![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777580882-300x167.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa\u2019s money, apparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
The silence after that was the first honest thing my father gave me.<\/p>\n
Then his voice dropped low.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou listen to me. Whatever you think you found, it won\u2019t hold up. Richard gets confused. He signs things. He forgets things. I have power of attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe revoked it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s hand moved toward mine. I took it.<\/p>\n
Then he spoke.<\/p>\n
His voice was weak, but the room seemed to lean toward it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMark.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phone went dead quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad?\u201d my father said after a moment.<\/p>\n
Grandpa swallowed. \u201cI know what you did.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s voice changed completely. It went soft, almost boyish. \u201cDad, you don\u2019t understand. Emma\u2019s upset. She\u2019s making this bigger than it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought Emma\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou left me,\u201d Grandpa repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, come on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another silence.<\/p>\n
Grandpa\u2019s eyes were fixed on the ceiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard what you said to Sharon. About God deciding.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father said nothing.<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s voice came faintly in the background. \u201cMark?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandpa closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod decided,\u201d he whispered. \u201cHe sent Emma.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then Margaret reached over and ended the call.<\/p>\n
No one spoke for a while.<\/p>\n
The machines beeped on.<\/p>\n
Finally, Grandpa turned his head toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kissed his forehead. \u201cSleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
But I did not.<\/p>\n
That evening, the emergency protective order was granted. My parents were prohibited from contacting Grandpa directly, entering the house, accessing his accounts, or disposing of any property belonging to him or the trust. Notice was sent electronically to their last known email addresses and served at the house for when they returned. Their bank accounts were not entirely frozen, only the ones tied to Grandpa\u2019s funds, but that was enough to turn their cruise into a floating cage.<\/p>\n
For the next two days, they called me thirty-six times.<\/p>\n
I did not answer.<\/p>\n
They left voicemails.<\/p>\n
The first ones were angry.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are destroying this family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have no idea what we\u2019ve sacrificed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou better fix this before we get back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then they became pleading.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma, honey, your father is just stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are going to misunderstand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then they became threatening again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll tell everyone you manipulated him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll lose your military career over this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think the Marines want someone who attacks her own parents?\u201d<\/p>\n
I saved every voicemail and sent them to Detective Pike.<\/p>\n
Grandpa improved slowly. Hypothermia had stressed his heart, and dehydration had done its own damage, but he was stubborn in ways medicine could respect. By December 27, he could sit up for short periods. By December 28, he complained about the hospital oatmeal. By December 29, he asked if anyone had fed the birds outside his kitchen window, and when I told him yes, I had filled the feeder, he nodded like that was the first truly important update he\u2019d received.<\/p>\n
His shame came in waves.<\/p>\n
That was the part nobody warned me about.<\/p>\n
He would be talking normally, then suddenly fall silent and stare at his hands.<\/p>\n
Once, while I was helping him drink water, he said, \u201cI raised him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI taught him to hold doors open. To return borrowed tools. To stand when a woman came to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how a boy turns into a man who leaves his father in the cold.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was no answer good enough for that.<\/p>\n
So I gave him the only truth I had.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou raised him. You didn\u2019t choose for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me for a long time.<\/p>\n
Then he nodded, but I could tell he did not believe it yet.<\/p>\n
On December 30, my parents came home.<\/p>\n
They did not go to the hospital first.<\/p>\n
They went to the house.<\/p>\n
I was there with Officer Ortiz, Detective Pike, and a locksmith.<\/p>\n
Grandpa had authorized the locks to be changed, and the protective order allowed it. Margaret had suggested I not be present when my parents arrived, but I needed to see the moment the lie stopped working. Maybe that was rage. Maybe it was justice. Maybe, if I am honest, it was both.<\/p>\n
Their Uber pulled into the driveway at 11:42 a.m.<\/p>\n
My mother got out first, wearing oversized sunglasses despite the gray sky, a white resort jacket, and the expression of a woman prepared to be offended. My father came around the other side, sunburned and furious, dragging two expensive suitcases behind him. They both looked absurdly tan against the snow.<\/p>\n
Mom saw the police cruiser and stopped.<\/p>\n
Dad did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell is this?\u201d he shouted, marching up the driveway.<\/p>\n
