\u201cThat’s the man from the recording.\u201d
\nMason’s whisper barely left his mouth before the first police officer moved.
\nHe stepped away from the bedroom window and spoke quietly into his radio.
\nThe second officer downstairs answered immediately.
\nI still had Brian on the phone.
\n\u201cDad?\u201d
\nI didn’t respond.
\n\u201cDad, who’s there?\u201d
\nThat question caught me.
\nBrian couldn’t see the street.
\nAt least, he shouldn’t have been able to.
\nYet the moment another vehicle arrived outside his house, my son suddenly wanted to know who was there.
\nI looked at the officer.
\nHe had noticed it too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cBrian,\u201d I said carefully, \u201cwhere are you?\u201d
\n\u201cDriving.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\n\u201cWhy does it matter?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause you told me you were going to Florida.\u201d
\n\u201cWe changed plans.\u201d
\n\u201cThen tell me where you are.\u201d
\nSilence.
\nOutside, a car door slammed.
\nMason grabbed my sleeve.
\n\u201cGrandpa, don’t let him come upstairs.\u201d
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u201cThe man.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat man?\u201d
\nBefore Mason could answer, the doorbell rang.
\nOnce.
\nThen twice.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The officer motioned for us to remain upstairs.
\nBrian suddenly said, \u201cDad, listen to me.\u201d
\nHis voice had changed completely.
\nNo casual laugh.
\nNo pretending this was a misunderstanding.
\n\u201cIf you’re at my house, leave.\u201d
\nI stared at the phone.
\n\u201cYou just told me not to go there.\u201d
\n\u201cI’m serious.\u201d
\n\u201cSo am I.\u201d
\n\u201cTake Mason and leave right now.\u201d
\nThat was the first time Brian had admitted knowing Mason was with me.
\nI felt something inside me go still.
\n\u201cHow do you know Mason is here?\u201d
\nBrian didn’t answer.
\nThe doorbell rang a third time.
\nThen someone knocked.
\nThree slow knocks.
\nMason backed farther into the bedroom.
\n\u201cI know that knock.\u201d
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cHe came Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The officer turned toward him.
\n\u201cWas your father home?\u201d
\nMason nodded.
\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d
\n\u201cThey went into Dad’s office.\u201d
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u201cDad and that man.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did they talk about?\u201d
\nMason looked at the tablet.
\n\u201cI recorded some of it.\u201d
\nDownstairs, I heard an officer call through the front door.
\n\u201cPolice. Identify yourself.\u201d
\nThe knocking stopped.
\nBrian cursed in my ear.
\nNot loudly.
\nBut I heard it.
\n\u201cBrian?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d
\nThere was something about hearing my own son ask me that while his eight-year-old daughter was being taken to a hospital that finally burned through the last of my hesitation.
\n\u201cWhat did I do?\u201d
\nI kept my voice low.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI answered Lily’s phone call.\u201d
\nBrian said nothing.
\n\u201cI found your daughter unconscious on the floor.\u201d
\nSilence.
\n\u201cI found your son locked in a closet.\u201d
\n\u201cDad, you don’t understand.\u201d
\n\u201cI found your note.\u201d
\nStill nothing.
\n\u201cAnd now I’m standing beside a police officer while Mason shows us what you apparently tried to delete.\u201d
\nBrian inhaled sharply.
\nThat was the reaction.
\nNot when I mentioned Lily.
\nNot when I mentioned Mason.
\nNot when I mentioned the police.
\nWhen I mentioned the tablet.
\n\u201cWhat did he show you?\u201d
\nI looked at Mason.
\n\u201cEnough.\u201d
\n\u201cDad, listen to me very carefully. Mason doesn’t understand what he recorded.\u201d
\n\u201cHe’s ten.\u201d
\n\u201cExactly.\u201d
\n\u201cTen is old enough to know when someone locks him in a closet.\u201d
\n\u201cThat wasn’t\u2014\u201d
\nBrian stopped himself.
