PART 4 \u2014 THE WOMAN WHO NEVER LEFT
\n\u201cShe’s alive, Melanie.\u201d
\nI couldn’t stop staring at the little girl in the photograph.
\nFour words.
\nThat was all it took to rewrite five years of my life.
\nBrandon had told me about his daughter on our third date.
\nWe had been sitting outside a little Italian restaurant when he pulled the silver heart pendant from beneath his shirt.
\n\u201cMy daughter gave me this,\u201d he’d said.
\nThen his eyes had filled with tears.
\nAccording to Brandon, his daughter, Sophie, had been born prematurely during a previous relationship and died before her first birthday.
\nHe told me the grief destroyed his relationship with the child’s mother.
\nI remembered reaching across the table and holding his hand.
\nI remembered thinking how brave he was for telling me.
\nI remembered falling in love with him a little more that night.
\nNow I was looking at Sophie.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Alive.
\nStanding beside him.
\nEleven days before our wedding.
\n\u201cHow old is she?\u201d I whispered.
\n\u201cFive,\u201d Ethan replied.
\nFive.
\nThe same number of years Brandon and I had been together.
\nMy stomach twisted.
\n\u201cDoes Rebecca know about me?\u201d
\nEthan looked at Donald.
\nThen at me.
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nThat hurt differently.
\n\u201cSo she knew he was marrying me?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd she was okay with it?\u201d
\n\u201cI don’t know everything Rebecca knew. But from what I heard, Brandon told her the marriage was temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Temporary.
\nSix months.
\nJust like PHASE THREE.
\nMy father stood beside the window with both hands clenched.
\nMy mother sat silently, tears running down her cheeks.
\nI couldn’t cry.
\nNot yet.
\nMy body seemed to have forgotten how.
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.
\nEthan frowned.
\n\u201cWhy what?\u201d
\n\u201cWhy marry me at all? If he loved Rebecca, why not marry her?\u201d
\nEthan hesitated.
\n\u201cBecause of your family.\u201d
\nMy father turned.
\n\u201cWhat about us?\u201d
\n\u201cPatrick knew Melanie’s parents were financially secure.\u201d
\nThe words landed like stones.
\nEthan continued carefully.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knew Melanie had savings. He knew her parents had helped her before. He thought if Brandon married her, there would eventually be access to more than just the wedding money.\u201d
\nMy mother covered her mouth.
\nI felt suddenly dirty.
\nEvaluated.
\nPriced.
\nLike my family had been studied before Brandon ever put a ring on my finger.
\nDonald leaned forward.
\n\u201cHow long had Patrick known about Melanie before Brandon started dating her?\u201d
\nEthan looked uncomfortable.
\n\u201cI don’t know.\u201d
\n\u201cThat isn’t an answer.\u201d
\n\u201cI really don’t know.\u201d
\nThen he paused.
\n\u201cBut I know Brandon meeting her wasn’t as accidental as she thinks.\u201d
\nMy head snapped toward him.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nBrandon and I had met at a charity fundraiser.
\nHe had bumped into me near the drinks table and spilled sparkling water on my sleeve.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He’d apologized.
\nMade me laugh.
\nAsked for my number.
\nFor years, we joked that sparkling water had brought us together.
\n\u201cEthan.\u201d
\nHe looked ashamed.
\n\u201cPatrick knew your father through business circles.\u201d
\nMy father frowned.
\n\u201cI barely knew Patrick.\u201d
\n\u201cHe knew more about you than you knew about him.\u201d
\nI felt cold.
\n\u201cAre you saying Brandon went to that fundraiser because I was there?\u201d
\n\u201cI can’t prove it.\u201d
\n\u201cBut?\u201d
\n\u201cI once heard Patrick joke that Brandon’s best investment had been spilling a drink on the right woman.\u201d
\nNobody spoke.
\nI stood up.
\nWalked to the other side of Donald’s office.
\nThen I laughed.
