![\"\"](\"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778833406-300x167.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right. I tried to pay a debt that can\u2019t be paid. I tried to reduce what you did to something simple when it was anything but.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shifted in the bed and winced.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I can\u2019t just do nothing, Sienna. I died on that yacht. You brought me back. How am I supposed to exist knowing someone saved me and won\u2019t let me repay it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou exist by living well,\u201d I said. \u201cBy not getting blown up again. By being grateful you\u2019re alive. That\u2019s the debt. Just live. That\u2019s all I want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something vulnerable cracked through his expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep the money,\u201d he said. \u201cNot as payment. As a gift. Because I want you to have options. Security. Whatever that means to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t need your money to have security.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question hit like ice water.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDanny Walsh. Twenty-four. Cystic fibrosis. In and out of hospitals his whole life. Medical debt you\u2019ve been drowning in since you were nineteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice was gentle.<\/p>\n
Not threatening.<\/p>\n
Just knowing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou saved me, Sienna. Let me help save him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I should have been furious that he had looked into my life.<\/p>\n
Instead, I felt defeated.<\/p>\n
Because he was right.<\/p>\n
Danny\u2019s care was crushing me.<\/p>\n
That money could change everything.<\/p>\n
And taking it still felt wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep it in your vault,\u201d I whispered. \u201cI\u2019m not saying yes. But I\u2019m not saying no. Just keep it. For now.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay. It\u2019ll be there whenever you\u2019re ready. Even if that\u2019s never.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned to leave before I started crying or screaming or both.<\/p>\n
\u201cSienna,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I stopped at the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you. For coming here. For being honest. For being you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not trust myself to answer.<\/p>\n
I left.<\/p>\n
I drove home with an empty trunk and a head full of thoughts I could not untangle.<\/p>\n
Two million dollars sitting somewhere in a vault under my name.<\/p>\n
Waiting.<\/p>\n
For what, I did not know.<\/p>\n
But something told me this was only the beginning.<\/p>\n
The weeks after returning Sandro\u2019s money should have been peaceful.<\/p>\n
They should have ended the story.<\/p>\n
Stranger saves stranger.<\/p>\n
Stranger tries to pay.<\/p>\n
Stranger refuses.<\/p>\n
Everyone moves on.<\/p>\n
Instead, my car broke down three days later.<\/p>\n
I came out of the university lab where I taught two classes a week to supplement my research station income and found my Honda dead in the parking lot.<\/p>\n
Battery, alternator, something expensive.<\/p>\n
I called a tow truck, resigned myself to buses and ride-share apps, and went home exhausted.<\/p>\n
The next morning, my car was in my apartment parking spot.<\/p>\n
Fixed.<\/p>\n
Detailed.<\/p>\n
A note tucked beneath the wiper.<\/p>\n
Transportation is important for saving lives. Consider this an investment in future rescues.<\/p>\n
A.V.<\/p>\n
I should have been angry.<\/p>\n
Instead, I drove to work and pretended not to notice how smoothly the engine ran.<\/p>\n
Two days later, the ancient spectrophotometer at the research station finally died. The station director said the budget would not cover a replacement until the next fiscal year.<\/p>\n
The following Monday, a new one appeared.<\/p>\n
Top of the line.<\/p>\n
Delivered with paperwork citing an anonymous research grant I could not find in any database.<\/p>\n
I knew it was him.<\/p>\n
But the thing that finally broke my resolve was not about me.<\/p>\n
Flowers appeared in Danny\u2019s hospital room.<\/p>\n
A massive arrangement of exotic blooms I could not name.<\/p>\n
The card read:<\/p>\n
For the person who made the hero. Get well. A grateful stranger.<\/p>\n
Danny called me wheezing with laughter through his oxygen tube.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mafia boss has good taste in flowers.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not my anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sent flowers to a sick guy he\u2019s never met because that sick guy is your person,\u201d Danny said. \u201cThat\u2019s romance novel behavior, Si.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s stalking behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSame thing in a good romance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he coughed, that wet rattle I had learned to dread.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeriously though. These are beautiful. Made the nurses cry. Tell him thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll tell him to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n
But I did not.<\/p>\n
Not right away.<\/p>\n
Because hearing Danny smile\u2014really smile, not the brave hospital smile he wore for doctors\u2014made something in my chest crack open.<\/p>\n
That evening, I was working my second job.<\/p>\n
Three nights a week, I waitressed at Rosalie\u2019s Diner, a twenty-four-hour place near the hospital where the tips were decent and the coffee was terrible. It paid Danny\u2019s medication co-pays and kept the lights on.<\/p>\n
I had gotten good at functioning on four hours of sleep.<\/p>\n
I was refilling coffee for a regular when the bell above the door chimed.<\/p>\n
Sandro walked in like he owned the place.<\/p>\n
He did not.<\/p>\n
Rosalie\u2019s was linoleum floors, cracked vinyl booths, and the permanent smell of fryer oil. It was the opposite of everywhere Alessandro Vitale belonged.<\/p>\n
And still he crossed the room with the same confidence he probably used in boardrooms and crime dens, slid into a booth in my section, and waited.<\/p>\n