\n\u201cWasn’t what?\u201d
\n\u201cYou’re twisting this.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, Brian. I’m standing in your house looking at it.\u201d
\nDownstairs, voices became louder.
\nThe man outside was speaking to the officers.
\nI couldn’t hear everything.
\nBut I heard one sentence.
\n\u201cBrian Harper asked me to come.\u201d
\nMason heard it too.
\nHis eyes widened.
\nBrian was still on the phone.
\nI said, \u201cThere’s a man at your front door saying you sent him.\u201d
\nThe line went silent.
\nThen Brian said, \u201cDon’t let him inside.\u201d
\nI almost laughed from disbelief.
\n\u201cYou sent him here.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cHe says you did.\u201d
\n\u201cI didn’t.\u201d
\n\u201cThen who is he?\u201d
\nBrian didn’t answer.
\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d
\n\u201cDad, just keep Mason away from him.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nAnother silence.
\nThen Brian said, \u201cBecause he isn’t supposed to know Mason still has that tablet.\u201d
\nI felt the floor shift beneath the entire story.
\nThe officer beside me heard every word.
\nHe wrote something quickly in his notebook.
\n\u201cHow does he know about the tablet at all?\u201d
\nBrian whispered, \u201cBecause he was there.\u201d
\nThe line disconnected.
\nI stared at my phone.
\nBrian had hung up.
\nFor several seconds, nobody spoke.
\nThen Mason said, \u201cI told you.\u201d
\nThe officer crouched beside him.
\n\u201cMason, can you show me the recording with that man?\u201d
\nMason hesitated.
\n\u201cYour grandfather stays with you.\u201d
\nMason looked at me.
\nI nodded.
\nHe opened the folder.
\nThere were two audio files.
\nThe first was twenty-seven seconds long.
\nThe second was eleven minutes and forty-three seconds.
\nMason pointed to the longer one.
\n\u201cThat one.\u201d
\nHe pressed play.
\nAt first there was only fabric rubbing against the microphone.
\nThen Brian’s voice.
\n\u201c\u2026should never have kept those.\u201d
\nMarissa answered.
\n\u201cYou told me to keep copies.\u201d
\n\u201cThat was before.\u201d
\nThen a third voice spoke.
\nA man’s voice.
\nCalm.
\nOlder than Brian.
\n\u201cYou both need to stop talking like the children aren’t in the house.\u201d
\nMason stopped the recording.
\n\u201cThat’s him.\u201d
\nThe officer looked toward the window.
\n\u201cThe man downstairs?\u201d
\nMason nodded.
\n\u201cKeep playing.\u201d
\nThe recording resumed.
\nBrian said, \u201cThey don’t know anything.\u201d
\nThe man answered, \u201cYour daughter opened the box.\u201d
\nMy heart began pounding.
\nMarissa said, \u201cShe only saw a few pages.\u201d
\n\u201cYou don’t know what she saw.\u201d
\nThen Brian.
\n\u201cShe doesn’t understand them.\u201d
\nThe man replied, \u201cShe doesn’t have to understand them. She only has to show them to somebody who does.\u201d
\nThere was a long silence on the recording.
\nThen Marissa asked, \u201cWhat do we do?\u201d
\nThe man’s answer was immediate.
\n\u201cYou tell the truth.\u201d
\nThat wasn’t what I expected.
\nNeither was what came next.
\nBrian laughed bitterly.
\n\u201cYou think I’m going to destroy my family over paperwork from ten years ago?\u201d
\nThe man said, \u201cBrian, your family is already being destroyed. You’re just deciding whether you’re going to stop.\u201d
\nMason paused the recording again.
\nI looked at the officer.
\nThe man downstairs suddenly sounded less like Brian’s accomplice.
\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d I asked Mason.
\n\u201cI don’t know.\u201d
\n\u201cDid your dad call him by a name?\u201d
\nMason thought.
\n\u201cMr. Cole.\u201d
\nThe officer spoke quietly into his radio.
