Never Judge

As Mien finally released his mother and adoptive mother from his arms, Marisa couldn't help but glance at Mae.

She had clearly noticed Mien looking back at the woman so she was puzzled as to who Mae was.

"Are you alright?" Dave asked Mae as he came up beside Mae and gently squeezed her hand.

"I'm afraid." Mae whispered as she noticed Maria turn her attention back to Mien. "What if I hope that she is my biological mother and the results come out negative."

"Do you want her to be your mother?" Dave asked Mae.

"I would love to find my biological family again, but we both know that it's unlikely." Mae said with a frown she felt Dave wrap his arms around her shoulder and hug her tightly.

"Won't the boss get mad?" Mae asked as she leaned back on Dave, finding comfort in his arms.

"You forget that Cedric Reyes is a hopeless romantic." Dave whispered as he chuckled. "Plus he was the one who sent me over to you. He said you might need emotional support, and he was not wrong." Dave said as he planted a kiss on her head. 

"Thank you." Mae said as she looked up at Dave and smiled.

"Why don't we join them now?" Dave asked as he held Mae's hand and led her to the table

"Here." Adrianna said to the couple as she pointed at the seat next to her.

Mae and Dave would never dare refuse Adrianna's offer for them to sit next to he, so they obliged.

In the end, Dave sat in between Adrianna and Mae, while next to Mae sat Marisa. 

Dave could feel as Mae tensed up as she settled into her seat. He reached for her hand and gently caressed it.

"Marisa." Max, who was sitting across from Marisa called out her name as he gave her a gentle smile. 

"Max, it's amazing to see you again." Marisa said as she smiled back.

"Mom and I looked everywhere for you and your children, but we never found you. Why would you hide?" Max asked with a frown as he spoke for both himself and his mother. 

"Fernando and I had to hide, all of us had to be separated." Marisa said with a frown. "I didn't understand it at first too, but when we were attacked the first time I knew that Fernando wasn't exaggerating."

"Attacked?" Cedric asked as he gave Marisa a curious glance.

"Yes Mr. Reyes. Attacked." She said with a nod.

"When did this happen? Did you know who was behind it?" Ceric asked as he leaned forward to hear her answer better.

"I only know why they wanted us dead, but only my late husband knew the details, like who was after us and where he had hidden the child." Marissa confessed.

"They were after Andrew?" Cedric asked.

"Andrew Chan? Yes." Marisa confirmed with a nod. "My husband died with a secret we may never know. He said he couldn't tell a soul for the child, no he must be a grown man now, for the man's safety." 

"My father said that Andrew Chan died, that they searched far and wide for him and failed." Cedric explained to Marisa in the hopes that she had new information for them.

"I remember when they came to visit me years ago." Marisa said as she looked at a distance as she recalled the past. "Do you remember that day Lara?" She asked her sister-in-law.

Lara nodded.

"It was the day things started to fall apart." Lara said with a frown.

"Mr. Reyes, I'm sure your father and your father's friends are all good men, but the moment they visited us our lives took a turn for the worst." Marisa explained. "They were looking for Andrew Chan, but we were told to tell anyone and everyone that came searching for the child that he had died"

"But he hadn't." Cedric pointed out.

"No." Marisa said, shaking her head as she frowned. "At that time, Andrew Chan was safe and sound with my husband in Italy while I was with my brother, sister-in-law, and two children."

"Your father and his friends were persistent Mr. Reyes." Lara said with a chuckle. "They came back every week trying to convince us to tell them the truth. Of course, every time they visited, we lied." 

"We told them that my husband had left me and my children for some whore in Italy and that we hadn't heard from him in months, and yet your father refused to believe me." Marisa said, shaking her head.

Cedric noticed that as Marisa told her story, she kept sneaking glances at Mae. She seemed to be hoping that her story would trigger a memory for her daughter to acknowledge her. 

He frowned at the sight. He knew that Mae was only resisting so that she wouldn't get her hopes up in case the DNA test results came out negative.

"One day, your father and another man came back, it was just them and they looked distressed." Marisa recalled. "He looked a little bit like him." Marisa said as she pointed at Ray.

"It was probably my dad." Ray said with a nod.

"They came by and they seemed bothered by something. They told us to be careful, that others were now looking for us too and that we should hide." Marisa recalled. "They gave my brother papers and a new identity, while they told me to hide with my daughter. It was a good thing we listened to them." Marisa said with a sad expression.

"It was two days after we left our old town that we heard the news." Lara continued for Marisa. "The whole town was massacred, men, women, children, no one was spared." 

"That was when we realized that this was no ordinary matter. I sent Mien with Lara and Terry as they sought a new life elsewhere while I took my daughter with me." Marisa explained. "We lived deeper and deeper in the provinces, we kept moving. Terry and Fernando would come to visit us but we needed to be careful."

Marisa closed her eyes as she recalled what had happened.

"One day both Terry and Fernando stopped visiting and I lost my daughter." As Marisa said this a tear fell from her eye. Cedric could see the pain in her expression as she recalled losing her daughter.

"Marisa, what was your daughter's name?" Ian dared to ask.

"It was Mae.." She said.