{"id":7242,"date":"2026-10-21T20:20:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-21T20:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/?p=7242"},"modified":"2026-10-21T20:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-21T20:20:37","slug":"part-8-three-days-after-i-quietly-sold-my-farm-for-39-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/?p=7242","title":{"rendered":"PART 8: \u2013 \u201cThree days after I quietly sold my farm for $39 million,\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

PART 8 \u2014 THE NIGHT I WAS BORN
\n<\/span>I drove home without turning on the radio.
\n<\/span>I didn’t want music.
\n<\/span>I didn’t want noise.
\n<\/span>I didn’t even want to hear my own thoughts.
\n<\/span>But they wouldn’t stop.
\n<\/span>Daniel was at our house the night you were born.
\n<\/strong>Those words kept repeating in my head.
\n<\/span>Why?
\n<\/span>Why would a man who supposedly entered my family’s life years later have been there on the night I was born?
\n<\/span>And why had my mother written:
\n<\/span>Don’t trust the person who tells you your father was innocent.
\n<\/strong>I pulled into the driveway and sat in the car for several minutes.
\n<\/span>The house looked exactly the same.
\n<\/span>The same porch.
\n<\/span>The same windows.
\n<\/span>The same tree Dad had planted when I was a child.
\n<\/span>Yet everything felt different now.
\n<\/span>Because every familiar object seemed to contain a secret.
\n<\/span>I walked inside.
\n<\/span>Ranata was waiting.
\n<\/span>She stood in the kitchen with her arms folded.
\n<\/span>\u201cYou found something.\u201d
\n<\/span>It wasn’t a question.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

I placed the photograph on the table.<\/p>\n

Her face changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere did you get that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLocker 214.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Then at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cFay\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon’t.\u201d<\/p>\n

I placed the document beside the photograph.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me about the night I was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ranata went completely still.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou heard me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked away.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know anything about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re lying.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou knew about Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou knew Dad was afraid of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou knew Daniel came to the farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAnd now I’m supposed to believe you know nothing about the night I was born?\u201d<\/p>\n

She sat down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was only five.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat doesn’t mean you don’t know what Mom and Dad told you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

She rubbed her hands together.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were things they never discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBecause Dad said some memories were better left buried.\u201d<\/p>\n

I pulled out the photograph.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we’re digging them up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ranata looked at it.<\/p>\n

Her expression changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAnd that’s Daniel.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

She pointed at the third person.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

She studied the photograph.<\/p>\n

Then suddenly she whispered:<\/p>\n

\u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI’ve seen him.\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart jumped.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cGrandmother’s house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYears ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho was he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must know something.\u201d<\/p>\n

She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Grandma telling Mom not to let that man near you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

I pulled out my phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cCall Grandma’s old lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ranata looked confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe passed away years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBut her estate attorney may still have records.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThen we’re going to find them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

The next morning, we went to the county records office.<\/p>\n

I had requested copies of my birth records before, but I had never requested the complete file.<\/p>\n

I had always assumed my birth certificate was the whole story.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t.<\/p>\n

The clerk placed a large envelope on the counter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour original hospital record was transferred here after the hospital closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

I signed for it.<\/p>\n

My hands were already cold.<\/p>\n

Ranata stood beside me.<\/p>\n

We opened the envelope together.<\/p>\n

Birth certificate.<\/p>\n

Hospital admission form.<\/p>\n

Mother’s identification.<\/p>\n

Father’s identification.<\/p>\n

Physician’s notes.<\/p>\n

Then I saw something strange.<\/p>\n

A visitor log.<\/p>\n

I looked at the date.<\/p>\n

The night I was born.<\/p>\n

There were several names.<\/p>\n

My father.<\/p>\n

My grandmother.<\/p>\n

A nurse.<\/p>\n

A doctor.<\/p>\n

Then one name made my entire body freeze.<\/p>\n

Daniel Mercer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Ranata covered her mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was really there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

I turned the page.<\/p>\n

Under his name was a handwritten note:<\/p>\n

Authorized by father.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My father had authorized Daniel to enter the maternity ward.<\/p>\n

I felt sick.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would Dad do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ranata shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

I kept reading.<\/p>\n

Daniel had arrived at 11:18 p.m.<\/p>\n

I was born at 11:42 p.m.<\/p>\n

He left at 12:06 a.m.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four minutes.<\/p>\n

That’s all.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four minutes.<\/p>\n

What could possibly have happened in twenty-four minutes?<\/p>\n

Then I noticed another document.<\/p>\n

A supplemental record.<\/p>\n

It had been added years later.<\/p>\n

The wording was strange.<\/p>\n

Identity verification requested.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

