PART 2<\/p>\n
The knock came again.<\/p>\n
Not loud. Not hurried.<\/p>\n
Three measured taps against the penthouse door.<\/p>\n
Elias stood between me and the entrance, one hand resting near the inside of his jacket. He did not look frightened. Men like him probably learned early that fear was something other people were allowed to display.<\/p>\n
I was not as disciplined.<\/p>\n
My heart beat so hard it seemed to shake the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is it?\u201d he called.<\/p>\n
A man answered from the hallway.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Vance, I\u2019m here with legal counsel and a representative from Family Services. We need to speak with Ava Miller.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
Elias glanced at me. \u201cDo you know them?\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
The babies stirred in the adjoining room, and a soft cry rose through the open door. I instinctively tried to stand, but my body still felt borrowed and unreliable. Elias noticed and moved toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to see anyone,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression tightened. \u201cAva\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s him, I need to know what he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n
For three days, I had lain in a strange bed while fever and exhaustion blurred the edges of reality. I had woken with questions I could not ask because my throat was too raw and my thoughts too scattered.<\/p>\n
Now, with my daughters safe in the next room, clarity began returning.<\/p>\n
Fear remained.<\/p>\n
But beneath it was something stronger.<\/p>\n
I wanted answers.<\/p>\n
Elias studied me for a moment, then turned to the door. \u201cTomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the guards stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSearch them,\u201d Elias said. \u201cNo weapons. No recording devices.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man outside objected. \u201cThat\u2019s unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt became necessary when you arrived at my residence uninvited.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a pause.<\/p>\n
Then the door opened.<\/p>\n
The first person to enter was a woman in her fifties wearing a navy coat and carrying a leather folder against her chest. Her gray hair was twisted neatly at the nape of her neck. She looked tired, but not frightened.<\/p>\n
Behind her stood a narrow-faced man in an expensive charcoal suit.<\/p>\n
And behind them\u2014<\/p>\n
Caleb.<\/p>\n
My husband had always been careful about his appearance. Even when we were struggling, he kept his shirts pressed and his shoes polished. He believed a clean collar could persuade people that a man was respectable.<\/p>\n
Today, his collar was crooked.<\/p>\n
A faint bruise colored one cheek\u2014not from me, not from Elias, but from some hurried encounter on the way here. His eyes moved immediately toward the nursery.<\/p>\n
He did not ask how I was.<\/p>\n
He did not ask whether the babies were healthy.<\/p>\n
He looked at the closed door behind Elias.<\/p>\n
Then at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAva,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The sound of his voice sent a cold wave through me.<\/p>\n
I had spent years learning how to read his moods from the angle of his shoulders, the tightness around his mouth, the way he set down a glass. My body remembered him even when I wanted it not to.<\/p>\n
The woman with the folder stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy name is Helen Ortiz. I\u2019m a family services investigator. This is Mr. Whitmore, representing Mr. Miller.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRepresenting him for what?\u201d Elias asked.<\/p>\n
Mr. Whitmore adjusted his cuffs. \u201cMr. Miller has concerns about the circumstances surrounding his wife\u2019s disappearance and the location of his newborn children.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
The sound would have been bitter, so I swallowed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy disappearance?\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s gaze flickered.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was worried,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left me beneath an overpass.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face tightened. \u201cThat isn\u2019t what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened, then?\u201d<\/p>\n
No one spoke.<\/p>\n
The room seemed to draw inward around us. Somewhere behind the nursery door, one of the babies made a soft, restless noise.<\/p>\n
Elias did not move, but his presence filled the silence.<\/p>\n
Caleb lowered his voice. \u201cYou were ill. You were confused. You made choices without understanding the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had just given birth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou weren\u2019t thinking clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking clearly enough to know you didn\u2019t want our daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words landed harder than I expected. Helen Ortiz glanced at Caleb, and for the first time, something like disapproval crossed her face.<\/p>\n
Mr. Whitmore opened his folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps we should focus on the children\u2019s welfare. Mr. Miller is their legal father. He has a right to see them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a right to request a supervised visit through the court,\u201d Elias replied. \u201cHe does not have a right to enter this home and remove them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Vance,\u201d Helen said carefully, \u201cI understand that you have provided medical assistance to Mrs. Miller and the infants. That is commendable. But you are not a relative, and this is not a lawful placement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elias\u2019s eyes remained on Caleb. \u201cI never claimed it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
He looked at me then.<\/p>\n
\u201cAva can decide what happens next. With counsel present, if she wants it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Whitmore seemed irritated by that answer. \u201cMrs. Miller is recovering from a serious medical event. She may not be in a position to make informed decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hands curled into the blanket.<\/p>\n
