{"id":22786,"date":"2026-10-12T03:36:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T03:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/?p=22786"},"modified":"2026-10-12T03:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T03:36:07","slug":"my-billionaire-boyfriends-mother-walked-into-my-vermont-farmhouse-placed-a-blank-check-on-my-kitchen-table-and-said-name-your-price-then-disappear-before-adrian-learns-that-child-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/?p=22786","title":{"rendered":"My billionaire boyfriend\u2019s mother walked into my Vermont farmhouse, placed a blank check on my kitchen table, and said, \u201cName your price. Then disappear before Adrian learns that child is his.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

My billionaire boyfriend\u2019s mother entered my little Vermont farmhouse, placed a blank check on my kitchen table, and said, \u201cWrite down whatever amount you want. Then disappear before Adrian discovers that little girl is his daughter.\u201d<\/strong><\/h1>\n

**Part 1**<\/p>\n

She believed the letter I\u2019d sent her son while I was pregnant had been destroyed.
\nWhat she didn\u2019t realize was that I\u2019d kept proof of everything.
\nAnd when a helicopter landed behind my farmhouse that afternoon, her carefully protected secret began falling apart.<\/p>\n

For almost two years, I\u2019d been the subject of endless gossip in Maple Ridge, Vermont.
\nPeople called me the waitress with the fatherless child.
\nSome claimed I\u2019d invented a relationship with a wealthy businessman because I was too embarrassed to admit the truth about my daughter\u2019s father.
\nOthers assumed he\u2019d abandoned me after discovering I was pregnant.
\nI never tried to defend myself.<\/p>\n

Every morning before sunrise, I left my little blue farmhouse and walked to Millie\u2019s Corner Caf\u00e9.
\nI served coffee to farmers, carried breakfast plates to truck drivers, and smiled politely when customers asked questions that were a little too personal.
\nThen I returned home to my daughter.
\nPoppy.
\nShe had soft brown curls, enormous gray eyes, and a laugh that could make even my most exhausting days feel worthwhile.
\nShe was almost two years old.
\nAnd every time I looked into her eyes, I saw her father.
\nAdrian Vale.<\/p>\n

My uncle Raymond was the only person who continued questioning my decision to remain silent.
\n\u201cElena, a man doesn\u2019t disappear for two years without a reason.\u201d
\n\u201cHe never knew about Poppy,\u201d I insisted.
\n\u201cYou wrote him a letter.\u201d
\n\u201cExactly.\u201d
\nRaymond would stare at me, unable to understand why that answer mattered.
\nWhat I hadn\u2019t told him was that I\u2019d spent those two years wondering whether Adrian had ever received the letter at all.<\/p>\n

Adrian and I met when he was spending time in Vermont, away from his family\u2019s enormous business empire.
\nBack then, he was simply Adrian.
\nA thoughtful man who enjoyed quiet mornings, ordinary conversations, and the peace of small-town life.
\nThen his father suffered a massive stroke.
\nAlmost overnight, Adrian returned to Manhattan and became deeply involved in a fierce corporate succession struggle.
\nHis old private number stopped working.
\nMessages sent to his personal email seemed to vanish into corporate systems.
\nAnd eventually, I learned I was pregnant.<\/p>\n

I tried contacting him.
\nWhen nothing worked, I sent a certified letter directly to Vale Tower in Manhattan.
\nAcross the envelope, I wrote:
\n**PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL \u2014 ADRIAN VALE**
\nInside, I told him everything.
\nThat I was expecting his child.
\nThat I wasn\u2019t seeking money.
\nThat I still loved him.
\nAnd that he could find me at my farmhouse whenever he was ready to talk.
\nI included my complete address.
\nSomeone at Vale Tower signed for the letter.
\nBut Adrian never replied.<\/p>\n

I kept the postal receipt, tracking confirmation, and a copy of my letter in a blue folder beneath my kitchen sink.
\nFor two years, that folder remained untouched.<\/p>\n

Until the afternoon a black SUV pulled into my driveway.
\nA silver-haired woman stepped out wearing an elegant cream-colored coat.
\nI recognized her immediately from business magazines.
\nCeleste Vale.
\nAdrian\u2019s mother.
\nA second person emerged carrying a leather briefcase.
\nHe appeared to be her attorney.<\/p>\n

