{"id":18361,"date":"2026-05-12T13:42:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T06:42:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/?p=18361"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:42:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T06:42:55","slug":"i-refused-to-cosign-my-sisters-mortgage-then-my-brother-in-law-beat-me-so-badly-i-woke-up-in-the-hospital-with-a-dislocated-shoulder-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/?p=18361","title":{"rendered":"I Wouldn\u2019t Sign the Mortgage Papers for My Sister\u2014So Her Husband Sent Me to the Hospital Instead."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t only the assault,\u201d I murmured. \u201cYou need to check the mortgage paperwork too.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/header>\n

\n

Officer Delgado\u2019s expression sharpened immediately.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

My mother stopped sobbing for a split second.<\/p>\n

My father\u2019s hand clenched the chair so tightly his knuckles lost all color.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhat are you saying?\u201d Officer Delgado asked.<\/p>\n

I swallowed hard, pain scraping all the way down my throat. \u201cEthan kept insisting it was only a routine step. Vanessa said the bank just needed my signature. But when I looked through the documents in the garage\u2026\u201d My voice shook, but I pushed through it. \u201cSome pages already had my name typed in like I\u2019d already agreed. One document even looked signed. But I never signed anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

The officer\u2019s face shifted.<\/p>\n

Not dramatically.<\/p>\n

Not like television.<\/p>\n

Just enough.<\/p>\n

Her pen froze in midair.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you actually see a signature?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw something that looked like mine,\u201d I answered quietly. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother covered her mouth. \u201cNo. Vanessa wouldn\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d my father said heavily. \u201cShe would.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Mom slowly turned toward him. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dad looked like every word hurt coming out. \u201cI saw Ethan carrying paperwork a few days ago. He asked where we kept old tax files. Said Vanessa needed records showing family address history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael\u2026\u201d my mother whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was connected to the mortgage.\u201d His eyes met mine, filled with shame so deep it almost hurt worse than my shoulder. \u201cI gave him a storage box from the hallway closet.\u201d<\/p>\n

My chest tightened painfully.<\/p>\n

That box contained everything.<\/p>\n

School records. Copies of my birth certificate. My Social Security paperwork from years ago when Mom helped me replace it. Old bank records from when I still lived at home.<\/p>\n

Everything Ethan needed to create a counterfeit version of me.<\/p>\n

Officer Delgado stood up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need your permission to place a fraud alert on your credit and contact the lender.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have it,\u201d I said instantly.<\/p>\n

My mother broke into sobs. \u201cOh God\u2026 what have we done?\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time in my life, I didn\u2019t try to comfort her.<\/p>\n

Because something inside me had finally settled.<\/p>\n

Not numbness.<\/p>\n

Clarity.<\/p>\n

I had spent years making myself smaller to keep peace in this family, and they had mistaken my silence for consent.<\/p>\n

Two hours later, Officer Delgado returned with Detective Carter carrying a folder beneath his arm.<\/p>\n

His expression warned me before he even spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s worse than we expected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

My father dropped heavily into a chair.<\/p>\n

Detective Carter opened the file. \u201cThe bank received an application three weeks ago. You were listed as a co-borrower, not merely a cosigner.\u201d<\/p>\n

I blinked. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour income figures were exaggerated. Your work history was altered. Your savings were falsely inflated.\u201d He studied me carefully. \u201cThere were also copies of your identification, tax documents, and banking records attached.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mouth went dry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s identity theft,\u201d Officer Delgado said softly.<\/p>\n

Detective Carter nodded. \u201cForgery. Attempted mortgage fraud. Conspiracy. Assault. Coercion. Possibly wire fraud depending on what else turns up.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother made a tiny, shattered sound.<\/p>\n

I stared up at the ceiling.<\/p>\n

Vanessa never wanted my support.<\/p>\n

She wanted my identity on paper.<\/p>\n

My good credit. My reliable salary. My years of careful saving.<\/p>\n

And when I refused to go along with it, Ethan tried to beat my agreement out of me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are they now?\u201d I asked quietly.<\/p>\n

The detective exchanged a glance with Delgado.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re being brought in for questioning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cQuestioning?\u201d my father barked, standing abruptly. \u201cThat man almost killed my daughter!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael,\u201d Mom whispered weakly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d Dad\u2019s voice cracked like splitting wood. \u201cNo, don\u2019t tell me to calm down. I let him into my garage. I let him near my daughter. I handed him that box.\u201d<\/p>\n

He turned away, pressing his fist against his mouth.<\/p>\n

For years, my father had been the quiet parent. The one who disappeared into the garage whenever Vanessa screamed, who lowered the TV when Mom cried, who always told me, \u201cJust let your sister cool down.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there was no cooling down now.<\/p>\n

