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the rental application.<\/p>\n
My driver\u2019s license.<\/p>\n
The apartment.<\/p>\n
He had not needed Dad.<\/p>\n
He had access through intimacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Rourke?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDerek obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCynthia Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did bookkeeping.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor MD Ventures?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom near the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another person whose involvement reached further back than I knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know what the accounts were for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI genuinely don\u2019t know. We gave her descriptions. Promotions. Processing. Vendor settlements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may have believed you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe may have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr she may not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wrote her name.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Fairline Promotions?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad went quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know that name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was Derek\u2019s company.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Mara.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo MD Ventures transferred money to Derek\u2019s other company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving money between processors.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted.<\/p>\n
This network had existed long before Laurel Bakes.<\/p>\n
My business had not created the scheme.<\/p>\n
It had been absorbed into an old one.<\/p>\n
I asked the question that mattered most.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grant start dating me because of you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s breath caught.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThink.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know I was your daughter before we met?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went still.<\/p>\n
Grant had known who I was.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we met at Nina\u2019s birthday party?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw pictures.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo when he introduced himself\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew your name.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
The memory returned with cruel clarity.<\/p>\n
Grant smiling beside the crowded bar.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re Laurel, right?<\/p>\n
I had thought a mutual friend told him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ask him to meet me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Derek?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Grant ever talk about me before we dated?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne time.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse accelerated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asked whether you were good with money.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara swore softly.<\/p>\n
I could barely breathe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few months before you met.\u201d<\/p>\n
The floor seemed to shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would he ask that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI assumed conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad was silent.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew exactly why a man involved in financial schemes would ask whether your daughter was good with money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes filled.<\/p>\n
That sentence hurt more than almost anything he could have said.<\/p>\n
He had seen danger approaching and turned his head because looking directly at it would have required action.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have protected me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was your daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice broke completely.<\/p>\n
I did not comfort him.<\/p>\n
For once, the person who failed me could sit with the pain of knowing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need everything you have,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything. Emails. Statements. Names. Dates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already told police I\u2019ll provide it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLaurel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ended the call.<\/p>\n
Mara and I sat silently.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cDo you think Grant targeted you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the photograph of him from the night we met.<\/p>\n
For years, that image belonged to a romantic beginning.<\/p>\n
Now the same smile looked impossible to interpret.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer hurt.<\/p>\n
But I would not replace uncertainty with a story simply because I needed one.<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Marcus.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cPatel just received Malcolm\u2019s initial documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an email.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant to Derek.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months before you met Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Marcus hesitated.<\/p>\n
Then read the relevant line.<\/p>\n
Malcolm\u2019s daughter has clean credit and steady income. Might solve the identity problem if we can get close enough.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Mara saw my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I could not answer.<\/p>\n
Marcus continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a reply from Derek.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe asks whether you know Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrant writes: Not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father.\u201d Evelyn was silent. Not because she lacked questions. Because she understood the answer had changed the shape of the conversation. \u201cIs Malcolm Bennett living?\u201d \u201cYes.\u201d \u201cDo you have … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7469","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\/7469","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=7469"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7469\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7508,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7469\/revisions\/7508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}