I was standing in the kitchen when they approached.
\nPoppy was sitting on the floor, happily stacking wooden blocks.
\nCeleste entered without waiting for an invitation.
\nHer eyes moved across the modest room.
\nThen she noticed my daughter.
\nFor the briefest moment, her expression changed.
\nRecognition.
\nIt disappeared almost immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Vale?\u201d I asked.
\n\u201cMiss Brooks.\u201d
\nShe sat at my kitchen table and opened her handbag.
\nThen she placed a check in front of me.
\nIt was signed.
\nBut the amount was blank.
\n\u201cWrite whatever number you need to begin a new life somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked at the check.
\nThen at her.
\n\u201cWhy would I do that?\u201d
\nHer attorney stared at the floor.
\nCeleste leaned forward.
\n\u201cBecause my son cannot afford another distraction. Especially one involving a small-town waitress and a child born outside marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

My fingers went cold.
\nShe knew about Poppy.
\nNot suspected.
\nKnew.
\n\u201cHow long have you known about my daughter?\u201d
\nCeleste gave a faint smile.
\n\u201cLong enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

I looked toward her attorney.
\nHe refused to meet my eyes.
\n\u201cDid you intercept the letter I sent Adrian?\u201d
\nFor the first time, Celeste looked uncomfortable.
\nOnly briefly.
\nThen she recovered.
\n\u201cMy son receives an extraordinary amount of correspondence. Surely you don\u2019t expect him to remember every woman who writes to him claiming some personal connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared at her.
\nThere was something wrong with that answer.
\nI\u2019d never told Celeste that I\u2019d written to Adrian at his corporate office.
\nYet she\u2019d responded as though she knew exactly what I was talking about.<\/p>\n

I stood.
\nCeleste apparently interpreted that as a sign I was ready to accept the offer.
\n\u201cBe reasonable, Elena. Take the check. Buy a larger home. Give the child a proper education. Most women in your position would be grateful.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd if I refuse?\u201d
\nHer attorney finally looked up.
\nCeleste didn\u2019t hesitate.
\n\u201cThen people with considerably greater resources than yours will decide how this matter proceeds.\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment, Poppy toddled across the kitchen and wrapped her little arms around my leg.
\nI looked down at her.
\nThen back at Celeste.
\nShe watched my daughter without softening.
\n\u201cChildren adjust to new circumstances,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Something inside me settled.
\nI wasn\u2019t going to allow this woman to intimidate me out of my daughter\u2019s life.
\nI lifted Poppy onto my hip.
\nThen reached beneath the kitchen sink with my free hand.
\nI took out the blue folder.
\nThe moment Celeste saw it, her expression tightened.
\n\u201cWhat is that?\u201d
\n\u201cSomething you apparently assumed I\u2019d thrown away.\u201d<\/p>\n

I opened it.
\nInside were the certified-mail receipt, delivery confirmation, a photocopy of the letter, and a photograph Adrian had given me before returning to New York.
\nCeleste stood abruptly.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t understand what you\u2019re interfering with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before I could answer, a strange sound rolled across the fields behind the farmhouse.
\nA deep mechanical thudding.
\nThe windows began vibrating.
\nUncle Raymond came running from next door.
\nCeleste\u2019s attorney rushed toward the window.<\/p>\n

Outside, a black helicopter descended beyond the maple trees, sending waves through the tall summer grass.
\nThe side door opened.
\nA man stepped down.
\nTall.
\nDark-haired.
\nFamiliar.
\nEven after two years, I recognized him instantly.
\nAdrian.
\nHe was carrying an envelope.
\nMy envelope.<\/p>\n

Celeste whispered, \u201cNo.\u201d
\nPoppy looked from Adrian\u2019s photograph in my folder to the man approaching the house.
\nHer small fingers tightened around my shoulder.
\nThen she said a word she\u2019d learned from pointing at his picture.
\n\u201cDaddy.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n**Part 2**<\/p>\n

Adrian stopped in the doorway.
\nHis eyes moved from my daughter to his mother.
\nThen he placed the original letter on the kitchen table beside her blank check.
\nHe didn\u2019t try to hug me.
\nHe barely seemed to notice the money.
\nHe couldn\u2019t take his eyes off Poppy.<\/p>\n

Celeste was the first to speak.
\n\u201cYou have absolutely no proof that child belongs to you.\u201d
\nAdrian slowly turned toward her.
\n\u201cMaybe not yet,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I have proof of something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

He held up the envelope.
\nAcross the front was an internal routing stamp from Vale Tower.
\nBeneath it, written in red ink and dated twenty-four months earlier, were the words:
\n**HOLD FOR C. VALE. DO NOT FORWARD.**<\/p>\n

