Three days later, Dr. Park called again.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Ellis is asking for one supervised conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
My first instinct was no.<\/p>\n
Then he explained the conditions.<\/p>\n
The conversation would occur at the treatment center.<\/p>\n
Dr. Park would remain present.<\/p>\n
Grant could not leave the unit with me.<\/p>\n
No financial negotiation would be allowed.<\/p>\n
I could end the meeting at any time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does he want it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he needs to disclose information directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can tell investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Park paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause accountability to authorities and accountability to the person harmed are not always the same experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are not obligated to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
No obligation.<\/p>\n
No assumed labor.<\/p>\n
No promise made on my behalf.<\/p>\n
I called Rebecca.<\/p>\n
She did not tell me what to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go, do not sign anything and do not negotiate property or debt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you feel pressured, leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want me present?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I called Mara.<\/p>\n
She was less restrained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate this idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
She exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019m driving.\u201d<\/p>\n
The treatment center stood forty minutes outside the city, surrounded by trees beginning to turn yellow at the edges.<\/p>\n
Grant entered the meeting room with Dr. Park.<\/p>\n
He looked different.<\/p>\n
Not transformed.<\/p>\n
Just stripped down.<\/p>\n
No tie.<\/p>\n
No phone.<\/p>\n
No practiced confidence.<\/p>\n
He wore jeans and a gray sweatshirt.<\/p>\n
He stopped when he saw me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n
We sat across from each other.<\/p>\n
Dr. Park took the chair at the end of the table.<\/p>\n
Grant folded his hands.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, he stared at them.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cI lied about when the gambling started.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt tired immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did it start?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore we got married.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCollege.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me you occasionally bet with friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOccasionally?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Park did not intervene.<\/p>\n
Grant continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stopped for a while after we got married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo when you said it started two years ago\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI meant when it became unmanageable again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou chose the version that sounded better.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The direct answer unsettled me.<\/p>\n
No excuse.<\/p>\n
No semantic argument.<\/p>\n
Just yes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened three years into the marriage?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSports betting app.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSmall amounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil they weren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won almost eleven thousand over two months.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The reward.<\/p>\n
The moment risk dressed itself as skill.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I had figured something out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought you were smarter than chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI lost it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll eleven?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd more.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much more?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout twenty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did you cover it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCredit cards.\u201d<\/p>\n
The beginning of the structure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Victor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me almost three.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough the sports bar?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiles remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor gave better terms than the apps.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed at the language.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter terms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCredit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you could lose money you didn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Park shifted slightly but remained silent.<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWhen did you first use money that belonged to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant\u2019s eyes lowered.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristmas four years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJoint savings.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered that Christmas.<\/p>\n
Our furnace had failed in January.<\/p>\n
Grant told me our emergency fund was lower than expected because holiday expenses had been high.<\/p>\n
I worked extra orders for six weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watched me replace it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever put the three thousand back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA tax refund.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur tax refund.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you replaced our money with our money.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The absurdity of it made my chest ache.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was the first thing you took from my business?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing directly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWrong wording. What was the first thing you used?\u201d<\/p>\n
He understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncome records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Adrian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ever withdraw from the business account?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you try?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you would see it immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not because it was wrong.<\/p>\n
Because I would notice.<\/p>\n
He recognized what his answer revealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you tell Victor about me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you made steady money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you trusted me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sentence landed differently after Adrian\u2019s recording.<\/p>\n
She trusts me. That\u2019s basically the same thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Victor say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat trust was useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Grant.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose words?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething close.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid that bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it stop you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause by then I needed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dependency was not just gambling.<\/p>\n
It was Victor.<\/p>\n
Credit.<\/p>\n
Time.<\/p>\n
Extensions.<\/p>\n
Another chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much did Victor make from you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEstimate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe seventy or eighty thousand over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd still you owed forty-eight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Adrian get?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFees.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many refinances did he arrange for you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne against the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonal-loan referrals.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse increased.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my name?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOne.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe eighteen-thousand-dollar loan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Adrian arrange it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. He gave me a contact.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he know you were using my identity?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant looked toward Dr. Park.<\/p>\n
Dr. Park said calmly, \u201cAnswer only what you know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew I was applying using household income.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what he knew about the signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
I leaned back.<\/p>\n
Finally, an answer that admitted uncertainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about the business line?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI submitted that myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing my information.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was the plan if it was approved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPay Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll forty thousand?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMost.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I would repay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked away.<\/p>\n
Outside, wind moved branches against a gray sky.<\/p>\n
The worst part was how ordinary everything remained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy the separate-food plan?\u201d<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
