{"id":7795,"date":"2026-10-05T20:45:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T20:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/?p=7795"},"modified":"2026-10-05T20:45:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T20:45:10","slug":"part-4-my-husband-hit-me-for-asking-where-he-had-been-all-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/?p=7795","title":{"rendered":"PART-4 My Husband Hi:t Me for Asking Where He Had Been All Night."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/h1>\n
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\n

PART 4 \u2014 THE WOMAN WHO HELD THE MISSING $2.4 MILLION
\n\u201cNatalie\u2019s.\u201d
\nThe word seemed to hang over the kitchen table.
\nEthan stopped struggling.
\nAnd that was how I knew Margaret was telling the truth.
\nI stared at her.
\n\u201cHow do you know?\u201d
\nMargaret looked at Ethan.
\nHe shook his head once.
\nA warning.
\nShe saw it too.
\nAnd something inside her finally snapped.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t you dare,\u201d she whispered.
\n\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
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\u201cDon\u2019t you dare look at me like that after what you\u2019ve done.\u201d
\nThe investigator kept one hand on Ethan\u2019s arm.
\nMargaret walked toward the table.
\n\u201cThree months ago, Ethan came to my house.\u201d
\nEthan closed his eyes.
\n\u201cHe told me he was making an investment.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat kind of investment?\u201d Thomas asked.
\n\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t explain.\u201d
\nMargaret swallowed.
\n\u201cHe said it was better if I didn\u2019t know the details.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you accepted that?\u201d
\nHer face tightened with shame.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s my son.\u201d
\nDad answered quietly.
\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d
\nMargaret looked at him.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s an excuse.\u201d
\nFor the first time since I\u2019d known her, Margaret Blackwood sounded humbled.
\nShe continued.
\n\u201cEthan asked me to sign several documents. He said they were connected to estate planning and tax restructuring.\u201d
\nThomas nodded toward the papers.
\n\u201cThe shell companies.\u201d
\n\u201cApparently.\u201d
\n\u201cDid Natalie ever come up?\u201d
\nMargaret hesitated.
\n\u201cOnce.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
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Ethan immediately said, \u201cMom, stop talking.\u201d
\nThe investigator tightened his grip.
\nMargaret stared at her son.
\nThen she continued.
\n\u201cI asked Ethan why a woman named Natalie Cross kept calling him.\u201d
\nMy stomach tightened.
\n\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d
\n\u201cHe told me she was handling the investment.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd you believed him?\u201d
\nMargaret looked at me.
\n\u201cI wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sentence told me more than she intended.
\nShe had known.
\nMaybe not about everything.
\nBut she\u2019d known enough to ask questions.
\nJust like me.
\nThe difference was that when the answers became uncomfortable, Margaret had chosen not to look.
\nThomas tapped the screen.
\n\u201cHow do you know the offshore account belongs to Natalie?\u201d
\nMargaret walked toward her handbag.
\nShe opened it and removed her phone.
\n\u201cBecause she called me.\u201d
\nEthan jerked against the investigator.
\n\u201cMom!\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\nI asked.
\n\u201cYesterday.\u201d
\nMy heart pounded.
\n\u201cThe day before Ethan disappeared all night?\u201d
\nMargaret nodded.
\n\u201cWhat did Natalie say?\u201d
\n\u201cShe asked whether Ethan had told me about Switzerland.\u201d
\nThomas straightened.
\n\u201cSwitzerland?\u201d
\n\u201cI thought she meant a trip.\u201d
\nMargaret unlocked her phone.
\n\u201cThen she sent me this.\u201d
\nShe handed it to Thomas.
\nHe read the message.
\nHis expression changed.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nThomas turned the screen toward the investigator.
\n\u201cAn account reference.\u201d
\nThe investigator studied it.
\nThen looked toward Ethan.
\n\u201cMr. Blackwood, I strongly suggest you stop talking.\u201d
\nEthan laughed bitterly.
\n\u201cYou think this proves anything?\u201d
\nNobody answered.
