\u201cWhat baby?\u201d
\nPeter\u2019s question hung over the dining room.
\nClaire didn\u2019t answer.
\nShe just stood there with one hand over her mouth, tears sliding down her cheeks.
\nMark looked terrified.
\nNot confused.
\nTerrified.
\nAnd that told me everything I needed to know.
\nI slowly turned toward him.
\n\u201cYou know what she\u2019s talking about.\u201d
\n\u201cEmily\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cWhat baby?\u201d
\n\u201cPlease, just let me explain.\u201d
\nI laughed.
\nIt came out colder than I expected.
\n\u201cInteresting. You\u2019ve had seven months of marriage to explain things to me. Start now.\u201d
\nMark glanced at the guests.
\n\u201cNot in front of everyone.\u201d
\n\u201cYou had no problem humiliating me in front of everyone.\u201d
\nI pointed toward Claire.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou invited her here. You sat beside her. You defended her. You compared me to her.\u201d
\nThen I looked him directly in the eyes.
\n\u201cSo whatever this is, everyone stays.\u201d
\nNobody moved.
\nPeter turned to Claire.
\n\u201cAre you pregnant?\u201d
\nClaire shook her head quickly.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nPeter\u2019s shoulders dropped slightly.
\nBut Mark\u2019s expression didn\u2019t change.
\nAnd suddenly I understood.
\nThe question wasn\u2019t whether Claire was pregnant.
\nThe question was whether she had been.
\nI looked at her.
\n\u201cYou had a baby?\u201d
\nClaire closed her eyes.
\nPeter stared at his wife.
\n\u201cWhat is she talking about?\u201d
\n\u201cI can\u2019t do this.\u201d
\nClaire grabbed her purse.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She made it three steps toward the hallway before Peter spoke.
\n\u201cClaire.\u201d
\nShe stopped.
\nHis voice was quiet.
\n\u201cIf you walk out that door, I\u2019m following you with divorce papers tomorrow morning.\u201d
\nShe turned around.
\n\u201cYou were already planning to divorce me.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nHis expression hardened.
\n\u201cBut now I want to know how much of my marriage was a lie.\u201d
\nClaire looked at Mark.
\nThat glance lasted barely a second.
\nBut Peter saw it.
\nSo did I.
\nPeter whispered, \u201cOh my God.\u201d
\nMark stepped forward.
\n\u201cPeter, don\u2019t jump to conclusions.\u201d
\nPeter laughed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou slept with my wife.\u201d
\nMark said nothing.
\n\u201cAnd now you\u2019re telling me not to jump to conclusions?\u201d
\nClaire finally sank into a chair.
\n\u201cI had a baby.\u201d
\nNobody breathed.
\nPeter\u2019s face went completely blank.
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\n\u201cEleven years ago.\u201d
\nPeter stared at her.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d
\nClaire wiped her cheeks.
\n\u201cNo, it isn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cYou told me you miscarried.\u201d
\nThe words came out broken.
\nClaire lowered her eyes.
\nMy stomach twisted.
\nMark moved toward her.
\n\u201cClaire, stop talking.\u201d
\nThat was the worst possible thing he could have said.
\nPeter turned toward him.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d
\nMark froze.
\nPeter stepped closer.
\n\u201cYou knew there was a baby?\u201d
\n\u201cPeter\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cANSWER ME.\u201d
\n\u201cYes!\u201d
\nMark shouted it.
\nThe room fell silent again.
\n\u201cYes. I knew.\u201d
\nPeter staggered backward.
\nI gripped the edge of the table.
\nNone of this made sense.
\nMark and Claire had been married before.
\nPeter married Claire afterward.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But apparently, somewhere between those two marriages, there had been a child nobody talked about.
\n\u201cWhere is the baby?\u201d I asked.
\nClaire looked at me.
\nFor several seconds, she couldn\u2019t speak.