Officer Ortiz stepped forward. \u201cMr. Bennett?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficer Ortiz, Cedar Falls Police Department. You\u2019ve been served with a protective order regarding Richard Bennett and this property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad laughed in his face. \u201cThis is my father\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have every right to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot under the order.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s eyes found me near the porch.<\/p>\n
And for one second, I saw something raw and ugly flash across his face. Not guilt. Not grief.<\/p>\n
Hatred.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I did not answer.<\/p>\n
Mom hurried up behind him. \u201cEmma, stop this. Right now. This has gone far enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her carefully. She was my mother. The woman who packed my school lunches, who curled my hair for junior prom, who cried when I left for boot camp. She had also left her father-in-law in a freezing room and then called him dramatic from a cruise port.<\/p>\n
Both things were true.<\/p>\n
That is what makes betrayal so hard. Monsters would be easier if they looked like monsters all the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa is safe,\u201d I said. \u201cThat\u2019s the only part I\u2019m responsible for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad pointed at the locksmith. \u201cYou cannot change the locks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe trustee can,\u201d Detective Pike said.<\/p>\n
Dad turned toward him. \u201cAnd you are?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDetective Aaron Pike.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father\u2019s confidence shifted, just slightly.<\/p>\n
Detective Pike continued, \u201cWe\u2019d like to speak with both of you at the station regarding the circumstances under which Mr. Richard Bennett was found on December 23 and regarding certain financial transactions from his accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not saying anything without a lawyer,\u201d Dad snapped.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is your right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom grabbed Dad\u2019s arm. \u201cMark.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shook her off.<\/p>\n
Then he looked at me again. \u201cYou think you won? You think Grandpa\u2019s going to thank you when he ends up in some nursing home because you blew up the only family he had?\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt the words hit their intended target. For a second, I saw Grandpa alone in a facility, staring out a window, wondering if truth had cost him too much.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered him saying, God sent Emma.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not alone,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Dad stepped closer, but Officer Ortiz moved between us immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not,\u201d Ortiz said.<\/p>\n
My father stopped.<\/p>\n
Mom began crying then, but there were no tears at first, only the sound. \u201cEmma, please. It was Christmas. We were tired. We thought you\u2019d be there. We never meant for him to get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou asked what if I didn\u2019t get there in time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face went white.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s head snapped toward her.<\/p>\n
I watched the two of them realize what Grandpa had heard.<\/p>\n
Mom whispered, \u201cHe was asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, my mother had nothing to say.<\/p>\n
Detective Pike handed Dad a card. \u201cYour attorney can contact me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad snatched it, crumpled it in his fist, and threw it onto the snow.<\/p>\n
That was stupid.<\/p>\n
Officer Ortiz looked down at the card, then back at my father. \u201cPick that up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s face darkened.<\/p>\n
\u201cPick it up,\u201d Ortiz repeated.<\/p>\n
Something about that tiny humiliation\u2014a police officer making him retrieve a business card from his own father\u2019s driveway\u2014seemed to puncture him more than the accusations had. He bent, picked it up, and shoved it into his coat pocket.<\/p>\n
The locksmith finished. The old key no longer worked.<\/p>\n
Mom stared at the front door like it had betrayed her.<\/p>\n
But doors do not betray people.<\/p>\n
They only close.<\/p>\n
The hearing took place on January 8 in the Cedar County Probate Court, a beige room with fluorescent lights and wooden benches polished by decades of anxious families. Grandpa arrived in a wheelchair from the rehab facility, wearing a navy cardigan over a button-down shirt. I had shaved him that morning because he asked me to, and he smelled faintly of aftershave and hospital soap.<\/p>\n
He looked fragile.<\/p>\n
He also looked ready.<\/p>\n
My parents sat on the opposite side with an attorney named Lance Keller, who wore a charcoal suit and the strained expression of a man whose clients had told him three different stories and none of them matched the evidence. My mother kept dabbing her eyes with a tissue. My father stared straight ahead.<\/p>\n
Margaret sat beside Grandpa and me with three organized binders, a laptop, and the calm of a woman who had not come to perform outrage because she had brought receipts instead.<\/p>\n
The judge was named Honorable Patricia M. Callahan. She had short brown hair, reading glasses, and the weary authority of someone who could detect nonsense before it entered the room.<\/p>\n
The matter was technically about extending the protective order, confirming the revocation of my father\u2019s power of attorney, freezing contested assets, and determining temporary control of Grandpa\u2019s care and finances. But everyone in that courtroom knew it was also about something older and more painful than paperwork.<\/p>\n
It was about whether a man\u2019s son could abandon him and still expect inheritance to behave like gravity.<\/p>\n
Margaret called Denise first.<\/p>\n
