Never Judge

Cedric was alone in his home office, waiting for updates.

A knock on the door made him look up from his desk. He had been reviewing some documents in the office to keep him occupied until news came.

"Come in." Cedric called out as he waited to see who was still awake in his home.

"Ced." Came his sister's worried voice as she pushed the door open and entered his office.

"Ayanna, what are you still doing up?" He asked his sister as he walked over to her and pressed a button that called for a maid.

"I know you and Ray have everything under control, but I can't help but worry." Ayanna told her brother anxiously. "I normally don't call him while he is working, but earlier I had the urge to do so."

While they were speaking, a maid entered with a cup of coffee and a cup of tea.

Cedric thanked the maid and let her leave.

"Ray and the others are all safe." Cedric told his sister as he tried to calm her down. "We bumped into a small problem, but it has been settled. Your husband will be here tonight."

"Are you fixing that problem right now?" Ayanna asked her brother, not missing a beat.

Cedric looked at his sister and gave her a reassuring nod and smile.

"Leon, John, Dave, and Mien are all working on getting them back. We already have a plan and they are just executing it." Cedric tried his best to hide how bad things actually were.

They never expected the Rajas to send people to get Lucius Ting, they thought he was just collateral damage to them.

"Can I stay here with you?" Ayanna asked her older brother as she pulled her legs to her chest and sat in a fetal position.

Cedric scooted over and sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. He did his best to comfort her, but Cedric knew that there was little he could do to help his sister.

"Stay as long as you need, Ayanna, but you also should rest. It's not good for the baby." He reminded his sister.

He knew that there were times that his sister would still over work herself and still needed constant reminding of the life growing inside of her.

The siblings remained silent for a while as Cedric tried to get Ayanna to calm down.

Soon enough, his sister had fallen asleep on his shoulders and he called for a maid to bring him some pillows and a blanket for her.

Once she was tucked in, he checked with Leon for an update.

"Sir, we expected your call an hour ago." Leon told Cedric as he was quite surprised that his boss had taken long to give them a call.

"I had a personal matter to attend to." Cedric told his head of security as he glanced at his sister who was peacefully sleeping on the couch. "What's the status?" Cedric asked as he moved to sit behind his desk.

"We've managed to send in one full security team. Mr. Sebastian should be briefing them by now while we start evacuating some of their companions." Leon informed Cedric.

"Good, when will Lucius Ting be taken out of the police station?" Cedric asked Leon as he skimmed through several documents on his desk.

"We are waiting for the reporters to lessen their interest in looking at the front doors. So far they are starting to look at the other entrances more." Leon informed Cedric.

"Good, good." Cedric said with a nod. "Keep me updated, and Leon, as soon as someone is out of there I want them sent here for safety. I'm not willing to risk their lives. If Seth disagrees, as I know he will, tell him that I need to speak to him first."

"Yes, sir." Leon responded right before Cedric dropped the call and was once more alone with his thoughts.

Cedric knew that the members of the Dean family mafia would try to go to their headquarters first, and Cedric was sure that it would most likely be a trap.

He had sent men in advance to check out the location and to see if anyone high ranking was stuck at the headquarters.

It seemed that no one was there and those that were had managed to escape.

Even Seth's father and son were both safely hidden in a nearby building with enough security to deter the Rajas.

Cedric also coordinated with Alexi's father to heighten the security around that location. It was odd having the military guarding high ranking members of the mafia, but it was part of their deal.

In order to keep himself occupied, Cedric continued to work and review several recovery plans that his people had proposed.

They might not have lost to Lucius Ting, but to say that he made no impact on their profits was a lie.

He had been seen as a sort of Robin Hood by the people, they were sold on the story that he was adopted and experienced many hardships in his life.

Because of that angle, many chose to patronize his company over the Reyeses. To some, the old rich were the source of the country's problems.

Cedric had been so engrossed with his work, that he jumped when his phone began to ring.

He picked it up and was surprised to find that it was Camilla calling him. He quickly picked up the phone, worried that something bad had happened.

"Camilla." Cedric said.

"Cedric, we're out. We're the first batch and we are on our way to your home." Camilla happily announced. Her voice sounded tired and strained, but happy nonetheless.

"Who is with you?" Cedric asked her.

"Me, Guan Ming, and some of Seth's men." Camilla informed Cedric. "At first they wanted us to drop them off at the Dean family headquarters but John told us that he was under strict orders to bring us there." Camilla explained.

"Yes, and the Dean family headquarters are currently in enemy hands. I don't want people rushing into half baked plans." Cedric said as he hoped that they would understand his reasons.