\nThen she whispered,
\n\u201cShe\u2019s not a baby anymore.\u201d
\n\u201cShe?\u201d
\n\u201cMy daughter.\u201d
\nMark\u2019s mother suddenly stood.
\n\u201cYou have a daughter?\u201d
\nMark looked away.
\nDiane\u2019s face crumpled.
\n\u201cYou have another child and you never told me?\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nDiane shook her head.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t get to say that anymore.\u201d
\nI had never heard her speak to Mark that way.
\nClaire wiped her face.
\n\u201cShe was adopted.\u201d
\nPeter frowned.
\n\u201cYou gave your daughter away?\u201d
\n\u201cI thought it was the right thing.\u201d
\n\u201cYou told me you lost the pregnancy.\u201d
\n\u201cI was scared.\u201d
\n\u201cOf what?\u201d
\nClaire\u2019s eyes moved toward Mark.
\nMark looked furious.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d
\nBut Claire seemed finished protecting him.
\n\u201cOf him.\u201d
\nMy heart stopped.
\nEveryone looked at Mark.
\nHe shook his head immediately.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s ridiculous.\u201d
\nClaire stood.
\n\u201cYou told me we couldn\u2019t afford a baby.\u201d
\n\u201cWe couldn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cYou said a child would ruin everything.\u201d
\n\u201cYou agreed with me!\u201d
\n\u201cI was twenty-four!\u201d
\n\u201cAnd I was twenty-six!\u201d
\n\u201cYou threatened to leave me!\u201d
\nMark\u2019s mother covered her mouth.
\nClaire continued.
\n\u201cYou told me if I kept her, I\u2019d raise her alone.\u201d
\nMark stepped toward her.
\n\u201cAnd you chose adoption.\u201d
\n\u201cBecause you made me believe I had no other choice!\u201d
\nTheir voices filled the room.
\nBut something wasn\u2019t adding up.
\nI looked at Peter.
\n\u201cWhen did you meet Claire?\u201d
\n\u201cEleven years ago.\u201d
\n\u201cHow long after the pregnancy?\u201d
\nHe thought for a moment.
\n\u201cMaybe two months.\u201d
\nClaire suddenly went quiet.
\nPeter noticed.
\n\u201cSo you met me immediately afterward?\u201d
\nClaire didn\u2019t answer.
\nPeter\u2019s expression changed.
\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t marry me because you loved me.\u201d
\n\u201cPeter\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cYou needed somewhere to go.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s not fair.\u201d
\n\u201cIsn\u2019t it?\u201d
\nThen he looked at Mark.
\n\u201cAnd somehow, all these years later, you ended up back with him.\u201d
\nClaire started crying again.
\nBut I barely heard them anymore.
\nBecause one detail was drilling itself into my mind.
\nEleven years ago.
\nA daughter.
\nAdopted.
\nI looked at Mark.
\n\u201cHave you ever met her?\u201d
\nHis head snapped toward me.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nToo fast.
\nFar too fast.
\nClaire stared at him.
\nMark noticed.
\n\u201cClaire.\u201d
\nShe whispered, \u201cDon\u2019t make me lie about that too.\u201d
\nDiane sank slowly into her chair.
\nI felt my pulse pounding in my throat.
\n\u201cYou found her.\u201d
\nMark didn\u2019t answer.
\nClaire did.
\n\u201cThree years ago.\u201d
\nMy knees nearly gave way.
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve known your daughter for three years?\u201d
\nMark rubbed both hands over his face.
\n\u201cShe contacted us.\u201d
\n\u201cUs?\u201d
\n\u201cMe first,\u201d Claire said.
\n\u201cShe found me through an ancestry website.\u201d
\nPeter looked devastated.
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve been speaking to her for three years?\u201d
\nClaire nodded.
\n\u201cAnd you never told me?\u201d
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t know how.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s her name?\u201d I asked.
\nClaire looked at me.
\n\u201cLily.\u201d
\nSomething about the name felt familiar.