\nHe looked at me.
\n\u201cCharlotte, tell them.\u201d
\n\u201cTell them what?\u201d
\n\u201cThat Natalie worked for you.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nHis smile returned slightly.
\n\u201cYears ago.\u201d
\nI searched my memory.
\nThen I remembered.
\nNatalie Cross.
\nNot as Ethan\u2019s lover.
\nAs Natalie Mercer.
\nA junior compliance analyst at the firm where I\u2019d worked before marriage.
\nMy stomach dropped.
\n\u201cHer last name was Mercer.\u201d
\n\u201cBefore she got divorced.\u201d
\nThomas looked at me.
\n\u201cYou know her?\u201d
\n\u201cBarely.\u201d
\nBut that wasn\u2019t completely true.
\nI remembered her now.
\nQuiet.
\nAmbitious.
\nBrilliant with numbers.
\nShe\u2019d worked two floors below me.
\nWe\u2019d collaborated on one investigation.
\nMaybe two.
\nThen she\u2019d left the company suddenly.
\nAnd now she was sleeping with my husband.
\nOr working with him.
\nOr both.
\n\u201cHow did Ethan meet her?\u201d Dad asked.
\nI already knew.
\n\u201cThrough me.\u201d
\nEthan smiled.
\n\u201cExactly.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\nYears earlier, I\u2019d hosted a company dinner at our house.
\nNatalie had attended.
\nEthan had met her there.
\nI hadn\u2019t thought about that night in years.
\n\u201cHow long?\u201d
\nEthan said nothing.
\n\u201cHOW LONG?\u201d
\nMargaret answered.
\n\u201cI think before the wedding.\u201d
\nMy entire body went cold.
\nI turned toward her.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. How long?\u201d
\nShe looked at the floor.
\n\u201cI saw them together once.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cAbout two months before you and Ethan got married.\u201d
\nThe kitchen disappeared around me.
\nMy marriage was five years old.
\nFive years.
\nI looked at Ethan.
\n\u201cYou were seeing her before our wedding?\u201d
\nHe stared at me.
\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t seeing her.\u201d
\n\u201cThen what were you doing?\u201d
\n\u201cTalking.\u201d
\nI laughed.
\nIt sounded broken.
\n\u201cApparently talking is very expensive.\u201d
\nThomas glanced at the $2.4 million transfer.
\nEthan\u2019s face hardened.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t understand what Natalie was doing.\u201d
\n\u201cThen explain it.\u201d
\n\u201cShe was helping me.\u201d
\n\u201cSteal?\u201d
\n\u201cBuild something!\u201d
\nThe word exploded out of him.
\nEveryone froze.
\nEthan realized he\u2019d said too much.
\nThomas leaned forward.
\n\u201cBuild what?\u201d
\nSilence.
\n\u201cEthan?\u201d
\nHe stared at the floor.
\nThen Margaret whispered, \u201cA new life.\u201d
\nHe looked up sharply.
\nI turned toward her.
\n\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d
\nMargaret was crying now.
\n\u201cA few weeks ago, I found airline confirmations at his house.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere to?\u201d
\n\u201cGeneva.\u201d
\nThomas and the investigator exchanged another glance.
\n\u201cTwo tickets?\u201d
\nMargaret nodded.
\n\u201cUnder Ethan\u2019s name and Natalie\u2019s.\u201d
\nMy chest tightened.
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\nMargaret\u2019s voice became barely audible.
\n\u201cTomorrow.\u201d
\nEverything suddenly made sense.
\nThe money.
\nThe offshore account.
\nThe documents.
\nThe lies.
\nThe night away.
\nEthan wasn\u2019t preparing for some distant future.
\nHe was leaving.
\nTomorrow.
\nI looked at him.
\n\u201cYou were going to disappear.\u201d
\nHe said nothing.
\n\u201cYou were going to leave me carrying the evidence.\u201d
\nStill nothing.
\nMy forged emails.
\nMy login credentials.
