{"id":5742,"date":"2026-09-15T18:57:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T18:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/?p=5742"},"modified":"2026-09-15T18:57:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T18:57:47","slug":"part-3-my-mother-threw-my-daughters-soup-onto-the-floor-and-pointed-at-the-door-get-out-when-you-cant-afford-the-rent-youll-come-crawling-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/?p=5742","title":{"rendered":"PART 3: – My mother threw my daughter\u2019s soup onto the floor and pointed at the door. \u201cGet out. When you can\u2019t afford the rent, you\u2019ll come crawling back.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

PART 3<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhere is the notary?\u201d
\nMy father\u2019s question hung in the air.
\nFor the first time since I had walked into that repair shop, he didn\u2019t look afraid.
\nHe looked tired.
\nTired of hiding.
\nTired of pretending.
\nAnd, perhaps most of all, tired of watching my mother turn every sacrifice into an obligation and every act of kindness into something she was entitled to.
\nI reached into my bag and pulled out Adrian\u2019s business card.
\n\u201cHe can arrange everything,\u201d I said. \u201cBut Dad, you don\u2019t have to do this for me.\u201d
\nMy father looked at me.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not doing it for you.\u201d
\nHe paused.
\n\u201cI\u2019m doing it because I should have done it five years ago.\u201d
\nThose words nearly broke me.
\nFor years, I had convinced myself that my father\u2019s silence meant he didn\u2019t care.
\nMaybe it hadn’t.
\nMaybe silence was simply the easiest place for a frightened man to hide.
\nBut hiding had consequences.
\nAnd now those consequences had finally caught up with him.
\nWe drove to the notary\u2019s office separately.
\nMy father arrived first.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

When I walked through the glass doors, he was already seated at a small wooden table, his hands folded together.<\/p>\n

The independent notary placed the original documents in front of him.<\/p>\n

My father read every page.<\/p>\n

Slowly.<\/p>\n

Carefully.<\/p>\n

Then the notary asked the question that mattered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Arthur Bennett, are you signing this affidavit voluntarily?\u201d<\/p>\n

My father looked directly at me.<\/p>\n

Then he nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you under any pressure from your daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWere you aware, at the time of the original transfer, that you were conveying ownership of the property?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd did your wife know about the transfer?\u201d<\/p>\n

My father swallowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The notary looked down at the document.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen please sign here.\u201d<\/p>\n

My father picked up the pen.<\/p>\n

His hand trembled slightly.<\/p>\n

For a second, I thought he might stop.<\/p>\n

Instead, he signed.<\/p>\n

His name appeared beneath mine.<\/p>\n

Arthur Bennett.<\/p>\n

The signature that could determine everything.<\/p>\n

When the notary stamped the document, my father leaned back in his chair.<\/p>\n

It was done.<\/p>\n

I expected to feel victorious.<\/p>\n

I didn’t.<\/p>\n

I only felt sad.<\/p>\n

My father looked at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI should have protected you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked away.<\/p>\n

There were some apologies that arrived too late to repair the damage.<\/p>\n

But that didn’t mean they weren’t worth hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

He lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kept telling myself that staying quiet kept the peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd did it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next morning, Adrian filed the affidavit with the court.<\/p>\n

By lunchtime, my mother knew.<\/p>\n

She called me seventeen times.<\/p>\n

I answered on the eighteenth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her voice was almost unrecognizable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou took your father to a notary!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe went voluntarily.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou manipulated him!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’ve been poisoning him against me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMom, he signed the original deed five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn’t understand it!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just swore under oath that he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n

Then my mother whispered:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re really going to take my home.\u201d<\/p>\n

I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

I took a breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gave it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She hung up.<\/p>\n

That afternoon, Adrian called.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe affidavit is strong,\u201d he said. \u201cVery strong. But don’t celebrate yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn’t planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood. Because your mother is preparing another defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe claims your father was already experiencing cognitive impairment at the time of the original transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at the wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe’ll say anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe may. But there’s another problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe says there was an oral agreement that you would eventually return the property.\u201d<\/p>\n