Only destruction.<\/p>\n

And evidence.<\/p>\n

By the next morning, my face was swollen so badly I could barely open one eye. My shoulder felt disconnected from the rest of me. Every breath dragged pain across my ribs.<\/p>\n

Still, when Detective Carter returned, I forced myself upright.<\/p>\n

This time he carried a tablet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recovered security footage from your parents\u2019 garage.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother flinched instantly.<\/p>\n

Dad stared at the floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a camera?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

Dad nodded slowly. \u201cI installed it after some tools got stolen last winter. I forgot about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For one awful moment, no one spoke.<\/p>\n

Then Detective Carter said quietly, \u201cIt recorded everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

My stomach twisted.<\/p>\n

Everything.<\/p>\n

Vanessa sliding the paperwork toward me.<\/p>\n

Ethan hitting me.<\/p>\n

My scream when my shoulder dislocated.<\/p>\n

My sister\u2019s voice saying, \u201cMaybe now you\u2019ll stop being selfish.\u201d<\/p>\n

The detective didn\u2019t need to show me the video.<\/p>\n

I already carried every second of it beneath my skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cEthan claims you attacked him first,\u201d the detective said. \u201cThe footage destroys that story.\u201d<\/p>\n

A bitter laugh escaped me before turning into a painful gasp.<\/p>\n

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

His mouth tightened. \u201cShe says she didn\u2019t know the paperwork was fraudulent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Of course she did.<\/p>\n

Vanessa always knew exactly when to cry.<\/p>\n

When we were children, she shattered my grandmother\u2019s porcelain angel and cried until Mom blamed me instead. In high school, she stole twenty dollars from Dad\u2019s wallet and claimed I needed lunch money. When she wrecked Mom\u2019s car at nineteen, she said I distracted her by calling.<\/p>\n

And every single time, they believed her.<\/p>\n

Because Vanessa was louder.<\/p>\n

Because she exploded publicly.<\/p>\n

And I quietly cleaned up the damage afterward.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes the video show her reaction?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

Detective Carter nodded once. \u201cVery clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n

That afternoon, my parents stepped into the hallway to speak with the doctor, and for the first time since waking up, I was alone.<\/p>\n

Then my phone buzzed beside me.<\/p>\n

Vanessa.<\/p>\n

My hand trembled staring at her name.<\/p>\n

Another buzz.<\/p>\n

Then another.<\/p>\n

Finally, a voicemail appeared.<\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t have listened.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

But some wounds need to hear the knife apologize.<\/p>\n

Her voice came through shaky and rushed.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cEmma, please. You have to tell them this whole thing is a misunderstanding. Ethan\u2019s terrified. I\u2019m terrified. You don\u2019t understand what\u2019s happening. We were desperate. The house was supposed to fix everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe kids need that house,\u201d she continued. \u201cYou don\u2019t have children, so maybe you don\u2019t understand what it feels like to want a real home.\u201d<\/p>\n

There it was again.<\/p>\n

My life measured against what I lacked.<\/p>\n

No husband.<\/p>\n

No children.<\/p>\n

No mortgage.<\/p>\n

So apparently I had no right to pain.<\/p>\n

Then Vanessa lowered her voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd before you destroy us, maybe ask Dad what he did.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The voicemail ended.<\/p>\n

When my parents came back into the room, I was still gripping the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did she mean?\u201d I asked quietly.<\/p>\n

Mom froze.<\/p>\n

Dad\u2019s face drained of color.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did Vanessa mean when she said I should ask Dad what he did?\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother slowly sat down like her legs no longer worked.<\/p>\n

Dad stayed silent.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He suddenly looked ten years older.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you were twenty-one,\u201d he said quietly, \u201cafter you moved out, Vanessa got into debt. Credit cards. Payday loans. Things we didn\u2019t know about until debt collectors started calling.\u201d<\/p>\n

I remembered that year clearly. Mom constantly begged me to visit because Vanessa was supposedly \u201cfragile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dad swallowed hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe asked us for help. I refused at first. Then she said\u2026\u201d He stopped.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said if we didn\u2019t help her, she\u2019d disappear. Maybe do something worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother began crying silently.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we paid it,\u201d Dad said weakly. \u201cWe used part of the savings we had set aside.\u201d<\/p>\n

I frowned. \u201cWhat savings?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mom looked toward him helplessly.<\/p>\n

Dad whispered, \u201cThe money your grandmother left for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The room tilted.<\/p>\n