\nThen I remembered.
\nMark had a contact saved in his phone as LILY OFFICE.
\nI had seen it dozens of times.
\nOnce, I had even asked him who Lily was.
\nHe told me she worked in accounting.
\nMy stomach dropped.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s no Lily in your accounting department.\u201d
\nMark\u2019s face changed.
\nHe knew exactly what I meant.
\n\u201cYou lied about her.\u201d
\n\u201cEmily, I was going to tell you.\u201d
\n\u201cWhen?\u201d
\nHe didn\u2019t answer.
\n\u201cBefore or after you stole against my house?\u201d
\n\u201cI wasn\u2019t stealing.\u201d
\n\u201cThen what do you call secretly using my financial information?\u201d
\n\u201cWe needed money.\u201d
\nThe words escaped his mouth before he could stop them.
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cWe?\u201d
\nClaire closed her eyes.
\nThere it was again.
\nMark and Claire.
\nAlways Mark and Claire.
\nEven during our marriage.
\n\u201cWhat did you need the money for?\u201d
\nMark said nothing.
\nPeter picked up the email from the table.
\n\u201cApparently enough to build an entire plan around Emily\u2019s house.\u201d
\nClaire shook her head.
\n\u201cThat wasn\u2019t supposed to happen this way.\u201d
\nI turned toward her.
\n\u201cWhat way was it supposed to happen?\u201d
\nShe looked at Mark.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t look at him.\u201d
\nMy voice sharpened.
\n\u201cLook at me.\u201d
\nShe did.
\nAnd for the first time that evening, Claire didn\u2019t look superior.
\nShe looked ashamed.
\n\u201cThe plan started before you two got married.\u201d
\n\u201cI know that.\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nHer voice trembled.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know all of it.\u201d
\nMark slammed his hand against the table.
\n\u201cClaire!\u201d
\nShe jumped.
\nPeter immediately stepped between them.
\n\u201cBack away from her.\u201d
\nMark glared at him.
\n\u201cThis has nothing to do with you.\u201d
\nPeter stared at him in disbelief.
\n\u201cShe\u2019s my wife.\u201d
\n\u201cShe was mine first.\u201d
\nThe moment Mark said it, the room changed.
\nClaire looked at him.
\nPeter looked at him.
\nAnd I finally understood what Mark had never been able to admit.
\nIn his mind, Claire had never stopped belonging to him.
\nMaybe I had never really been his wife at all.
\nI had just been the woman standing between two people who believed their story was more important than everyone else\u2019s.
\nI took a breath.
\n\u201cTell me the plan.\u201d
\nClaire\u2019s shoulders trembled.
\n\u201cMark contacted me about a year ago.\u201d
\n\u201cBefore our wedding.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cHe said you inherited the house.\u201d
\nI felt sick.
\n\u201cHe knew before we married.\u201d
\nClaire nodded.
\n\u201cHe told me it was worth almost nine hundred thousand dollars.\u201d
\nMark interrupted.
\n\u201cThis is insane.\u201d
\nBut Claire kept talking.
\n\u201cHe had debt. A lot more than you know about.\u201d
\n\u201cHow much?\u201d
\nShe hesitated.
\n\u201cNearly two hundred thousand.\u201d
\nI stared at Mark.
\nThe forty thousand I had discovered suddenly seemed tiny.
\n\u201cFrom what?\u201d
\n\u201cBusiness loans. Credit cards. Investments.\u201d
\nMark shouted,
\n\u201cThey weren\u2019t just mine!\u201d
\nClaire immediately went silent.
\nPeter looked between them.
\n\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d
\nNobody answered.
\nThen Peter suddenly laughed.
\n\u201cYou two were doing business together.\u201d
\nClaire lowered her head.
\nMark swore under his breath.
\nPeter picked up the folder.
\n\u201cAll those transfers I couldn\u2019t explain.\u201d
\nHe looked at Claire.