\nA response came through his earpiece.
\nThen he looked at us.
\n\u201cThe man downstairs identified himself as Daniel Cole.\u201d
\n\u201cWho is Daniel Cole?\u201d
\n\u201cHe says he’s an attorney.\u201d
\nThat surprised me.
\n\u201cBrian’s attorney?\u201d
\nThe officer shook his head.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cMarissa’s?\u201d
\n\u201cNot exactly.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d
\n\u201cHe says he represented someone connected to the children’s placement years ago.\u201d
\nPlacement.
\nThe same word Mason remembered from the papers.
\nI looked toward the blue box.
\n\u201cWhy would he come here at two in the morning?\u201d
\nThe officer’s expression hardened.
\n\u201cHe says Brian called him twelve minutes ago and told him there had been an emergency involving the children.\u201d
\nI checked my phone.
\nTwelve minutes.
\nThat would have been before Brian called me.
\nMy son had contacted Daniel Cole first.
\n\u201cDid Brian tell him what kind of emergency?\u201d
\nThe officer listened to his radio.
\nThen looked at me.
\n\u201cHe told Cole the children had found documents that could cause a misunderstanding and asked him to retrieve the box before anyone else saw it.\u201d
\nThere it was.
\nNot proof of everything.
\nBut enough to make the hidden box feel very different.
\nMason tugged my sleeve.
\n\u201cThere’s more.\u201d
\nHe restarted the recording.
\nDaniel Cole’s recorded voice filled the bedroom.
\n\u201cYou cannot keep telling those children they’re going to be taken away if they talk.\u201d
\nBrian answered, \u201cI’m trying to protect them.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. You’re frightening them.\u201d
\n\u201cYou don’t know what it’s like.\u201d
\n\u201cI know exactly what those documents mean.\u201d
\nMarissa began crying.
\nThen she said something so quietly Mason had to raise the volume.
\n\u201cI should’ve told Lily years ago.\u201d
\nMy chest tightened.
\nTold Lily what?
\nBrian responded immediately.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cShe deserves to know.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, she doesn’t.\u201d
\n\u201cShe’s going to find out.\u201d
\n\u201cThen we make sure she hears it from us when she’s old enough.\u201d
\nDaniel interrupted.
\n\u201cBrian, she has already found out enough to start asking questions.\u201d
\nA chair scraped.
\nThen Brian said, \u201cShe’s eight.\u201d
\nDaniel answered, \u201cAnd she’s not stupid.\u201d
\nThere was movement.
\nFootsteps.
\nThen Lily’s voice appeared on the recording.
\nDistant.
\nFrightened.
\n\u201cWhy isn’t Daddy’s name on mine?\u201d
\nNobody in the bedroom moved.
\nI heard my granddaughter ask it again through the tiny tablet speaker.
\n\u201cMommy, why isn’t Daddy’s name on mine?\u201d
\nThen Marissa’s voice.
\n\u201cLily, give me that.\u201d
\nA sudden burst of movement.
\nThe recording muffled.
\nThen Brian shouted.
\n\u201cMason!\u201d
\nThe tablet must have been hidden under something because the voices became distant.
\nBut they were still understandable.
\nBrian yelled for Mason to open his bedroom door.
\nMarissa told him to stop.
\nDaniel told both of them to calm down.
\nThen Lily started crying.
\nThe recording continued.
\nAnd then came the sentence that made Mason look at me before it even played.
\nBrian’s voice.
\n\u201cIf either of you tells Grandpa about this, everything changes.\u201d
\nA child’s voice asked, \u201cWhat changes?\u201d
\nMason.
\nBrian answered.
\n\u201cYou might not live here anymore.\u201d
\nMy hand closed into a fist.
\nOn the recording Daniel immediately said, \u201cDo not say that to them.\u201d
\nBrian snapped, \u201cStay out of it.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. You brought me here because you wanted legal advice. I’m giving it to you. Stop threatening your children.\u201d
\n\u201cThey’re my children.\u201d
\nDaniel’s answer came quietly.
