The photograph stayed on my phone.
\nI couldn’t stop looking at it.
\nMy mother.
\nStanding beside Vanessa Parker.
\nAnd between them, Emma.
\nAlive.
\nNot six years old.
\nNot a memory.
\nNot a victim who had disappeared seventeen years ago.
\nA young woman.
\nOlder.
\nAlive.
\nAnd apparently standing beside the two women who had supposedly vanished from her life.
\nMy mother’s face looked exactly as I remembered it.
\nThe same soft smile.
\nThe same dark hair.
\nThe same small silver necklace she wore almost every day when I was a child.
\nFor twenty-one years, I had believed my mother died without leaving any secrets behind.
\nNow I was staring at proof that she had been alive six months ago.
\nOr at least\u2014
\nsomeone wanted me to believe she had been.
\nDetective Harris took my phone from my hand.<\/p>\n
\u2014Don’t touch anything else.<\/p>\n
\u2014That’s my mother.<\/p>\n
\u2014I know.<\/p>\n
\u2014She’s dead.<\/p>\n
Harris didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
Richard did.<\/p>\n
\u2014Paula…<\/p>\n
I turned toward him.<\/p>\n
\u2014Don’t.<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u2014You knew something.<\/p>\n
\u2014I suspected.<\/p>\n
\u2014You knew.<\/p>\n
\u2014I knew there were things about your mother I didn’t understand.<\/p>\n
I stepped toward him.<\/p>\n
\u2014Then why didn’t you tell me?<\/p>\n
He looked at the floor.<\/p>\n
\u2014Because your mother made me promise.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u2014My mother made you promise what?<\/p>\n
Richard swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u2014Never to tell you about the night Emma disappeared.<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
My legs couldn’t hold me anymore.<\/p>\n
\u2014Start from the beginning.<\/p>\n
Richard remained standing.<\/p>\n
\u2014It was twenty-one years ago.<\/p>\n
\u2014Emma was six.<\/p>\n
\u2014Yes.<\/p>\n
\u2014And my mother was involved.<\/p>\n
\u2014Yes.<\/p>\n
\u2014And Chloe was there.<\/p>\n
\u2014Yes.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u2014Then tell me what happened.<\/p>\n
Richard looked at Detective Harris.<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
\u2014We need the full story.<\/p>\n
Richard finally sat across from me.<\/p>\n
\u2014My father had a business arrangement with Vanessa. He called it a private family-placement service.<\/p>\n
\u2014Adoption.<\/p>\n
\u2014That’s what he called it.<\/p>\n
\u2014And what was it really?<\/p>\n
Richard stared at his hands.<\/p>\n
\u2014Children were moved from one family to another.<\/p>\n
\u2014Without proper records?<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u2014Sometimes.<\/p>\n
\u2014Sometimes?<\/p>\n
\u2014Paula, I was young. I didn’t understand everything.<\/p>\n
\u2014You were old enough to marry Chloe.<\/p>\n
He flinched.<\/p>\n
\u2014You’re right.<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then he continued.<\/p>\n
\u2014Emma was supposed to be placed with another family.<\/p>\n
\u2014But she wasn’t.<\/p>\n
\u2014No.<\/p>\n
\u2014Why?<\/p>\n
Richard’s voice dropped.<\/p>\n
\u2014Because Emma wouldn’t stop talking.<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u2014Talking about what?<\/p>\n
\u2014She kept telling people what was happening inside the house.<\/p>\n
My skin prickled.<\/p>\n
\u2014What was happening?<\/p>\n
\u2014Children were being punished.<\/p>\n
\u2014How?<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u2014Locked rooms.<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
\u2014Food restrictions.<\/p>\n
I thought of Leo.<\/p>\n
\u2014Isolation.<\/p>\n
I thought of Sophia.<\/p>\n
\u2014And sometimes…<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u2014Sometimes what?<\/p>\n
\u2014Children were forced to watch other children being punished.<\/p>\n
I covered my mouth.<\/p>\n
Detective Harris wrote something down.<\/p>\n
Richard continued.<\/p>\n
\u2014Emma told a teacher.<\/p>\n
