\u201cBecause her name had something written beside it.\u201d \u201cWhat?\u201d He looked at me. \u201cCourier.\u201d I frowned. \u201cCourier?\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s all it said.\u201d I tried to understand. \u201cMaybe she delivered documents.\u201d \u201cMaybe.\u201d \u201cWhat else?\u201d Simon looked uncomfortable. \u201cThere was one more name.\u201d \u201cWho?\u201d He said nothing. \u201cSimon.\u201d He slowly reached into his wallet. He removed a folded piece of paper. \u201cI copied the page.\u201d I took it. Several names had been handwritten in columns. Daniel Vale. Kenneth Hart. Amelia Vale.<\/p>\n
Beatrice Lennox. Then, near the bottom, one final name. Rose Lennox. Grandma Rose. I stared at it. \u201cNo.\u201d Beside her name was a single word. HANDLER. My mouth went dry. \u201cWhat does handler mean?\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d But we both knew it couldn\u2019t mean anything good. Then I remembered Grandma Rose in the kitchen. Her insistence that Beatrice tell the truth. Her guilt. Her presence twenty years earlier when Beatrice visited Amelia. Maybe Grandma Rose hadn\u2019t simply been watching from the car.<\/p>\n
Maybe she had been involved from the beginning. I folded the paper. \u201cI\u2019m going back.\u201d \u201cWhat?\u201d \u201cTo Beatrice.\u201d \u201cMason, the address\u2014\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s hours before midnight.\u201d Simon checked his watch. \u201cBe careful.\u201d I drove back to Beatrice\u2019s house faster than I should have. The silver sedan was gone. The porch light was on. The front door stood open. That immediately felt wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeatrice?\u201d<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
I stepped inside.<\/p>\n
The lilies still sat on the kitchen table.<\/p>\n
The birthday gift remained unopened.<\/p>\n
A wine glass lay shattered on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeatrice?\u201d<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
Then I saw the blood.<\/p>\n
Not much.<\/p>\n
A few drops near the stairs.<\/p>\n
My heart slammed against my ribs.<\/p>\n
I followed them.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandma?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
The trail ended near Kenneth\u2019s study.<\/p>\n
The door was open.<\/p>\n
Inside, drawers had been pulled out.<\/p>\n
Papers covered the floor.<\/p>\n
Someone had searched the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeatrice?\u201d<\/p>\n
A sound came from downstairs.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
The basement.<\/p>\n
The door stood slightly open.<\/p>\n
I moved toward it.<\/p>\n
Every instinct told me to leave.<\/p>\n
Instead, I descended.<\/p>\n
The basement lights were off.<\/p>\n
I used my phone flashlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeatrice?\u201d<\/p>\n
Something moved.<\/p>\n
I nearly shouted.<\/p>\n
Then Grandma Rose stepped into the beam.<\/p>\n
She was holding a gun.<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
Her face looked completely different.<\/p>\n
No tears.<\/p>\n
No fragile old woman.<\/p>\n
Nothing grandmotherly remained in her expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut your phone down, Mason.\u201d<\/p>\n
My hand shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandma?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDown.\u201d<\/p>\n
I slowly lowered it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Beatrice?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
She ignored me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Simon find the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
My blood turned cold.<\/p>\n
She knew.<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s a handler?\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, her expression changed.<\/p>\n
Just slightly.<\/p>\n
She smiled.<\/p>\n
Not kindly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Kenneth kept better records than I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took a step backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m your grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question came out before I understood why.<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
I suddenly remembered something.<\/p>\n
Beatrice and Grandma Rose looked nothing alike.<\/p>\n
Not unusual.<\/p>\n
But something about the question disturbed her.<\/p>\n
I pushed further.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you actually Beatrice\u2019s mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
She tightened her grip on the gun.<\/p>\n
My pulse hammered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at me for a long moment.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cThe woman who kept your family alive for twenty-three years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy killing Kenneth?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t kill Kenneth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho did?\u201d<\/p>\n
Before she could answer, footsteps sounded upstairs.<\/p>\n
Rose turned slightly.<\/p>\n
A mistake.<\/p>\n
I rushed her.<\/p>\n
The gun fired.<\/p>\n
The blast deafened me.<\/p>\n
The bullet struck the concrete wall.<\/p>\n
I grabbed her wrist.<\/p>\n
She was stronger than I expected.<\/p>\n
We struggled.<\/p>\n
She hit me across the face with her free hand.<\/p>\n
I slammed her arm against a shelf.<\/p>\n
The gun fell.<\/p>\n
I kicked it away.<\/p>\n
Then the basement light switched on.<\/p>\n
Beatrice stood at the top of the stairs.<\/p>\n
Blood ran from a cut above her eyebrow.<\/p>\n
She was holding a kitchen knife.<\/p>\n
\u201cMother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beatrice descended one step.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have stayed gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked between them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is happening?\u201d<\/p>\n
Neither answered.<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeatrice, think about what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor twenty years, that\u2019s all I\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made your choices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s eyes flicked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beatrice stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou tell him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose smiled faintly.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cKenneth didn\u2019t adopt you because Amelia asked him to.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe adopted you because he was trying to correct what he had done.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s smile vanished.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was the one who gave Daniel\u2019s location away.\u201d<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe panicked. He thought the people funding the company would kill all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re lying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe traded Daniel\u2019s location for protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Beatrice.<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped backward.<\/p>\n
