Never Judge

While they made their way into the Mansion, Cedric's phone began to ring. He used his free hand to fish out the phone from his pocket, while holding his wife's hand in the other.

As he looked at the caller ID, he was surprised to see that it was Camilla. He hadn't expected her to get back to him within the day. He understood how difficult it normally was for her to find a window to speak to him especially with how Lucius watched her and Benedict.

So such an early call was very much out of place.

"Camilla? Are you sure it's safe to call me?" Cedric asked. 

"Benedict and I are on the way to your house. I have something urgent to tell you." Camilla said in a rushed tone.

"Okay, I'll have everything set up, what's your ETA?" Cedric asked.

"I'll be there in five minutes, less if this traffic lets up." Camilla told him. "It seems that the government has implemented checkpoints in and out of your area."

"Yeah, that would be Uncle Jose." Cedric said as he thought of what other actions his uncles had probably taken while on their way back. Unlike his friends, the older generation was more experienced. But what his group lacked in experience they made up in innovation.

"I'll ask someone to give his assistant a call to have you and Benedict escorted here." Cedric told Camila.

"No need, we don't want to attract attention." She told Cedric.

"Alright. We'll be waiting for you." Cedric said as he dropped the call and turned to give Ian instructions to wait for Camilla and Benedict.

He then proceeded to call his friends, Katerina, Francesca, and his sister. He knew that Ayanna would be pissed off at him if he didn't include her. 

"Cedric, I should be there." Adrianna told her husband in a small voice as she tugged on his sleeve.

"No Adri." Cedric told her in a stern tone. "You don't need the additional stress. As it stands you already have too much to worry about. You have Island's Inc., Yoyo, and our two little precious ones." Cedric said as he placed a hand on her now showing belly.

"Promise me you will be safe." Adrianna said as she looked her husband in the eyes.

"We will just be in the office, we won't be going anywhere crazy." He said with a nod.

"But still, don't plot anything that will put yourself in harm's way." Adrianna said with a concerned look on her face. "Our children need you, your family needs you, I need you. The company is only money. We have survived on less."

"I know Adri." Cedric said with a nod as he planted a kiss on her lips before letting her go to rest.

"So what do you know so far?" Ray asked as he appeared next to Cedric. He was standing hand in hand with Ayanna, who seemed to be thinking about something else as she held an absent expression.

"Camilla just said that she and Benedict are on their way and that there was something she needed to tell me."  Cedric said with a shrug as they continued to walk to his office. 

"I hope it's good news." Ray said optimistically.

"I doubt it will be good news." Ayanna said as she snapped out of her trance. "With Cedric's track record, it won't be good."

"Who knows." Cedric said with a shrug as he walked into his office.

Inside several maids were placing his office in order, while his father sat on the couch with his phone pressed against his ear. He was clearly speaking to someone important as he placed his finger on his lip telling Cedric and the others to keep quiet.

There were very few people in the world that could get this kind of reaction from Emilio Reyes, and that worried Cedric. 

His father was already a powerful and influential man, and having someone more powerful than him on the phone was always a matter of concern.

As they waited for Emilio's call to end, they found their own spots in the office, with Cedric sitting comfortably behind his desk.

It didn't take long for Emilio Reyes' call to end.

As the older man dropped the call he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"Not a call you wanted to have?" Cedric asked his father as he leaned forward and looked at his father. 

"It was someone I wanted to call us, but he isn't exactly a person I like talking to." Emilio Reyes said with a frown.

"Who was it?" Cedric asked.

"An old friend's son, someone we have done some business with in the past." Emilio explained as he massaged his temples.

"What did he want?" This time it was Ayanna that asked as she coked her head to the side, curious as to what was going on.

"He heard about our recent struggles with Mor Co. and he wants to help." Emilio explained. "I know it's odd that he would reach out, but his father was someone I trusted, and I hope I can extend the same amount of trust to his son."

"I can ask my contact in China, see if this person has any red flags." Cedric suggested. "What's his name?" He asked.

"Wu Jun." Emilio Reyes told Cedric.

"I'll ask my friend." Cedric informed his father.

The whole time Emilio Reyes was explaining that they were businessmen that wanted to help Mor Co. The more Cedric wondered if this was the help that Guan Ming was going to send.

Cedric knew for a fact that Guan Ming was quite influential among children of rich families, mainly because everything he had achieved was of his own doing.

"Do they, by any chance, have anything to do with the supply of microchips and other key components in the phone making process?" Cedric asked his father.

"The Wus have a huge business empire across various industries, I'm sure that microchips are one." Emilio Reyes said as he tried to recall the industries the Wus were involved in. "I'll see if Marco has a file on them, if he does, that should help."

Cedric nodded and thanked his father.

Just as they had finished discussing Wu Jun, Ian entered the office, followed by Camilla and Benedict, who both seemed to have come over in quite a rush.

"What happened to the two of you?" Cedric asked as he pointed at them.

"Damned military men wouldn't let us through at first." Benedict complained. "We don't have much time, we need to be in and out of here as fast as possible."

"Alright, but why not just call?" Cedric asked.

"I didn't want to risk it." Camilla said with a frown. "At least if I visit you at home, I could always tell Lucius that you asked me to come over to discuss my loyalty."

"And what will you tell him?" Cedric asked.

"The same as always." Camilla said with a grin. "But that's not the matter. You need to act fast. Lucius seems to have something big planned, something that will completely change the landscape of Mor Co. 's industry."