Never Judge

When the door finally closed behind Cedric and Dave climbed into the seat beside him Cedric let out a sigh.

"Check if they got out fine." Cedric instructed.

​​

Dave quickly called the bodyguards that were assigned to the basement parking of Constellations Resort.

"Sir, they made it out fine." Dave informed Cedric. "None of the members of the media even gave them a second glance. They thought the vehicle was probably owned by an employee."

"Good." Cedric said with a nod. "Let\'s meet up with them at the Reyes Mansion." 

"Sir, won\'t we go back to Mountain View first?" Dave asked Cedric. The initial plan had been for them to return to Mountain View and take another car to the Reyes Mansion. 

"No need." Cedric shook his head. "I don\'t want the media and paparazzi taking note of what my other cars are. Let\'s go straight to my parent\'s house."

The driver in front simply nodded and drove towards the direction of the Reyes Mansion. The ancestral home was at the center of the capital occupying one of the largest parcels of land in the old colonial part of the city.

By the time Cedric arrived he noticed the increased number of cars parked on the property. He was sure that most of their family and friends were already there waiting to find out the truth.

"My other car isn\'t here yet." Cedric said as he looked at the parked cars.

"Maybe they took a detour sir, to make sure that they shook off the paparazzi and the media." Dave suggested as they drove up to the mansion doors.

"Possible." Cedric said with a nod as a member of the staff opened his door.

Cedric got out and took off his disguise and walked into the house.

The first person Cedric bumped into was Helios Ramirez, Selina\'s twin brother.

"I know you." Helios said with the same inquisitive look as his twin sister. "You\'re the assistant my sister helped at the restaurant when she first arrived back."

Cedric grinned at Helios\' obvious confusion.

"It seems you don\'t know yet." Cedric said with a laugh. "Come with me." 

Helios scratched his head, but followed Cedric nonetheless. Cedric walked towards the living room, where he was sure he would find his family and the rest of their guests.

As he walked in everyone looked up in anticipation.

"They aren\'t here yet?" Cedric asked Ayanna.

"No." Ayanna responded, shaking her head.

Helios who was standing beside Cedric was visibly confused, but his parents clearly were not.

"I\'m guessing you told auntie and uncle but you forgot to tell Helios." Cedric said with a chuckle as he looked at the younger man who was standing next to him.

"I have a hunch now, but I won\'t believe it till you tell me." Helios said as he looked at Cedric in awe.

"What do you want me to say?" Cedric asked with a laugh.

Helios simply shrugged in response.

"I, Cedric Reyes, am actually the CEO of the Reyes Group." Cedric said as he struggled not to laugh.

"How did no one find out?" Helios asked.

"You and Selina really are twins, you guys even asked the same question." Cedric said with a grin."It\'s simple, people only see what they want to see. Their biases lead them to ignore even the most obvious clues."

"Oh." Helios said, he was in too much shock to fully process what Cedric had just said.

"Where is Adrianna and Emilio?" Cedric asked as he scanned the room.

"Daddy!" Emilio called out as Adrianna and the little boy entered from the door that led to the bedrooms.

"Mom and dad thought it best if they weren\'t seen by the Ramirezes before we could explain." Ayanna told her older brother. "You actually came at the perfect time."

"Daddy, I was a good boy." Emilio proudly said.

"Yes you were." Cedric picked his son up and hugged him tightly.

"I was worried about you." Adrianna told her husband as he pulled her close with his free hand.

"I promised you that I would be safe, and here I am." He said with a smile.

"Cedric, where are Nicole and the others?" Ian asked with a worried look on his face. Nicole had asked him to take their son and her parents and Veronica and to take them to the Reyes Mansion. He knew Nicole had to stay behind to make sure that Selina was well.

"They took my sedan." Cedric explained. "You don\'t need to worry, according to my team they got out of Constellations Resort without the paparazzi or the members of the media noticing anything." Cedric told his friend in order to calm him.

"They left before you?" Ian asked.

"Yes." Cedric nodded. "I\'m sure they just took the long route in order to make sure that they weren\'t followed. Don\'t worry, Nicole will be fine."

"Sir." Dave suddenly said as he appeared in the living room. "There is a new development."

"What?" Cedric asked as Dave approached him.

"Miss Jen Pelaez has consented for an interview with Link News Network." Dave infomed Cedric as he handed him a tablet.

Cedric pressed play and saw that it was a promotion for an exclusive interview with Jen.

"Link News?" Ram asked. "Our rival?"

Dave simply nodded, confirming Ram\'s question.

"How could they have gotten to Jen so quickly?" Cedric asked Ram. Ram would be more familiar with the inner workings of the industry since he controlled a big chunk of it.

"For news like this, well, you can\'t get an exclusive this fast unless it\'s like me and Alexi or me and you. If you don\'t have a direct personal connection to the parties involved, an exclusive at this scale is quite difficult." Ram said as he thought of the possibilities. "Although there is another possible explanation." Ram said slowly.

"What?" Cedric asked.

"If Jen approached them beforehand." Ram suddenly said. "But of course that would mean Jen knew this was going to happen."

Ram\'s last statement shocked everyone in the room.

"Get Alexi and the others here, now." Cedric ordered making Dave quickly call the security team he had assigned to the other car.