For one second, the hospital vanished.<\/p>\n

No machines.<\/p>\n

No footsteps.<\/p>\n

No distant voices.<\/p>\n

Only my heartbeat.<\/p>\n

Once.<\/p>\n

Twice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy inheritance?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n

Dad closed his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe left money for both of you,\u201d Mom said through tears. \u201cBut Vanessa needed help right away, and you were always so responsible. We thought\u2026 we thought you\u2019d be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Responsible.<\/p>\n

That word had haunted me my entire life.<\/p>\n

I was responsible, so I received less attention.<\/p>\n

Responsible, so I needed less support.<\/p>\n

Responsible, so my emergencies could wait.<\/p>\n

Responsible, so they stole from me and called it trust in my strength.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much?\u201d I asked quietly.<\/p>\n

Dad\u2019s mouth trembled.<\/p>\n

\u201cSixty-eight thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number hit harder than Ethan\u2019s fist.<\/p>\n

Sixty-eight thousand.<\/p>\n

Enough for a down payment.<\/p>\n

Enough for graduate school.<\/p>\n

Enough to escape every terrible apartment I had ever rented.<\/p>\n

Enough to breathe.<\/p>\n

And they handed it to Vanessa because she knew how to collapse louder than I ever did.<\/p>\n

I turned my face away.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mom gasped. \u201cEmma\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dad took a step toward me. \u201cPlease, sweetheart\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t call me that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stopped immediately.<\/p>\n

I looked at them with my one good eye. \u201cEthan dislocated my shoulder. Vanessa tried stealing my identity. But the two of you taught her exactly where the door was.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother shattered completely.<\/p>\n

My father looked ready to fall to his knees.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n

Not then.<\/p>\n

Maybe not ever.<\/p>\n

They left without another word.<\/p>\n

That night I never slept.<\/p>\n

Pain rolled through me in waves. Nurses came and went. Machines beeped endlessly. Somewhere down the hallway, somebody laughed, and the sound felt obscene.<\/p>\n

Just before dawn, Officer Delgado returned.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry to bother you,\u201d she said softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not bothering me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She hesitated briefly. \u201cYour sister has been arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n

I let out a slow breath.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cHe\u2019s in custody. The lender is cooperating. They uncovered emails between him and Vanessa discussing your documents.\u201d<\/p>\n

My hand tightened around the blanket.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did the emails say?\u201d<\/p>\n

Officer Delgado\u2019s expression darkened.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne line stood out.\u201d She opened her notebook. \u201cVanessa wrote, \u2018Emma always says no at first, but Mom and Dad know how to wear her down.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

For a second, I couldn\u2019t breathe.<\/p>\n

Not because of my ribs.<\/p>\n

Because deep inside me, one final fragile thread snapped apart.<\/p>\n

Mom and Dad know how to wear her down.<\/p>\n

That was the plan.<\/p>\n

Not persuasion.<\/p>\n

Not love.<\/p>\n

A carefully organized demolition.<\/p>\n

Delgado shut the notebook slowly. \u201cThere\u2019s more. The bank flagged another name connected to the mortgage application. Someone listed as an additional source of funds.\u201d<\/p>\n

I frowned. \u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

She studied me carefully.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

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

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cMy grandmother is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Delgado said quietly. \u201cBut someone attempted to use an account under her name as proof of reserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A chill crawled across my skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat account shouldn\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does,\u201d she replied. \u201cAnd preliminary records show your father opened it years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everything inside me went silent again.<\/p>\n

Only this time, the silence felt dangerous.<\/p>\n

A week later, I was discharged from the hospital with bruises spreading across my body like storm clouds. Every step hurt, but I went straight from the hospital to the district attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Detective Carter, Officer Delgado, a prosecutor, and a financial crimes investigator were waiting.<\/p>\n

So were my parents.<\/p>\n

My mother looked destroyed.<\/p>\n

My father looked hollowed out.<\/p>\n

Vanessa and Ethan weren\u2019t there. Their lawyer had advised them not to come.<\/p>\n

Probably the smartest decision either of them had ever made.<\/p>\n

The investigator slid paperwork across the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour grandmother established two trusts before she died,\u201d he explained. \u201cOne for Vanessa. One for you. Your parents controlled them until you turned twenty-five.\u201d<\/p>\n

I stared down at the papers.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were told the money was gone,\u201d he continued. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t entirely gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dad buried his face in his hands.<\/p>\n

The investigator continued, \u201cYour trust still contains approximately one hundred forty-two thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother gasped aloud.<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYour father withdrew money years ago,\u201d the investigator said carefully. \u201cBut not all of it. The remaining funds were hidden within a structure designed to avoid casual discovery. Recently, someone attempted to use the account to support the mortgage application.\u201d<\/p>\n