There it was.<\/p>\n
The same old trick.<\/p>\n
Whenever I disagreed with Caleb, I became confused. Whenever I cried, I was unstable. Whenever I objected to being mistreated, I was accused of making things worse.<\/p>\n
I looked at Helen. \u201cI am tired. I am in pain. But I understand exactly who I am and where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
She held my gaze.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you feel safe here?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question should have been simple.<\/p>\n
Instead, I glanced at Elias.<\/p>\n
He stood a few steps away, rigid and unreadable, as if trying to make himself smaller for my sake. His entire household was organized around protection, yet he had not once told me what I must do. He had not touched me without asking. He had not demanded gratitude.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel safer here than I have felt anywhere in a long time,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s jaw clenched. \u201cHe\u2019s manipulating you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elias finally looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said. \u201cShe\u2019s speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
The babies began crying.<\/p>\n
Every adult in the room went still.<\/p>\n
The sound was small, urgent, and alive.<\/p>\n
I pushed away the blanket.<\/p>\n
Helen stepped toward me. \u201cPlease don\u2019t strain yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey need me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could stand, Elias crossed the room and opened the nursery door. A young nurse appeared almost immediately, carrying one baby in a pale yellow blanket. The other lay in a bassinet, waving her tiny fists.<\/p>\n
The sight of them loosened something inside my chest.<\/p>\n
My daughters were warm. Clean. Fed.<\/p>\n
They had soft caps on their heads, and one of them had a tiny crease between her brows as though she already disapproved of the world.<\/p>\n
The nurse brought them to me one at a time.<\/p>\n
Caleb stared at them from across the room.<\/p>\n
Neither baby turned toward him.<\/p>\n
Not that they could know him. Not yet.<\/p>\n
Still, I watched his face carefully.<\/p>\n
He looked at the children with uncertainty rather than tenderness, as if someone had placed two fragile objects in his hands and asked him to identify their purpose.<\/p>\n
Helen noticed too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you like to hold them?\u201d she asked him.<\/p>\n
Caleb hesitated.<\/p>\n
The question seemed to embarrass him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re very small,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re your daughters,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
His eyes shifted to mine.<\/p>\n
Something passed through his expression\u2014not remorse, exactly. More like resentment at being reminded of a fact he had hoped would remain temporary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to speak with Ava privately,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Elias answered.<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s face reddened. \u201cYou have no authority over my marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither do you at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Whitmore closed his folder with a sharp snap. \u201cThis is becoming hostile.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one has raised their voice,\u201d Helen said. \u201cLet\u2019s keep it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her calmness seemed to unsettle Caleb more than anger would have.<\/p>\n
She turned toward me. \u201cMrs. Miller, I need to ask you a few questions. Where did you believe your husband was taking you when you left the apartment?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked down at my daughters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t leave willingly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen\u2019s pen paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you tell me what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not want to speak about it in front of the girls. The details still felt like broken glass in my memory\u2014hands, cold air, pavement, the terrible certainty that I would not live long enough to hear my babies cry.<\/p>\n
Elias noticed my hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can continue another time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I don\u2019t say it now, he\u2019ll say something else happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb looked away.<\/p>\n
I told Helen what I could. Not every detail. Not yet. But enough.<\/p>\n
I told her Caleb had wanted a son. I told her he had called the girls a curse. I told her men had taken me from our building after the midwife left. I told her I had woken beneath the overpass, unable to move, with my daughters pressed against my chest.<\/p>\n
Helen did not interrupt.<\/p>\n
When I finished, the room was silent except for the babies\u2019 breathing.<\/p>\n
Caleb spoke at last.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s exaggerating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen looked at him. \u201cAbout which part?\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened his mouth, then closed it.<\/p>\n
Mr. Whitmore stepped in. \u201cMy client was under considerable emotional strain. He had just learned that his wife had delivered twins prematurely\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were not premature,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur midwife said they were healthy,\u201d I continued. \u201cSmall, but healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
It was slight, but I saw it.<\/p>\n
He had not expected me to remember.<\/p>\n
Helen saw it too.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Miller,\u201d she said, \u201cwhy did you tell your attorney the infants were premature?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI may have misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were present for the delivery?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what did the midwife say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t remember whether your children were born early?\u201d<\/p>\n
His face hardened. \u201cI was upset.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen wrote something in her folder.<\/p>\n
