My first reaction was denial.<\/p>\n
Not because Charles had never lied.<\/p>\n
We had already established that he had.<\/p>\n
He knew Thomas was my biological father.<\/p>\n
He helped arrange Jake\u2019s conception.<\/p>\n
He protected Vale\u2019s clinic from scrutiny.<\/p>\n
But physically removing an embryo created from my egg and Daniel Harris\u2019s sperm felt different.<\/p>\n
More deliberate.<\/p>\n
More personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me the note.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily sent a scan.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s handwriting filled half a page.<\/p>\n
Ridgeway closure records reviewed. X8\/DV-2 embryo released seventy-two hours before seizure of inventory. Authorization presented by Charles Lawson acting as legal representative for Vale research partnership.<\/p>\n
I read it three times.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat seizure?\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily explained.<\/p>\n
Regulators had taken control of Ridgeway\u2019s biological inventory during the investigation that shut it down.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles got there first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he have legal authority?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably not valid authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Ridgeway accepted it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did he take the embryo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel never found documentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at my father\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
Charles had been dead for years.<\/p>\n
Another answer sealed inside someone who could no longer give it.<\/p>\n
I called Thomas.<\/p>\n
He answered with a weary hello.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles removed X8.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Not today.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was tired of the word suspected.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Charles tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew he removed something from Ridgeway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he tell you it was an embryo created from my egg?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel\u2019s sperm?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas took a long breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Charles wanted to destroy it himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believed him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t he simply allow regulators to destroy it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he didn\u2019t trust what would happen once it entered evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
That almost made sense.<\/p>\n
Almost.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought it might become public.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd expose me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr expose him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did Charles take it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo a storage facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said he wanted to destroy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut first he stored it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor several days.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted confirmation from Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether the embryo was viable.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would viability matter if he intended to destroy it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas became quiet.<\/p>\n
Exactly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Charles changed his mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe considered transferring it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words made no sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would my father take an illegally created embryo and then consider using it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGuilt.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuilt creates a lot of children in this family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas absorbed the cruelty.<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles believed destroying a viable embryo was another wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not his decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat none of the available choices were clean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the clean choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid anyone suggest it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel wanted me told?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the Ridgeway closure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo more than twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Charles refused.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought you had finally built a stable life.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone keeps confusing stability with ignorance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas sounded exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned it too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked, \u201cWhat happened to the embryo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles told me he had it destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout a week after removing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never said.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas there documentation?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that I saw.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we cannot assume it was destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel believe him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That explained the investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Daniel think?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe thought Charles transferred it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo a patient?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he found a billing record.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse quickened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat billing record?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStorage release followed by transport fees.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTransport where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe destination was coded.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother code.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBriar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not letters.<\/p>\n
A word.<\/p>\n
\u201cBriar what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily, still on the call, spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
We both stopped.<\/p>\n
She had been searching while Thomas talked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBriar Women\u2019s Center.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFertility clinic?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA private obstetric practice with a small assisted-reproduction program.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVirginia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStill open?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecords?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome were transferred to a hospital system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas whispered, \u201cDaniel found Briar?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had a folder.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paper rustled.<\/p>\n
Then she said, \u201cThere was a transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cX8?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel believed so.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPregnancy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnknown.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBirth?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake and Natalie had returned from their walk.<\/p>\n
They saw my face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d Jake asked.<\/p>\n
I raised a hand.<\/p>\n
Wait.<\/p>\n
Emily searched.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo birth confirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief came cautiously.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there is a patient identifier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not give me the name yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake looked surprised.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe verify before contacting anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily said, \u201cThere\u2019s something strange.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe recipient was not an infertility patient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why receive an embryo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said there was a transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTransfer to the clinic, not necessarily to a uterus.\u201d<\/p>\n
That distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened at Briar?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m reading Daniel\u2019s note.\u201d<\/p>\n
She paused.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles delivered the embryo for destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room became still.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matches what he told Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWas it destroyed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a physician statement saying it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
My shoulders lowered.<\/p>\n
Finally.<\/p>\n
Documentation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho signed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Miriam Cole.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Daniel verify it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe interviewed her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe remembered Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe insisted on witnessing the destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes burned.<\/p>\n
That sounded like my father.<\/p>\n
Complicated.<\/p>\n
Controlling.<\/p>\n
Secretive.<\/p>\n
