Travis crossed Kilgore Avenue without hurrying.<\/p>\n
That frightened me more than if he had charged.<\/p>\n
He moved with the calm confidence of a man who believed the scene had already been arranged in his favor: the quiet street, the older woman standing alone on a porch, the children hidden inside, the police still somewhere else. His hands stayed visible beside his gray hoodie. His face carried an ordinary expression. If I had not known his name, I might have mistaken him for a delivery driver looking for an address.<\/p>\n
I stepped backward until the screen door touched my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop there.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped at the bottom of my porch steps.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Harper?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody outside family called me that anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know my name?\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmber mentioned you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lie came easily.<\/p>\n
Amber had spoken about him as though even saying his name might bring him closer. I doubted she had ever sat around describing her elderly neighbor to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice are on their way.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression barely changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat seems dramatic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI came to see my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey aren\u2019t your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something tightened around his mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat what Amber told you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
He glanced toward the left side of the duplex.<\/p>\n
\u201cBentley in there?\u201d<\/p>\n
I said nothing.<\/p>\n
His eyes shifted to my front windows.<\/p>\n
The curtains moved.<\/p>\n
Only half an inch.<\/p>\n
Bentley.<\/p>\n
I turned my head just enough to see his pale face disappear.<\/p>\n
Travis noticed too.<\/p>\n
His smile returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every protective instinct I had sharpened at once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stay off this property.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTechnically, I\u2019m on the sidewalk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou crossed onto my yard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019ll leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not move.<\/p>\n
From somewhere in the distance came the faint pulse of a siren.<\/p>\n
Travis heard it.<\/p>\n
His head tilted.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo she called the cops.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmber called them before.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes snapped back to mine.<\/p>\n
It was the first crack in his composure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood immediately that he did not know how much Amber remembered.<\/p>\n
I decided not to help him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can ask the detectives.\u201d<\/p>\n
For one second the pleasant mask disappeared.<\/p>\n
His jaw hardened.<\/p>\n
Then the siren grew louder.<\/p>\n
Travis backed away.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell Amber I just wanted to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those two words landed differently from everything before them.<\/p>\n
He knew.<\/p>\n
Not suspected.<\/p>\n
Knew.<\/p>\n
Before I could ask how, he turned and walked toward his pickup.<\/p>\n
A police cruiser rounded the corner.<\/p>\n
Travis broke into a run.<\/p>\n
The truck engine roared before the cruiser had fully stopped.<\/p>\n
Detective Harris wasn\u2019t inside it, but two uniformed officers were. One accelerated after Travis while the other jumped out and came toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cInside, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows Amber\u2019s in the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid the children?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached for his radio.<\/p>\n
I hurried inside.<\/p>\n
Bentley stood against the wall with Maddie clinging to his waist.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw me,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe already knew you were here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe saw me before.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed the door and locked it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley looked toward the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe night Mom left.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me Travis threatened you inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley pulled Maddie closer.<\/p>\n
I knelt.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to tell me everything now.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened the way it always did before he decided whether truth was safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the ambulance.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were alone with Maddie?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knocked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you open the door?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said he forgot something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he try to get inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley\u2019s eyes dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a key.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the room narrow around me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmber said he didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained the certainty with which Travis had walked toward the duplex.<\/p>\n
He had never needed permission to enter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened when he came in?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hid Maddie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Mom\u2019s closet.\u201d<\/p>\n
I imagined the dark bedroom, the frightened toddler, the ten-year-old boy trying not to make a sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looked everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut maybe not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went to Mom\u2019s room first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOpened drawers. Looked under the mattress. Took stuff out of the closet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he find Maddie?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. There are boxes in the back. I put her behind them and put coats over her.\u201d<\/p>\n
The calmness with which he described it told me he had replayed the event too many times.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere were you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind the shower curtain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou separated from her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought if he found me, he\u2019d stop looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had no answer for that kind of courage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came into the bathroom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley\u2019s fingers tightened around Maddie\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could see his shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe opened the medicine cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was he looking for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he see you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust left?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe talked to somebody on his phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember what he said?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes lifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course he did.<\/p>\n
