Dale\u2019s truck came down the lane too fast, throwing gravel behind it.<\/p>\n
Pam moved first.<\/p>\n
She took the deed from my hand, folded it once, and pushed it inside my jacket.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSaving you from showing it to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel Brice stood beside the barn entrance gripping his cane.<\/p>\n
Alan muttered, \u201cEverybody stay calm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam gave him a flat look.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat strategy has worked wonderfully for forty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale stopped beside her SUV.<\/p>\n
He climbed out and slammed the door.<\/p>\n
His gaze moved from Pam to Samuel, then Alan, then me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo idea,\u201d Pam said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left Henry\u2019s place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took the hutch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBull.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked into the barn.<\/p>\n
His eyes found the open compartment immediately.<\/p>\n
Everything about him changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam folded her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat usually happens when you buy furniture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was inside?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel leaned on his cane.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll need to be more specific.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no point pretending anymore.<\/p>\n
Dale knew exactly what we were looking for.<\/p>\n
Samuel shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaven\u2019t seen Henry\u2019s ledger in years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale turned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found it in the basement.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kept my expression blank.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told Pam.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Pam Grandpa left evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. It isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped closer.<\/p>\n
Alan moved between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig brother finally finds courage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTry me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two men stared at each other.<\/p>\n
I had known both since childhood. I had watched them wrestle in Grandpa\u2019s yard, race bicycles down the road, fight over baseball cards.<\/p>\n
Now the distance between them seemed measured in secrets rather than feet.<\/p>\n
Pam broke the silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale, the sale is canceled.\u201d<\/p>\n
His head snapped toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNancy is executor.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, she isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final will says she is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAttorney has a copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale swore.<\/p>\n
That reaction told me he had known a later will existed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou filed the wrong one,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI filed the one I had.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You filed the one that gave you room to act.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know anything about probate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know enough to understand you sold estate property without authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody sold anything important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe hutch apparently mattered enough for you to drive eleven miles after it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Pam.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were supposed to bring it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam smiled without warmth.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You assumed I would.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped closer to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been playing both sides since we were kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019ve been confusing me with my father since yours taught you how.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words landed heavily.<\/p>\n
Dale pointed at Samuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou. Leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel looked around his own barn.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019m staying.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s hand curled into a fist.<\/p>\n
Alan moved again.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was tired of people positioning themselves between me and answers.<\/p>\n
\u201cDale, what did your father steal from Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger says otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was a gamble.<\/p>\n
His reaction confirmed it.<\/p>\n
He went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam whispered, \u201cNancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Too late.<\/p>\n
Dale looked at my jacket.<\/p>\n
I stepped backward.<\/p>\n
Alan blocked him.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I\u2019m going to attack her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think your father threatened Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
The laughter stopped.<\/p>\n
For several seconds he said nothing.<\/p>\n
Then his face changed in a way I hadn\u2019t expected.<\/p>\n
Not guilt.<\/p>\n
Pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was a bastard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
Dale looked toward the barn floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou all think I don\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam watched him carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe spent thirty years telling me Henry cheated him,\u201d Dale continued. \u201cThat Robert stole from the company. That Samuel covered for him. That Martin Mercer fixed the records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel snorted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father was always good at reversing names.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you stop?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Henry showed me the original books.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe black ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heartbeat changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are more?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam laughed once.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou absolutely do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale turned on her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I\u2019d be standing here if I knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been tearing Henry\u2019s house apart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo have you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to find what our fathers hid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re trying to find enough to protect yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re not?\u201d<\/p>\n
They stared at each other.<\/p>\n
I understood then that Dale and Pam were not partners in the way I had assumed.<\/p>\n
They were competitors guarding overlapping secrets.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you tell me to burn the bonds?\u201d I asked Dale.<\/p>\n
He looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause those serial numbers connect to the missing money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you presented them, Treasury records could establish purchase dates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the point.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would that hurt you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause some of the money Grandpa used to buy them came through accounts in my father\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
Not guilt.<\/p>\n
Fear of inheritance.<\/p>\n
Fear that Curtis\u2019s wrongdoing had become Dale\u2019s liability.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t steal anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one said you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re thinking it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thinking you told me to destroy evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI panicked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone broke into my house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWasn\u2019t me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone stole the Bible cover.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Pam.<\/p>\n
She stared back.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew where Nancy lived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew the bonds were in that case.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel struck his cane against the concrete.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re all doing exactly what Curtis and Martin wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Alan asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cTurning on each other while the records disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel pointed toward the walnut hutch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat compartment was empty because Henry stopped trusting the house years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did he move everything?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Samuel looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe split it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe. Robert. Your mother. Alan.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward my brother.<\/p>\n
Alan\u2019s face gave him away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had something.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA packet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c1998.\u201d<\/p>\n