\nMy father\u2019s restitution account.
\nMargaret\u2019s signatures.
\nEvery trail pointed toward everyone except Ethan.
\nAnd while investigators untangled it all, Ethan and Natalie would be gone.
\n\u201cThat was the plan, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d
\nHis silence answered.
\nMy father looked at him with disgust.
\n\u201cYou intended to frame my daughter.\u201d
\nEthan suddenly shouted, \u201cI didn\u2019t have a choice!\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cThere it is.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cThe excuse.\u201d
\nI stepped closer.
\n\u201cYou stole money because you had no choice.\u201d
\n\u201cYou forged my emails because you had no choice.\u201d
\n\u201cYou used your mother\u2019s identity because you had no choice.\u201d
\n\u201cYou hit me because you had no choice.\u201d
\nHis face tightened.
\n\u201cStop twisting everything.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not twisting anything.\u201d
\nI touched my lip again.
\n\u201cI\u2019m finally seeing it straight.\u201d
\nThe investigator guided Ethan toward the hallway.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re done here.\u201d
\nBut before they reached the door, Ethan turned.
\n\u201cNatalie has the money.\u201d
\nThe investigator stopped.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nEthan laughed.
\n\u201cYou think I\u2019m stupid enough to put $2.4 million in my own name?\u201d
\nThomas stared at him.
\n\u201cSo you admit the account exists.\u201d
\nEthan realized his mistake.
\nToo late.
\nThe investigator\u2019s expression sharpened.
\n\u201cWhere is Natalie Cross?\u201d
\nEthan smiled.
\n\u201cGood luck.\u201d
\nMy phone rang.
\nEvery person in the room froze.
\nUnknown number.
\nI stared at it.
\nEthan\u2019s smile disappeared.
\nSomething told me to answer.
\nI pressed the speaker button.
\n\u201cHello?\u201d
\nSilence.
\nThen a woman\u2019s voice.
\n\u201cCharlotte?\u201d
\nI knew immediately.
\nNatalie.
\nEthan lunged forward.
\n\u201cHang up!\u201d
\nThe investigator restrained him.
\nNatalie heard the commotion.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s there, isn\u2019t he?\u201d
\nI looked at Ethan.
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nShe exhaled shakily.
\n\u201cAre the investigators there too?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cGood.\u201d
\nEthan shouted, \u201cNatalie, don\u2019t say anything!\u201d
\nShe became silent.
\nThen she whispered, \u201cHe hit you, didn\u2019t he?\u201d
\nMy fingers tightened around the phone.
\n\u201cHow do you know?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause he told me.\u201d
\nEthan closed his eyes.
\nNatalie started crying.
\n\u201cHe came to my apartment last night.\u201d
\nThe kitchen went silent.
\n\u201cHe was furious.\u201d
\n\u201cBecause I asked where he\u2019d been?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nHer voice trembled.
\n\u201cBecause I told him I wasn\u2019t leaving with him.\u201d
\nEthan stared at the floor.
\nI swallowed.
\n\u201cWhy not?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause I found out what he\u2019d done.\u201d
\n\u201cWith the money?\u201d
\n\u201cWith everything.\u201d
\nThomas leaned toward the phone.
\n\u201cNatalie, this is Thomas Reeves. Where are you?\u201d
\nShe hesitated.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t tell you.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re connected to an account containing $2.4 million.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cThat money may be evidence.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cThen you need legal counsel and you need to cooperate.\u201d
\n\u201cI will.\u201d
\nEthan laughed.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s lying.\u201d
\nNatalie went quiet.
\nThen she said something that made him stop laughing.
\n\u201cI have the ledger, Ethan.\u201d
\nHis entire body went rigid.
\nThomas looked at me.
\n\u201cWhat ledger?\u201d
\nNatalie answered.
\n\u201cThe real one.\u201d
\nEthan shouted, \u201cThere is no ledger!\u201d
\nNatalie ignored him.
\n\u201cEvery transfer.\u201d
\nThomas stood straighter.