\n\u201cYou told me they were consulting payments.\u201d
\n\u201cThey were investments.\u201d
\n\u201cIn what?\u201d
\n\u201cA property company.\u201d
\nMy heart started beating faster.
\n\u201cWhat property company?\u201d
\nClaire gave me the name.
\n\u201cHawthorne Residential Group.\u201d
\nI stopped breathing.
\nI knew that name.
\nI had seen it on the refinancing documents Mark left in his office.
\nI had assumed it was the lender.
\nIt wasn\u2019t.
\nIt was their company.
\n\u201cYou were planning to transfer money from my house into your company.\u201d
\nMark finally spoke.
\n\u201cWe were going to pay it back.\u201d
\nI turned toward him.
\n\u201cYou forged my financial information.\u201d
\n\u201cI never forged your signature.\u201d
\n\u201cBecause I caught you before you could.\u201d
\nHis silence answered for him.
\nClaire suddenly whispered,
\n\u201cThat wasn\u2019t the whole plan.\u201d
\nMark spun around.
\n\u201cSHUT UP.\u201d
\nI had never seen him look at her that way.
\nClaire flinched.
\nPeter stepped closer to Mark.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t speak to her like that.\u201d
\nBut Claire shook her head.
\n\u201cNo. Emily deserves to know.\u201d
\nMark pointed at her.
\n\u201cIf you say another word, you\u2019re going to destroy everything.\u201d
\nClaire laughed through her tears.
\n\u201cEverything is already destroyed.\u201d
\nShe looked at me.
\n\u201cOnce the refinance cleared, Mark was supposed to move the money.\u201d
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\n\u201cInto Hawthorne.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd then?\u201d
\nShe swallowed.
\n\u201cHe was going to file for divorce.\u201d
\nThe room disappeared around me.
\nMy ears rang.
\nI looked at my husband.
\nHe didn\u2019t deny it.
\nSeven months.
\nThat was all our marriage had been worth to him.
\nA way into my house.
\nA way into my finances.
\nA way to turn my inheritance into cash.
\n\u201cAnd after the divorce?\u201d
\nClaire looked at Mark.
\nThen back at me.
\n\u201cWe were going to get back together.\u201d
\nPeter sat down like his legs had stopped working.
\nMark\u2019s mother started crying.
\nI expected myself to break.
\nInstead, something strange happened.
\nI felt calm.
\nCompletely calm.
\nBecause the man standing in front of me wasn\u2019t my husband anymore.
\nHe was just a stranger who had made a terrible mistake.
\nHe thought pregnancy would make me vulnerable.
\nHe thought marriage would make me trusting.
\nHe thought love would make me stupid.
\nHe was wrong.
\nI picked up my phone.
\nMark watched me.
\n\u201cWho are you calling?\u201d
\n\u201cNo one.\u201d
\nI opened an email.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s something I haven\u2019t told you.\u201d
\nFor the first time all night, Mark looked uncertain.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cWhen Peter contacted me three weeks ago, I didn\u2019t just hire a lawyer.\u201d
\nI turned the phone toward him.
\n\u201cI hired a forensic accountant.\u201d
\nMark\u2019s face changed instantly.
\nClaire whispered,
\n\u201cOh God.\u201d
\nI continued.
\n\u201cShe traced Hawthorne Residential Group.\u201d
\nMark stepped toward me.
\n\u201cYou had no right.\u201d
\n\u201cI had every right after you used my financial information.\u201d
\nI looked at Claire.
\n\u201cAnd she found something interesting.\u201d
\nClaire\u2019s face went pale.
\n\u201cHawthorne doesn\u2019t have two owners.\u201d
\nMark stared at me.
\n\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d
\n\u201cIt has three.\u201d
\nSilence.
\nPeter frowned.
\n\u201cWho\u2019s the third?\u201d
\nI looked at Mark.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I asked.\u201d
\nThen I opened the attachment.