But capable of being haunted by what he had helped create.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he witness it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen X8 did not become a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Cole and the clinic record, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake exhaled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that line ends there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not a person.<\/p>\n
Not another hidden sibling.<\/p>\n
An embryo that had existed.<\/p>\n
Been moved.<\/p>\n
Been used as an ethical object by people who never asked me.<\/p>\n
Then destroyed.<\/p>\n
There was grief in that.<\/p>\n
But not the grief of an unknown adult somewhere.<\/p>\n
A different grief.<\/p>\n
Natalie sat beside Jake.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many more?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question was simple.<\/p>\n
I looked at the timeline.<\/p>\n
Nine eggs.<\/p>\n
Five documented fertilized embryos with Thomas.<\/p>\n
Jake.<\/p>\n
Maya.<\/p>\n
Natalie.<\/p>\n
Two nonviable.<\/p>\n
X8 fertilized with Daniel\u2019s unauthorized sample, later destroyed.<\/p>\n
X9 research material, apparently destroyed after Ridgeway.<\/p>\n
One intact retained egg later became Ethan through Robert Mercer\u2019s stored tissue.<\/p>\n
The accounting was finally approaching closure.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll nine may now be accounted for,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Jake looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
We had learned that word too.<\/p>\n
Later, Thomas called again privately.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something you should know about Charles.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost refused.<\/p>\n
Then listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loved you.\u201d<\/p>\n
My anger rose.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t use that as a defense.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why say it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you\u2019re going to read Daniel\u2019s later notes and think Charles saw you only as a problem to manage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also spent years trying to undo what he had helped protect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe paid for Daniel\u2019s investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
I became still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQuietly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter covering up Vale?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause once Charles learned the full extent of what Leonard had done, he understood what his silence had enabled.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid my mother know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my parents were secretly working against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNear the end, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of their marriage.<\/p>\n
The polite dinners.<\/p>\n
The cold stretches I had never understood.<\/p>\n
Maybe not everything had been about ordinary aging.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did Charles start funding Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter Ridgeway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSame reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProtection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCowardice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas did not resist.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cCharles made me promise something before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo tell you the truth if Margaret ever tried to use your medical history again.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe outsourced honesty until some future emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you keep the promise?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret never did anything obvious after that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a technicality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could have told me anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s voice cracked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should have.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat quietly.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I did not feel the need to punish him further.<\/p>\n
Facts had become punishment enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did Charles choose you for Jake?\u201d<\/p>\n
The question had existed from the beginning.<\/p>\n
Thomas answered slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly because Margaret wanted the Lawson genetic line.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly because Charles could not have biological children.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles was infertile.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one had told me that.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he knew I wasn\u2019t his biologically from birth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe agreed to raise me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he choose you as the donor for me too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret chose me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCharles didn\u2019t know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot until she was pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n
My entire history shifted again.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother used your sperm to conceive me without telling her husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArtificial insemination.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew I was donating for Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Charles hadn\u2019t consented?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought he had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course.<\/p>\n
Another false consent.<\/p>\n
Another reproductive decision made through omission.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did Charles do when he found out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe raised me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen thirty years later he helped Margaret use your sperm again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s voice softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he believed if biology mattered so much to Margaret, he would force that biology to remain inside the family she had already created.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did not know whether that was love, revenge, surrender, or some combination.<\/p>\n
Maybe Charles had not known either.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wanted Jake to be connected to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd through you, to the truth Margaret had hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The design was still wrong.<\/p>\n
I had not consented.<\/p>\n
Michael had not consented.<\/p>\n
Jake had not been conceived with truthful information.<\/p>\n
But Charles\u2019s motive was more complicated than I had understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he ever regret it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat didn\u2019t help me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I had said those words so many times.<\/p>\n
They remained true.<\/p>\n
That evening, Natalie returned home with Diane.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, she hugged Jake.<\/p>\n
Then me.<\/p>\n
Longer this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to meet Thomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill that bother you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She studied me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is yours differently than he is mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then she smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still calling you Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease do.\u201d<\/p>\n
After they left, Jake stayed behind.<\/p>\n
We sat outside.<\/p>\n
The air smelled like rain.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think we\u2019re near the end?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked through the window at the dining table covered with records.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we finally know what happened to the reproductive material.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I meant.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward the dark yard.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think our family survives this?\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Michael.<\/p>\n
Thomas.<\/p>\n
Natalie.<\/p>\n
Maya, still unaware.<\/p>\n
Ethan, choosing testing.<\/p>\n
Emily carrying secrets that belonged partly to her daughter.<\/p>\n
Families did not survive by returning to what they had been.<\/p>\n
That version was already gone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the question is what we build after it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake nodded.<\/p>\n
Then his phone rang.<\/p>\n
Ethan.<\/p>\n
He answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression changed almost immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat straighter.<\/p>\n
Jake listened.<\/p>\n
Then looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe genetic counselor called.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ethan spoke loudly enough that I could hear through the phone.<\/p>\n
The pathology repository had located Robert Mercer\u2019s stored tissue.<\/p>\n
It was still viable for DNA comparison.<\/p>\n
And there was something else.<\/p>\n
A preliminary archival marker comparison had already been performed years ago.<\/p>\n
By Daniel Harris.<\/p>\n
Jake put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n
Ethan\u2019s voice shook.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel already knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKnew what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat Robert was my biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
My first reaction was denial. Not because Charles had never lied. We had already established that he had. He knew Thomas was my biological father. He helped arrange Jake\u2019s conception. … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25905,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25861\/revisions\/25905"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}