Caleb took a step toward the nursery.<\/p>\n
Elias shifted between us.<\/p>\n
It was not an aggressive movement. He did not raise his voice or touch Caleb. He simply occupied the space Caleb wanted to cross.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay where you are,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s eyes flashed. \u201cYou think you can hide her from me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one is hiding her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found her and took her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI found an injured woman and two infants in dangerous weather. I called medical professionals and brought them somewhere warm.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou brought them here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause my home has medical staff and security.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t make them yours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elias\u2019s expression did not change. \u201cI have never claimed they were.\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement seemed to confuse Caleb.<\/p>\n
Perhaps he had expected Elias to act like the stories people told about him\u2014possessive, controlling, eager to claim anything vulnerable as his own.<\/p>\n
Instead, Elias kept looking at me.<\/p>\n
Giving me the choice.<\/p>\n
Helen noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Miller,\u201d she said, \u201cdo you want Mr. Miller to have contact with the children today?\u201d<\/p>\n
The room narrowed.<\/p>\n
I looked at Caleb.<\/p>\n
A part of me\u2014some exhausted, hopeful part\u2014wanted him to come closer and prove me wrong. I wanted him to look at our daughters and understand what he had nearly thrown away. I wanted him to say that he had been frightened, foolish, angry, anything that could make the last few days fit into a shape I could bear.<\/p>\n
But another part of me remembered his face when the midwife placed the babies in my arms.<\/p>\n
Two?<\/p>\n
The word still lived inside me like a bruise.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Caleb flinched.<\/p>\n
Not because he was heartbroken.<\/p>\n
Because he had been denied.<\/p>\n
Helen nodded. \u201cThat is your decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Whitmore objected. \u201cMy client is their father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she is their mother,\u201d Helen replied. \u201cAt present, the children are safe, cared for, and not in immediate danger. We can arrange a formal review.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re making a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI made one when I married you,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cI\u2019m not making another by pretending you\u2019re safe for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
His face went pale.<\/p>\n
For the first time since entering the room, he looked less like a husband demanding his rights and more like a man who had discovered the door behind him was closing.<\/p>\n
He turned toward Elias.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand what you\u2019re involving yourself in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u201d Caleb lowered his voice. \u201cIf you keep her here, you\u2019ll bring attention to yourself. Questions will be asked. People will start looking into your businesses, your properties, your associates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elias remained still.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came to my home with a lawyer and a government investigator,\u201d he said. \u201cYou brought attention with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s mouth tightened.<\/p>\n
Helen closed her folder. \u201cThis meeting is over. Mr. Miller, you will not return here without a scheduled appointment. Any future contact concerning Mrs. Miller or the children must go through the department and legal counsel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb ignored her.<\/p>\n
He kept looking at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he\u2019s helping you,\u201d he said. \u201cBut men like him don\u2019t do anything for free.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words found the part of me that still doubted every kindness.<\/p>\n
Elias had given me medicine, shelter, doctors, clothing, food. He had assigned a nurse to my babies and security to the building. Yet I knew nothing about the cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Elias turned toward me.<\/p>\n
Caleb answered before he could.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants you to sign something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elias\u2019s gaze sharpened.<\/p>\n
Mr. Whitmore stepped forward. \u201cMy client is under no obligation to discuss private legal matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he want me to sign?\u201d I asked again.<\/p>\n
No one answered.<\/p>\n
The babies began fussing in my arms. I pulled them closer, my pulse rising.<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s silence gave me the answer I needed.<\/p>\n
There was something else.<\/p>\n
Something beyond custody.<\/p>\n
Helen looked between us. \u201cMr. Miller, is there a pending legal document involving your wife?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly routine family paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of paperwork?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInsurance forms. Medical consent. Nothing unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered the months before the birth.<\/p>\n
Caleb had brought papers to our kitchen table more than once. He had told me they were related to the apartment lease, then later said they concerned his work benefits. I had asked to read them, but he had grown impatient.<\/p>\n
\u201cSign where I marked,\u201d he had said. \u201cYou don\u2019t understand these things.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had signed some pages.<\/p>\n
Not many.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat insurance?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s eyes moved away.<\/p>\n
Elias\u2019s voice was quiet. \u201cTomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The guard stepped forward with a thin envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found this in Miller\u2019s vehicle,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was not opened.\u201d<\/p>\n