Denise testified about Grandpa\u2019s condition, his body temperature, the hospital\u2019s concerns, the lack of safe care arrangements, and the note. She spoke plainly, without drama. That made it worse. The facts did not need embellishment.<\/p>\n
Then Officer Ortiz testified about the house.<\/p>\n
Forty-eight degrees indoors. No accessible phone. Walker stored away. Food spoiled or unreachable. Medication disorganized. Thermostat turned down. No caregiver present.<\/p>\n
Detective Pike testified only briefly because the criminal investigation was ongoing. But he confirmed that financial records had been recovered showing repeated transfers from Richard Bennett\u2019s accounts to Mark and Sharon Bennett\u2019s accounts, including transfers after Richard\u2019s mobility declined and after the landline was disconnected.<\/p>\n
Then Margaret played the voicemail from the cruise call.<\/p>\n
My mother made a small sound when her own voice filled the courtroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cLandlines are expensive, Emma. Everyone has cell phones now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then my father.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were entitled to a vacation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then his claim that Grandpa got confused. Then Grandpa\u2019s voice, weak but unmistakable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard what you said to Sharon. About God deciding.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father lowered his head.<\/p>\n
Not in shame, I thought.<\/p>\n
In anger.<\/p>\n
Lance Keller objected to parts of the recording. The judge allowed enough of it.<\/p>\n
Then Margaret called me.<\/p>\n
I do not remember walking to the witness stand. I remember the feel of the Bible under my hand when I swore to tell the truth. I remember looking once at Grandpa and seeing him nod.<\/p>\n
Margaret asked me to describe coming home.<\/p>\n
So I did.<\/p>\n
I talked about the snow outside, the dark house, the note on the counter. I talked about hearing Grandpa groan. I talked about the guest room, his blue lips, his shaking hands, his cheek cold under my fingers. I talked about calling 911. I talked about the EMT asking how long he had been like that.<\/p>\n
I did not cry.<\/p>\n
Not because I was strong.<\/p>\n
Because I had learned in the Marines that sometimes your feelings can wait outside until the mission is complete.<\/p>\n
Then Lance Keller cross-examined me.<\/p>\n
He tried to be polite. I almost respected that.<\/p>\n
\u201cSergeant Bennett, you were upset when you found your grandfather, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVery upset?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou love him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you have had disagreements with your parents in the past?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNormal family disagreements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t it true that your military service has kept you away from home for extended periods?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you would not know the full extent of the caregiving burden your parents carried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the extent of the neglect I found.\u201d<\/p>\n
He paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease answer only the question asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n
A faint sound moved through the courtroom. Judge Callahan looked over her glasses, and the room became silent again.<\/p>\n
Keller tried another path.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour grandfather is elderly. He has had memory issues, hasn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOccasional forgetfulness. Not incapacity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he could be confused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone can be confused when they\u2019re freezing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret looked down at her notes, but I saw the corner of her mouth twitch.<\/p>\n
Keller\u2019s voice tightened. \u201cYou discovered documents that could benefit you financially, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI discovered documents my grandmother hid because she feared my parents would exploit my grandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was not my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, sir. My answer is no. Protecting Grandpa benefits Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n
He glanced at the judge, then back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you aware that under the trust terms, you may inherit if your father does not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you have a financial interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a grandfather dying in a cold room,\u201d I said. \u201cThat was my interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, Judge Callahan did not stop the sound in the room immediately.<\/p>\n
Keller sat down soon after.<\/p>\n
Then my father insisted on speaking.<\/p>\n
His attorney whispered urgently to him, but Dad stood anyway. That was the thing about my father. He mistook volume for control. He believed every room could be handled if he spoke with enough certainty.<\/p>\n
Judge Callahan warned him that he had a right not to make statements given the ongoing criminal investigation. Dad said he understood.<\/p>\n
He did not.<\/p>\n
He took the stand and began with the performance I had seen my whole life.<\/p>\n
He was tired. He was overwhelmed. He had carried responsibilities no one understood. His father was difficult. His daughter had always been dramatic. His mother had turned Emma against him before she died. The money was not stolen; it was family money. The cruise had been planned for a year. Emma was expected home. Richard had blankets. Richard knew where food was. Richard sometimes refused help. Richard liked the house cool.<\/p>\n
Judge Callahan let him talk for a while.<\/p>\n