\u2014Someone called the authorities?<\/p>\n
\u2014Not immediately.<\/p>\n
\u2014Why?<\/p>\n
\u2014Because Vanessa got to the teacher first.<\/p>\n
My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n
\u2014What did she do?<\/p>\n
\u2014She convinced the teacher Emma was unstable.<\/p>\n
I whispered:<\/p>\n
\u2014And everyone believed her?<\/p>\n
\u2014Enough people did.<\/p>\n
I remembered something.<\/p>\n
A memory from childhood.<\/p>\n
One I hadn’t thought about in years.<\/p>\n
I was eleven.<\/p>\n
My mother was standing in the kitchen.<\/p>\n
She was speaking to someone on the phone.<\/p>\n
I remembered the way her voice sounded.<\/p>\n
Low.<\/p>\n
Serious.<\/p>\n
Different.<\/p>\n
I had walked into the room.<\/p>\n
She immediately stopped talking.<\/p>\n
\u2014Who was that? I had asked.<\/p>\n
She smiled.<\/p>\n
\u2014Nobody.<\/p>\n
I had laughed.<\/p>\n
\u2014You were talking to nobody?<\/p>\n
She had hugged me.<\/p>\n
\u2014Sometimes grown-ups have conversations children shouldn’t hear.<\/p>\n
I had forgotten that moment.<\/p>\n
Until now.<\/p>\n
\u2014My mother knew Emma.<\/p>\n
Richard nodded.<\/p>\n
\u2014Yes.<\/p>\n
\u2014How?<\/p>\n
\u2014Your mother helped Emma.<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
\u2014Helped her?<\/p>\n
\u2014She tried to get her out.<\/p>\n
The room went silent.<\/p>\n
For the first time, I saw something different in the photograph.<\/p>\n
My mother’s face wasn’t smiling.<\/p>\n
She was looking at Emma.<\/p>\n
Protectively.<\/p>\n
Almost desperately.<\/p>\n
I zoomed in.<\/p>\n
Then I noticed something.<\/p>\n
My mother’s hand was resting on Emma’s shoulder.<\/p>\n
Her fingers were gripping tightly.<\/p>\n
Like she was afraid to let go.<\/p>\n
\u2014She was trying to protect her.<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
\u2014That’s our working theory.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u2014Then why did you say she was part of the operation?<\/p>\n
\u2014Because she was.<\/p>\n
\u2014That doesn’t make sense.<\/p>\n
\u2014People can be inside a system and still try to destroy it from within.<\/p>\n
I looked at Richard.<\/p>\n
\u2014What happened that night?<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u2014Emma disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u2014Where?<\/p>\n
\u2014Nobody knows.<\/p>\n
\u2014But she survived.<\/p>\n
\u2014Apparently.<\/p>\n
\u2014And my mother?<\/p>\n
Richard’s voice became almost inaudible.<\/p>\n
\u2014Your mother disappeared too.<\/p>\n
Detective Harris received another call.<\/p>\n
He listened for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then his expression changed.<\/p>\n
\u2014We’re going to need to leave.<\/p>\n
\u2014Why?<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u2014The photograph was taken by a security camera.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
\u2014Where?<\/p>\n
\u2014A private clinic.<\/p>\n
\u2014What clinic?<\/p>\n
He hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u2014A clinic outside Tucson.<\/p>\n
Richard’s face went pale.<\/p>\n
\u2014Tucson?<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
\u2014The photograph was captured six months ago.<\/p>\n
\u2014Who’s in the clinic?<\/p>\n
Harris looked at his phone.<\/p>\n
\u2014We don’t know.<\/p>\n
Then he showed us another image.<\/p>\n
It was grainy.<\/p>\n
A hallway.<\/p>\n
A woman walking beside an elderly man.<\/p>\n
The woman was wearing the same silver necklace my mother had worn in the photograph.<\/p>\n
My breath caught.<\/p>\n
\u2014That’s her.<\/p>\n
Richard stared.<\/p>\n
\u2014Paula…<\/p>\n
\u2014That’s my mother.<\/p>\n
Harris nodded.<\/p>\n
\u2014We believe so.<\/p>\n
I stood up.<\/p>\n
\u2014Then we’re going to Tucson.<\/p>\n
Harris immediately shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u2014Not yet.<\/p>\n
\u2014Why?<\/p>\n
\u2014Because whoever sent you that photograph wanted you to see it.<\/p>\n
\u2014So?<\/p>\n
\u2014It may be a trap.<\/p>\n