The year of the cassette.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never opened it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDad told me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger returned instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGone how?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave it back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Grandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c2001. The night he signed your name for Box 114.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything circled back to that night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Dad forge my signature?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t consider it forgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a remarkable legal theory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alan winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said the box already belonged to you. He wanted to restrict everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not bring me to the bank?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause if you knew he was alive, you would have demanded answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he believed knowing would put you in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat excuse is getting old.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam spoke quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t entirely an excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell me what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Dale.<\/p>\n
He folded his arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam walked toward the barn opening.<\/p>\n
For a moment I thought she was leaving.<\/p>\n
Instead, she leaned against the frame and stared across Samuel\u2019s field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was seventeen when I heard my father and Curtis talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice had changed.<\/p>\n
Not defensive now.<\/p>\n
Remembering.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey thought I was upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel remained silent.<\/p>\n
Pam continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurtis said Robert had copied records. My father said they could make the evidence look like Robert had stolen the money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurtis asked what happened if Robert talked anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father said accidents happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to Henry,\u201d she continued. \u201cHe didn\u2019t believe me at first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believed Curtis was dishonest. He didn\u2019t believe his own brother would hurt anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed his mind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI showed him a typed letter my father had prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat letter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA confession for Robert.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach twisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey planned to force him to sign it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr make it appear he had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale stared at Pam.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou worshiped your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was fifteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I was seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n
The old resentment between them suddenly made sense.<\/p>\n
Children had inherited crimes before they were old enough to understand them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Grandpa do?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got Robert out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe knew part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know he survived?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer hurt even though I already knew it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did she lie to me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam\u2019s eyes softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Robert asked her to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe agreed to tell a four-year-old her father was dead?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe believed it was temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow temporary?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil Henry could prove what Curtis had done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he never did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo everyone just continued lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The honesty of it made me flinch.<\/p>\n
Pam rubbed her arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother hated it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow would you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she blamed me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor warning Robert instead of going directly to police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saved him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t how she saw it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to the company?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam looked toward Samuel.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurtis accelerated the transfers after Robert disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUsing the supposed theft?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe convinced investors Henry had covered Robert\u2019s embezzlement. Lenders tightened credit. Assets got sold into companies Curtis and Martin controlled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Grandpa did nothing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe fought,\u201d Samuel said. \u201cFor years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t he go to police?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords were missing. Witnesses changed stories. Martin handled legal paperwork. Curtis controlled books. Robert was gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the bonds?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHenry started creating an external paper trail.\u201d<\/p>\n
I touched the deed inside my jacket.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer-Harper Development owns Grandpa\u2019s land now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam\u2019s face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n
I took out the photocopy.<\/p>\n
She stared at it.<\/p>\n
Samuel said nothing.<\/p>\n
I handed it to her.<\/p>\n
Pam read it.<\/p>\n
Then she whispered, \u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis tract was sold in 1994.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA logistics company.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I handled part of the closing.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was something new in her expression.<\/p>\n
Real confusion.<\/p>\n
She looked at Dale.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know about this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father had interest in Mercer-Harper.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot this property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale took the deed.<\/p>\n
His eyes moved across the legal description.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa mailed it to Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSix weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale went silent.<\/p>\n
Then he handed it back to me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Henry discovered something right before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale stared past me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said Curtis had fooled all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t explain over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you meet him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in Tulsa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he call Pam?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
Samuel\u2019s face had become thoughtful.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exact words did Henry use?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018Your father stole the wrong thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney?\u201d Alan asked.<\/p>\n
Dale shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe specifically said it wasn\u2019t money.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of the ledger.<\/p>\n
The bonds.<\/p>\n
The land.<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s insistence that everything was evidence rather than inheritance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Curtis steal that mattered more than money?\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n
He turned toward the hutch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe corporate seal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarper Holdings\u2019 original corporate seal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pam pushed away from the barn door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was lost in the eighties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Curtis took it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy does that matter now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause with the original seal and old stock certificates, Martin could create documents that looked authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n
\u201cOwnership transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the significance settle over us.<\/p>\n
If Curtis and Martin had forged transfers using the corporate seal, the entire chain of ownership might be fraudulent.<\/p>\n
Including land now held by their descendants.<\/p>\n
Including Pam and Dale.<\/p>\n
A phone rang.<\/p>\n
Mine.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert\u2019s voice came quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNancy, don\u2019t trust anyone standing with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the four people in the barn.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know where I am?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Samuel called me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Samuel\u2019s face revealed nothing.<\/p>\n
Robert continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave the Brice farm now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the ledger you found is incomplete.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand tightened around the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s missing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last six pages.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n
He lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho has them?\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned toward Alan.<\/p>\n
His face went white.<\/p>\n
Dale\u2019s truck came down the lane too fast, throwing gravel behind it. Pam moved first. She took the deed from my hand, folded it once, and pushed it inside my … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8368","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\/8368","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=8368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8388,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8368\/revisions\/8388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechapterstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}