Then Margaret stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Bennett, who arranged care for your father during your cruise?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter was coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time was she scheduled to arrive at the house?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you confirm her flight landed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you confirm she reached the house before you boarded?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were busy traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you call her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cService was complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were still in Ohio when you left the note, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you call a paid caregiver?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA neighbor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA church member?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAdult Protective Services?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis physician?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you leave him with a working phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had access to\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes or no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s jaw clenched. \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you disconnect the landline?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was unnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes or no.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you move his walker to the mudroom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret turned to a photograph on the screen. \u201cIs this your mudroom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that Richard Bennett\u2019s walker folded behind a laundry basket?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt appears to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas your father able to walk safely without it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could manage short distances.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike from the guest room to the kitchen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Bennett?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret let the silence sit.<\/p>\n
Then she turned to the financial records.<\/p>\n
\u201cBetween February and December, you transferred approximately $64,000 from your father\u2019s accounts into accounts you controlled. Is that correct?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s attorney stood. \u201cObjection. Ongoing criminal matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Callahan sustained in part, but the records were already in the court\u2019s temporary file. Margaret did not need Dad to confess.<\/p>\n
She moved to the trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you aware that your parents\u2019 trust contained provisions regarding elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation?\u201d<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s face twitched.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWere you aware your mother recorded a statement before her death?\u201d<\/p>\n
This time, he looked at Grandpa.<\/p>\n
There was a flicker of fear now. Small, but real.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret turned to the judge. \u201cYour Honor, with the court\u2019s permission.\u201d<\/p>\n
The video played.<\/p>\n
Grandma appeared on the screen at the front of the courtroom.<\/p>\n
I watched my parents watch her.<\/p>\n
My mother started crying immediately, real tears this time. My father went rigid. Grandpa closed his eyes and held my hand so tightly it hurt.<\/p>\n
Grandma\u2019s voice filled the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not let them convince you this is a misunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one moved.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not let them convince you that Richard wanted this.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mother covered her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not let them convince you that you are being disloyal.\u201d<\/p>\n
My father stared at the screen like he hated the dead for speaking.<\/p>\n
When the video ended, the courtroom seemed changed. Before, the evidence had been paper, testimony, numbers, temperatures. Now it had a face. A woman who had loved them all, warning us from the grave because love had not made her blind.<\/p>\n
Judge Callahan took a recess.<\/p>\n
In the hallway, my mother approached me.<\/p>\n
Officer Ortiz was not there, but Margaret was, and she stepped slightly closer.<\/p>\n
Mom\u2019s makeup had streaked beneath her eyes. Without the sunglasses, without the cruise clothes, she looked older. Not fragile. Just exposed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo direct contact with Grandpa,\u201d Margaret said. \u201cWith Emma, that is her choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom looked at me. \u201cCan I talk to you as your mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost said no.<\/p>\n
Then I thought of Grandma\u2019s words. Truth, not rage.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can talk,\u201d I said. \u201cI don\u2019t promise to answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI made mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have checked more. I should have insisted your father hire someone. But you don\u2019t understand what it was like. Richard was so stubborn after Elizabeth died. He wouldn\u2019t eat. He wouldn\u2019t bathe. He accused us of taking things. Your father was under pressure. Bills, work, the house. It was constant. I just wanted one week where no one needed anything from me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke on the last sentence.<\/p>\n
And there it was\u2014the closest thing to honesty she had offered.<\/p>\n
I could almost pity her.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa\u2019s money, apparently.\u201d The silence after that was the first honest thing my father gave me. Then his voice dropped low. \u201cYou listen to me. Whatever you think you found, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story","category-story-daily"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1524,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1521\/revisions\/1524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}