\nOne short, broken laugh.
\nEven our first meeting might have been staged.
\nMy engagement.
\nMy resignation.
\nMy wedding.
\nThe money.
\nThe dirty rag.
\nAll of it.
\nFor five years, I thought I had been building a life with someone.
\nHe had been building a trap around me.
\nDonald closed the laptop.
\n\u201cWe have enough speculation. From now on, we deal with what we can prove.\u201d
\nI nodded.
\nThat became my rule too.
\nNo emotional phone calls.
\nNo public accusations.
\nNo confronting Rebecca.
\nNo answering Brandon.
\nEvidence.
\nDocuments.
\nDates.
\nFacts.
\nAnd Brandon kept giving us more.
\nTwo days later, his attorney sent a settlement proposal.
\nBrandon would agree to an immediate divorce.
\nNo alimony.
\nNo claim to my apartment.
\nNo claim to my salary.
\nNo public accusations.
\nIn exchange, I would transfer $450,000 to Patrick and Brenda.
\nI read the proposal twice.
\nThen looked at Donald.
\n\u201cThey’re still asking for the money?\u201d
\n\u201cThey’re asking very politely now.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat happens if I refuse?\u201d
\n\u201cWe continue.\u201d
\n\u201cThen refuse.\u201d
\nDonald almost smiled.
\n\u201cYou’re sure?\u201d
\n\u201cCompletely.\u201d
\nThe response went out that afternoon.
\nREJECTED.
\nBrandon called me seventeen times that night.
\nI answered none.
\nAt 10:04 p.m., he left a voicemail.
\n\u201cMelanie, you have no idea what you’re doing. My parents could lose their house because of you.\u201d
\nI saved it.
\nAt 10:19:
\n\u201cMy father could lose his company.\u201d
\nSaved.
\nAt 10:43:
\n\u201cYou’re punishing innocent people.\u201d
\nSaved.
\nAt 11:07:
\n\u201cIf you ever loved me, you wouldn’t do this.\u201d
\nThat one almost made me laugh.
\nThe next morning, Donald called.
\n\u201cSomething happened.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cPatrick’s business partner has retained counsel.\u201d
\nMy stomach tightened.
\n\u201cBecause of the money?\u201d
\n\u201cPossibly.\u201d
\nWithin days, the dispute stopped being merely a divorce fight.
\nPatrick’s business records were being examined.
\nTransfers were questioned.
\nAccounts were traced.
\nAnd suddenly Patrick had a problem much larger than his former daughter-in-law.
\nThe $450,000 transfer to me had created a paper trail.
\nThe very money they expected to control quietly had become the transaction everyone wanted explained.
\nThen Patrick made a mistake.
\nHe called my father.
\nDad recorded the conversation after confirming with Donald what he was legally permitted to do.
\nPatrick didn’t apologize.
\nHe didn’t ask about me.
\nHe said:
\n\u201cTell your daughter to return the money and all of this disappears.\u201d
\nMy father replied, \u201cWhat disappears?\u201d
\nPatrick went silent.
\nDad repeated, \u201cWhat exactly disappears, Patrick?\u201d
\n\u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. Explain it.\u201d
\nPatrick hung up.
\nDonald listened to the recording twice.
\nThen he said, \u201cInteresting.\u201d
\nThat was Donald’s favorite word whenever someone on Brandon’s side did something stupid.
\nBut the biggest mistake came from Brandon.
\nHe showed up outside my apartment.
\nAgain.
\nThis time, he wasn’t angry.
\nHe looked exhausted.
\nHis shirt was wrinkled.
\nHis hair was messy.
\nFor the first time since I’d known him, he looked like a man whose performance had ended.
\nI saw him through the building’s security monitor.
\n\u201cMelanie,\u201d he said into the intercom. \u201cPlease.\u201d
\nI didn’t answer.
\n\u201cI know you’re watching.\u201d
\nSilence.
\n\u201cFive minutes.\u201d
\nI called security.