I turned toward my father.<\/p>\n

His eyes were red.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n

He broke apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was going to return it,\u201d he whispered. \u201cI swear. I kept telling myself I\u2019d fix everything before you found out.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

He had no answer.<\/p>\n

And that silence answered everything.<\/p>\n

Mom grabbed for my hand, but I pulled away.<\/p>\n

Then the prosecutor said something none of us expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s another matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

He placed a second document on the table.<\/p>\n

A birth certificate.<\/p>\n

Mine.<\/p>\n

But the father\u2019s name wasn\u2019t Michael Bennett.<\/p>\n

It was another man.<\/p>\n

Richard Calloway.<\/p>\n

My mother made a sound like she\u2019d been struck.<\/p>\n

Dad whispered desperately, \u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWho is Richard Calloway?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nobody answered.<\/p>\n

So the prosecutor did.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was your grandmother\u2019s attorney. According to the trust records, he was also the person who personally funded your trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

My mother was shaking uncontrollably now.<\/p>\n

Dad looked completely destroyed.<\/p>\n

The truth moved through the room slowly, impossibly.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She sobbed into her hands.<\/p>\n

Dad whispered, \u201cI raised you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mom finally lifted her tear-streaked face.<\/p>\n

\u201cRichard was your biological father,\u201d she whispered. \u201cYour grandmother knew. She created the trust because she wanted to make sure you were protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Protected.<\/p>\n

That word almost made me laugh.<\/p>\n

Because every person who claimed they were protecting me had hidden something from me.<\/p>\n

My identity.<\/p>\n

My inheritance.<\/p>\n

My blood.<\/p>\n

My future.<\/p>\n

And yet sitting there, bruised and exhausted across from the people who had lied to me my entire life, I felt something stronger than anger rise inside me.<\/p>\n

Freedom.<\/p>\n

Vanessa tried to steal my identity and accidentally exposed the truth about it instead.<\/p>\n

The irony was so cruel it almost felt holy.<\/p>\n

Three months later, Ethan pleaded guilty.<\/p>\n

Vanessa tried fighting the charges until the emails surfaced. Then she folded. Naturally, she cried in court. Said she was desperate. Said she loved me. Said she never intended for me to get hurt.<\/p>\n

I stood before the judge with my arm still stiff from therapy and a faint shadow beneath my healed cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy sister didn\u2019t make one bad decision,\u201d I said steadily. \u201cShe created a plan. My brother-in-law didn\u2019t lose control. He used violence like a pen for signatures. And my parents didn\u2019t simply fail to notice me. They trained themselves not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vanessa cried harder.<\/p>\n

I never looked at her.<\/p>\n

The trust was legally transferred to me. The hidden account became evidence. My parents avoided criminal charges only because I chose not to pursue them over the old withdrawals.<\/p>\n

But I did something worse.<\/p>\n

At least to them.<\/p>\n

I left.<\/p>\n

I changed my number. Froze my credit. Moved to a coastal city where the air smelled like salt instead of antiseptic and motor oil.<\/p>\n

On my first morning there, I received a letter forwarded through the prosecutor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

Inside was a handwritten note from my grandmother, sealed with the trust decades earlier.<\/p>\n

My dearest Emma,<\/p>\n

One day, people may try to convince you that love means sacrificing yourself endlessly. It doesn\u2019t. Love that requires your disappearance is not love. It is hunger. You were born surrounded by secrets, but you do not have to spend your life trapped inside them. When the moment comes, choose yourself without guilt.<\/p>\n

I read the note three times.<\/p>\n

Then I stepped barefoot onto the cold balcony and watched the sun rise over the water.<\/p>\n

For the first time in my life, nobody was asking me to sign away my future.<\/p>\n

Nobody was demanding forgiveness.<\/p>\n

Nobody was calling me selfish.<\/p>\n

My shoulder still ached when it rained.<\/p>\n

My family still existed somewhere behind me, tangled in court appearances, excuses, and unanswered phone calls.<\/p>\n

But the mortgage they tried forcing me into never went through.<\/p>\n

The house Vanessa wanted was sold to someone else.<\/p>\n

And the life she tried to take from me?<\/p>\n

I finally made it my own.<\/p>\n

\n

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

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t only the assault,\u201d I murmured. \u201cYou need to check the mortgage paperwork too.\u201d Officer Delgado\u2019s expression sharpened immediately. My mother stopped sobbing for a split second. My father\u2019s … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18358,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,22,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family","category-inspiration","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18363,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18361\/revisions\/18363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readinstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}