I looked at the picture.<\/p>\n
\u2014If my mother is alive, I need to know.<\/p>\n
Harris stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u2014And if she isn’t?<\/p>\n
I didn’t answer.<\/p>\n
Because deep inside, I already knew.<\/p>\n
Something was waiting for me.<\/p>\n
And whatever it was\u2014<\/p>\n
it had been waiting for twenty-one years.<\/p>\n
That afternoon, the police searched the photograph’s metadata.<\/p>\n
There was almost nothing.<\/p>\n
Almost.<\/p>\n
A location tag had been stripped.<\/p>\n
But not completely.<\/p>\n
Harris managed to recover fragments.<\/p>\n
A coordinate.<\/p>\n
A building number.<\/p>\n
A timestamp.<\/p>\n
And one strange piece of information.<\/p>\n
The photograph had not been taken six months ago.<\/p>\n
It had been taken exactly eleven days ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n \u2014Then why did they say six months?<\/p>\n Harris looked at me.<\/p>\n \u2014Because the original photograph may have been older.<\/p>\n \u2014But the camera captured it eleven days ago.<\/p>\n \u2014Exactly.<\/p>\n Richard leaned closer.<\/p>\n \u2014Someone photographed a photograph.<\/p>\n My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n \u2014What?<\/p>\n Harris nodded.<\/p>\n \u2014Someone took a picture of an old photograph eleven days ago.<\/p>\n \u2014Why?<\/p>\n He looked at me.<\/p>\n \u2014To send it to you.<\/p>\n The room became silent.<\/p>\n Someone had recently found that old photograph.<\/p>\n Someone had wanted me to see it.<\/p>\n Someone wanted me to start asking questions.<\/p>\n And whoever that person was\u2014<\/p>\n they knew exactly what would happen next.<\/p>\n That night, Leo asked me something.<\/p>\n I was sitting beside his bed.<\/p>\n He was holding Rex.<\/p>\n \u2014Aunt Paula?<\/p>\n \u2014Yes?<\/p>\n \u2014Is my mom going to come back?<\/p>\n I hesitated.<\/p>\n \u2014No.<\/p>\n He looked at me.<\/p>\n \u2014Why?<\/p>\n I didn’t know how to explain prison to a five-year-old.<\/p>\n So I said:<\/p>\n \u2014Because sometimes grown-ups make choices that mean they can’t be around children anymore.<\/p>\n He thought about it.<\/p>\n \u2014Did my mom make bad choices?<\/p>\n I nodded.<\/p>\n \u2014Yes.<\/p>\n He squeezed Rex.<\/p>\n \u2014But she was my mom.<\/p>\n I felt tears burn my eyes.<\/p>\n \u2014I know.<\/p>\n \u2014Can I still love her?<\/p>\n That question broke me.<\/p>\n \u2014Yes.<\/p>\n He looked surprised.<\/p>\n \u2014Even if she hurt me?<\/p>\n I touched his hair.<\/p>\n \u2014You can love someone and still know they aren’t safe for you.<\/p>\n He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n Then he asked:<\/p>\n \u2014Was your mom safe?<\/p>\n I froze.<\/p>\n \u2014What?<\/p>\n \u2014Your mom.<\/p>\n He pointed at the photograph on my phone.<\/p>\n \u2014Was she safe?<\/p>\n I couldn’t answer.<\/p>\n Because I didn’t know anymore.<\/p>\n Leo stared at the picture.<\/p>\n Then his expression changed.<\/p>\n \u2014Aunt Paula?<\/p>\n \u2014What?<\/p>\n He pointed at my mother’s necklace.<\/p>\n \u2014I’ve seen that before.<\/p>\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n \u2014Where?<\/p>\n He looked toward the hallway.<\/p>\n \u2014In Mom’s room.<\/p>\n Richard and I drove to Chloe’s house with Detective Harris that night.<\/p>\n The property was sealed.<\/p>\n Nobody was supposed to enter without police authorization.<\/p>\n Harris unlocked the door.<\/p>\n We went upstairs.<\/p>\n Chloe’s bedroom looked exactly as the police had left it.<\/p>\n Clothes.<\/p>\n Perfume.<\/p>\n Photographs.<\/p>\n A vanity.<\/p>\n Everything arranged perfectly.<\/p>\n I opened drawers.<\/p>\n Nothing.<\/p>\n Then Leo’s words came back.<\/p>\n The necklace.<\/strong><\/p>\n I searched Chloe’s jewelry box.<\/p>\n Nothing.<\/p>\n The closet.<\/p>\n Nothing.<\/p>\n Then I noticed a small panel behind the dresser.<\/p>\n Harris moved it.<\/p>\n There was a narrow compartment.<\/p>\n Inside was a photograph.