\nThen Brandon said something that stopped me.
\n\u201cI’ll tell you everything about Rebecca.\u201d
\nMy hand froze over the phone.
\nI called Donald instead.
\n\u201cDo not go downstairs,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI wasn’t going to.\u201d
\n\u201cIf Brandon wants to talk, he can talk through counsel.\u201d
\nI looked at the screen.
\nBrandon had lowered his head.
\nThen he said,
\n\u201cRebecca didn’t plan this.\u201d
\nI pressed the intercom button.
\nIt was the first time I’d spoken directly to him in weeks.
\n\u201cLeave.\u201d
\nHis head shot up.
\n\u201cMelanie.\u201d
\n\u201cLeave.\u201d
\n\u201cPlease listen.\u201d
\n\u201cTalk to Donald.\u201d
\n\u201cYour lawyer doesn’t understand.\u201d
\n\u201cHe understands enough.\u201d
\n\u201cRebecca had nothing to do with the money.\u201d
\n\u201cGoodbye.\u201d
\nThen Brandon shouted:
\n\u201cMy parents threatened to take Sophie!\u201d
\nI froze.
\nDonald, still on my phone, heard it.
\n\u201cDo not respond,\u201d he warned.
\nBrandon continued.
\n\u201cThey said if I didn’t marry you, they’d make sure Rebecca lost custody.\u201d
\nI stared at the monitor.
\nNow he was changing the story.
\nMaking himself the victim.
\nMaybe some of it was true.
\nMaybe none of it was.
\nBut five years of loving Brandon had taught me one dangerous habit.
\nI wanted to understand him.
\nI wanted there to be some explanation that made the monster smaller.
\nThen I remembered the dishcloth hitting my face.
\nI remembered his voice.
\nThat’s what I married you for.
\nWhatever his parents had done, Brandon had made choices too.
\nHe had lied to me every day.
\nHe had participated in forged documents.
\nHe had hidden his living daughter.
\nHe had planned our separation before our wedding.
\nI pressed the intercom one final time.
\n\u201cYou had five years to tell me the truth.\u201d
\nHe looked directly toward the camera.
\n\u201cI was trying to protect my daughter.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd who was protecting me?\u201d
\nHe had no answer.
\nSecurity arrived.
\nBrandon left.
\nThree days later, Rebecca contacted me.
\nHer message began:
\nYOU DON’T KNOW ME, BUT I OWE YOU THE TRUTH.
\nI stared at it for almost an hour before forwarding it to Donald.
\nHe arranged for any communication to be handled carefully.
\nRebecca agreed to speak with us.
\nWhen she entered Donald’s office the following week, I recognized her immediately.
\nSame blond hair.
\nSame face from the hotel photograph.
\nBut she didn’t look like the calculating mistress I had imagined.
\nShe looked terrified.
\nShe sat across from me and placed her handbag on her lap.
\n\u201cI’m sorry,\u201d she whispered.
\nI said nothing.
\n\u201cI know that doesn’t mean anything.\u201d
\n\u201cNo,\u201d I replied. \u201cIt doesn’t.\u201d
\nShe nodded.
\n\u201cI deserve that.\u201d
\nDonald started asking questions.
\nRebecca and Brandon had met nine years earlier.
\nThey had Sophie.
\nTheir relationship became unstable.
\nBrandon’s parents hated Rebecca.
\nAccording to her, Brenda thought Rebecca was \u201cbeneath their family.\u201d
\nAfter Sophie was born, Brandon continued seeing Rebecca privately even after telling his parents they had separated.
\nThen Brandon met me.
\nOr rather, he was sent to meet me.
\nRebecca claimed Brandon told her his parents had found a way to solve the family’s financial problems.
\nA marriage.
\nMine.
\n\u201cYou knew?\u201d I asked.
\nHer eyes dropped.
\n\u201cNot at first.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen did you know?\u201d
\n\u201cAbout a year after you started dating.\u201d
\nMy stomach turned.
