Never Judge

"Dad, I'd like to introduce you to someone." Cedric told Emilio Reyes in a calm voice.

"Oh so that's what you messed up." Ayanna said with a sly grin as she looked at her brother. "I told you to tell him."

"No, you didn't Ayanna. You aren't escaping this one. We are both to blame." Cedric said as he glared at his younger sister.

Ayanna rolled her eyes in silent protest.

"Dad, this is Mien, his birth name is Mattias Benitez." Cedric said as he introduced Mien.

Emilio's eyes went wide with shock as he realized that he had met this young man before, although he was too young to remember meeting the CEO.

"Are you here looking for your mother and sister?" Emilio Reyes asked, knowing full well the family's history.

"No sir." Mien said, shaking his head. "My mom found me and I met my sister before I even knew she was my sister." Mien explained.

"How did you meet  Mattias, Cedric?" Emilio Reyes asked his son, as he eyed him suspiciously.

"Well, that's where the second part of my explanation comes in." Cedric said with a grin.

"You have to relax dad and not react too soon. Promise me." Cedric said in a stern tone.

Emilio Reyes nodded and kept his mouth shut.

"I sent Mae to our Singapore office to observe the market and see if we had some sort of opportunity in the country." Cedric explained. "That's when she met a man named Fernando Benitez." 

"Do you know who Fernando Benitez is to the Chan family?" Emilio asked as he kept an eye out to see if his son would lie to him.

"I do." Cedric said with a nod. "That's why I flew to Singapore with the Chan siblings. You told us not to look for Andrew Chan, but a connection to him, one everyone thought to be dead, just so happened to show up in front of my assistant."

Emilio nodded as he understood his son's reasons.

"I couldn't let the opportunity pass us dad." Cedric explained.

"Did you get to meet Fernando?" Emilio asked.

"No dad. Fernando Benitez is dead." Cedric announced as he watched his father turn pale.

"How? When?" He asked. "Those blasted -" Emilio Reyes quickly caught himself before he could say anything that could implicate him any further, but it was too late.

Cedric had caught on, his father knew that Fernando Benitez had been alive this whole time and he refused to admit it.

"He died of a heart attack the day we arrived." Cedric said with a frown as he glanced at Mien and Mae. "His wife thinks that there is foul play involved, both in his death and in his brother's death."

Emilio simply nodded.

"How did Mien come into the picture?" Emilio asked.

"Fernando had left everything he owned to Mien and Mae, something we all found suspicious. He had only met both of them weeks before his death and yet he was leaving all his assets to tow strangers."

Emilio Reyes listened intently as Cedric continued to tell the story.

"What convinced us not to look too deeply into it was the fact that Fernando Benitez had not other friends, so it made sense to leave it to the only ones he was ever associated with." Cedric explained. 

"I am guessing there is more to this?" Emilio Reyes asked as he raised an eyebrow at his son.

"Yes, we discovered that Fernando still had living relatives." Cedric explained.

"That's why you were in that province, you weren't there for work, were you?" Emilio Reyes questioned his son.

"Yes dad." Cedric replied with a nod. "At first our only goal was to return Fernando's remains to his family, that's it, but we discovered that Mien was in fact Fernando's son."

"So how did you find Marisa?" Emilio asked. "Did you just so happen to find her? She was hidden quite well."

"She came to us, dad." Cedric explained. "Right before his death Fernando sent her one last letter to his wife, telling her about how he had found both of his children, and that if he didn't make it she should contact one of them."

"So she contacted Mien?" Emilio asked.

"No, sir." Mae said, joining in on the conversation.

Cedric gave Mae a smile and nodded, hoping to give her some sort of confidence. "She contacted me."

"That means. . ." Emilio said as his voice trailed off. It was clear that the former CEO was trying to process the situation.

"Yes, sir." Mae said with a nod. "I'm Marisa's and Fernando's daughter, and Mien is my older brother Mattias."

"Marisa said you had gone missing." Emilio said with a smile. "I'm so happy to see that you turned out quite well."

"Thank you, sir." Mae said with a smile.

Cedric felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest, he was worried that his father would be mad, but it seemed that he was actually happy. 

"So you aren't looking into Andrew's death?" Emilio asked his son in a stern tone.

"No, but we are looking into Fernando's and Terry's deaths." Cedric confessed. "I know that you will be against it dad, but it's the least I can do to help Mae and Mien."

Emilio Reyes remained silent for a while before finally nodding in agreement. 

"Andrew's death is not something you want to investigate, it will only bring you heartbreak." Emilio warned.

"I know dad, you've told me more than once." Cedric complained. "Don't you trust me enough to believe that I will do as you say?"

"No." Emilio Reyes said flatly, making Ayanna laugh.

"You too Ayanna." Emilio Reyes added as he looked at his daughter. "You are both grown ups, you should be over the rebellious phase by now." 

"Yes dad." The siblings said at the same time.

As they spoke, Dave suddenly entered Cedric's office.

"Sir, the news.." Dave said as he quickly walked over to the TV and switched it on.