Celeste\u2019s attorney went pale.
\nAdrian placed another document on the table.
\n\u201cYou told me Elena wanted nothing to do with me. You even gave me a letter supposedly written by her.\u201d
\nI felt my stomach drop.
\n\u201cI never wrote a letter like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celeste\u2019s expression hardened.
\n\u201cIf you turn this into a public scandal, Adrian, the board will destroy you.\u201d
\nHe glanced toward the helicopter.
\nA professionally dressed woman was walking toward the farmhouse carrying a sealed legal case.
\nAdrian looked back at his mother.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s why I asked the board\u2019s attorney to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman entered my kitchen and closed the door behind her.
\nShe appeared to be in her fifties, with carefully styled hair and a silver pin bearing the Vale Corporation emblem.
\nShe set her case on my table.
\n\u201cMy name is Margaret Sloan. I\u2019m outside counsel for the Vale Corporation board.\u201d
\nCeleste\u2019s face had lost almost all its color.
\n\u201cYou had no authority to bring her here.\u201d
\nMargaret calmly opened her briefcase.
\n\u201cThe board authorized my involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian finally looked directly at me.
\nFor two years, I\u2019d imagined what would happen if we ever saw each other again.
\nI\u2019d imagined demanding explanations.
\nAccusing him of abandoning us.
\nTelling him how difficult the pregnancy had been.
\nHow many nights I\u2019d stayed awake with a crying baby.
\nHow lonely it felt when everyone assumed I\u2019d been rejected.
\nBut when he stood in front of me, the only words I could manage were:
\n\u201cYou found my letter.\u201d
\nHe lowered his eyes.
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cAfter two years.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celeste struck the table with her palm.
\n\u201cThis is absurd. Adrian, your father was critically ill. You were fighting to retain control of the corporation. You couldn\u2019t possibly have handled another crisis.\u201d
\nAdrian turned toward her.
\n\u201cAnd you knew Elena was pregnant.\u201d
\nIt wasn\u2019t a question.
\nCeleste didn\u2019t answer.
\n\u201cYou knew she was carrying my child.\u201d<\/p>\n

The kitchen became silent.
\nPoppy shifted in my arms.
\nAdrian looked at her again.
\nHis expression changed.
\nThere was no dramatic outburst.
\nNo shouting.
\nHe simply looked like a man suddenly realizing how much of his daughter\u2019s life had passed without him.
\nHer first steps.
\nHer first words.
\nHer first birthday.
\nEvery sleepless night.
\nEvery fever.
\nEvery ordinary morning.
\nAll those moments he\u2019d never experienced.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow old is she?\u201d he asked quietly.
\n\u201cTwenty-three months.\u201d
\nHe closed his eyes.
\n\u201cAlmost two years.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nWhen he opened his eyes again, they were wet.
\n\u201cShe called me Daddy.\u201d
\nI looked down at Poppy.
\n\u201cShe knows your face from the photograph.\u201d
\nAdrian glanced at the picture.
\nThe one I\u2019d kept because it was the only reminder of our relationship I could show her.
\n\u201cYou kept that?\u201d
\n\u201cOf course I did.\u201d
\nHe swallowed.
\n\u201cI thought you wanted me completely out of your life.\u201d
\n\u201cI sent you a letter, Adrian.\u201d
\n\u201cI never saw it.\u201d
\nI pointed toward the envelope.
\n\u201cSomeone did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret stepped forward.
\n\u201cAnd we have records showing exactly who received it.\u201d
\nShe opened the sealed case.
\nInside were company documents, correspondence logs, and investigative reports.
\nShe placed the first record on the table.
\n\u201cThis is the executive mailroom register from Vale Tower.\u201d
\nAdrian leaned closer.
\n\u201cYour certified letter arrived twenty-four months ago,\u201d Margaret explained. \u201cIt was addressed personally to Adrian.\u201d
\nShe turned the page toward him.
\nHe read the entry aloud.
\n\u201cReceived by C. Vale.\u201d
\nMargaret nodded.
\n\u201cCeleste Vale personally signed for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian stared at his mother.
\n\u201cYou took Elena\u2019s letter?\u201d
\nCeleste folded her arms.
\n\u201cI was protecting you.\u201d
\n\u201cYou prevented me from learning I had a child.\u201d
\n\u201cI was protecting the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Margaret opened another folder.
\n\u201cAnd that was not the only action taken.\u201d
\nShe placed a typed letter on the table.
\nIt carried my name and what appeared to be my signature.
\nI began reading.
\nMy stomach turned.
\nThe letter stated that I had decided to raise my baby independently.
\nThat I wanted no further relationship with Adrian.
\nAnd that I would never contact the Vale family again.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t write this.\u201d
\n\u201cI know,\u201d Margaret said.<\/p>\n

