Finding a cassette player took nearly an hour.<\/p>\n
Lucas eventually remembered an old stereo in the garage.<\/p>\n
He returned carrying it as though he had excavated an archaeological artifact.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease respect my technology.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marisol stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat thing has a handle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s portable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has an antenna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdvanced engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under any other circumstances I might have laughed.<\/p>\n
Instead, I watched Daniel place my mother\u2019s cassette inside.<\/p>\n
Tessa photographed the tape first.<\/p>\n
The detective had instructed us not to alter it, but listening would not destroy the evidence.<\/p>\n
Daniel pressed play.<\/p>\n
Static.<\/p>\n
A click.<\/p>\n
Then my mother\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
I had forgotten how young she once sounded.<\/p>\n
Not the weakened voice from her final years.<\/p>\n
This was Margaret at thirty-eight.<\/p>\n
Clear.<\/p>\n
Controlled.<\/p>\n
Afraid.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy name is Margaret Carter. The date is October seventeenth.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the chair.<\/p>\n
Robert sat across the room.<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf James is listening to this, then I either lost my nerve or something happened before I could tell him everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope it\u2019s the first.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes filled unexpectedly.<\/p>\n
I blinked until the room cleared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been reviewing accounts connected to Hale Development, the Hale Family Settlement, and the Carter-Hale partnerships. There are transfers Victor says he authorized. Victor denies authorizing them. Vincent denies them too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at me.<\/p>\n
Victor had been telling at least part of the truth.<\/p>\n
My mother continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe authorizations trace back to Andrew Vale.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tessa leaned closer to the recorder.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew says Victor instructed him privately. Victor says Andrew is lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another burst of static.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know who to believe anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood that feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cVincent thinks Andrew is taking money and making it appear as though the brothers are stealing from each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas whispered, \u201cDivide them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel nodded.<\/p>\n
The tape continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames believes Victor is responsible because most of the money ultimately moves through Victor\u2019s companies. I told James he may be wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the recorder.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s ledger reflected his suspicions.<\/p>\n
My mother had questioned them from the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cVincent found copies of documents showing Andrew created secondary authorizations. Tomorrow he is taking me to meet an accountant who can verify them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The auditor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not telling Victor or James where we are going.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause followed.<\/p>\n
Then my mother\u2019s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew knows.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody breathed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how. I never told him. Vincent says he didn\u2019t either. But Andrew called me tonight and asked whether tomorrow\u2019s drive would be worth the trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tessa\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked what he meant. He laughed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am recording this because if something happens tomorrow, Andrew Vale knew we were going.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape clicked.<\/p>\n
For several seconds there was only hiss.<\/p>\n
Then her voice returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is another matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt myself straighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt concerns Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n
My children looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Elena was born, James and I were struggling financially. James\u2019s business had failed. We had no insurance for part of the hospital expense.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cVincent paid through Hale Holdings.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
No secret paternity.<\/p>\n
No hidden affair.<\/p>\n
A loan between family members whose true relationship had itself been hidden.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames hated accepting the money, but Vincent insisted. He said family should not keep accounts against family.\u201d<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames never knew why Vincent used that phrase.\u201d<\/p>\n
But my father eventually discovered they shared a biological father.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Vincent already knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Vincent knows something about James\u2019s birth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked him directly. He refused to explain. He said it belonged to his father\u2019s generation and would only hurt people who had done nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded less like conspiracy and more like mercy.<\/p>\n
Then my mother said something unexpected.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor believes the hospital payment gives him leverage over James.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew encouraged that belief.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Again Andrew.<\/p>\n
Again someone placing a fact between two people and allowing suspicion to do the damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe suggested Elena might be Hale family. That is not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath stopped.<\/p>\n
The next words came clearly.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames Carter is Elena\u2019s biological father. I know this with certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marisol reached for my hand.<\/p>\n
I squeezed hers.<\/p>\n
I had not realized how badly I needed the answer until I heard it.<\/p>\n
My mother continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever happened in the previous generation has nothing to do with my daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape hissed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew keeps asking about her.\u201d<\/p>\n
My relief disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to know what James has placed in Elena\u2019s name. He asks about the house. He asks about insurance. He asks whether Elena understands the family settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tessa wrote quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him Elena knows nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate that this is true, but for now ignorance may protect her.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost spoke aloud to the machine.<\/p>\n
It had protected me.<\/p>\n
Until it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames wants to move the remaining assets into a trust. I agree. If anything happens to either of us, Elena and her children should control everything together. No single signature should be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cThat\u2019s why the beneficiaries matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exactly.<\/p>\n