\n\u201cThat’s exactly what those papers complicate.\u201d
\nI stopped breathing.
\nMason paused the recording.
\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d he asked.
\nI couldn’t answer.
\nNot because I didn’t want to.
\nBecause I didn’t know.
\nAnd I wasn’t going to do what Brian had done.
\nI wasn’t going to invent an explanation for frightened children because the truth was uncomfortable.
\n\u201cI don’t know yet.\u201d
\nMason searched my face.
\n\u201cBut you’re going to find out?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you’re not going to send us away?\u201d
\nMy throat tightened.
\n\u201cMason, listen to me. Nothing you tell the truth about tonight will make me stop loving you or Lily.\u201d
\nHis eyes filled.
\nHe looked away quickly.
\nThen the officer received another message.
\n\u201cMr. Cole has documents with him.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat documents?\u201d
\n\u201cHe says copies of records related to Mason and Lily.\u201d
\nI looked toward the stairs.
\n\u201cCan he explain them?\u201d
\n\u201cHe says he can.\u201d
\nMason grabbed my arm.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nI looked down.
\n\u201cWhat’s wrong?\u201d
\n\u201cDad said never trust him.\u201d
\n\u201cYour dad also told me not to believe Lily.\u201d
\nMason absorbed that.
\nThen he whispered, \u201cBut what if Dad was right about one thing?\u201d
\nThat was a fair question.
\nI wasn’t going to assume Daniel Cole was trustworthy merely because Brian wasn’t.
\n\u201cThen we don’t trust anybody blindly,\u201d I said. \u201cWe listen. We keep the evidence. And we ask questions.\u201d
\nThe officer nodded slightly.
\nThat was when my phone rang again.
\nThis time it wasn’t Brian.
\nIt was the hospital.
\nMy stomach dropped.
\nI answered immediately.
\n\u201cHello?\u201d
\nA woman’s voice identified herself as a nurse.
\nShe confirmed I was Lily’s grandfather.
\n\u201cYes. Is she okay?\u201d
\nThere was a pause.
\n\u201cShe’s stable.\u201d
\nMy knees almost weakened.
\nStable.
\nNot fine.
\nBut stable.
\nI closed my eyes.
\n\u201cThank God.\u201d
\n\u201cWe’re treating her fever and monitoring her closely.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did she take?\u201d
\n\u201cWe’re still evaluating that.\u201d
\nThen the nurse said, \u201cThere’s something else.\u201d
\nEvery bit of relief disappeared.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cYour granddaughter keeps asking us not to let her mother into the room.\u201d
\nI looked at Mason.
\n\u201cMarissa isn’t there.\u201d
\nAnother pause.
\n\u201cSir\u2026 she is now.\u201d
\nMy blood went cold.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cYour daughter-in-law arrived approximately three minutes ago.\u201d
\nThat made no sense.
\nMarissa had been with Brian when he called me.
\nOr at least I’d heard her voice.
\n\u201cHow did she get there?\u201d
\n\u201cI don’t know, sir.\u201d
\n\u201cDon’t let her leave with Lily.\u201d
\n\u201cThe police are here.\u201d
\nThat gave me some relief.
\nThen I heard another voice in the background.
\nLily.
\nWeak.
\nCrying.
\n\u201cNo. No, please.\u201d
\nI stood.
\n\u201cWhat is happening?\u201d
\nThe nurse told someone to remain outside the room.
\nThen she came back to the phone.
\n\u201cSir, your granddaughter is safe.\u201d
\n\u201cPut her on.\u201d
\nA few seconds later, Lily’s voice reached me.
\n\u201cGrandpa?\u201d
\n\u201cI’m here, sweetheart.\u201d
\n\u201cIs Mason with you?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cDid you find the blue box?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nShe started crying.
