The encrypted drives went to a forensic lab before dawn.<\/p>\n
I knew that because Detective Bennett called me at 6:05 and told me not to expect results quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey may be strongly encrypted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow quickly is not quickly?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not giving you a clock to stare at.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo are you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was true.<\/p>\n
I had stopped believing every answer must come immediately.<\/p>\n
But patience had limits.<\/p>\n
Daniel remained missing.<\/p>\n
Vale remained missing.<\/p>\n
Lisa remained missing.<\/p>\n
Three people who understood the network from different angles.<\/p>\n
Three people with reasons to find one another before police did.<\/p>\n
The safe also contained passports.<\/p>\n
Daniel's.<\/p>\n
One in his real name.<\/p>\n
One suspected fraudulent.<\/p>\n
Vale had no passport there.<\/p>\n
Lisa none.<\/p>\n
Cash bundles were labeled by deal initials.<\/p>\n
Some matched old victims.<\/p>\n
Some did not.<\/p>\n
HAYES had an empty band around where money might have gone after closing.<\/p>\n
Prepared before acquisition.<\/p>\n
A place waiting for profit.<\/p>\n
Mark saw the photograph and turned away.<\/p>\n
I did not.<\/p>\n
I wanted to see everything they had prepared for my future.<\/p>\n
Not because I enjoyed it.<\/p>\n
Because secrecy had been their advantage.<\/p>\n
No more.<\/p>\n
Samuel came to Eleanor's house at eight.<\/p>\n
He carried a folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich records?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCounty transactions.\u201d<\/p>\n
We sat at Eleanor's kitchen table.<\/p>\n
Samuel had reconstructed Raymond's earliest contact with Thomas Vale.<\/p>\n
Nearly twenty years earlier, when Raymond purchased the eastern parcel after tax foreclosure, he became suspicious of how quickly the process moved.<\/p>\n
Not because he thought he had done something wrong.<\/p>\n
Because another neighboring parcel had transferred under similar circumstances.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Both later sold to developers connected to Vale's clients.<\/p>\n
Raymond began attending county meetings.<\/p>\n
Asking questions.<\/p>\n
Making himself annoying.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said. \u201cThat was his gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe requested public records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some records disappeared.<\/p>\n
Others contained irregular notices.<\/p>\n
Nothing enough for a lawsuit.<\/p>\n
But Raymond remembered.<\/p>\n
Then he met Agnes Mercer at a zoning hearing.<\/p>\n
They argued.<\/p>\n
She told him adult children should be allowed to make difficult decisions for aging parents.<\/p>\n
Raymond told her parents were not livestock.<\/p>\n
That sounded like him.<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale intervened.<\/p>\n
Smoothly.<\/p>\n
Politely.<\/p>\n
Afterward Raymond told Samuel he disliked Vale because \u201cthe man answers questions nobody asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
Raymond used to say that about salesmen.<\/p>\n
The history mattered because Raymond's later involvement with Margaret was not random.<\/p>\n
When Margaret told him about family pressure, a doctor letter and Daniel's legal threats, he recognized echoes of the older system.<\/p>\n
That was why he believed her immediately.<\/p>\n
He had been collecting fragments for years.<\/p>\n
Samuel spread copies of notes across the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond kept trying to connect Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd never could.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot conclusively.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe Agnes's recordings would.<\/p>\n
Maybe Lisa had them.<\/p>\n
Maybe Daniel's drive contained copies.<\/p>\n
At 10:40, Bennett called.<\/p>\n
Forensics had opened one drive.<\/p>\n
Not VALE MASTER.<\/p>\n
RAYMOND.<\/p>\n
My hands became cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want Samuel present?\u201d Bennett asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
We went to the station.<\/p>\n
Mark joined us.<\/p>\n
Karen by video.<\/p>\n
The RAYMOND drive contained old scans.<\/p>\n
County files.<\/p>\n
Letters.<\/p>\n
Photographs.<\/p>\n
Audio.<\/p>\n
Some we had already seen.<\/p>\n
Some not.<\/p>\n
One folder was labeled PR.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic relations?\u201d Mark asked.<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
Prepared attacks.<\/p>\n
Articles Daniel could feed reporters if Raymond went public.<\/p>\n
Claims Raymond used insider knowledge to buy land.<\/p>\n
Claims he exploited tax foreclosures.<\/p>\n
Claims he harassed elderly neighbors.<\/p>\n
Most distorted.<\/p>\n
Some based on genuine disputes stripped of context.<\/p>\n
A smear kit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were ready to ruin him,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Samuel looked furious.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another file.<\/p>\n
A letter from Daniel to Raymond.<\/p>\n
Never mailed?<\/p>\n
Maybe hand-delivered.<\/p>\n
It warned that public accusations against professionals could expose Raymond's own property history to scrutiny.<\/p>\n
No direct threat.<\/p>\n
Lawyer language.<\/p>\n