Adrian picked up the document.
\nHe looked toward his mother.
\n\u201cYou had her signature forged?\u201d
\nCeleste shook her head.
\n\u201cI did nothing of the kind.\u201d
\nMargaret produced an examination report.
\n\u201cThe signature appears to have been digitally reproduced from a document already stored in the company\u2019s files.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attorney who\u2019d arrived with Celeste suddenly interrupted.
\n\u201cMrs. Vale, you should stop speaking.\u201d
\nShe turned sharply toward him.
\n\u201cYou work for me.\u201d
\nHe removed his identification badge from his jacket and placed it on the table.
\n\u201cNot anymore.\u201d
\nCeleste stared.
\nHe continued.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve been assisting the board\u2019s investigation for the past three weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian\u2019s expression hardened.
\n\u201cYou knew this was happening?\u201d
\nThe lawyer looked down.
\n\u201cI knew enough to begin cooperating.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time since arriving at my farmhouse, Celeste seemed genuinely frightened.
\nShe turned toward me.
\n\u201cYou have no understanding of what could have happened if Adrian learned about the pregnancy during the succession battle.\u201d
\nI looked her directly in the eye.
\n\u201cHe would have known he had a daughter.\u201d
\n\u201cYou could have become a target.\u201d
\n\u201cI was already alone and pregnant because of what you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

My voice trembled.
\nBut I continued.
\n\u201cI never asked for your family\u2019s money.\u201d
\nI pointed toward the blank check.
\n\u201cI only wanted Adrian to know the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adrian lowered his head.
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Elena.\u201d
\nHis apology was barely audible.
\nI looked at him.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t apologize for simply losing two years.\u201d
\nHe looked confused.
\n\u201cThen what should I apologize for?\u201d
\n\u201cFor believing I\u2019d disappear from your life without explaining why.\u201d
\nHe swallowed.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re right. I should have known you better.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\nThat single word seemed to hurt him more than an angry speech could have.<\/p>\n

At that moment, Poppy reached toward him.
\nAdrian froze.
\nShe extended one tiny hand.
\n\u201cDaddy.\u201d
\nHe looked at me for permission.
\nI nodded.
\nHe stepped forward slowly.
\nI carefully placed Poppy in his arms.
\nHis hands were trembling.
\nFor several seconds, they simply stared at each other.
\nThen she touched his cheek.
\nAdrian laughed softly through his tears.
\n\u201cHello, sweetheart.\u201d
\nPoppy smiled.
\nI felt my own eyes fill.<\/p>\n

Nothing about our situation was suddenly fixed.
\nTwo years couldn\u2019t be returned.
\nTrust wouldn\u2019t be rebuilt in one afternoon.
\nBut for the first time, Poppy was being held by her father.<\/p>\n

Celeste watched from across the kitchen.
\n\u201cYou think this is finished?\u201d
\nMargaret closed the folder.
\n\u201cNot remotely.\u201d
\nShe turned toward Celeste.
\n\u201cThe board has voted to suspend your control over Vale Foundation assets while the investigation continues.\u201d
\nCeleste looked at Adrian.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re really allowing them to do this to your own mother?\u201d
\nHe held Poppy a little closer.
\n\u201cYou did this to your own granddaughter.\u201d
\nCeleste had no answer.<\/p>\n

Outside, the helicopter\u2019s engines started again.
\nMargaret gathered another set of documents.
\n\u201cMiss Brooks, there\u2019s something else you should understand.\u201d
\nI looked at her.
\n\u201cThe board has ordered an independent examination of accounts connected with the foundation.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\nShe glanced toward Celeste.
\n\u201cInvestigators identified irregular transfers involving several charitable trusts.\u201d
\nAdrian frowned.
\n\u201cHow much money?\u201d
\nMargaret hesitated.
\n\u201cApproximately forty-two million dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

The room went completely silent.
\nCeleste spoke in a strained voice.
\n\u201cThat information is confidential.\u201d
\nMargaret looked at her calmly.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s now part of the investigation.\u201d
\nThe attorney who\u2019d accompanied Celeste stepped farther away.
\n\u201cI strongly advise you to obtain independent legal counsel before making any additional statements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celeste looked around the room.
\nAt the attorney.
\nAt Margaret.
\nAt Adrian holding Poppy.
\nThen she reached for the blank check.
\nHer hand shook slightly.
\n\u201cYou could have walked away wealthy,\u201d she told me.
\nI shook my head.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s never what I wanted.\u201d
\n\u201cThen what exactly did you want?\u201d
\nI looked toward Adrian.
\n\u201cThe truth.\u201d
\nHe stepped beside me.
\n\u201cAnd now she knows it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Celeste gave a bitter smile.
\n\u201cYou really believe money doesn\u2019t change people\u2019s lives?\u201d
\nI looked around my farmhouse.
\nAt the scratched wooden table.
\nThe old coffee mug beside the sink.
\nPoppy\u2019s colorful blocks scattered across the floor.
\nThe kitchen where I\u2019d spent countless evenings wondering whether I could afford groceries and childcare.
\n\u201cMoney has already changed enough,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