That was the question I had been waiting to ask in person.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found the note.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to create evidence that our finances were independent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a divorce?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the house sale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian said if there was ever a challenge, it would help if I could show you maintained separate finances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian told you that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said evidence of financial separation could support my position that the house was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the groceries?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI needed something visible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you started a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer hit harder than I expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou picked up that receipt already planning to provoke me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant began crying.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
He had not simply reacted badly to a grocery bill.<\/p>\n
He had walked into our kitchen carrying a script.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas anything you said true?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you were worried about grocery costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat you believed I didn\u2019t contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
For weeks, that accusation had hurt more than anything.<\/p>\n
Now I learned he had not even believed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew how much I paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew my business mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew I contributed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why say everyone knew you supported the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I wanted you angry.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes filled despite myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngry people separate things.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could not speak.<\/p>\n
Grant covered his face.<\/p>\n
Dr. Park watched both of us but did not interrupt.<\/p>\n
After a moment, Grant lowered his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought if you got angry enough, you\u2019d insist on paying for yourself. Maybe move money. Maybe stay with Mara for a few nights.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wanted me to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTemporarily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you could tell Victor I moved out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The confession made every moment after the grocery argument feel contaminated.<\/p>\n
My labeled containers.<\/p>\n
My private satisfaction at refusing to cook.<\/p>\n
My belief that I was asserting myself.<\/p>\n
Grant had been waiting for those reactions.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou manipulated me into creating evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then invited fourteen people for your birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face twisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t part of the plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you\u2019d cook.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite everything, the answer was so Grant that I nearly laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were manufacturing a financial separation and still expected me to cater your birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
He covered his eyes again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how that sounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds exactly like what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
I took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you plan after the house sold?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to pay Victor, clear as much debt as possible, rent somewhere, and tell you the house sale had become necessary because of financial problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought I wouldn\u2019t notice our house was gone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to tell you after closing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd our marriage?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant stared at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hoped you would forgive me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The scale of his fantasy was astonishing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou thought you could secretly sell our home, use my identity, manipulate me into appearing separated, and then explain afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would I forgive that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you always forgave me.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not generosity.<\/p>\n
Pattern.<\/p>\n
Every small apology I accepted had become evidence in Grant\u2019s mind that the next betrayal could also be survived.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
Grant looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you leaving?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remained standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor didn\u2019t come up with the three-hundred-twenty-five-thousand guarantee.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestigators said Adrian prepared it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe prepared the document.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who came up with the amount?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy three twenty-five?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause that was roughly the maximum debt I thought I could reach before everything collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The honesty was horrifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou planned for future losses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were already preparing collateral for gambling you hadn\u2019t done yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I slowly sat again.<\/p>\n
This was the confession he could not minimize.<\/p>\n
Not that he lost control.<\/p>\n
That at some point, while still claiming he wanted to stop, Grant calculated how much farther he could fall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Victor say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe laughed.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said I finally understood how credit worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Dr. Park.<\/p>\n
He remained expressionless.<\/p>\n
Grant continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought the guarantee would buy me more time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith my forged signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou turned me into borrowing capacity for future bets.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes filled again.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was nothing left to ask.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
Grant did not stop me.<\/p>\n
At the door, he said, \u201cLaurel.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to stay here as long as they recommend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to cooperate with investigators.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to tell them everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should.\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes any of that matter to you?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hope flashed across his face.<\/p>\n
I did not want to misuse it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt matters because I don\u2019t want you to do this to yourself or anyone else again.\u201d<\/p>\n
His hope changed.<\/p>\n
He understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t the same as saying our marriage survives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I left.<\/p>\n
Mara waited in the parking lot.<\/p>\n
She did not ask what happened until we were halfway home.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cDid you get what you needed?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked out the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe truth about the grocery argument.\u201d<\/p>\n
She waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never believed I was a burden.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mara glanced toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted me to believe he did.\u201d<\/p>\n
I explained.<\/p>\n
By the time I finished, her hands were tight around the steering wheel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is cruel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes knowing make it better?\u201d<\/p>\n
I considered the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then I realized something.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it makes it clearer.\u201d<\/p>\n
That evening Rebecca called.<\/p>\n
Victor\u2019s attorney had offered investigators additional records in exchange for formal discussions about cooperation.<\/p>\n
Adrian\u2019s attorney was doing the same.<\/p>\n
The alliance around Grant\u2019s debt was beginning to fracture.<\/p>\n
Each man wanted to prove the other knew more.<\/p>\n
Each had documents.<\/p>\n
Emails.<\/p>\n
Records.<\/p>\n
Messages.<\/p>\n
And for the first time, the secrets were no longer moving toward me one painful confession at a time.<\/p>\n
They were moving toward people whose job was to collect them.<\/p>\n
I closed my laptop.<\/p>\n
Tomorrow I had three cakes to bake.<\/p>\n
For once, I intended to spend the evening doing nothing at all.<\/p>\n
Then my phone rang.<\/p>\n
Rebecca.<\/p>\n
I almost let it go.<\/p>\n
Instead I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice was unusually quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe finally received the complete refinance file.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a transfer in the closing ledger that no one explained before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heartbeat changed.<\/p>\n
Six thousand.<\/p>\n
The exact amount I had contributed to the kitchen renovation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did it go?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rebecca paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack to Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was categorized as reimbursement for prior property improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing my money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat appears to be what we need to examine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grant had not only used the house I helped improve.<\/p>\n
At refinancing, he had apparently reimbursed himself for the money I put into it.<\/p>\n
And one final piece of my contribution had been converted into his.<\/p>\n
Three days later, Dr. Park called again. \u201cMr. Ellis is asking for one supervised conversation.\u201d My first instinct was no. Then he explained the conditions. The conversation would occur at … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7698","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\/7698","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=7698"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7718,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7698\/revisions\/7718"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}