Clean.<\/p>\n
Cowardly.<\/p>\n
Raymond wrote a note across the top:<\/p>\n
He thinks shame scares me more than truth.<\/p>\n
I pressed my fingers to the page.<\/p>\n
That was my husband.<\/p>\n
Stubborn beyond reason.<\/p>\n
But right about one thing.<\/p>\n
Daniel misunderstood what could silence him.<\/p>\n
Another folder contained an audio file.<\/p>\n
RAYMOND_VALE_01.<\/p>\n
Vale.<\/p>\n
Not Daniel.<\/p>\n
We listened.<\/p>\n
Restaurant noise.<\/p>\n
Raymond\u2019s voice younger than the recordings from his final illness.<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale sounded calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're making this personal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt became personal when you used families to steal land.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don't know what you're talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Agnes keeps names.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
My heart pounded.<\/p>\n
Vale said, \u201cAgnes helps families.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe gets paid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo does every professional.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor placement. Realtors pay her too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReferral fees are not theft.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why hide them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Raymond continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd why do your buyers keep acquiring property right after people move into care?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrelation is not a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel whispered, \u201cHe was careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
Vale gave Raymond nothing explicit.<\/p>\n
Then Raymond said:<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret won't be the last.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the date was years before Margaret.<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrong file label?\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen checked.<\/p>\n
Yes.<\/p>\n
The metadata showed this audio was later than the folder organization suggested.<\/p>\n
Daniel had copied old and newer material into Raymond's profile.<\/p>\n
The conversation happened shortly before Margaret\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
Vale knew Raymond was involved.<\/p>\n
Then Vale said something that changed the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should ask Marianne what happens when good intentions meet bad evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel sat straighter.<\/p>\n
Raymond replied, \u201cMarianne came to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale went silent.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Raymond had revealed the whistleblower source deliberately or accidentally.<\/p>\n
Vale recovered quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen she has made a serious mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel is losing control.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording crackled.<\/p>\n
Vale continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him never to involve family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel whispered, \u201cFamily meaning Marianne?\u201d<\/p>\n
Likely.<\/p>\n
Vale was criticizing Daniel.<\/p>\n
Not because the scheme was wrong.<\/p>\n
Because involving Marianne created risk.<\/p>\n
Raymond said, \u201cYou're the one who taught him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long pause.<\/p>\n
Then Vale:<\/p>\n
\u201cI taught him to solve problems. What he chose to become is his responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
Not a confession.<\/p>\n
But close to acknowledging mentorship.<\/p>\n
Raymond pressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgnes?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale's tone changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave old women out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe trained you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou trained her?\u201d<\/p>\n
Vale laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRaymond, you desperately want one villain. Life is less satisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentence stayed with me.<\/p>\n
One villain.<\/p>\n
We had done that too.<\/p>\n
First Alicia.<\/p>\n
Then Bruce.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel.<\/p>\n
Now Vale.<\/p>\n
But systems survive because responsibility is distributed.<\/p>\n
Vale may have been central without being alone.<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
Raymond accused him of burying complaints.<\/p>\n
Vale warned him to stop.<\/p>\n
Then one final line.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are sick. Spend what time you have with Dorothy instead of trying to fix people who made their own choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shut my eyes.<\/p>\n
Raymond answered:<\/p>\n
\u201cThey made choices inside traps you built.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording ended.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
I wanted to hear his voice again.<\/p>\n
Not evidence.<\/p>\n
Just Raymond.<\/p>\n
But this was not the time.<\/p>\n
The drive also contained correspondence between Daniel and Vale.<\/p>\n