I almost laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cReturn it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo whom?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo your parents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there’s nothing in writing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian paused.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s why I want you to find everything you have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEmails. Text messages. Bank records. Old photographs. Tax documents. Anything showing your parents understood the property had been transferred.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought for a moment.<\/p>\n

Then something clicked.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad’s old filing cabinet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents kept property documents there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the apartment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The apartment.<\/p>\n

The place I had been thrown out of.<\/p>\n

The place my mother now claimed was hers.<\/p>\n

The place that legally belonged to me.<\/p>\n

I suddenly remembered something.<\/p>\n

A blue folder.<\/p>\n

I had seen it years ago.<\/p>\n

My father used to keep old receipts inside it.<\/p>\n

But there was something else.<\/p>\n

A handwritten note.<\/p>\n

I couldn’t remember exactly what it said.<\/p>\n

I only remembered my father’s handwriting.<\/p>\n

I called Adrian.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I know where there might be another piece of evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we need to get it legally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon’t enter the property without authorization.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sighed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though it’s mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially because your mother is still occupying it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet the court handle access.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I waited.<\/p>\n

And waiting became its own kind of punishment.<\/p>\n

My mother continued posting online.<\/p>\n

Every day, another story.<\/p>\n

Another accusation.<\/p>\n

Another version of me.<\/p>\n

According to her, I was greedy.<\/p>\n

Unstable.<\/p>\n

Ungrateful.<\/p>\n

A woman who had abandoned her parents when they were old.<\/p>\n

She never mentioned the pharmacy receipts.<\/p>\n

She never mentioned Karla’s mortgage.<\/p>\n

She never mentioned the groceries.<\/p>\n

She never mentioned the utilities.<\/p>\n

And she certainly never mentioned the deed.<\/p>\n

My friends told me to respond.<\/p>\n

I refused.<\/p>\n

Truth didn’t need me to scream it.<\/p>\n

It needed documentation.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Karla’s situation was getting worse.<\/p>\n

The first missed mortgage payment had become two.<\/p>\n

Then three.<\/p>\n

She called me late one night.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her voice was barely audible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we talk?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re talking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I mean really talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was silent.<\/p>\n

She began crying.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t know how much you were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn’t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought Mom handled everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sniffed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDaniel found out about the mortgage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said I lied to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never told him I was paying it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n

Then she whispered:<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you happy?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question caught me off guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout all of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked across the room.<\/p>\n

Sophia was asleep.<\/p>\n

Her stuffed rabbit was tucked beneath her chin.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karla seemed surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you wanted revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the difference?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRevenge means I want you to suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

I paused.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeace means I stop suffering because of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was quiet.<\/p>\n

Then she asked:<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you help me?\u201d<\/p>\n

My first instinct was to say yes.<\/p>\n

That had always been my problem.<\/p>\n

But this time I didn’t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can give you information about refinancing and selling your condo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou won’t pay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

She began crying again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re really different now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at Sophia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI finally learned that being needed isn’t the same as being loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karla didn’t respond.<\/p>\n

The call ended.<\/p>\n

Three days later, something unexpected happened.<\/p>\n

Adrian called me early in the morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura, you need to come to my office.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe received a document from your mother’s attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat document?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA handwritten letter.\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does it say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t want to explain it over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

I drove there immediately.<\/p>\n

Adrian placed the letter on his desk.<\/p>\n

The paper was yellowed.<\/p>\n

Old.<\/p>\n

Folded several times.<\/p>\n

I recognized the handwriting instantly.<\/p>\n

My father’s.<\/p>\n

I read the first line.<\/p>\n

And my stomach dropped.<\/p>\n

It said:<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura, this property is yours. Your mother knows this.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I looked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did this come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mother\u2019s attorney produced it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would they give us evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey claim it’s proof that your father intended the transfer to be temporary.\u201d<\/p>\n