\n\u201cAnd you stayed with him?\u201d
\nTears appeared in her eyes.
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause he kept promising me it would end.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cAfter he got control of the money.\u201d
\nThere it was.
\nShe knew.
\nMaybe not everything.
\nBut enough.
\n\u201cYou watched me marry him.\u201d
\nRebecca started crying.
\n\u201cI begged him not to go through with the wedding.\u201d
\n\u201cBut you didn’t warn me.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nShe looked at me.
\n\u201cBecause I was a coward.\u201d
\nAt least she didn’t make excuses.
\nThen Donald asked about the insurance policy.
\nRebecca’s face changed.
\n\u201cWhat insurance policy?\u201d
\n\u201cThe $2 million policy naming Brandon as beneficiary.\u201d
\nAll the color drained from her face.
\n\u201cI’ve never heard of that.\u201d
\nDonald watched her carefully.
\n\u201cYou’re certain?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nThen she looked at me.
\n\u201cMelanie, Brandon told me something different.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cHe said after the wedding, you were going to transfer the money and then the two of you would get an annulment.\u201d
\n\u201cI never agreed to that.\u201d
\n\u201cI know that now.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat else did he tell you?\u201d
\nRebecca hesitated.
\n\u201cHe said you knew the marriage wasn’t real.\u201d
\nI actually laughed.
\nThe cruelty of it was almost impressive.
\nHe had lied to both of us in opposite directions.
\nTo me, Rebecca’s daughter was dead.
\nTo Rebecca, I was participating in a fake marriage.
\nBrandon had built two realities and lived comfortably between them.
\nThen Rebecca reached into her handbag.
\n\u201cI brought something.\u201d
\nShe placed an old phone on the desk.
\n\u201cBrandon gave me this three years ago. We used it because he didn’t want messages appearing on his regular phone.\u201d
\nDonald asked, \u201cWhat’s on it?\u201d
\n\u201cEverything.\u201d
\nMessages.
\nPhotographs.
\nVoice notes.
\nPlans.
\nArguments.
\nPromises.
\nAnd one conversation from seven months before the wedding.
\nRebecca unlocked the phone.
\nShe opened a message thread.
\nThen she handed it to me.
\nBrandon:
\nDad says Melanie’s parents might add another $200K.
\nRebecca:
\nThen you’ll have enough?
\nBrandon:
\nMore than enough.
\nRebecca:
\nAnd after?
\nBrandon:
\nSix months maximum.
\nRebecca:
\nThen us?
\nBrandon:
\nThen we’re finally a family.
\nMy chest hurt.
\nBut I kept scrolling.
\nThen I found another exchange.
\nRebecca:
\nWhat if Melanie won’t give you access?
\nBrandon:
\nShe will.
\nRebecca:
\nHow do you know?
\nBrandon:
\nMom knows how to handle women like her.
\nI stopped.
\nThere it was.
\nMonths before Brenda ordered me to wash shirts by hand.
\nMonths before the greasy rag.
\nThey had already discussed \u201chandling\u201d me.
\nDonald documented the messages.
\nThen Rebecca said, \u201cThere’s one voice note you should hear.\u201d
\nShe pressed play.
\nBrandon’s voice filled the office.
\n\u201cOnce Melanie’s isolated from her job and her parents, she’ll stop fighting everything. Mom says the first few weeks after the wedding are important. She needs to learn how things work in our family.\u201d
\nMy eyes closed.
\nThe first few weeks.
\nThey hadn’t even made it through the first morning.
\nMy father had been right.
\nMy refusal to wash those dishes hadn’t ended my marriage.
\nIt had saved me from the next stage.
\nThen the recording continued.
\nPatrick’s voice could be heard faintly in the background.
\n\u201cDon’t forget the signature.\u201d
\nBrandon laughed.
\n\u201cI’ve practiced it enough.\u201d
\nNobody moved.