Some encrypted separately.<\/p>\n
Forensics opened part.<\/p>\n
There was conflict.<\/p>\n
Daniel wanted larger profits.<\/p>\n
Vale wanted distance.<\/p>\n
Daniel threatened to expose old Mercer payments if Vale cut him out.<\/p>\n
Vale warned Daniel he was becoming reckless.<\/p>\n
By the time my case began, their partnership was deteriorating.<\/p>\n
That explained why each may now be trying to destroy the other.<\/p>\n
An email from seven months earlier:<\/p>\n
Vale to Daniel:<\/p>\n
Hayes is too visible. Raymond documented too much. Do not touch widow.<\/p>\n
Daniel replied:<\/p>\n
Family access makes it manageable.<\/p>\n
Vale:<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
Daniel ignored him.<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
My case may have been Daniel\u2019s independent move.<\/p>\n
Then why did Vale later direct Lisa to clean it up?<\/p>\n
Because once the case exploded, Vale's old history became exposed.<\/p>\n
Daniel created the fire.<\/p>\n
Vale tried to contain it.<\/p>\n
Karen said, \u201cThat also means Lisa's claim that Vale set Alicia up as liability may be partly true even if Vale opposed the original acquisition.\u201d<\/p>\n
He may have entered later to structure damage away from himself.<\/p>\n
Complex.<\/p>\n
Messy.<\/p>\n
More believable.<\/p>\n
At noon, forensics opened part of EXIT PLAN.<\/p>\n
Not all.<\/p>\n
The first file contained maps.<\/p>\n
Routes to Canada.<\/p>\n
Airports.<\/p>\n
Bus lines.<\/p>\n
Private airfields.<\/p>\n
Cash locations.<\/p>\n
Safe properties.<\/p>\n
Daniel had planned escape options for years.<\/p>\n
One current map had three marks.<\/p>\n
Cabin already searched.<\/p>\n
Boat-storage safe already found.<\/p>\n
Third location:<\/p>\n
Fairhaven Lodge.<\/p>\n
An abandoned resort property four hours north.<\/p>\n
Owned through a dissolved entity once linked to Martin Bell.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel could be there,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n
Bennett was already moving.<\/p>\n
But another file changed urgency.<\/p>\n
A calendar.<\/p>\n
Today.<\/p>\n
6:00 p.m.<\/p>\n
FAIRHAVEN \u2014 V.<\/p>\n
\u201cV means Vale,\u201d Samuel said.<\/p>\n
Maybe.<\/p>\n
The drive included a draft email:<\/p>\n
Thomas, bring the master originals. I bring mine. We end this tonight. No Lisa.<\/p>\n
Daniel and Vale had arranged a meeting.<\/p>\n
Perhaps to exchange evidence.<\/p>\n
Perhaps money.<\/p>\n
Perhaps threaten each other.<\/p>\n
Fairhaven Lodge.<\/p>\n
Six o'clock.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time is it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
12:26.<\/p>\n
Bennett began coordinating state police.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one from this family goes anywhere near Fairhaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not argue.<\/p>\n
That frightened Mark more than if I had.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're agreeing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have finally accepted that trained officers are more useful in armed confrontations than seventy-two-year-old widows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eleanor would be proud.<\/p>\n
Another EXIT PLAN file contained photographs of Fairhaven.<\/p>\n
Old lake resort.<\/p>\n
Closed seven years.<\/p>\n
Multiple buildings.<\/p>\n
Wooded access roads.<\/p>\n
Boat dock.<\/p>\n
Plenty of places to hide.<\/p>\n
Police needed time.<\/p>\n
Surveillance first.<\/p>\n
Avoid spooking either man.<\/p>\n
Then forensics opened another document.<\/p>\n
LIST \u2014 CLEANUP.<\/p>\n
Names.<\/p>\n
Bruce.<\/p>\n
Lisa.<\/p>\n
Alicia.<\/p>\n
Foster.<\/p>\n
Peter.<\/p>\n
Caroline.<\/p>\n
Ruth.<\/p>\n
Helen.<\/p>\n
Samuel.<\/p>\n
Me.<\/p>\n
Some had notes.<\/p>\n
Bruce \u2014 retrieve Bell media.<\/p>\n
Lisa \u2014 recover Mercer material.<\/p>\n
Alicia \u2014 contain testimony.<\/p>\n
Foster \u2014 no issue after stroke.<\/p>\n
Peter \u2014 discredit via complicity.<\/p>\n
Caroline \u2014 undocumented history leverage obsolete.<\/p>\n
Ruth \u2014 charge exposure.<\/p>\n
Samuel \u2014 firm liability.<\/p>\n
Dorothy \u2014 family leverage.<\/p>\n
The list was Daniel's.<\/p>\n
Not Vale\u2019s.<\/p>\n
He had contingency plans for everyone.<\/p>\n
Beside Thomas Vale\u2019s name:<\/p>\n
Master threat. If he turns, release Agnes + county files.<\/p>\n
So Daniel held evidence against Vale.<\/p>\n
Beside Marianne:<\/p>\n
Dead. affidavit unresolved.<\/p>\n
He never knew where she placed it.<\/p>\n
That uncertainty haunted him for years.<\/p>\n
No wonder Helen's discovery triggered panic.<\/p>\n
Then one line at the bottom:<\/p>\n
If Vale moves first, Fairhaven.<\/p>\n
So the meeting could be Daniel's counterattack.<\/p>\n
Maybe not agreed mutually.<\/p>\n
Maybe bait.<\/p>\n
\u201cCould V mean victim?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Bennett considered.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the draft email named Thomas.<\/p>\n
Likely Vale.<\/p>\n
At 2:15, surveillance reached Fairhaven.<\/p>\n
No visible occupants.<\/p>\n
Then tire tracks.<\/p>\n
Recent.<\/p>\n
Back building had power from a generator.<\/p>\n
Someone had prepared the place.<\/p>\n
Officers held distance.<\/p>\n
At 3:02, a dark SUV arrived.<\/p>\n
Driver:<\/p>\n
Thomas Vale.<\/p>\n
Confirmed.<\/p>\n
He entered alone carrying a metal case.<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped when Bennett called.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo sign.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 3:41, another vehicle appeared.<\/p>\n