\n\u201cGood.\u201d
\n\u201cLily, listen to me. You’re safe. There are police officers with us.\u201d
\n\u201cMom came.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cDon’t let her tell them I took it.\u201d
\n\u201cTook what?\u201d
\nLily went silent.
\n\u201cLily?\u201d
\n\u201cThe paper.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat paper?\u201d
\n\u201cThe one I hid.\u201d
\nMy heart began pounding again.
\n\u201cYou hid one of the papers from the box?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\nShe whispered, \u201cIn Grandma Carol’s book.\u201d
\nI froze.
\nCarol’s book?
\n\u201cWhat book?\u201d
\n\u201cThe one you gave me.\u201d
\nThen I remembered.
\nAfter Carol died, I had given Lily one of her old children’s books.
\nA worn copy of The Secret Garden that Carol used to read to Brian when he was little.
\nLily kept it beside her bed.
\n\u201cWhat did you put inside it?\u201d
\n\u201cThe paper with my real name.\u201d
\nI gripped the phone.
\n\u201cYour real name?\u201d
\nBefore Lily could answer, shouting erupted in the background.
\nThe nurse told someone to step back.
\nThen a man’s voice.
\nNot Brian.
\nNot Daniel Cole.
\nSomeone else.
\nLily gasped.
\nThe phone moved.
\n\u201cLily?\u201d
\nNo answer.
\n\u201cLily!\u201d
\nThen I heard Marissa.
\nVery clearly.
\n\u201cGive me the phone.\u201d
\nThe call disconnected.
\nI was already moving toward the stairs.
\nThe officer followed.
\n\u201cMason stays here with Officer Reynolds.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nMason grabbed his tablet.
\n\u201cI’m coming.\u201d
\n\u201cYou’re staying with the police.\u201d
\n\u201cBut Grandpa\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cI need you safe.\u201d
\nHis face crumpled, but he nodded.
\nThen he suddenly remembered something.
\n\u201cWait.\u201d
\nHe opened the tablet again.
\n\u201cThere are three videos.\u201d
\n\u201cWe’ll look later.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. Grandpa.\u201d
\nSomething in his voice stopped me.
\nHe opened the final video.
\nThe timestamp was 12:17 a.m.
\nLess than two hours before Lily called me.
\nThe video began with the tablet lying sideways.
\nThe camera showed part of the kitchen.
\nBrian stood near the counter.
\nMarissa was putting clothes into a bag.
\nLily sat at the table looking sick.
\nThen someone entered the frame.
\nI expected Daniel Cole.
\nIt wasn’t him.
\nA different man stepped into the kitchen.
\nI had never seen him before.
\nBrian handed him something.
\nAn envelope.
\nThe man opened it.
\nInside was cash.
\nThen Brian said, \u201cYou take us as far as Jacksonville. After that, nobody can prove where we went.\u201d
\nMy skin went cold.
\nMarissa whispered, \u201cWhat about Lily?\u201d
\nBrian looked toward his daughter.
\nThen toward the prescription bottle.
\n\u201cShe’ll sleep through most of it.\u201d
\nI stared at the screen.
\nThey had planned to take Lily too.
\nSo why had they left her behind?
\nThe stranger asked, \u201cAnd the boy?\u201d
\nBrian’s expression hardened.
\n\u201cHe made his choice.\u201d
\nMason stopped breathing beside me.
\nOn the video, Marissa said, \u201cWe cannot leave Mason here.\u201d
\nBrian answered, \u201cMy father will find them eventually.\u201d
\nThem.
\nNot her.
\nThem.
\nHe had expected me to find both children.
\nThat explained the note.
\nIt explained why it was addressed to me.
\nBut it created a worse question.
\nIf Brian expected me to find Mason, why lock him in the closet?
\nThe stranger looked toward the hallway.
\nThen he asked Brian, \u201cWhat about the document the girl took?\u201d
\nBrian’s face changed.
\n\u201cWhat document?\u201d
\n\u201cThe one missing from the box.\u201d
\nMarissa stopped packing.
\nBrian turned toward Lily.