The trust had not been designed merely for inheritance.<\/p>\n
It was a security mechanism.<\/p>\n
No one person could be pressured into surrendering everything.<\/p>\n
My mother continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames wants to exclude Robert if Elena ever marries.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
The tape predated my marriage.<\/p>\n
Robert looked stunned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t exist yet in her life,\u201d Marisol whispered.<\/p>\n
My mother explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Robert specifically. Any spouse. The trust must remain with Elena and her descendants.\u201d<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
That was why Robert\u2019s handwritten addition was so significant.<\/p>\n
Someone had inserted a spouse into a structure explicitly designed to exclude spouses.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny amendment adding a husband or outside beneficiary should be treated as fraudulent unless signed by James, me, and Elena together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel immediately photographed the altered beneficiary page again.<\/p>\n
We now had my mother\u2019s contemporaneous statement supporting the original structure.<\/p>\n
Then the recording changed.<\/p>\n
A sound occurred in the background.<\/p>\n
A knock.<\/p>\n
My mother stopped speaking.<\/p>\n
Another knock.<\/p>\n
She whispered, \u201cSomeone\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all leaned toward the recorder.<\/p>\n
Footsteps.<\/p>\n
A door opening somewhere in the old recording.<\/p>\n
Then a man\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
Too distant to identify.<\/p>\n
My mother said, \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man replied.<\/p>\n
Static swallowed most of it.<\/p>\n
We heard only two words.<\/p>\n
\u201c…about tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother answered sharply.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man said something else.<\/p>\n
Then, clearer:<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret, listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert shot to his feet.<\/p>\n
The room erupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n
Robert stared at the cassette player.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recognize it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert looked terrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVictor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVincent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer made no sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had met Robert\u2019s father only twice before he died.<\/p>\n
Charles Carter\u2014no relation to my family despite the shared surname\u2014had been distant from Robert for most of his adult life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would your father be at my mother\u2019s house twenty-six years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid your dad know Grandma?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that I knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recording continued.<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s voice became angry.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promised you wouldn\u2019t come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charles replied, clearer now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to stop this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen stop Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
A long stretch of static obscured the answer.<\/p>\n
Then Margaret said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows about your son.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every person in the room turned toward Robert.<\/p>\n
Robert sank slowly into his chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son,\u201d Charles said on the tape.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does Robert have to do with any of this?\u201d<\/p>\n
My ex-husband looked physically sick.<\/p>\n
He had been an adult then, but he had not yet met me.<\/p>\n
My mother answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew has been asking about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charles swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Robert works in property finance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thinks Robert could be useful later.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
Later.<\/p>\n
Andrew had noticed Robert before Robert ever entered my life.<\/p>\n
Charles said something too faint to understand.<\/p>\n
My mother replied:<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Elena has never met him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gripped the table.<\/p>\n
The tape had just connected my future husband to my family years before our supposed first meeting.<\/p>\n
Charles\u2019s voice rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI intend to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape clicked.<\/p>\n
Then another section began.<\/p>\n
My mother sounded shaken.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf James hears this, Charles came to the house tonight. He says Andrew Vale has been researching Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
She breathed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles believes Andrew is looking for someone young enough to manipulate and close enough to property finance to use later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert covered his face.<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
My mother continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked why his son matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles told me something I do not know whether to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape hissed.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert applied for a position with Vale Strategic Holdings last month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert\u2019s hands fell from his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never worked for Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did not get the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert stood again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marisol stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou applied to Andrew\u2019s company before you met Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandma says you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI applied to dozens of companies after college.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Andrew approached you eight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he already knew you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert shook his head repeatedly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I would have remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles says Andrew kept Robert\u2019s application.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became silent again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd there is something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice weakened.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert listed James Carter as a professional reference.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Robert.<\/p>\n
He stopped moving.<\/p>\n
Daniel asked very quietly, \u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert\u2019s mouth opened.<\/p>\n
Nothing came out.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Grandpa before you met Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why was he your reference?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is your handwriting on an application.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did we first meet?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know when.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSay it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Daniel\u2019s school fundraiser.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-three years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThree years after this tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know who I was?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s recording continued before I could respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles claims Robert never met James personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee?\u201d<\/p>\n