My coworker Jenna nearly dropped her tray.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the hottest man I\u2019ve ever seen in real life. Is he looking at you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n
I grabbed a coffee pot, steadied myself, and walked over.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEating.\u201d<\/p>\n
He picked up the laminated menu and studied it like it fascinated him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you recommend?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing somewhere else. There\u2019s a five-star restaurant two blocks over. Much more your speed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you don\u2019t work there.\u201d<\/p>\n
He set the menu down.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoffee, please. Black.\u201d<\/p>\n
I poured it without a word.<\/p>\n
He would not drink it. I knew that.<\/p>\n
The coffee at Rosalie\u2019s was worse than research station sludge.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou found Danny,\u201d I said quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made it easy. And you won\u2019t accept help directly. So I\u2019m helping indirectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s still manipulation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it?\u201d He leaned back and winced slightly, still healing. \u201cI sent flowers to someone who\u2019s sick. I fixed your car because you need reliable transportation. I replaced equipment so you could do the work you love. Which part is manipulative?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe part where you looked into my life without permission. The part where you\u2019re inserting yourself into my world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not trying to pay you off.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice dropped low enough that only I could hear it over the diner noise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI died on that yacht, Sienna. You brought me back. I don\u2019t know how to exist knowing someone saved me and won\u2019t let me repay it. But I\u2019m learning. So tell me your rules, and I\u2019ll follow them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That caught me off guard.<\/p>\n
This dangerous man with expensive suits and enemies who planted bombs was asking for boundaries.<\/p>\n
I should have told him to leave.<\/p>\n
Instead, I sat down across from him.<\/p>\n
Technically against diner policy, but Rosalie was in the back and I needed the conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. One question per day. Any question you want. I\u2019ll answer honestly. That\u2019s the debt. Paid in truth, not money.\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile was slow and devastating.<\/p>\n
\u201cDeal. First question. Why marine biology?\u201d<\/p>\n
So I told him.<\/p>\n
About Danny at six years old, splashing in the community pool while I watched from the shallow end. About the moment I looked away. About the seconds after I realized he had gone under.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was fifteen,\u201d I said, staring at coffee I could not drink. \u201cAnd I decided that day I\u2019d never be helpless around water again. I\u2019d master it. Understand it. Make sure if someone was drowning, I could save them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandro listened like it was scripture.<\/p>\n
When I finished, he said quietly, \u201cYou\u2019ve been saving him your whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now I\u2019m drowning in medical debt trying to keep him alive. Cystic fibrosis doesn\u2019t care how good I am at CPR.\u201d<\/p>\n
I met his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo your money doesn\u2019t free me. It makes me feel guilty for being too proud to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached across the table and covered my hand with his.<\/p>\n
Warm.<\/p>\n
Solid.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen let me help in ways that don\u2019t feel like payment. Let me be your friend. Someone who understands what it\u2019s like to carry weight alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we could be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenna appeared with the subtlety of a bulldozer.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything okay here, Sienna?\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled my hand back.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. Just taking my break.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
She winked and disappeared.<\/p>\n
Sandro looked amused.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour coworker thinks I\u2019m harassing you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. But respectfully.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed before I could stop myself.<\/p>\n
The absurdity of the moment finally cracked something loose.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re insane.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n
He left cash on the table for the coffee he did not drink. Way too much cash.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame time tomorrow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t work tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stood carefully, still healing.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne question per day, Sienna. That\u2019s the deal. I plan to collect.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he did.<\/p>\n
The question per day became our ritual.<\/p>\n
He showed up at the diner every shift I worked. Ordered coffee he did not drink. Asked one question.<\/p>\n
\u201cBiggest fear?\u201d he asked one night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Danny will die and I\u2019ll be alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I answered because those were the rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour turn. What\u2019s yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I\u2019ll die before I\u2019ve done anything that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou run a criminal empire. That matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes it?\u201d His expression turned bleak. \u201cI inherited violence. Blood feuds and territory wars and enemies my father made before I was born. What have I actually built that\u2019s mine?\u201d<\/p>\n