<\/p>\n My mother.<\/p>\n Standing beside Chloe.<\/p>\n The same necklace around her neck.<\/p>\n But that wasn’t the shocking part.<\/p>\n On the back was a handwritten date.<\/p>\n Twenty-one years ago.<\/p>\n And beneath it:<\/p>\n \u201cPaula must never know.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n My hands began shaking.<\/p>\n Richard looked at me.<\/p>\n \u2014I didn’t know.<\/p>\n I turned.<\/p>\n \u2014You expect me to believe that?<\/p>\n \u2014I swear.<\/p>\n Harris examined the photograph.<\/p>\n \u2014There’s something else.<\/p>\n He pointed to the corner.<\/p>\n A small number.<\/p>\n 17.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2014What does that mean?<\/p>\n \u2014I don’t know.<\/p>\n Then we heard a sound.<\/p>\n A soft click.<\/p>\n From downstairs.<\/p>\n We all froze.<\/p>\n Harris raised his flashlight.<\/p>\n \u2014Stay here.<\/p>\n He walked toward the stairs.<\/p>\n Richard followed.<\/p>\n I remained behind for two seconds.<\/p>\n Then I heard:<\/p>\n \u2014Paula!<\/p>\n Richard’s voice.<\/p>\n I ran downstairs.<\/p>\n The front door was open.<\/p>\n Harris stood outside.<\/p>\n \u2014Someone was here.<\/p>\n \u2014Who?<\/p>\n He pointed toward the driveway.<\/p>\n A black sedan was disappearing around the corner.<\/p>\n Harris ran after it.<\/p>\n The car accelerated.<\/p>\n He stopped.<\/p>\n Then looked down.<\/p>\n Something had been thrown onto the pavement.<\/p>\n A small envelope.<\/p>\n My name was written on it.<\/p>\n PAULA MENDOZA<\/strong><\/p>\n I opened it.<\/p>\n Inside was a single photograph.<\/p>\n It showed my mother.<\/p>\n But this time, she was standing alone.<\/p>\n Behind her was a building.<\/p>\n A large white building.<\/p>\n Above the entrance was a sign.<\/p>\n St. Agnes Family Center.<\/strong><\/p>\n I recognized it.<\/p>\n \u2014That’s the clinic.<\/p>\n Harris nodded.<\/p>\n \u2014Yes.<\/p>\n Then I saw the date printed at the bottom.<\/p>\n Tomorrow.<\/p>\n We left before midnight.<\/p>\n Harris insisted that I stay with the children.<\/p>\n But I couldn’t.<\/p>\n Not anymore.<\/p>\n Too many secrets had been buried.<\/p>\n Too many people had lied.<\/p>\n And my mother\u2014<\/p>\n my dead mother\u2014<\/p>\n might be alive.<\/p>\n The next morning, we drove toward Tucson.<\/p>\n Richard sat in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n Harris drove.<\/p>\n I sat in the back.<\/p>\n Nobody spoke.<\/p>\n Until Richard suddenly said:<\/p>\n \u2014Paula.<\/p>\n \u2014What?<\/p>\n \u2014I need to tell you something before we get there.<\/p>\n I looked at him.<\/p>\n \u2014What?<\/p>\n He stared out the window.<\/p>\n \u2014Your mother didn’t disappear.<\/p>\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n \u2014What?<\/p>\n \u2014She was arrested.<\/p>\n \u2014For what?<\/p>\n \u2014For helping Emma escape.<\/p>\n I felt dizzy.<\/p>\n \u2014Then why did everyone say she died?<\/p>\n \u2014Because she agreed to disappear.<\/p>\n \u2014Why?<\/p>\n Richard turned toward me.<\/p>\n \u2014To protect you.<\/p>\n I stared at him.<\/p>\n \u2014Protect me from what?<\/p>\n He looked away.<\/p>\n \u2014Vanessa.<\/p>\n The clinic was surrounded by desert.<\/p>\n A white building.<\/p>\n Quiet.<\/p>\n Almost peaceful.<\/p>\n Too peaceful.<\/p>\n A nurse met us at the entrance.<\/p>\n Detective Harris showed his badge.<\/p>\n \u2014We’re looking for a patient.<\/p>\n He gave her the name.<\/p>\n She checked the computer.<\/p>\n Then stopped.<\/p>\n \u2014She’s not here.<\/p>\n My heart dropped.<\/p>\n \u2014Are you sure?<\/p>\n The nurse nodded.<\/p>\n \u2014She was discharged yesterday.<\/p>\n I stared at her.<\/p>\n \u2014Yesterday?<\/p>\n \u2014Yes.<\/p>\n \u2014Where did she go?<\/p>\n The nurse hesitated.<\/p>\n \u2014She left with a woman.<\/p>\n \u2014What woman?<\/p>\n The nurse looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n Her face changed.<\/p>\n \u2014That’s her.<\/p>\n My blood froze.