I read further.<\/p>\n

The request had been submitted when I was seventeen.<\/p>\n

By whom?<\/p>\n

The answer was hidden under a blacked-out section.<\/p>\n

But the signature was still visible.<\/p>\n

Miriam Cole.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My hands trembled.<\/p>\n

Miriam had requested verification of my identity when I was seventeen.<\/p>\n

Before Daniel’s financial schemes.<\/p>\n

Before the property disputes.<\/p>\n

Before the $39 million sale.<\/p>\n

Before I knew any of these people were connected.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

I photographed the page.<\/p>\n

Then I noticed something else.<\/p>\n

A second signature.<\/p>\n

Someone had approved the request.<\/p>\n

Arthur Cole.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

Miriam.<\/p>\n

Arthur.<\/p>\n

Brother and sister.<\/p>\n

Both involved in my birth records.<\/p>\n

Both connected to my father’s secret.<\/p>\n

Neither had ever told me.<\/p>\n

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

This wasn’t a financial investigation anymore.<\/p>\n

It was an identity investigation.<\/p>\n

And I had no idea what they were afraid I would discover.<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

That afternoon, I called Miriam.<\/p>\n

She answered immediately.<\/p>\n

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

I frowned.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat you found the birth records.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cArthur called me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn’t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBut you didn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

She was silent.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause your father made me promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

I laughed bitterly.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone keeps saying my father made them promise something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was trying to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat isn’t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThen give me the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cFay, your father believed there was a chance you had been targeted before you were even old enough to understand what was happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cTargeted by whom?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Daniel was at the hospital the night I was born.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cBecause your father asked him to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would my father ask Daniel to come?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted Daniel to verify something.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Miriam hesitated.<\/p>\n

Then said:<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father wasn’t certain the hospital had recorded everything correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means there was another child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

My heart seemed to stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother child?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWas it born the same night?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWas it a boy or a girl?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why does this involve me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the records were changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cHospital records.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThat’s what your father spent years trying to determine.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sat down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you telling me my birth records were altered?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWho altered them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe never proved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what did Daniel do that night?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam’s voice became quiet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn’t there to hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why was he there?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was there because your father believed Daniel had access to information about the other child.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n

The other child.<\/p>\n

My parents.<\/p>\n

Daniel.<\/p>\n

The hidden records.<\/p>\n

Everything was connected.<\/p>\n

But something still didn’t make sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would my father hide this from me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he believed the truth could put you in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cShe knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cSo both of them knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cShe knew nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

I thought about Ranata.<\/p>\n

For the first time, I wondered if she really had been the least informed person in the family.<\/p>\n

Miriam continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is one more thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYour mother left a sealed statement.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWith me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn’t you give it to me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause your father asked me not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThen why are you still obeying him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Silence.<\/p>\n

Then Miriam said:<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he wasn’t the only one who asked me to keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho else?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

I felt my chest tighten.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen can I get it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n

Miriam’s office was almost empty when I arrived.<\/p>\n

She sat behind her desk.<\/p>\n

A sealed envelope lay in front of her.<\/p>\n

No name.<\/p>\n

No address.<\/p>\n

Just one date.<\/p>\n

The date I was born.<\/p>\n

She pushed it toward me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mother wrote this eighteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cBecause she believed that if you reached eighteen without the truth finding you, you were old enough to handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThen why didn’t she give it to me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe died before she could.\u201d<\/p>\n

I opened it.<\/p>\n

Inside was a single handwritten letter.<\/p>\n

I recognized her handwriting immediately.<\/p>\n

My hands shook as I read.<\/p>\n

Fay,<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are reading this, then the people who promised to protect you have finally failed to keep the secret.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I stopped.<\/p>\n

My eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n

I continued.<\/p>\n

You will probably hate me for what I did. I understand that. But there are things a mother does when she believes her child is in danger. Sometimes those choices look like betrayal from the outside.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I turned the page.<\/p>\n

Your father wanted to tell you everything. I stopped him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My breathing became shallow.<\/p>\n

Not because I trusted Daniel.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because I was afraid of what would happen if Daniel discovered what we knew.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I read faster.<\/p>\n

The child born that night was not supposed to disappear.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My hands froze.<\/p>\n

The room seemed to disappear around me.<\/p>\n

Someone changed the records.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Someone made sure only one birth was officially remembered.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

She said nothing.<\/p>\n

I continued reading.<\/p>\n

Your father believed the other child was taken because of a financial arrangement made before either of us understood what was happening.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My heart pounded.<\/p>\n