\nA corporate registration document appeared on the screen.
\nMark\u2019s name was there.
\nClaire\u2019s name was there.
\nAnd beneath them was a third name.
\nA name I had never seen before.
\nVICTORIA HALE.
\nClaire\u2019s reaction terrified me.
\nShe stood so quickly her chair fell backward.
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nMark went white.
\nPeter stared at her.
\n\u201cYou know her?\u201d
\nClaire shook her head.
\n\u201cNo. No, that\u2019s impossible.\u201d
\n\u201cWho is Victoria Hale?\u201d I asked.
\nClaire looked at Mark.
\nHe wouldn\u2019t meet her eyes.
\nThen she whispered,
\n\u201cMark, tell me you didn\u2019t.\u201d
\nHe remained silent.
\nClaire crossed the room and slapped him.
\nHard.
\nEveryone gasped.
\n\u201cYou said she was gone!\u201d
\nMark grabbed his cheek.
\n\u201cClaire\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cYOU SAID SHE WAS DEAD!\u201d
\nMy blood ran cold.
\n\u201cWho was dead?\u201d
\nClaire backed away from him.
\nTears filled her eyes again.
\nBut these tears looked different.
\nThey weren\u2019t tears of shame.
\nThey were fear.
\nShe looked at me.
\n\u201cVictoria was Mark\u2019s business partner.\u201d
\nMark shouted,
\n\u201cStop!\u201d
\nClaire continued.
\n\u201cBefore me.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat happened to her?\u201d
\nClaire stared at Mark.
\n\u201cHe told me she died thirteen years ago.\u201d
\nI looked at the registration date on the document.
\nHawthorne Residential Group had been incorporated only fourteen months earlier.
\n\u201cSo a dead woman started a company last year?\u201d
\nNobody answered.
\nThen my phone rang.
\nUnknown number.
\nMark looked at the screen.
\nAnd something in his expression made me answer immediately.
\n\u201cHello?\u201d
\nFor several seconds, there was silence.
\nThen a woman spoke.
\n\u201cIs this Emily?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cMy name is Victoria Hale.\u201d
\nEvery hair on my arms stood up.
\nMark rushed toward me.
\n\u201cHang up.\u201d
\nI stepped away.
\nVictoria continued.
\n\u201cI know you don\u2019t know me, but I know who you are.\u201d
\n\u201cHow?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause Mark has been using your name for months.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\nHis face had gone completely gray.
\n\u201cFor what?\u201d
\nVictoria paused.
\nThen she said,
\n\u201cEmily, I need you to listen very carefully. Do not let Mark leave your house.\u201d
\nMark grabbed his coat.
\nPeter blocked the doorway.
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d I asked.
\nVictoria took a shaky breath.
\n\u201cYour husband didn\u2019t create Hawthorne Residential Group to steal nine hundred thousand dollars.\u201d
\nMy heart hammered.
\n\u201cThen why did he create it?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause he needed somewhere to hide the money he already stole.\u201d
\nMark shoved Peter.
\nPeter shoved him back.
\nDiane screamed.
\n\u201cHow much money?\u201d I asked.
\nVictoria answered.
\n\u201cThree point two million dollars.\u201d
\nNobody moved.
\nThen she added,
\n\u201cAnd that isn\u2019t the reason I called.\u201d
\nI gripped my phone.
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s the reason?\u201d
\nVictoria\u2019s voice dropped almost to a whisper.
\n\u201cBecause I saw the photograph Peter sent you tonight.\u201d
\nMy eyes moved toward Peter.
\nHe looked confused.
\n\u201cThe photograph of Mark and Claire?\u201d
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nVictoria said.
\n\u201cThe other photograph.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat other photograph?\u201d
\n\u201cThe one taken outside the restaurant three weeks ago.\u201d
\nI looked at the picture still lying beside Mark\u2019s plate.
\nMark and Claire kissing.