I read further.<\/p>\n

But the more I read, the stranger it became.<\/p>\n

The letter wasn’t about returning the property.<\/p>\n

It was about something else.<\/p>\n

Something my father had never told me.<\/p>\n

Five years earlier, before the deed was signed, my parents had been facing serious financial trouble.<\/p>\n

There had been debts.<\/p>\n

Legal claims.<\/p>\n

And a creditor who was threatening to seize their assets.<\/p>\n

My father had written the letter because he believed transferring the property to me would protect the apartment.<\/p>\n

But then came the sentence that changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf anything happens to me, make sure Laura knows the truth about the money.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I stopped reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat money?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian leaned forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s what we’re trying to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does this have to do with the apartment?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

He slid another document toward me.<\/p>\n

A bank statement.<\/p>\n

Five years old.<\/p>\n

An account I had never seen before.<\/p>\n

The account holder wasn’t my father.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t my mother.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t Karla.<\/p>\n

It was a company.<\/p>\n

A company registered at my parents’ address.<\/p>\n

I stared at the name.<\/p>\n

Bennett Family Holdings, LLC.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian said nothing.<\/p>\n

I flipped to the next page.<\/p>\n

There were deposits.<\/p>\n

Large ones.<\/p>\n

Very large ones.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

My hands went cold.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad never told me about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did the money come from?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian pointed to the transaction descriptions.<\/p>\n

I read them.<\/p>\n

Then I read them again.<\/p>\n

They were payments connected to the sale of a commercial property.<\/p>\n

A property I knew.<\/p>\n

My grandparents’ old business.<\/p>\n

The one everyone had always told me was worthless.<\/p>\n

The one my father had supposedly lost during the estate dispute.<\/p>\n

I looked at Adrian.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandparents’ property wasn’t lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

He tapped the statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was sold.\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the money went here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at the documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cApproximately $640,000 over eighteen months.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n

Six hundred and forty thousand dollars.<\/p>\n

For years, my family had complained about being broke.<\/p>\n

For years, they had told me they needed my help.<\/p>\n

For years, I had paid groceries.<\/p>\n

Bills.<\/p>\n

Medicine.<\/p>\n

Karla’s mortgage.<\/p>\n

And all that time, there had been hundreds of thousands of dollars moving through an account connected to my family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would they hide this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian leaned back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s the question.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at the old letter again.<\/p>\n

The final paragraph had been folded over.<\/p>\n

I unfolded it.<\/p>\n

And there was one final sentence.<\/p>\n

A sentence I hadn’t noticed before.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura must never let Karla control the account.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n

I looked at Adrian.<\/p>\n

\u201cKarla?\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s why I wanted you here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He reached into a folder and removed another document.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis company has a second signatory.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at the signature.<\/p>\n

My sister’s name was printed underneath it.<\/p>\n

Karla Bennett.<\/p>\n

I felt the room tilt.<\/p>\n

For years, Karla had told everyone she was barely surviving.<\/p>\n

For years, she had complained about money.<\/p>\n

For years, I had believed she was simply irresponsible.<\/p>\n

But now I was looking at documents suggesting she had access to an account worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

An account my parents had never told me existed.<\/p>\n

I stood up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to talk to my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause there’s one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian opened another folder.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis came from the county archives.\u201d<\/p>\n

He placed an old document in front of me.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t a bank statement.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t a deed.<\/p>\n

It was a corporate filing.<\/p>\n

And at the bottom was my mother’s signature.<\/p>\n

Beside it was a handwritten note.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon Laura’s removal from the household, transfer authority to Karla.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I stared at the words.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, the soup wasn’t the beginning of this story.<\/p>\n

It was only the moment they had made their biggest mistake.<\/p>\n

They hadn’t thrown me out because they thought I was worthless.<\/p>\n

They had thrown me out because they thought I was becoming dangerous.<\/p>\n

Because I was asking questions.<\/p>\n

Because I was becoming independent.<\/p>\n

Because they knew something I didn’t.<\/p>\n

I looked at Adrian.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat exactly did my mother think I would discover?\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn’t answer.<\/p>\n

