Never Judge

After having lunch with Adolfo, Cedric and his assistants bid goodbye to Ian and Miguel. At first Miguel wanted to stay and babysit Emilio, but Ian reminded him that he still had to visit several patients in the afternoon. 

Eventually, Miguel reluctantly placed Emilio down and returned him to his father.

As they were walking out Miguel suddenly gripped Adolfo by the arm, taking the young man by surprise.

"Tell me if you have an update." Miguel said with a serious look in his eyes.

"You're lucky I didn't try to defend myself." Adolfo said as he shook Miguel's hand off his arm. "I'll give you regular updates." Adolfo said with a nod.

Miguel relaxed and sighed. "Thanks." He said to Adolfo with a smile, it seemed like it was a different person speaking earlier.

"We'll see you around." Ian told Cedric as he pulled Miguel out of the private room.

"He is normally not like that." Cedric told Adolfo with a laugh. "The thing is, this matter involves his younger sister, he is very protective of her."

"I understand. I was protective of my sister too." Adolfo said with a sad look.

Cedric didn't know what to say, he had no intention of prying into Adolfo's private life more than he should. He simply nodded and picked his son up from his seat placing him on the ground.

"Dave, check with Adolfo what he needs. I want him on the CEO's floor by the end of the day." Cedric ordered. 

"Got it boss." Dave said with a nod. "Let's go Adolfo." Dave said as he led the other man out of the private room.

"To where?" Adolfo asked as he looked back at Cedric.

"To get everything you need." Dave said with a laugh as the door closed behind them.

"Mae, I'll have to leave early so I can go over to Natalia. Come with me and take the tapes back to Adolfo." Cedric instructed. "I don't want anyone but you, Dave, and Adolfo near those tapes."

"Sure Cedric." Mae said with a nod as they walked out of the private room.

When they were finally back at Cedric's office, Cedric let Emilio play with Mae while he gave Natalia a call. He watched as his son laughed like a normal child, he knew that Emilio wasn't as normal as people thought. The boy was a genius, on top of that he was going to inherit one of the most powerful corporations in the county. It would be hard to train him when the day finally came.

"Cedric? Why are you calling?" Natalia asked as she picked up the phone. Cedric rarely called her, he didn't normally have a need for her skills. It was Katerina he called on more often. 

"Natalia, do you still have the CCTV footage from last year?" Cedric asked in a serious tone.

"The one from your suspected time frame?" Natalia asked. "Yeah. I kept them, I thought you might need them in the future."

"Great. I need them." Cedric said as he smiled over the phone.

"Cedric, they've been analyzed before. I don't know what you are hoping to find." Natalia said with a sigh.

"I found someone." Cedric told her. "I think he can truly find out if the footage was tampered."

"Alright. I trust you." Natalia said.

"Thanks, I'll have Mae pick it up from your place later." Cedric told Natalia.

"No need." Natalia suddenly said. "I have business near R Tower. I'll just take them to you. It's not a hassle." 

"Alright. I'll see you later then." Cedric finally said.

"See ya!" Natalia said in an excited tone. She was the youngest among the sisters and the youngest in the group. Everyone treated her like their little sister, resulting in her acting like a child in private.

As Cedric sat back down Mae checked the time and reminded him that he had meetings with Camilla and Alexi later in the afternoon. Cedric simply nodded as she went out to fetch another stack of documents that needed his attention. 

"Sir, your sister left this with us yesterday." Mae said as she nervously handed Cedric a sealed envelope.

Cedric eyed it suspiciously, it seemed that Mae knew what was inside and was afraid to show Cedric, she had even delayed giving it to him until now.

"Tell me, why doesn't my sister want to be around when you handed this to me?" Cedric asked as he took the envelope from Mae's hand. "What did she do this time?" Cedric asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, sir." Mae said as she watched Cedric open the envelope.

When Cedric saw the header, he already knew it was bad news. It was a bill from his own hotel, Constellations Resort. He had promised Ray and Ayanna that he would pay for the venue and catering of their wedding reception. 

"She's gonna do some damage, isn't she." Cedric said with a sigh as he opened the bill. When he saw the amount he was shocked. He quickly picked up his phone and dialed his friend, Tom Velardino's number. He had made Tom the General Manager for Constellations Resort in the Capital. 

After a few rings his friend finally picked the phone up.

"What did my sister ask for?" Cedric said as he massaged his temples, he could feel a massive headache coming on.

"Well, the best of everything." Tom said with a laugh. "I warned her that you would be furious." Tom teased.

"Is there any way to lower the costs? I know I'm rich, but this amount is just ridiculous!" Cedric's voice was full of frustration. 

"That bill is cheaper than most of the high profile weddings we host." Tom laughed. "Everything on there is at cost, you own the place so it doesn't incorporate the profit. And Cedric, do you really want to upset Ayanna?"

Cedric sighed. "No, but she's not getting off that easily." Cedric said angrily as he dropped the call. 

"Mae, take Emilio out of my office for a moment." Cedric said as he tried to keep himself calm.

Mae nodded and quickly scooped the child up from the floor and took him outside.

Cedric dialed his sister's number and waited for her to pick up, he had to call her at least three times before she finally answered the phone.

"Older brother, what can I do for you?" Ayanna said in the sweetest tone she could.

"Ayanna Reyes - Laurence, what kind of a bill is this!?" Cedric asked angrily over the phone.