Kenneth.<\/p>\n
The man I worshipped.<\/p>\n
The man who saved us.<\/p>\n
He had betrayed our father.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did he take us?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGuilt,\u201d Rose said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
She said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?\u201d<\/p>\n
Beatrice whispered, \u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop protecting him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtecting who?\u201d<\/p>\n
I shouted.<\/p>\n
Rose stared at me.<\/p>\n
Then she spoke slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
A sound came from upstairs.<\/p>\n
A floorboard creaked.<\/p>\n
All three of us stopped.<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s eyes widened.<\/p>\n
Beatrice turned.<\/p>\n
Footsteps crossed the living room.<\/p>\n
Slow.<\/p>\n
Deliberate.<\/p>\n
Someone was inside the house.<\/p>\n
Then a man\u2019s voice came from the top of the basement stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always did talk too much, Rose.\u201d<\/p>\n
My entire body froze.<\/p>\n
The voice.<\/p>\n
I had heard it before.<\/p>\n
Hours ago.<\/p>\n
On the cassette.<\/p>\n
But that was impossible.<\/p>\n
A man stepped into view.<\/p>\n
Gray hair.<\/p>\n
Older face.<\/p>\n
A scar along his chin.<\/p>\n
But I knew him.<\/p>\n
The photographs in Kenneth\u2019s study.<\/p>\n
The smile in our childhood pictures.<\/p>\n
The man who had sat in the front row at every school play.<\/p>\n
Beatrice dropped the knife.<\/p>\n
It struck the stairs.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n
\u201cK-Kenneth?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man looked at me.<\/p>\n
His eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Mason.\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees nearly gave way.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou died.\u201d<\/p>\n
He descended one step.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what you were told.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seventeen years.<\/p>\n
Seventeen years of grief.<\/p>\n
Seventeen years of visiting a grave.<\/p>\n
Seventeen years believing my father was dead.<\/p>\n
Beatrice stared at him with pure hatred.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promised you would never come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy now?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes shifted toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Simon found the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pain crossed Kenneth\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you on the tape.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy uncle?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why fake your death?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at Rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she ordered it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s face remained calm.<\/p>\n
Kenneth continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because Daniel came back.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart pounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth did not answer.<\/p>\n
Instead, he reached into his coat.<\/p>\n
Beatrice grabbed the knife again.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth slowly removed a photograph.<\/p>\n
He held it out.<\/p>\n
I hesitated before taking it.<\/p>\n
It was recent.<\/p>\n
Very recent.<\/p>\n
Simon stood outside the workshop.<\/p>\n
The photograph had been taken today.<\/p>\n
Beside him was another man.<\/p>\n
Older.<\/p>\n
Gray at the temples.<\/p>\n
Familiar face.<\/p>\n
My face.<\/p>\n
Simon\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
I looked at Kenneth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was taken today?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLess than an hour ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
My phone rang.<\/p>\n
Simon.<\/p>\n
I answered instantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimon?\u201d<\/p>\n
No response.<\/p>\n
Then a man spoke.<\/p>\n
The same voice that had called earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cMason.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the photograph in my hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
A quiet laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can call me Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees almost buckled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Simon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you hurt him\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to hurt my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes moved to Rose.<\/p>\n
She looked suddenly worried.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cRose has it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kenneth looked at her.<\/p>\n
Beatrice did too.<\/p>\n
Rose\u2019s face hardened.<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cAsk her why she kept it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a list of witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Kenneth.<\/p>\n
He went pale.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Rose has been hunting them for twenty years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rose lunged for the gun.<\/p>\n
Kenneth moved first.<\/p>\n
The basement exploded into motion.<\/p>\n
Beatrice screamed.<\/p>\n
Kenneth grabbed Rose.<\/p>\n
The phone slipped from my hand.<\/p>\n
A gunshot thundered.<\/p>\n
Someone fell.<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t tell who.<\/p>\n
Then the lights went out.<\/p>\n
In the darkness, Daniel\u2019s voice still came faintly through my phone on the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMason!\u201d<\/p>\n
I crawled toward it.<\/p>\n
Another struggle.<\/p>\n
A crash.<\/p>\n
Beatrice shouted.<\/p>\n
Then silence.<\/p>\n
I found my phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
His breathing was fast.<\/p>\n