Bentley remembered details because details had become survival tools.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018She moved it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018The kid doesn\u2019t know.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich kid?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Probably.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he said, \u2018I\u2019ll wait until she wakes up.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Amber.<\/p>\n
Travis had expected her to survive.<\/p>\n
Or at least had been monitoring her condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means he knew where she was taken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that night?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe drove away.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see the truck?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMissing hubcap?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
That confirmed it.<\/p>\n
Travis had not rediscovered the duplex by chance.<\/p>\n
He had never stopped watching.<\/p>\n
The officer outside knocked.<\/p>\n
I nearly jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice, Mrs. Harper.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the door enough to speak.<\/p>\n
The officer told me the pursuing cruiser had lost Travis several streets away after he ran a red light. Detective Harris was on his way.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you get the plate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartial.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBentley remembers something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer looked toward him.<\/p>\n
Ten minutes later Harris arrived carrying a notebook and the same grave expression he had worn when I first mentioned the truck.<\/p>\n
We sat around my dining table.<\/p>\n
Maddie colored beside us.<\/p>\n
Bentley described Travis returning after the ambulance.<\/p>\n
Harris interrupted only for clarifying questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Mr. Nolan say what \u2018it\u2019 was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you see him take anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything unusual in your mother\u2019s room afterward?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe closet shelf was empty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat had been there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA blue box.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of box?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMetal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow big?\u201d<\/p>\n
He held his hands apart about fourteen inches.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocked?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris glanced at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you seen it?\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was inside?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n
Bentley shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom said grown-up papers.\u201d<\/p>\n
A locked metal box.<\/p>\n
Travis looking for something.<\/p>\n
Amber owing rent despite working long shifts.<\/p>\n
A man demanding money.<\/p>\n
The shape of the mystery changed.<\/p>\n
Harris noticed it too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you last see the box?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSunday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe day before your mother was taken?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the closet shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after Travis searched?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris wrote something.<\/p>\n
\u201cBentley, did your mother move it before the ambulance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCould she have?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone else visit that weekend?\u201d<\/p>\n
He thought.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Peter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s Peter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom\u2019s friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat friend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fixes cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley shook his head.<\/p>\n
Harris leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Peter do when he visited?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey talked in the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they argue?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he carry anything when he left?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley stared at his coloring sister.<\/p>\n
Then he nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cA bag.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBrown backpack.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it his?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHad you seen it before?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris closed his notebook halfway.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould your mother have given him the metal box?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley looked uncertain.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
That possibility immediately made sense.<\/p>\n
Amber knew Travis was looking for something.<\/p>\n
Perhaps she had moved it before he arrived.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Peter had taken it for safekeeping.<\/p>\n
And perhaps Travis believed Amber was the only person who knew where it had gone.<\/p>\n
Harris asked me to call Amber.<\/p>\n
A nurse answered and explained she was resting. Harris identified himself and arranged to speak with her later.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, he gave me instructions.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoors locked. Curtains closed. Kids stay inside unless an adult is with them. If you see Nolan, call 911 first, me second.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Amber?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll coordinate with Indianapolis.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he might go there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think if he already knows where she is, we assume he might.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley spoke quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he wants the blue box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n
Bentley swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said he didn\u2019t see you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart sank.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was another time?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days later.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
Travis had come back more than once.<\/p>\n
Bentley had hidden this because every confession felt like loosening the knot holding his world together.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Harris asked.<\/p>\n