I picked up the check.
\nFor a moment, Celeste looked hopeful.
\nThen I tore it in half.
\nAnd dropped the pieces into the trash.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want yours.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n**Part 3**<\/p>\n

Adrian looked at me.
\n\u201cWhat do you want from me, Elena?\u201d
\nI considered the question.
\nThen answered.
\n\u201cTime.\u201d
\nHis face softened.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t return the years we lost.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, you can\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cBut I can make sure Poppy grows up knowing her father wants to be part of her life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poppy reached between us and grabbed both our hands.
\nAdrian smiled.
\nNot the polished expression I\u2019d seen in business magazines.
\nA real smile.
\nThe smile of a tired man holding his little girl in a small farmhouse kitchen.
\nAnd for the first time in two years, I allowed myself to hope.<\/p>\n

Over the following months, the investigation into Celeste\u2019s activities attracted national attention.
\nShe resigned from her positions connected to Vale Corporation.
\nThe intercepted correspondence and fraudulent letter became part of the formal legal proceedings.
\nInvestigators continued examining the questionable foundation transactions.
\nEventually, most of the missing charitable funds were recovered.<\/p>\n

But Adrian didn\u2019t use his wealth to take over my life.
\nHe didn\u2019t insist that Poppy and I move into an enormous mansion.
\nInstead, he purchased the farmhouse next door.
\nHe renovated it gradually, room by room.
\nAnd he left my little blue house exactly as it was.
\nBecause he\u2019d finally understood something important.
\nVermont wasn\u2019t where I\u2019d hidden because I was frightened of the world.
\nIt was my home.<\/p>\n

On Poppy\u2019s second birthday, Adrian came over carrying a small cake.
\nThere were no photographers.
\nNo executives.
\nNo extravagant celebration.
\nJust a few people who loved one little girl.
\nAdrian helped Poppy blow out the candles.
\nShe rewarded him by smearing frosting across his nose.
\nHe laughed.
\nI laughed too.
\nAnd for a few moments, everything felt wonderfully ordinary.<\/p>\n

Later that night, after Poppy was asleep, Adrian joined me on the porch.
\nThe air was cool.
\nThe fields were quiet.
\nHe stood beside me for a while before speaking.
\n\u201cI read your letter again.\u201d
\nI turned toward him.
\n\u201cWhat did you think?\u201d
\nHe looked down.
\n\u201cYou told me you weren\u2019t asking for financial help.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u201d
\n\u201cYou said you loved me.\u201d
\nI looked away.
\n\u201cAnd you wrote that if I didn\u2019t want to be involved, you would understand.\u201d
\nI swallowed.
\n\u201cI never said I didn\u2019t want you.\u201d
\n\u201cI know that now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He reached for my hand.
\n\u201cI want to spend the rest of my life showing you that I understand the difference.\u201d
\nI looked toward the small upstairs window where Poppy was sleeping.
\nThen back at him.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t have to prove everything tonight.\u201d
\nHe squeezed my fingers.
\n\u201cThen what do I need to do?\u201d
\nI smiled gently.
\n\u201cCome back tomorrow.\u201d
\nHe smiled too.
\n\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when Adrian walked down the porch steps that evening, I didn\u2019t stand there wondering whether he would vanish again.
\nI knew rebuilding our relationship would take patience.
\nThere would be difficult conversations.
\nQuestions we hadn\u2019t answered.
\nAnd memories neither of us could erase.<\/p>\n

But the letter his mother tried to bury had finally reached him.
\nThe truth had finally been revealed.
\nAnd the little girl everyone had dismissed as fatherless now had a father who was ready to show up.
\nNot merely with money.
\nNot with promises he couldn\u2019t guarantee.
\nBut with the one thing we\u2019d needed from the very beginning.
\nHis presence.<\/p>\n

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

My billionaire boyfriend\u2019s mother entered my little Vermont farmhouse, placed a blank check on my kitchen table, and said, \u201cWrite down whatever amount you want. Then disappear before Adrian discovers … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,16,6,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-news","category-real-life-story"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22787,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22786\/revisions\/22787"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyreadin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}