Never Judge

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"If the police don't think this is highly suspicious then I will have to either question their ability or credibility." Ram said, shaking his head.

"Let's wait and see what Damien will say after the autopsy." Ian told Ram. It was normal for Ian to think the best of Capt. Damien, they had been friends for a long time.

"The mystery keeps getting deeper and deeper." Alexi said, shaking his head. "Do you want me to apply pressure on them?"

"No need. Let's trust Damien on this. He is competent." Cedric said as he instructed his friend to stand down. 

When they returned to the table Adrianna gave Cedric a worried look.

"The mastermind behind Jam's death is dead." Cedric told his wife as he held her hand. "According to the police it was a case of mistaken identity."

"Who did they mistake him for?" Gracia asked her son-in-law.

"Me, or one of us. Apparently the mastermind was someone that we didn't hire as the General Manager of Constellations. He was probably struggling with other things." Cedric said with a frown.

"It's not your fault Cedric. I'm sure you and the boys hire your people based on their skill and experience if he didn't get the job then maybe he wasn't good enough. " Charles Hernandez said in an attempt to console Cedric. "The world is full of competition."

"It could have happened to anyone dad, if any person had come out of a fancy enough car they might have fallen victim." Cedric said, shaking his head. 

"I thought you said it was unlikely that it was a case of mistaken identity." Adrianna pointed out. "There weren't any other attacks on you or any of the companies, and how was this man certain that his target really was the owner of Constellations."

"According to the police he guessed based on the car, he wasn't wrong though. We were in that car, we brought your cousin back to the hotel that night." Cedric repeated what the man had written in his confession. "We're trying to explore a new angle, but it's going to be difficult." Cedric admitted. 

"Why? What happened?" Jose Sebastian asked, as the President of the country there were very few things that were difficult to investigate for him.

"Well uncle, despite someone confessing to be the mastermind, his story doesn't make sense. We wanted to interrogate him further and we were already planning to go to the police station when something unexpected happened. Unfortunately as we were walking back here Capt. Damien called to inform us that after issuing his statement the man died of a heart attack." Cedric recounted what had just happened.

"That's suspicious. The odds of that happening is really low. Was he an old man?" Emilio Reyes said.

"No. Well, it doesn't seem like it, he was actively looking for a job. So clearly he wasn't of retirement age yet." Cedric explained to his father. He then turned to his wife and lifted her hand to his lips. "Don't worry Adri, we'll find whoever is behind this." Cedric promised.

"Cedric." Ian suddenly interrupted the conversation. 

"Yeah?" Cedric asked, he noticed Ian had a concerned look on his face, he had a bad feeling about whatever Ian called his attention for. 

"Capt. Damien wants to meet up, but he said it has to be discrete." Ian reported to Cedric. "He suggested a get together with another friend of ours. We could pass it off as a reunion."

"I'll come along. When is it?" Cedric asked.

"Tonight. Hype Bar." Ian explained. 

"Really, a bar?" Nicole asked.

"Don't be so tough on him Nicole. It's not like he's just going out for fun." Cedric scolded the pregnant woman.

"Alright, why a bar?" Nicole asked.

"Loud enough so people won't hear. It's a normal place for friends to go." Ian said with a shrug.

"Nicole, go easy on Ian." Veronica told her friend. It was clear that Nicole was being quite emotional due to her pregnancy.

"Don't worry Veronica. I can handle my Nicole." Ian said as he kissed Nicole on the lips.

"This doesn't get you off the hook." Nicole said. "Who is going with you?" She asked.

"I am." Cedric told Nicole.

"I didn't mean you!" Nicole scolded Cedric, her question was quite obvious. Who was the other friend?

"I don't know with Damien." Ian said with a shrug.

"Can we trust whoever he is bringing along?" Cedric asked.

"Yes." Ian said with a nod. Cedric trusted Ian and by extension he trusted Damien.

"Alright, but you'll need to pick me up. All my cars are too flashy, I'll probably buy a more discreet one." Cedric told Ian. 

That night Ian picked Cedric up from Mountain View and they headed off to Hype bar.

"So who's the other friend?" Cedric asked Ian. "You wouldn't have agreed to meet up with Damien and another person if you didn't trust the other party."

Ian took a deep breath and sighed. "Jas Ortega, she's a childhood friend. The three of us were neighbors growing up."

"A girl?" Cedric asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you hiding something?"

"You might recognize her." Ian said, rolling his eyes.

Unlike their other visits they wouldn't be staying at Ray's private booth. They made their way across the dance floor to the other end of the bar. It was already in the middle of the night so the dance floor was already crowded and there were several drunk people. As Ian spotted Damien and waved at him, Damien waved back. Next to the young captain was a beautiful woman in a business suit, something about her felt familiar but Cedric couldn't figure it out.

"Hey Ian, who's this?" Damien asked, pointing at Cedric.

"This is Cedric. He's another assistant of Mr. Reyes. Don't worry, we can trust him." Ian explained over the loud music.

Cedric and Damien shook hands as he sat down. He noticed Jas Ortega looking at him intensely.

"I'm sorry, but do we know each other?" Cedric asked. "You're very familiar." 

"Wow, he doesn't remember me." Jas said with a laugh. 

"You really don't?" Ian asked in shock, he was sure Cedric would recognize Jas the moment he laid eyes on her.

Cedric stared at the woman as he tried to remember where they had met, then it hit him, he realized now why Ian didn't want Nicole finding out who the other friend was.

"You're Ian's ex!" Cedric suddenly shouted.