Bentley\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was taking trash outside. He was by the garage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he touch you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThreaten you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Mom took something that belonged to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said if I found it, I should call him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he give you a number?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still have it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Without speaking, Bentley walked to his backpack.<\/p>\n
He reached into the smallest front pocket and withdrew a folded piece of paper.<\/p>\n
I stared at it.<\/p>\n
For days I had watched that backpack and assumed it carried school supplies.<\/p>\n
Instead, Bentley had been carrying evidence.<\/p>\n
Harris unfolded the paper.<\/p>\n
A phone number was written across it.<\/p>\n
Below the number were four words.<\/p>\n
DON\u2019T MAKE THIS HARDER, KID.<\/p>\n
Harris\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
He slipped the paper into an evidence envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cBentley, you did the right thing keeping this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t call him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI almost did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought if I found the box, he\u2019d leave us alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris shook his head gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cMen like Travis don\u2019t leave because children cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley looked down.<\/p>\n
After Harris left, I made soup.<\/p>\n
Nobody was hungry, but we ate anyway because ordinary routines had become a kind of resistance.<\/p>\n
Doug arrived after dark carrying a new deadbolt.<\/p>\n
When I told him what had happened, all color drained from his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stood on the sidewalk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the kids inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doug immediately began installing the lock.<\/p>\n
He worked without speaking.<\/p>\n
At one point Bentley handed him a screwdriver.<\/p>\n
Their eyes met.<\/p>\n
Something passed between them\u2014not forgiveness, exactly, but recognition.<\/p>\n
Two people who had both failed to understand the danger quickly enough.<\/p>\n
After Maddie fell asleep, Bentley sat at the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Arlene?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I tell you something without you getting mad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll try.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom gave Mr. Peter something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe box?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSunday night.\u201d<\/p>\n
He rubbed his palms against his jeans.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe made me promise not to tell anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell Detective Harris?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom said nobody.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat opposite him.<\/p>\n
\u201cPromises can change when someone\u2019s in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she give Peter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAn envelope.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did it look like?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBig. Yellow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she say what was inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Peter take the blue box too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he left, did your mother seem relieved?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe cried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she say anything?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said if something happened to her, Peter would know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
A chill passed through me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she say where Peter lives?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCar shop?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cName of it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley closed his eyes, thinking.<\/p>\n
Then he opened them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat shirt?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wore one with letters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat letters?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cB and R.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA tire.\u201d<\/p>\n
A repair shop logo.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t much, but it was something.<\/p>\n
I wrote it down for Harris.<\/p>\n
At eleven, Doug finished installing the deadbolt.<\/p>\n
He went outside to test it.<\/p>\n
Bentley helped me gather dishes.<\/p>\n
Then headlights washed across the kitchen wall.<\/p>\n
Both of us froze.<\/p>\n
A vehicle stopped outside.<\/p>\n
I moved toward the window.<\/p>\n
Bentley grabbed my wrist.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
We stood motionless.<\/p>\n
The headlights went dark.<\/p>\n
A car door opened.<\/p>\n
Doug was still outside.<\/p>\n
I reached for my phone.<\/p>\n
Footsteps crossed the porch.<\/p>\n
Then came three knocks.<\/p>\n
Not Travis\u2019s pounding.<\/p>\n
Not police.<\/p>\n
Three careful taps.<\/p>\n
Exactly like Bentley\u2019s.<\/p>\n
I opened the door only after checking through the peephole.<\/p>\n
Doug stood there with a woman beside him.<\/p>\n
She wore hospital scrubs beneath a winter coat and looked exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cMa,\u201d Doug said, \u201cshe says she knows Amber.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman lifted both hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy name is Carla Ruiz.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley appeared behind me.<\/p>\n
The moment he saw her, his face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Carla?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked past me.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, thank God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bentley ran to her.<\/p>\n
Carla hugged him so tightly he almost disappeared inside her coat.<\/p>\n
Then she looked at me over his shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know me,\u201d she said, \u201cbut Amber told me if Travis ever found her again, I was supposed to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt my pulse quicken.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carla released Bentley.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I know what was in the blue box.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travis crossed Kilgore Avenue without hurrying. That frightened me more than if he had charged. He moved with the calm confidence of a man who believed the scene had already … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7811","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\/7811","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=7811"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7851,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7811\/revisions\/7851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}