Instead, he handed me a final envelope.<\/p>\n

\u201cOpen this.\u201d<\/p>\n

I tore it open.<\/p>\n

Inside was a copy of an old will.<\/p>\n

My grandfather’s will.<\/p>\n

I read the first paragraph.<\/p>\n

Then the second.<\/p>\n

Then the section concerning his estate.<\/p>\n

My hands began to shake.<\/p>\n

Because my name was there.<\/p>\n

Not Karla’s.<\/p>\n

Not my mother’s.<\/p>\n

Mine.<\/p>\n

And beside my name were words that made my entire understanding of my family collapse.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my granddaughter Laura, I leave the controlling interest in Bennett Family Holdings, including all proceeds derived from the sale of the family commercial property.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I looked up slowly.<\/p>\n

Adrian’s expression was grim.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn’t just hide money from you, Laura.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pointed to the document.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey hid an inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at the page.<\/p>\n

Six hundred and forty thousand dollars.<\/p>\n

Maybe more.<\/p>\n

And suddenly I understood why my parents had spent years convincing me that I was the irresponsible one.<\/p>\n

Why Karla had always been protected.<\/p>\n

Why my mother became furious whenever I asked questions about my grandparents.<\/p>\n

Why they wanted me dependent.<\/p>\n

Why they wanted me grateful.<\/p>\n

Why they wanted me gone.<\/p>\n

My phone vibrated.<\/p>\n

A message from my father.<\/p>\n

Laura, please don’t trust your mother.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then another message arrived.<\/p>\n

There’s something I never told you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And before I could reply, a third message appeared.<\/p>\n

Karla knows about the money.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I stared at the screen.<\/p>\n

Then the phone rang.<\/p>\n

It was my father.<\/p>\n

I answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice was trembling.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura, listen to me carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out your mother has been moving the money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of the family account.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo where?\u201d<\/p>\n

He took a breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDad, where is Karla?\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

Then he whispered:<\/p>\n

\u201cShe came to see your mother yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn’t alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho was with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

My father hesitated.<\/p>\n

Then he said a name I hadn’t heard in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour ex-husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

I froze.<\/p>\n

My ex-husband.<\/p>\n

The man who had walked away from me and Sophia.<\/p>\n

The man who had supposedly left our lives forever.<\/p>\n

The man who had never once asked how we were doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n

My father spoke so quietly I almost couldn’t hear him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they’re trying to take the inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stood there, unable to move.<\/p>\n

Then another notification appeared on my phone.<\/p>\n

An unknown number.<\/p>\n

One sentence.<\/p>\n

You should have stayed out of the apartment, Laura.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I stared at it.<\/p>\n

A second message followed.<\/p>\n

Because now we’re coming for everything.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I looked at Adrian.<\/p>\n

He had seen my face change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

I handed him the phone.<\/p>\n

He read the messages.<\/p>\n

Then he slowly closed the folder.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaura,\u201d he said, \u201cI think this just became much bigger than an eviction case.\u201d<\/p>\n

And for the first time since my mother threw that bowl of soup into the sink, I realized something terrifying.<\/p>\n

My family hadn’t been fighting over a house.<\/p>\n

They had been fighting over money<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Money that legally belonged to me.<\/p>\n

And now that I knew the truth\u2026<\/p>\n

they were no longer trying to make me leave.<\/p>\n

They were trying to make me disappear…..<\/p>\n

Click Here to continuous Read\u200b\u200b\u200b\u200b Full Ending Story\ud83d\udc49PART(4): – My mother threw my daughter\u2019s soup onto the floor and pointed at the door. \u201cGet out. When you can\u2019t afford the rent, you\u2019ll come crawling back.\u201d<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PART 3 \u201cWhere is the notary?\u201d My father\u2019s question hung in the air. For the first time since I had walked into that repair shop, he didn\u2019t look afraid. He … <\/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-5742","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\/5742","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=5742"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5747,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5742\/revisions\/5747"}],"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=5742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}