I had no answer.<\/p>\n
Another night he asked, \u201cWhat do you want that money can\u2019t buy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTime,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
The word came out rough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want time with Danny. More time than cystic fibrosis is going to give us. I want to stop counting every day like it\u2019s borrowed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandro looked at me as though I had said something holy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime is the only currency that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSays the man with infinite money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMoney doesn\u2019t buy back minutes with people you love. Trust me. I\u2019ve tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then it was my turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did someone blow up your yacht?\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerational blood feud. Twenty years ago, my father killed Lorenzo Marchetti\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you tried apologizing?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said flatly. \u201cHe shot my messenger.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conversations moved beyond the diner.<\/p>\n
He started appearing at the research station during my late shifts, bringing actual good coffee and sitting quietly while I worked on water samples. Never touching equipment. Never interrupting.<\/p>\n
Just present.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you have mob business to run?\u201d I asked one night while calibrating the new spectrophotometer he had definitely paid for.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have competent people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was reading a marine biology textbook he had somehow acquired.<\/p>\n
Actually reading it.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know seahorses mate for life?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I have a degree in this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight. Sorry. I\u2019m trying to understand your world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it matters to you. That makes it matter to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something in my chest flipped.<\/p>\n
I focused very hard on the samples.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re persistent.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly about things that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Three weeks into our ritual, he asked the question I had been dreading.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would you do if you took the money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLiar,\u201d he said gently. \u201cYou\u2019ve thought about it every day since Matteo delivered those cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
I set my coffee down and looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d pay for Danny\u2019s experimental treatment. The one insurance won\u2019t cover. The one that might give him five more years or ten or maybe just one. Any time is better than watching him die on the current timeline.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice broke, and I hated it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause then what I did becomes about money. It becomes transactional. And I need it to mean more than that. I need to know I\u2019m the kind of person who saves someone because it\u2019s right, not because it\u2019s profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandro was quiet.<\/p>\n
When he spoke, his voice was rough.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re the best person I\u2019ve ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached across the table again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the money isn\u2019t payment. It\u2019s a gift. Because I want you to have options. Security. Time with your brother. No strings. No debt. Just me trying to do something good with blood money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying that. Blood money.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what it is,\u201d he said. \u201cEarned through violence and fear. Maybe if you take it\u2014if you use it to save Danny\u2014it becomes something clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at his hand over mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep it in your vault,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019m not ready yet. But I will be. Eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not push.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be there whenever you\u2019re ready. Even if that\u2019s never.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next night, Sandro did not come to the diner.<\/p>\n
I told myself I was not disappointed.<\/p>\n
Then my phone rang during my shift.<\/p>\n
Unknown number.<\/p>\n
\u201cSienna Walsh?\u201d a woman asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Rosa Delgado. Mr. Vitale asked me to inform you he won\u2019t be able to meet you tonight. He\u2019s handling a business matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs he okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s fine. But there\u2019s been a complication with the Marchetti situation. He wanted you to know he\u2019s thinking of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The line went dead.<\/p>\n
I finished my shift on autopilot, drove home gripping the wheel too hard, and lay awake until sunrise wondering what complication meant.<\/p>\n
Wondering if Sandro was hurt.<\/p>\n
Wondering why it mattered so much.<\/p>\n