\nVictoria continued.
\n\u201cThere was someone standing behind them.\u201d
\nI picked up the photograph.
\nAt first, I saw nothing.
\nThen I looked more closely.
\nBehind Mark and Claire, reflected faintly in the restaurant window, was the shape of a young woman.
\nDark hair.
\nThin face.
\nWatching them.
\nMy heart began pounding.
\n\u201cWho is she?\u201d
\nVictoria went silent.
\nClaire suddenly walked toward me.
\nShe saw the reflection.
\nAnd every bit of color disappeared from her face.
\n\u201cLily.\u201d
\nMark whispered,
\n\u201cNo.\u201d
\nClaire grabbed the photograph.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s Lily.\u201d
\nTheir daughter.
\nThe child they had given up eleven years earlier.
\nThe child they claimed had found them three years ago.
\nBut Victoria\u2019s next words made Claire drop the photograph.
\n\u201cThat girl isn\u2019t Lily.\u201d
\nClaire stared at the phone.
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d
\nVictoria said,
\n\u201cI know because I know where Lily is.\u201d
\nMark suddenly stopped trying to leave.
\nThe entire room went silent.
\nClaire whispered,
\n\u201cWhere?\u201d
\nVictoria took a breath.
\nThen said,
\n\u201cShe\u2019s with me.\u201d
\nClaire looked like she might collapse.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d
\n\u201cNo,\u201d Victoria replied.
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s impossible is that Mark convinced both of you the girl he\u2019s been meeting for three years is your daughter.\u201d
\nI slowly turned toward my husband.
\nMark didn\u2019t look angry anymore.
\nHe looked trapped.
\nClaire stared at him.
\n\u201cWho is she, Mark?\u201d
\nHe said nothing.
\n\u201cWHO IS SHE?\u201d
\nAnd then my phone vibrated.
\nA text message arrived from Victoria.
\nOne photograph.
\nI opened it.
\nA teenage girl stood beside Victoria.
\nUnderneath were six words.
\nMARK NEVER TOLD YOU THE TRUTH.
\nI enlarged the picture.
\nClaire leaned over my shoulder.
\nThen she made a sound I will never forget.
\nBecause the girl standing beside Victoria looked almost exactly like Mark.
\nSame eyes.
\nSame chin.
\nSame crooked smile.
\nBut it was the date printed at the bottom of the photograph that made my stomach turn.
\nIt had been taken that morning.
\nI looked at Mark.
\n\u201cWho is the girl you\u2019ve been calling Lily?\u201d
\nHis lips parted.
\nBefore he could answer, someone knocked on the front door.
\nThree slow knocks.
\nEveryone froze.
\nThen my doorbell rang.
\nMark whispered,
\n\u201cEmily, don\u2019t open it.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nHe backed away.
\nAnd for the first time since I had met him, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.
\nBecause apparently Mark knew exactly who was standing outside.
\nI walked into the hallway anyway.
\n\u201cEmily!\u201d he shouted.
\nI reached the front door.
\nUnlocked it.
\nAnd pulled it open.
\nA young woman stood on my porch.
\nThe same young woman reflected in the restaurant window.
\nShe looked past me.
\nStraight at Mark.
\nThen she smiled.
\n\u201cHi, Dad.\u201d
\nNobody behind me made a sound.
\nShe turned her eyes toward my pregnant stomach.
\nHer smile disappeared.
\nThen she said something I never could have prepared myself for.
\n\u201cYou really haven\u2019t told your wife what you did to the last woman who was pregnant with your child?\u201d
\nTO BE CONTINUED\u2026…………….<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat baby?\u201d Peter\u2019s question hung over the dining room. Claire didn\u2019t answer. She just stood there with one hand over her mouth, tears sliding down her cheeks. Mark looked terrified. … <\/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-7840","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\/7840","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=7840"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7845,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7840\/revisions\/7845"}],"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=7840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echostoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}