Never Judge

Cedric grinned at his wife's realization, he knew she would understand his reasons, she just needed to be led to it. 

"If everyone is trying to beat Arch Group, he will be too busy fending them off." Cedric said with a confident shrug.

"Aren't you worried he is much smarter than everyone you have ever encountered?" Eric asked as he entered the room. He had just managed to slip past the guests who were fans and was panting at the jog he had just made.

"Aiden was pretty smart." Cedric said with a smirk. He had a really hard time with Aiden, his main problem was he didn't even know that he was going against Aiden.

"And this kid is supposedly someone Aiden saw as someone with a huge potential, he could be smarter and more cunning than Aiden." Eric explained as he sat on a couch. "You need to be careful Cedric." Eric warned.

"Don't worry Eric, I have you and the others."  Cedric said with a confident shrug. "Plus who does he have, Benedict and Camilla who are both trying to trick him."

"What if he realizes Benedict and Camilla are not really on his side?" Eric asked with a raised eyebrow, despite what everyone thought of the actor he was quite smart, he was still a Chan after all and like his sister, Nicole, his intelligence lay outside of the academe. 

"Benedict and Camila have him quite convinced, especially since it is true that I did kill Aiden." Cedric said, emphasizing on the fact that the siblings truly had a reason to hate him, if they had loved their brother.

"What if Benedict turns on you?" Eric asked. "You do not have a guarantee with that man. I know Camilla would never betray you, but Benedict is still a variable."

"I trust him." Cedric insisted.

"That's your flaw Cedric, you trust us too much." Eric said with a sigh, shaking his head.

"It's that trust that has gotten us all out of trouble multiple times, Eric." Adrianna said, joining in on the conversation. "Don't forget that trusting Benedict was how you guys got to Aiden."

Eric sighed. "Something just feels off about Benedict. I just can't figure out what it is."

Cedric walked over and gripped Eric's shoulder and gave him a light shake.

"I understand your distrust." Cedric said with a nod. "I didn't fully trust Benedict at the beginning too, but the Ortiz family has proven that they can be trusted many times over the past month.""

"I'm sorry." Eric said with a sigh. "This whole missing cousin fiasco plus the issues at home have got me on edge. A part of me just wants to do something to help Nicole."

"Well, worst case scenario, you could always just claim your birthright." Cedric said with a shrug. "Quit acting and settle down with Katerina." Cedric said with a laugh as he thought of Eric actually following what the Chan family wanted. "I mean, I don't see how bad it would be to marry Katerina and lead one of the most powerful families in the city."

"And ruin my rebel image?" Eric asked sarcastically with a laugh. "No thank you."

"Why don't all of you want to follow your family anyway?" Adrianna asked, it seemed that all the Chan siblings had found their own way to defy what the family elders expected of them. Eric with his career, Miguel with his choice to be charitable, and Nicole stepping up to lead the family business and getting pregnant before marriage.

"Because of Uncle Miguel, I guess." Eric said with a shrug. "We wanted to honor him by doing what we wanted, by being who we truly are. Is it wrong to want to be yourself?" Eric asked Adrianna.

"Of course not, Cedric and I are not good examples of following your family." Adrianna said with a laugh as she thought of how they had defied the Hernandezes by getting married.

"Speak for yourself." Eric said with a chuckle. "Cedric is everything the Reyes Clan wants and expects."

"That's because my family is different." Cedric said, shaking his head. "They accept whatever path we choose, this is what dad has been trying to tell the other families, most are just too stubborn to listen." 

"You have to admit though, that poverty training has become too much." Eric said, shaking his head. "I have no idea how you are going to get Yoyo to do that successfully. He has been all over social media even before he was born. Add to that the fact that he looks exactly like a younger version of Cedric, you can't easily hide him."

"We have a plan." Cedric said with a grin.

"Sir, thirty minutes left." Dave announced as he quickly popped into the lounge.

"Thank you, Dave." Cedric said with a nod. "Has Ram arrived?" He knew his friend would be making an appearance tonight as Francesca's date. 