\n\u201cHow far back?\u201d
\n\u201cSeven years.\u201d
\nI stared at Ethan.
\nSeven years?
\nWe had only been married for five.
\nNatalie continued.
\n\u201cNames. Companies. Accounts. Dates. Everything.\u201d
\nThe investigator moved closer to the phone.
\n\u201cMs. Cross, we need that information.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019ll get it.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere is it?\u201d
\n\u201cSomewhere Ethan can\u2019t reach.\u201d
\nEthan\u2019s face was white.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re destroying yourself too, Natalie.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\nHer answer was calm.
\nThat frightened him more.
\nShe continued.
\n\u201cBut I\u2019m done letting you destroy other people to protect yourself.\u201d
\nEthan began struggling again.
\n\u201cNatalie!\u201d
\nShe ignored him.
\n\u201cCharlotte?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d
\nI closed my eyes.
\nThere were a thousand things I could have said.
\nInstead, I asked the only question that mattered.
\n\u201cDid you help him steal the money?\u201d
\nA long silence.
\n\u201cAt first, I didn\u2019t know.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd later?\u201d
\nShe started crying again.
\n\u201cLater, I knew enough that I should\u2019ve walked away.\u201d
\nMy chest tightened.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s not an answer.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nHer voice cracked.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s the only honest answer I have.\u201d
\nI appreciated that more than another excuse.
\n\u201cWhy are you calling me?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause Ethan doesn\u2019t know everything I found.\u201d
\nHe stopped struggling.
\nI looked at him.
\n\u201cWhat did you find?\u201d
\nNatalie took a breath.
\n\u201cThe $2.4 million wasn\u2019t his final transfer.\u201d
\nThomas\u2019s head snapped toward the phone.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cThere was supposed to be one more.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\nNatalie hesitated.
\n\u201cEight million.\u201d
\nMy father whispered, \u201cGood God.\u201d
\nI gripped the counter.
\n\u201cWhere would eight million come from?\u201d
\nNatalie didn\u2019t answer.
\n\u201cNatalie?\u201d
\n\u201cWhen I discovered the target account, that\u2019s when I refused to leave with him.\u201d
\nMy stomach twisted.
\n\u201cWhat target account?\u201d
\nShe whispered my name.
\n\u201cCharlotte.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cThe eight million wasn\u2019t coming from your father.\u201d
\nI felt cold.
\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t coming from Margaret.\u201d
\nI looked at Ethan.
\nHis eyes were fixed on me.
\nNatalie continued.
\n\u201cIt was coming from you.\u201d
\nI almost laughed.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t have eight million dollars sitting in an account.\u201d
\n\u201cNot in cash.\u201d
\nThen I understood.
\nMy inheritance.
\nYears earlier, my grandmother had left me a portfolio of property and investments.
\nI\u2019d rarely touched it.
\nIts current value was somewhere around\u2014
\nEight million dollars.
\nI stared at Ethan.
\n\u201cYou were going to take my inheritance?\u201d
\nHe said nothing.
\nNatalie answered for him.
\n\u201cTomorrow morning.\u201d
\nThomas moved quickly.
\n\u201cCharlotte, we need to freeze every account immediately.\u201d
\n\u201cThey\u2019re already protected.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nNatalie interrupted.
\n\u201cNot the account Ethan was targeting.\u201d
\nI froze.
\n\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d
\n\u201cHe couldn\u2019t access your investment portfolio directly.\u201d
\n\u201cThen how?\u201d
\n\u201cHe created a transfer authorization.\u201d
\nMy heart pounded.
\n\u201cWith my forged signature?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nNatalie hesitated.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the problem.\u201d
\nI looked at Ethan.
\nHe was smiling again.
\n\u201cWhat problem?\u201d
\nNatalie whispered, \u201cThe signature isn\u2019t forged.\u201d
\nI stared at the phone.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d
\n\u201cDo you remember signing documents at your anniversary dinner six months ago?\u201d
\nMy blood turned cold.