He handed it to Elias.<\/p>\n
Caleb went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is that?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Elias did not open the envelope. He held it out to me instead.<\/p>\n
My fingers trembled as I took it.<\/p>\n
The paper carried the name of a life insurance company. My name was printed beneath it.<\/p>\n
So were the babies\u2019 names.<\/p>\n
I could not breathe.<\/p>\n
The policy had been filed six weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
The beneficiary was Caleb.<\/p>\n
The coverage amount was enough to pay off every debt we had ever carried\u2014and leave more than enough for him to start a new life.<\/p>\n
I looked at the date.<\/p>\n
Six weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
Before the twins were born.<\/p>\n
Before Caleb knew there would be two daughters.<\/p>\n
My vision blurred.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you sign this?\u201d Helen asked gently.<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caleb moved forward. \u201cIt was only a standard policy. I was trying to protect my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtect us from what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedical complications.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me the papers were for work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were tired. You misunderstood.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room seemed to tilt.<\/p>\n
I turned the document over.<\/p>\n
There was a signature at the bottom.<\/p>\n
It looked like mine.<\/p>\n
But I knew it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
My signature curved sharply at the end of the letter A. This one was stiff and uneven, the letters compressed together as though written by someone who had copied them from memory.<\/p>\n
A forgery.<\/p>\n
Helen took the page from my hands and examined it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Miller,\u201d she said, \u201cwhy is your wife\u2019s signature on an insurance application she says she never completed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou submitted the application.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI may have brought her the documents and she signed without remembering.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
There had been one evening when I was sick with exhaustion, my hands swollen, my mind fogged from lack of sleep. Caleb had stood over me at the kitchen table and pushed a stack of papers beneath my elbow.<\/p>\n
I remembered the pen.<\/p>\n
I remembered him saying, \u201cJust do this one thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not remember signing.<\/p>\n
But perhaps I had.<\/p>\n
Perhaps he had guided my hand.<\/p>\n
Perhaps I had trusted him enough not to question what he placed in front of me.<\/p>\n
That realization hurt more than anything else.<\/p>\n
Elias\u2019s expression had gone cold, but his voice remained controlled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe policy lists the children as secondary insured parties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helen\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means,\u201d she said carefully, \u201cthat if something happened to you, Mr. Miller would receive the benefit. If something happened to the children under the terms of the policy, he may also be entitled to compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n
My daughters were not objects.<\/p>\n
They were not figures in a column.<\/p>\n
They were warm bodies against my chest, tiny hands curled into fists, lives that had barely begun.<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s face was pale now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never intended harm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
No one had accused him aloud.<\/p>\n
He looked at Elias, then at Helen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to secure our future.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose future?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
He did not answer.<\/p>\n
The hallway outside the penthouse grew suddenly busy. Footsteps moved beyond the door. A voice murmured to one of the guards.<\/p>\n
Elias looked toward the entrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Tomas returned, holding another envelope.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was delivered by a courier,\u201d he said. \u201cAddressed to Mrs. Miller.\u201d<\/p>\n
My name was written across the front in handwriting I recognized immediately.<\/p>\n
The midwife\u2019s.<\/p>\n
I opened it with shaking fingers.<\/p>\n
Inside was a single sheet of paper and a small brass key.<\/p>\n
Ava,<\/p>\n
I am sorry I did not tell you sooner. Caleb came to see me three weeks before the birth. He asked whether a mother could be declared unfit before her children were born, and whether a father could make arrangements for the babies without her consent.<\/p>\n
I thought he was asking because he was frightened.<\/p>\n
I was wrong.<\/p>\n
There is a safety deposit box at the Hudson Cooperative Bank in your name. Your mother opened it years ago and instructed me to give you the key if I ever believed you were in danger.<\/p>\n
I believe you are in danger now.<\/p>\n
There is something inside you need to see before Caleb finds it.<\/p>\n
My hand went numb around the paper.<\/p>\n
My mother had been dead for eleven years.<\/p>\n
I had never heard of a safety deposit box.<\/p>\n
Across the room, Caleb whispered, \u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
I lifted my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said nothing.<\/p>\n
And in the silence that followed, I understood that the secret Caleb had been chasing was not connected to Elias at all.<\/p>\n
It had been waiting for me long before my marriage began.<\/p>\n
-END OF PART 2 – PLEASE LIKE THE POST AND GO TO THE COMMENTS SECTION TO READ THE NEXT PART<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PART 2 The knock came again. Not loud. Not hurried. Three measured taps against the penthouse door. Elias stood between me and the entrance, one … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,9,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18614,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18613\/revisions\/18614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailystoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}