\n\u201cWhere is it?\u201d
\nLily didn’t answer.
\nBrian stepped toward her.
\nThe video shook as Mason apparently moved.
\nThen the picture went black.
\nBut the audio continued.
\nBrian’s voice became sharper.
\n\u201cLily, where is that paper?\u201d
\n\u201cI don’t know.\u201d
\n\u201cDon’t lie to me.\u201d
\n\u201cI don’t know!\u201d
\nMarissa said, \u201cBrian, stop.\u201d
\nThen the stranger spoke.
\n\u201cForget the paper. We need to leave.\u201d
\nBrian said something I couldn’t hear.
\nThere was movement.
\nThen Lily cried out.
\nMason’s recorded breathing became fast.
\nThe stranger said, \u201cWhat did you give her?\u201d
\nBrian answered.
\n\u201cEnough to make her sleep.\u201d
\nDaniel Cole hadn’t been the man Mason feared.
\nThis man was.
\nMason pointed at the frozen frame.
\n\u201cThat’s him.\u201d
\nI looked at him.
\n\u201cThe man outside?\u201d
\nMason shook his head.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nMy stomach dropped.
\n\u201cBut you said the car outside belonged to the man from the recording.\u201d
\n\u201cI thought it was his car.\u201d
\n\u201cYou’ve seen that car before?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\nMason swallowed.
\n\u201cHere.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cLots of times.\u201d
\nI looked back at the frozen image.
\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d
\nMason whispered, \u201cI don’t know his name.\u201d
\nThen the officer beside us received a radio transmission.
\nHis expression changed instantly.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nHe didn’t answer me at first.
\nInstead he walked to the window and looked outside.
\nDaniel Cole was still downstairs with officers.
\nThe unfamiliar vehicle remained at the curb.
\nBut according to the radio, it didn’t belong to Daniel.
\nIt was empty.
\n\u201cWho drove it here?\u201d I asked.
\nThe officer turned toward me.
\n\u201cWe don’t know.\u201d
\nThen Mason zoomed in on the stranger’s face in the video.
\nI heard myself whisper, \u201cWait.\u201d
\nThere was something familiar about him.
\nNot his face.
\nSomething hanging from his neck.
\nA small silver pendant.
\nI had seen one exactly like it before.
\nYears ago.
\nIn a photograph Carol kept hidden in the back of her dresser.
\nA photograph I had found after she died.
\nCarol stood beside a much younger man.
\nBoth of them were smiling.
\nAnd around that man’s neck was the same silver pendant.
\nAt the time, I had assumed he was an old friend.
\nI had never asked because Carol was already gone.
\nNow that man was standing inside my son’s kitchen on Mason’s video.
\nAnd suddenly Lily’s words about the document came back to me.
\nThe paper with my real name.
\nI looked at the officer.
\n\u201cI know where I’ve seen him.\u201d
\n\u201cWho is he?\u201d
\n\u201cI don’t know.\u201d
\nThat was the terrifying truth.
\n\u201cBut my wife did.\u201d
\nBefore anyone could respond, my phone vibrated.
\nA text message.
\nUnknown number.
\nOne photograph.
\nI opened it.
\nIt showed the front of the hospital.
\nTaken seconds earlier.
\nThen another photograph arrived.
\nLily’s hospital room window.
\nThen a message.
\nONLY ONE COPY OF THAT PAPER NEEDS TO EXIST.
\nMy hands went cold.
\nA second message appeared.
\nBRING CAROL’S BOOK.
\nCOME ALONE.
\nThen the final message arrived.
\nAND DON’T ASK BRIAN WHO LILY’S FATHER IS.
\nASK WHO HER MOTHER REALLY IS………………………….<\/p>\n
PART 3 \u2014 THE MAN FROM THE RECORDING \u201cThat’s the man from the recording.\u201d Mason’s whisper barely left his mouth before the first police officer moved. He stepped away from … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5879,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5874\/revisions\/5879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}