The farm was never the beginning.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I stared at that sentence.<\/p>\n

The same words Dad had written.<\/p>\n

The farm was never the beginning.<\/p>\n

I turned the page.<\/p>\n

There was only one final paragraph.<\/p>\n

If you ever discover the truth, don’t ask where the other child went. Ask who paid for the records to be changed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below that was a name.<\/p>\n

Not Daniel.<\/p>\n

Not Ranata.<\/p>\n

Not my father.<\/p>\n

Not Miriam.<\/p>\n

A name I had never seen before.<\/p>\n

Elias Voss.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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

\u201cWho is Elias Voss?\u201d<\/p>\n

She went pale.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou found the name.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI was hoping you wouldn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam stood.<\/p>\n

\u201cFay, you need to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPlease.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

She walked toward the window.<\/p>\n

\u201cElias Voss was the man who financed your father’s first business.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThat’s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHow long did Dad know him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n

I felt dizzy.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cDaniel worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

I froze.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cDaniel wasn’t the person at the top.\u201d<\/p>\n

I remembered Arthur’s words.<\/p>\n

Daniel wasn’t the person controlling the agreement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Miriam continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cDaniel was an intermediary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBetween my father and Elias?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

\u201cElias knew about it before you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn’t breathe.<\/p>\n

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

Miriam looked at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause your father used your future inheritance as security.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMy inheritance?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I bought the farm myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou believe you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father arranged the purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stepped backward.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHe used a trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cFay\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

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

I shook my head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have the purchase documents.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cMy name is on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe money came from my account.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThen how could my father have arranged it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Miriam’s expression was heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the money in your account didn’t originally belong to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n

Everything I believed about the farm began collapsing.<\/p>\n

The $39 million.<\/p>\n

The property.<\/p>\n

The financial records.<\/p>\n

My father’s letter.<\/p>\n

Daniel.<\/p>\n

Elias Voss.<\/p>\n

The hidden child.<\/p>\n

My birth records.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t a collection of separate mysteries.<\/p>\n

It was one story.<\/p>\n

And somehow, I had been at the center of it since before I could remember.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhere is Elias Voss now?\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven’t seen him in years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he alive?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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

She looked at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast I heard, he was living under another name.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Before she could answer, someone knocked on the office door.<\/p>\n

Three slow knocks.<\/p>\n

Miriam’s face changed.<\/p>\n

She whispered:<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n

The knocking came again.<\/p>\n

Three times.<\/p>\n

Miriam walked toward the door.<\/p>\n

I grabbed her arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon’t.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at me.<\/p>\n

\u201cFay\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is outside?\u201d<\/p>\n

She whispered:<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone who was supposed to be dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

The door opened.<\/p>\n

A man stood in the hallway.<\/p>\n

Older.<\/p>\n

Gray-haired.<\/p>\n

Calm.<\/p>\n

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

But Miriam recognized him immediately.<\/p>\n

She stepped backward.<\/p>\n

The man looked directly at me.<\/p>\n

Then he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father lied to you about why you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n

My heart stopped.<\/p>\n

He reached into his coat.<\/p>\n

Miriam shouted:<\/p>\n

\u201cDon’t!\u201d<\/p>\n

The man pulled out a photograph.<\/p>\n

He placed it on the desk.<\/p>\n

It showed my mother.<\/p>\n

My father.<\/p>\n

Daniel.<\/p>\n

And Elias Voss.<\/p>\n

But this photograph was different.<\/p>\n

It had been taken before I was born<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On the back was a handwritten date.<\/p>\n

And beneath it were five words:<\/p>\n

The night the deal was made.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I looked at the man.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled sadly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy name is Elias Voss.\u201d<\/p>\n

The room went silent.<\/p>\n

Then he looked at me and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Fay\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

He paused.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve been waiting eighteen years to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n

My entire body went cold.<\/p>\n

Because if Elias Voss had been waiting eighteen years to meet me\u2026<\/p>\n

then he knew something about me that even my parents had never told me.<\/p>\n

And judging from the fear on Miriam’s face\u2014<\/p>\n

whatever he was about to reveal could change everything….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUOUS READ FULL ENDING STORY PART\ud83d\udc49 (9): \u2013 \u201cThree days after I quietly sold my farm for $39 million,\u201d<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PART 8 \u2014 THE NIGHT I WAS BORN I drove home without turning on the radio. I didn’t want music. I didn’t want noise. I didn’t even want to hear … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7242","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\/7242","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=7242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7247,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7242\/revisions\/7247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}