\nDonald immediately replayed that section.
\nDon’t forget the signature.
\nI’ve practiced it enough.
\nThe forged authorization.
\nThe insurance application.
\nMy signature.
\nBrandon had practically admitted it on tape.
\nRebecca looked confused.
\n\u201cWhat signature?\u201d
\nDonald didn’t answer.
\nHe simply saved the recording according to the proper process.
\nTwo weeks later, the financial case exploded.
\nPatrick’s business partner alleged that substantial funds had been transferred without proper authorization.
\nAn independent review began.
\nThe $450,000 gift became part of a larger investigation.
\nPatrick stopped calling.
\nBrenda deleted her Facebook posts.
\nMonica disappeared completely.
\nAnd Brandon?
\nBrandon suddenly wanted to settle.
\nHis new offer asked for nothing.
\nNot $450,000.
\nNot half.
\nNothing.
\nHe would walk away from every financial claim if I agreed to one condition.
\nConfidentiality.
\nI read the document at Donald’s office.
\n\u201cThey want me silent.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nDonald leaned back.
\n\u201cBecause the divorce isn’t their biggest problem anymore.\u201d
\nI pushed the settlement back across the desk.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nDonald studied me.
\n\u201cYou understand that refusing may mean a longer fight.\u201d
\n\u201cI’ve spent five years being lied to. I’m not signing something designed to protect the people who did it.\u201d
\nHe nodded.
\n\u201cThen we continue.\u201d
\nA month passed.
\nMy new job became the one normal part of my life.
\nI worked.
\nI designed.
\nI laughed with coworkers.
\nI bought cheap furniture for my apartment.
\nJessica helped me paint one wall badly.
\nMy mother brought too much food every Sunday.
\nSlowly, I started recognizing myself again.
\nThen one Friday afternoon, Donald called.
\n\u201cI need you in my office.\u201d
\nMy heart sank.
\nThose words never brought good news.
\nWhen I arrived, my father was already there.
\nSo was Ethan.
\nAnd Rebecca.
\n\u201cWhat happened?\u201d
\nDonald closed the door.
\n\u201cPatrick’s business records produced another document.\u201d
\nHe placed a bank statement in front of me.
\nIt was old.
\nAlmost six years old.
\nBefore Brandon and I started dating.
\nThere was a payment listed.
\n$25,000.
\nRecipient:
\nBRANDON WILSON.
\nI frowned.
\n\u201cWhat is this?\u201d
\nMy father looked sick.
\nDonald pointed to the originating account.
\nIt belonged to a consulting company.
\nA company my father recognized.
\nDad whispered, \u201cI paid that company.\u201d
\nI looked at him.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cYears ago. They handled background research for a potential acquisition.\u201d
\nDonald slid another document toward us.
\nThe consulting company had subcontracted Patrick.
\nAnd Patrick had apparently paid Brandon $25,000 shortly afterward.
\nThe date?
\nSix weeks before Brandon \u201caccidentally\u201d spilled sparkling water on me.
\nI stared at the transfer.
\n\u201cWhat was he paid for?\u201d
\nEthan answered.
\n\u201cThat’s what we couldn’t figure out.\u201d
\nThen Rebecca quietly said,
\n\u201cI can.\u201d
\nEveryone turned toward her.
\nShe looked terrified.
\n\u201cBrandon told me about the $25,000 once when he was drunk.\u201d
\nMy skin prickled.
\n\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d
\nRebecca swallowed.
\n\u201cHe said his father paid him to get close to someone.\u201d
\nMy father’s face went gray.
\n\u201cMelanie?\u201d
\nRebecca nodded.
\nI couldn’t speak.
\nDonald asked the obvious question.
\n\u201cWhy would Patrick want Brandon close to Melanie before there was any wedding money?\u201d
\nRebecca looked at my father.
\n\u201cBecause the wedding money wasn’t the original target.\u201d
\nThe room went silent.