He showed up two days later at the research station at three in the morning, leaning against the doorframe like he had not just vanished for forty-eight hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re alive,\u201d I said, trying for casual and failing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you think I wasn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour assistant said complication. In your world, that probably means someone tried to kill you again.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were worried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let it go to your head.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned back to my water samples to hide my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLorenzo made a move. Tried to hit one of my distribution points. We shut it down before anyone got hurt, but I had to deal with fallout.\u201d<\/p>\n
He moved closer. I caught cedar and something darker.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t call myself. I wanted to. I wanted to hear your voice and make sure you were okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t owe me phone calls.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. But I wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him then.<\/p>\n
Really looked.<\/p>\n
He seemed tired. Older. As if the weight he carried had gotten heavier.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile was small and real.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy question for today. Will you come somewhere with me tomorrow? During the day. Somewhere important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u2019t tell you. That would ruin the surprise. But I promise it\u2019s safe, and I think you\u2019ll appreciate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I should have said no.<\/p>\n
\u201cPick me up at two,\u201d I heard myself say. \u201cAnd it better not be a jewelry store, a car dealership, or anything ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDeal,\u201d he said. \u201cWear comfortable shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next day, Sandro picked me up in a black SUV driven by Matteo. We drove in comfortable silence until the city fell away and a hospital came into view.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cSandro.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He led me not to the main entrance, but to a newer side building made of glass, steel, and light.<\/p>\n
The sign over the entrance read:<\/p>\n
The Vitale Foundation Center for Cystic Fibrosis Research.<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
Sandro watched my face carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you the money was blood money. That I wanted to make it mean something. This is part of that. A research center dedicated to better treatments. Maybe one day a cure. It opened six months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou built this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith money earned through violence, yes. But used for something good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside, the place was beautiful. State-of-the-art labs. Comfortable patient rooms. Researchers moving with purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lead doctor is working on an experimental protocol,\u201d Sandro said. \u201cGene therapy combined with a new medication regimen. Early trials have been promising.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow promising?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPromising enough that I\u2019d like Danny to be part of the next phase, if you agree. No pressure. No strings. Just an offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes burned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you saved my life. And I can\u2019t save yours. You\u2019re too strong to need saving. But I can save Danny. Maybe that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kissed him.<\/p>\n
I did not plan it.<\/p>\n
I just grabbed his collar, pulled him down, and kissed him hard, tasting coffee and gratitude and something bigger than both of us.<\/p>\n
He froze for half a second.<\/p>\n
Then his arms came around me, solid and sure, and he kissed me back like I was oxygen and he was drowning.<\/p>\n
When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn\u2019t the question for today,\u201d he said, voice rough.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsider it a bonus answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
His laugh was low and warm.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen my real question is: when can I take Danny to meet the research team?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow,\u201d I said. \u201cWe\u2019ll come tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Danny met the team on a Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He was weak. In a wheelchair. Oxygen tube in place.<\/p>\n
But the moment he heard experimental treatment, something lit in his eyes that I had not seen in months.<\/p>\n
Sandro picked us up from Danny\u2019s care facility, which was suddenly nicer than before, and I suspected he had quietly upgraded that too.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re the drowning mafia boss,\u201d Danny said as Matteo helped him into the SUV.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re the brother who made Sienna a hero,\u201d Sandro replied. \u201cI\u2019ve been looking forward to meeting you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI bet,\u201d Danny said. \u201cMy sister talks about you constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDanny.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thinks about you 24\/7. \u2018He\u2019s so annoying, Danny. He won\u2019t leave me alone, Danny.\u2019 Translation: she\u2019s falling for you and it terrifies her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sandro\u2019s smile was devastating.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted the earth to swallow me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right. I tried to pay a debt that can\u2019t be paid. I tried to reduce what you did to something simple when it was anything but.\u201d He shifted in … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2204","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\/2204","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=2204"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2207,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2204\/revisions\/2207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}