But my mother was not finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew supplied the reference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles thinks Andrew wanted Robert\u2019s employment record connected to James Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered, \u201cA paper trail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tessa nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cManufactured association.\u201d<\/p>\n
The recorder hissed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that is true, Andrew was building connections between people who had never met.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother understood the pattern twenty-six years earlier.<\/p>\n
Andrew did not merely steal money.<\/p>\n
He constructed relationships on paper.<\/p>\n
Authorizations.<\/p>\n
References.<\/p>\n
Companies.<\/p>\n
Debts.<\/p>\n
Enough documentation to make false stories appear true.<\/p>\n
The tape continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Charles to destroy Robert\u2019s application.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
My mother answered as if she had heard me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says it may someday prove Andrew was planning something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came the final section.<\/p>\n
Her voice sounded exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Vincent and I reach the accountant tomorrow, we will have enough to confront Andrew.\u201d<\/p>\n
I already knew they never arrived.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t, James must receive this recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
He apparently never did.<\/p>\n
Or perhaps he did and hid it.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles promised to deliver it if necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert whispered, \u201cDad had the tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tessa looked at the package.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd someone had it until today.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Whoever delivered it either possessed Charles\u2019s records or had recovered them after his death.<\/p>\n
My mother continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cJames must protect Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n
A long pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if Robert Carter ever enters Elena\u2019s life\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026James must not assume it is coincidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody moved.<\/p>\n
I felt as if the room had emptied around me.<\/p>\n
My mother had recorded that warning three years before I met Robert.<\/p>\n
Robert shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert may know nothing. Charles believes he is innocent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert gripped the chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Andrew chose him for a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother took a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Robert ever becomes close to Elena, find out who arranged it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tape ended.<\/p>\n
The cassette wheels turned silently.<\/p>\n
Click.<\/p>\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n
Robert looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cElena, I swear to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not know Andrew before we met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou applied to his company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou listed my father as a reference.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAndrew did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe you never saw the application?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was twenty-six. I sent r\u00e9sum\u00e9s everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stepped between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
He held the envelope that had contained the cassette.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something inside the lining.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tessa took it carefully.<\/p>\n
She cut the seam.<\/p>\n
A folded sheet slid out.<\/p>\n
An old employment application.<\/p>\n
Vale Strategic Holdings.<\/p>\n
Applicant: Robert Carter.<\/p>\n
His signature appeared at the bottom.<\/p>\n
Professional reference: James Carter.<\/p>\n
And beside James\u2019s name was a telephone number.<\/p>\n
I recognized it.<\/p>\n
Not my father\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
Not our old home.<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s private line.<\/p>\n
Robert stared at the application.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never wrote that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel examined the handwriting.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can you be sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I didn\u2019t know that number.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked closer.<\/p>\n
Most of the application was typed.<\/p>\n
The reference section had been added by hand.<\/p>\n
Different ink.<\/p>\n
Different pressure.<\/p>\n
Someone had altered it after Robert signed.<\/p>\n
Tessa pointed to a faint notation at the bottom.<\/p>\n
A.V.<\/p>\n
Andrew Vale.<\/p>\n
Then I saw another line.<\/p>\n
Internal candidate strategy:<\/p>\n
Do not hire.<\/p>\n
Retain file.<\/p>\n
Potential future access to Carter beneficiary.<\/p>\n
My skin went cold.<\/p>\n
Twenty-six years earlier, Andrew had already identified me as a beneficiary.<\/p>\n
And Robert as a possible route to me.<\/p>\n
Our marriage had begun three years later.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Robert truly had met me by accident.<\/p>\n
Perhaps not.<\/p>\n
But Andrew had been waiting long before either of us knew there was a trap.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
A message.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
One photograph.<\/p>\n
Robert and me at Daniel\u2019s school fundraiser on the night we first met.<\/p>\n
Taken from across the room.<\/p>\n
Neither of us was looking at the camera.<\/p>\n
Below it was a sentence.<\/p>\n
YOU STILL THINK YOUR MEETING WAS AN ACCIDENT?<\/p>\n
Robert stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
I looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n
Behind us stood dozens of parents, teachers, donors, and volunteers.<\/p>\n
At first I saw nothing unusual.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel enlarged the image.<\/p>\n
Near the far wall stood a man in a dark suit.<\/p>\n
Watching Robert speak to me.<\/p>\n
Andrew Vale.<\/p>\n
And beside him was another figure.<\/p>\n
Someone I recognized immediately.<\/p>\n
My father.<\/p>\n
James Carter was not smiling.<\/p>\n
He was staring directly at Andrew.<\/p>\n
My mother had warned him that if Robert ever entered my life, he should discover who arranged it.<\/p>\n
Judging by the expression on my father\u2019s face, he had understood the danger the very night Robert and I met.<\/p>\n
Yet he had never told me.<\/p>\n
I looked at the photograph until one final detail became visible.<\/p>\n
My father was holding something in his right hand.<\/p>\n
A folded note.<\/p>\n
On the back of the photograph, someone had enlarged that note and printed the visible handwriting beneath it.<\/p>\n
Three words.<\/p>\n
GET ELENA OUT.<\/p>\n
Finding a cassette player took nearly an hour. Lucas eventually remembered an old stereo in the garage. He returned carrying it as though he had excavated an archaeological artifact. \u201cPlease … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8122","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\/8122","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=8122"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8162,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8122\/revisions\/8162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}