Old pickup.<\/p>\n
Driver obscured.<\/p>\n
Entered through rear service road.<\/p>\n
No confirmed identity.<\/p>\n
Then Bennett received notice from another team.<\/p>\n
Lisa's photograph matched a woman seen buying food that morning sixty miles from Fairhaven.<\/p>\n
She could be headed there too.<\/p>\n
Three fugitives converging.<\/p>\n
Or two and one witness.<\/p>\n
Police expanded perimeter.<\/p>\n
Mark paced Samuel's office.<\/p>\n
I sat.<\/p>\n
He finally asked, \u201cHow are you sitting?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPractice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm going insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed despite himself.<\/p>\n
At 4:10, EXIT PLAN yielded another file.<\/p>\n
Audio scheduled?<\/p>\n
No.<\/p>\n
A text draft to Lisa:<\/p>\n
You want protection, bring Agnes audio to Fairhaven before six. Vale doesn't know you have it.<\/p>\n
Daniel had invited Lisa too.<\/p>\n
She wasn't excluded.<\/p>\n
The earlier draft said No Lisa to Vale.<\/p>\n
He was setting them against each other.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Daniel wanted both sides' evidence in one location.<\/p>\n
One chance to regain control.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is his plan?\u201d Mark asked.<\/p>\n
No one knew.<\/p>\n
Then 4:37.<\/p>\n
Police saw a woman approach Fairhaven on foot from the wooded side.<\/p>\n
Lisa.<\/p>\n
Confirmed.<\/p>\n
She carried a backpack.<\/p>\n
Entered through rear door.<\/p>\n
Now Vale and Lisa were inside.<\/p>\n
Daniel still unseen.<\/p>\n
At 5:03, thermal surveillance detected three heat signatures in the main lodge.<\/p>\n
Three.<\/p>\n
So Daniel was already there.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the pickup.<\/p>\n
Bennett called.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll three likely present.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the clock.<\/p>\n
Nearly six years after Margaret died.<\/p>\n
Four years after Raymond.<\/p>\n
Days after Alicia's pocket call.<\/p>\n
Three central figures were finally in one place.<\/p>\n
Then, at 5:22, another vehicle approached.<\/p>\n
Police expected perhaps backup.<\/p>\n
It was not.<\/p>\n
The driver was Alicia.<\/p>\n
Mark stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Bennett's voice sharpened over speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlicia is at Fairhaven.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark reached for his coat.<\/p>\n
Bennett said, \u201cDo not move.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did she get there?\u201d<\/p>\n
She had been cooperating through counsel.<\/p>\n
Not under arrest.<\/p>\n
Protected location voluntary.<\/p>\n
Apparently she left without telling anyone.<\/p>\n
Her attorney couldn't reach her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Then Mark's phone rang.<\/p>\n
Alicia.<\/p>\n
Bennett told him to answer.<\/p>\n
Speaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cMark.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Samuel's.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs Dorothy there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListen carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing at Fairhaven?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPolice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cLisa called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said Daniel has the originals that can make it look like I planned everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
Same pattern.<\/p>\n
Everyone chasing documents that might control the story.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlicia, leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVale saw me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind her voice came a sound.<\/p>\n
Door closing.<\/p>\n
Then a man's voice, distant.<\/p>\n
We could not distinguish words.<\/p>\n
Alicia whispered:<\/p>\n
\u201cTell Dorothy I'm sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark went white.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon't do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell the kids\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
The call cut.<\/p>\n
Every person in the room froze.<\/p>\n
Bennett was already issuing commands.<\/p>\n
Tactical teams moved.<\/p>\n
No more surveillance-only approach.<\/p>\n
Potential hostage.<\/p>\n
Potential violence.<\/p>\n
At 5:31, police advanced toward Fairhaven Lodge.<\/p>\n
I sat with both hands flat on Samuel's conference table because if I let them move, they would shake.<\/p>\n
Mark stood beside me staring at his dead phone.<\/p>\n
I looked at the clock.<\/p>\n
Twenty-nine minutes before the meeting Daniel had marked for six.<\/p>\n
Whatever he planned for Fairhaven was already happening.<\/p>\n
And Alicia had walked straight into the center of it.<\/p>\n
The encrypted drives went to a forensic lab before dawn. I knew that because Detective Bennett called me at 6:05 and told me not to expect results quickly. \u201cThey may … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7998","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\/7998","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=7998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8055,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7998\/revisions\/8055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}