\nMy father whispered, \u201cThen what was?\u201d
\nRebecca’s eyes filled with tears.
\n\u201cYour company.\u201d
\nI stared at her.
\n\u201cMy father’s company?\u201d
\nShe nodded.
\n\u201cPatrick believed Melanie could eventually inherit part of it.\u201d
\nMy father slowly sat down.
\nSuddenly $650,000 seemed small.
\nTerrifyingly small.
\nDonald asked, \u201cHow much is the company worth?\u201d
\nDad didn’t answer immediately.
\nFinally, he said,
\n\u201cDepending on valuation… around forty million.\u201d
\nMy stomach dropped.
\nForty million dollars.
\nI looked down at the PHASE THREE documents again.
\nFinancial integration.
\nProperty restructuring.
\nBeneficiary confirmation.
\nSeparation.
\nMaybe separation had never meant walking away with $650,000.
\nMaybe that had only been the first successful test.
\nThen Ethan spoke.
\n\u201cThere is something else.\u201d
\nI almost didn’t want to hear it.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cPatrick didn’t start researching your family six years ago.\u201d
\nHe opened his laptop.
\n\u201cHe started twelve years ago.\u201d
\nMy father stared at him.
\n\u201cThat isn’t possible.\u201d
\nEthan rotated the screen.
\nThere was an old scanned photograph.
\nA corporate charity dinner.
\nMy father was standing in the background.
\nPatrick was there too.
\nAnd beside Patrick stood Brandon.
\nMuch younger.
\nMaybe twenty-three.
\nBut that wasn’t what made my heart stop.
\nI was in the photograph.
\nSeventeen years old.
\nStanding beside my father.
\nBrandon was looking directly at me.
\nI whispered, \u201cHe knew who I was.\u201d
\nNobody answered.
\nI looked at Rebecca.
\n\u201cYou said Brandon told you his father paid him to get close to someone.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cDid he ever tell you why Patrick chose me?\u201d
\nShe shook her head.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nThen Ethan interrupted.
\n\u201cI think I know.\u201d
\nHe opened another scanned document.
\nIt was part of an old business agreement involving my father’s company and Patrick.
\nAt the bottom was a handwritten clause.
\nA clause my father apparently hadn’t seen in years.
\nHe read it.
\nHis face changed.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.
\nDad didn’t answer.
\n\u201cDad?\u201d
\nHe slowly looked at me.
\n\u201cMelanie…\u201d
\nHis voice cracked.
\n\u201cI should have told you this years ago.\u201d
\nMy heart began pounding.
\n\u201cTold me what?\u201d
\nHe stared at the old contract.
\nThen at the photograph of seventeen-year-old me.
\n\u201cPatrick wasn’t a stranger to our family.\u201d
\nI felt the room tilt.
\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d
\nMy father’s next words were barely audible.
\n\u201cHe was my business partner.\u201d
\nSilence.
\n\u201cBefore Brandon ever met you.\u201d
\nDad swallowed.
\n\u201cBefore you were even born.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\nAnd then Donald turned to the final page of the old agreement.
\nThere, beside my father’s signature, was Patrick Wilson’s.
\nBut underneath both signatures was a third name.
\nA name I recognized immediately.
\nMy mother’s.
\nI looked at her signature.
\nThen at my father.
\n\u201cWhy is Mom’s name on this?\u201d
\nHe closed his eyes.
\nBecause whatever secret Brandon’s family had been hiding…
\nMy parents were somehow connected to its beginning.
\nAnd the $650,000 wasn’t the reason Brandon chose me.
\nIt was only the reason his plan finally came out into the open………………<\/p>\n
PART 4 \u2014 THE WOMAN WHO NEVER LEFT \u201cShe’s alive, Melanie.\u201d I couldn’t stop staring at the little girl in the photograph. Four words. That was all it took to … <\/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-7041","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\/7041","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=7041"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7044,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7041\/revisions\/7044"}],"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=7041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}