\u201cMason, listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Simon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPut him on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then Daniel said something that turned my blood to ice.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Simon already left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe left ten minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo go where?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel became silent.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cTo meet Amelia.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared into the darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMason\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s voice changed.<\/p>\n
For the first time, he sounded afraid.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never told Simon where Amelia was.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that exact moment, a light appeared beneath the basement door.<\/p>\n
Someone stood upstairs.<\/p>\n
A shadow.<\/p>\n
Still.<\/p>\n
Watching.<\/p>\n
Then a woman\u2019s voice floated down the stairs.<\/p>\n
Soft.<\/p>\n
Almost trembling.<\/p>\n
\u201cMason?\u201d<\/p>\n
My entire body went rigid.<\/p>\n
Kenneth whispered from somewhere in the darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beatrice gasped.<\/p>\n
Rose said nothing.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the stairs.<\/p>\n
The woman stepped into view.<\/p>\n
Brown hair streaked with gray.<\/p>\n
Gray eyes.<\/p>\n
My eyes.<\/p>\n
Tears covered her face.<\/p>\n
She held Simon\u2019s jacket in one hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
The woman looked at me.<\/p>\n
Then at Kenneth.<\/p>\n
Then at Rose.<\/p>\n
Finally, she said the words that shattered the last piece of the story I thought I understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cMason, you need to come with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at Simon\u2019s jacket.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her face crumpled.<\/p>\n
For several seconds, nobody moved.<\/p>\n
Amelia stood at the top of the basement stairs holding Simon\u2019s jacket against her chest as though it were the only thing keeping her upright.<\/p>\n
Her final words still echoed through me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe found out the truth about which one of you is actually my son.\u201d<\/p>\n
My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia looked at me, but before she could answer, Rose spoke from somewhere behind me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The single word was colder than the gunshot.<\/p>\n
Kenneth was still struggling to get back onto his feet. Beatrice leaned against the wall, one hand pressed against the cut above her eyebrow.<\/p>\n
And suddenly I understood something terrifying.<\/p>\n
Everyone in that basement knew what Amelia meant except me.<\/p>\n
I climbed one step toward her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Simon?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMason\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is my brother?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody keeps saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed, but there was no humor in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cKenneth was dead, except he wasn\u2019t. Daniel disappeared, except he didn\u2019t. You abandoned us, except you didn\u2019t. Rose was our grandmother, except apparently she isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pointed toward Simon\u2019s jacket.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now you\u2019re telling me one of us isn\u2019t your son?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia closed her eyes.<\/p>\n
When she opened them again, something had changed.<\/p>\n
She was no longer looking at me like a stranger.<\/p>\n
She was looking at me like a mother who had imagined this conversation a thousand times and hated every version of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are my son, Mason.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart lurched.<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Simon?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia looked down.<\/p>\n
The silence answered before she did.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMason\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I moved backward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimon is my twin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have the same birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were adopted together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia whispered, \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look alike.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot as much as you think.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
Something inside my chest began cracking open.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
Amelia descended the stairs slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were born at St. Vincent\u2019s Medical Center.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse hammered.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimon wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Mason.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her voice broke.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou and Simon were not born on the same day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The basement seemed to tilt beneath my feet.<\/p>\n
I searched every face.<\/p>\n
Beatrice looked away.<\/p>\n
Kenneth lowered his head.<\/p>\n
Rose remained terrifyingly calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
Beatrice\u2019s shoulders sagged.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these years?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I wanted to scream.<\/p>\n
Instead, my voice came out almost childlike.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you tell us we were twins?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause her name had something written beside it.\u201d \u201cWhat?\u201d He looked at me. \u201cCourier.\u201d I frowned. \u201cCourier?\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s all it said.\u201d I tried to understand. \u201cMaybe she delivered documents.\u201d \u201cMaybe.\u201d … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,21,22,1,5,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aita","category-daily-article","category-reddit-stories","category-story","category-story-daily","category-viral-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6403","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=6403"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6410,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6403\/revisions\/6410"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}