"No sir." Dave said, shaking his head. "Miss Francesca did say that he was already on his way, some family issues held him up."

"I'm guessing that will be Veronica's decision to adopt." Eric said with a chuckle.

"How come?" Adriann asked as she gave both Eric and Cedric a puzzled look.

"Adri, Ram is adopted, that means that if Veronica does not produce  a biological child, it could mean the end for the Abad line." Cedric explained to his wife.

"But Ram carries their family name." Adrianna reasoned out. "And the outside world truly thinks Ram is their biological son."

"What the world thinks and what the truth is are two very different things." Eric said, shaking his head. "Families like ours can be truly vain and shallow at times, why does blood even matter in this case. It's not like the world will ever know the truth about Ram."

Adrianna simply frowned and sighed, she thought that the Abads were moving to a more progressive view, it seemed that they too were still stuck in the past.

At the hotel bar in a different part of the capital, Benedict sat alone, drinking as he thought of the past months.

He had died, broken into one of the most secure compounds in the country, found out a sibling was alive, and lost another sibling. 

Now he was working for the man his older brother had sworn to kill and he stood idly by as that very man killed his brother.

He sighed as he looked around him, there were many people drinking and smiling with friends. Some were clearly with family, fathers with their sons, siblings, and some friends. They all seemed happy.

That was the kind of happiness he desired, and yet, here he was, sitting along at the bar, drinking the past months away.

Why couldn't his life have just been normal? It didn't matter to him if his family was rich or poor, he just wanted his family to be whole.

Sometimes he was envious of his sister, Camilla, at least she got the chance to live a normal life with her adoptive parents. Even after she had been adopted the patriarchs of the most powerful families in the country saw her as an adopted daughter, she was happy.

Benedict took a gulp of his drink as he noticed his phone ringing, it was Lucius Ting.

"Aren't you supposed to be at that Gizmo Awards Night that my sister ditched?" Benedict asked in an annoyed tone, he really did not want to be bothered at the moment.

"Check the news." Lucius said in a cheerful tone.

Benedict quickly asked the bartender to switch the TV by the bar to the news, and sure enough he was greeted by a new scandal he already knew about.

"This isn't news to me, Lucius." Benedict said in an uninterested tone. "We already told you about this, my sister had a falling out with her boss, and you know exactly why."

"I was curious as to why the ever mysterious Cedric Reyes would let the public know that he and his Vice President were not on good terms." Lucius said with a malicious tone over the phone.

Benedict shook his head, this guy was smart, unfortunately for Lucius, Benedict had already expected this question.

"He wants to dave face." Benedict said quite confidently. "If this news broke out from rumors and not from him it would ruin the public's trust in the Reyes Family, add to that the fact that he is trying to send a message to Camilla."

"And what message would that be?" Lucius asked over the phone.

"That no matter what, she would always have a place in the Reyes Group." Benedict answered.

"And can we trust your sister to remain loyal to us and not to those people?" Lucius hissed.

"Don't you dare question my sister, Lucius." Benedict said with a confident laugh. "Blood is always thicker than water, and Cedric Reyes murdered her blood. Camilla will always be on my side."

"And are you one mine?" Lucius asked.

"My brother was the only person I had growing up." Benedict said in an agitated tone. "Don't you dare think for one minute that I would betray him."

"I just needed to be sure." Lucius said with a sigh. "You never know who you can trust these days."

"Know that you can trust me and Camilla. We would never betray you or our brother. Now if you don't mind, I see two hot women across the bar eyeing me." Benedict said as he dropped the call on Lucius.

He wasn't lying, there were two hot women looking at him quite intently. 

"Hey ladies." Benedict said as he walked over to them. "So which of you wants to come up with me too my room?" Benedict asked in a seductive tone.

"Very direct, I like." One woman said with a smile.

"Very hot too." Her companion said as she winked at Benedict.

"Now ladies, no need to fight." Benedict said with a grin. "I don't mind having you both."

With that Benedict left the bar with the two women, at least tonight he would not be alone.