\nI remembered.
\nEthan had brought papers from our insurance company.
\nOr that\u2019s what he\u2019d told me.
\nHe\u2019d placed little tabs beside every signature line.
\nI had been distracted.
\nGuests were arriving.
\nI\u2019d signed.
\nPage after page.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nNatalie\u2019s voice broke.
\n\u201cCharlotte, one of those documents gave him limited financial authority.\u201d
\nThomas immediately said, \u201cPower of attorney?\u201d
\n\u201cNot exactly. But enough to initiate a transfer under specific conditions.\u201d
\nI couldn\u2019t breathe.
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cTomorrow at nine.\u201d
\nThomas checked his watch.
\n\u201cThen we stop it.\u201d
\nNatalie went silent.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nThomas repeated, \u201cWe stop the transfer.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nHer voice changed.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s already started.\u201d
\nEvery person in the kitchen froze.
\n\u201cWhat do you mean already?\u201d
\n\u201cEthan moved the execution time.\u201d
\nI looked toward the clock above the dining-room arch.
\n8:42 a.m.
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\nNatalie whispered:
\n\u201c8:30.\u201d
\nTwelve minutes ago.
\nThomas grabbed his phone.
\nMy father reached for his.
\nThe investigator started issuing instructions.
\nBut Ethan just stood there.
\nAnd smiled.
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cYou already took it.\u201d
\nHe tilted his head.
\n\u201cMaybe you should\u2019ve asked that question before breakfast.\u201d
\nMy hands went cold.
\nEight million dollars.
\nMy grandmother\u2019s legacy.
\nMy future.
\nPossibly gone in twelve minutes.
\nThen Thomas shouted from across the room.
\n\u201cCharlotte!\u201d
\nI turned.
\nHe was staring at his phone.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nHis expression was unlike anything I\u2019d seen all morning.
\n\u201cThe transfer didn\u2019t go through.\u201d
\nEthan\u2019s smile vanished.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nThomas stared at the screen.
\n\u201cIt was rejected.\u201d
\nEthan lunged toward him.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s impossible!\u201d
\nThe investigator grabbed him.
\nThomas looked at me.
\n\u201cSomeone placed a restriction on the account at 8:27.\u201d
\nThree minutes before the transfer.
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\nThomas slowly turned toward my father.
\nDad wasn\u2019t smiling.
\nI looked at him.
\n\u201cDaddy?\u201d
\nHe shook his head.
\n\u201cIt wasn\u2019t me.\u201d
\nThe kitchen became silent again.
\nThen Natalie spoke through the phone.
\n\u201cI know who did it.\u201d
\nEthan stopped moving.
\nI picked up the phone.
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\nNatalie took a shaky breath.
\n\u201cCharlotte, there\u2019s one more person involved.\u201d
\nMy stomach dropped.
\n\u201cWho?\u201d
\n\u201cThe person who has been sending me copies of Ethan\u2019s records for the last four months.\u201d
\nEthan\u2019s face went completely blank.
\nI looked around the kitchen.
\nAt Dad.
\nThomas.
\nMargaret.
\nThe investigators.
\nThen back at my husband.
\n\u201cWho was sending them?\u201d
\nNatalie\u2019s answer came quietly.
\n\u201cSomeone who lives in your house.\u201d
\nI stopped breathing.
\nEthan stared toward the staircase.
\nAnd for the first time that morning, I realized someone had been standing silently at the top of it.
\nWatching us.
\nListening to everything.
\nThen a familiar voice said:
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s time I told Charlotte the truth.\u201d\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

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Click here to continue reading: Last Part- My Husband Hi:t Me for Asking Where He Had Been All Night.<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PART 4 \u2014 THE WOMAN WHO HELD THE MISSING $2.4 MILLION \u201cNatalie\u2019s.\u201d The word seemed to hang over the kitchen table. Ethan stopped struggling. And that was how I knew … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aita","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7795","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=7795"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7798,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7795\/revisions\/7798"}],"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=7795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}