Never Judge

"Did you know that spreading false news about the first family is punishable by law?" Cedric asked Evan Baron as he crossed his arms on his chest and looked the local mayor in the eyes.

Cedric could see how afraid Evan and his family were, they had realized way too late that they had gone against the wrong people.

"Even if the Sebastians were not the first family, it's illegal to wrongly accuse other people." Cedric continued to explain to Evan Baron and his family. 

"Mr. Reyes -" Evan Baron began to say before he was cut off by Cedric.

"No, this time, you will listen." Cedric said in a stern tone. "Not only did you falsely accuse my friends of being corrupt and bending the law for their associates, but you also accused me of attempting to bribe you!" Cedric shouted.

"Sir, we never accused you." Evan Baron's son, Rodrigo said as he desperately tried to salvage the situation.

"Really?" Cedric asked with a raised eyebrow. "Then how do you explain this report and this video?" He waved Ian over who handed him a tablet.

Cedric tapped on it and dropped the table on the table, then a recording played.

"Have you sent it?" Evan Baron's voice could clearly be heard saying.

"Yes, sir. I've sent the whistleblower report, but there is no guarantee that it will be picked up by any news agency or if people will believe what we have to say, we have no proof." An unfamiliar voice cautioned Evan Baron. 

"Anything and everything that has Cedric Reyes' name attached to it will be picked up by the media." Evan Baron hissed in the audio recording.

"What if his friend stops the news from circulating?" The unknown person asked.

"Which friend? Ramon Abad? The Abads are not as powerful as you think. They cannot stop all the news from coming to the surface." Evan Baron scolded the person on the other line. "This news will see light and the public will begin to react."

"I still need the proof, people will demand proof." The man who was the whistleblower warned Evan Baron.

"I already told you, I will get your proof!" It was evident in Evan Baron's voice that he was now irritated with the person at the other end of the line. "My son's driver will send you the recording. This was my son's brilliant idea. He will make a good politician in the future." 

"Mr. Baron, no matter what, we need that evidence soon." The whistleblower reminded Evan Baron over the phone. "The public will demand it."

"I just need to clean up a few things with the video. I want this thing to trend, Cedric Reyes dared to refuse my offer, I want him to realize that I'm no small-time politician." Evan Baron said in an angry tone.

"Well he will realize things for sure." The whistleblower said with a chuckle.

"I'll call you when I have the evidence." Evan Baron said angrily as the line went dead.

As the recording ended, Cedric looked at the man across from him, Evan Baron was as pale as a sheet.

Clearly he did not expect this kind of evidence to be found.

"That's a fabrication!" Rodrigo Baron accused as he tried to reach for the tablet. Unfortunately for him, Cedric was already taking it away and managed to get it out of his reach.

Cedric clicked his tongue as he shook his head. 

"What an embarrassment Rodrigo Baron." Cedric said as he clicked another recording on the laptop. 

"Maybe this one will be more familiar to you." Cedric said as he placed the tablet in front of him.

Rodrigo tried to reach for the tablet again but he was stopped as two bodyguards who had been standing behind him, pushed Rodrigo back down on his seat.

"Didn't your parents teach you that it's not good to take what isn't yours?" Cedric asked as he looked the young man in the eyes. "My son knows more than you if they didn't." Cedric scolded as he played the next recording.

This time it was Rodrigo's voice that could be heard.

"Did you get it?" Rodrigo asked. 

"Yes, but it seems tampered." The whistleblower told Rodrigo. "Do you even realize who you are going up against?" He asked.

"It's not your fucking job to ask those things." Rodrigo said to the whistleblower as he cursed at the man. 

"I'm just making sure you are aware of the consequences you are going to face for going against someone like Cedric Reyes." The whistleblower warned. "Especially since you are showing tampered evidence to the public."

"Again, it's not your business to ask these things!" Rodrigo said, angrily. "Just fucking upload the damn video I sent so that we can frame this stupid CEO. What does he have anyway, he is just rich!" 

"Alright, alright, but if this backfires like I think it will, don't blame me." The whistleblower said. 

"I won't." Rodrigo answered. "I had the best fucking editor in the area fix that video, I had people watch it and they said it's believable. He might not have offered this bribe, but I'm sure that Cedric Reyes has bribed his way through many projects."

"I wouldn't accuse someone like him so lightly." The whistleblower warned. "And not only did you implicate him in this video, you managed to drag the first family along, you are playing a dangerous game Mr. Baron." He warned.

"Just upload that damn video, I don't give a fuck about your warning. Cedric Reyes should fear me. All he has is money and we have the power. We control this province! If I tell the people to jump they better jump or I will kill them!" Rodrigo shouted over the phone as he dropped the call.

Evan Baron's eyes grew wide as he heard the recording. It seemed that he didn't know his son had said these things and he was in shock as well, he was way too stunned to even utter a word.

The mayor simply stood up and walked to his son. He pulled the boy up by his collar and slapped him hard on the face.