<\/p>\n \u2014My mother?<\/p>\n The nurse nodded.<\/p>\n \u2014Yes.<\/p>\n \u2014Who was with her?<\/p>\n The nurse pointed at another photograph.<\/p>\n Vanessa Parker.<\/p>\n I felt like I couldn’t breathe.<\/p>\n \u2014Where did they go?<\/p>\n The nurse shook her head.<\/p>\n \u2014I don’t know.<\/p>\n Then she remembered something.<\/p>\n \u2014Wait.<\/p>\n She disappeared into the back.<\/p>\n A minute later she returned holding a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n \u2014She left this for someone named Paula.<\/p>\n I stared at it.<\/p>\n My hands trembled as I opened it.<\/p>\n Inside was a handwritten letter.<\/p>\n The handwriting was unmistakable.<\/p>\n My mother’s.<\/p>\n I recognized it instantly.<\/p>\n She had written my name.<\/p>\n Paula.<\/strong><\/p>\n I couldn’t open it.<\/p>\n I was afraid.<\/p>\n Because after twenty-one years of believing my mother was gone\u2014<\/p>\n I suddenly had to face the possibility that she had been waiting for me.<\/p>\n I unfolded the letter.<\/p>\n The first sentence read:<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’re reading this, then Emma found you before I could.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I stopped.<\/p>\n Richard leaned closer.<\/p>\n I continued.<\/p>\n \u201cDo not trust Chloe.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I swallowed.<\/p>\n That seemed obvious.<\/p>\n Then I read the next line.<\/p>\n \u201cDo not trust Richard.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I looked up.<\/p>\n My brother went completely still.<\/p>\n I looked back at the letter.<\/p>\n There was more.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd above all, Paula, do not believe that I died.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n My hands began shaking.<\/p>\n Then I reached the final paragraph.<\/p>\n And everything changed.<\/p>\n \u201cYour father didn’t die in the accident they told you about.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I dropped the letter.<\/p>\n Richard stared at me.<\/p>\n \u2014Paula…<\/p>\n I couldn’t hear him.<\/p>\n I picked the letter back up.<\/p>\n The final sentence was written in darker ink.<\/p>\n \u201cYour father is alive, too.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I looked at Richard.<\/p>\n He was crying.<\/p>\n \u2014You knew.<\/p>\n He shook his head.<\/p>\n \u2014I swear I didn’t.<\/p>\n But before I could say anything else\u2014<\/p>\n the lights in the clinic went out.<\/p>\n A scream came from the hallway.<\/p>\n Then another.<\/p>\n The nurse ran toward us.<\/p>\n \u2014Someone’s inside!<\/p>\n Harris drew his weapon.<\/p>\n \u2014Stay here.<\/p>\n Then a gunshot echoed through the building.<\/p>\n Everyone froze.<\/p>\n I grabbed the letter.<\/p>\n Richard grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n And from somewhere in the darkness\u2014<\/p>\n a woman’s voice whispered:<\/p>\n \u2014Paula…<\/p>\n I knew that voice.<\/p>\n I had heard it once before.<\/p>\n In my childhood.<\/p>\n On the telephone.<\/p>\n In my mother’s kitchen.<\/p>\n A voice I had spent twenty-one years believing belonged to a dead woman.<\/p>\n My mother.<\/p>\n She whispered:<\/p>\n \u2014Run.<\/p>\n Then the emergency lights came on.<\/p>\n And at the end of the hallway stood Vanessa Parker.<\/p>\n Holding a photograph.<\/p>\n She looked directly at me.<\/p>\n Then she smiled.<\/p>\n \u2014You finally came.<\/p>\n TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 6…<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PART 5 The photograph stayed on my phone. I couldn’t stop looking at it. My mother. Standing beside Vanessa Parker. And between them, Emma. Alive. Not six years old. Not … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4751,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4750\/revisions\/4751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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