Never Judge

"So you have bad blood with our backer's son." Martin said when they were left alone.

"I didn't exactly know he had a powerful father. This is actually the first time I'm hearing about this." Cedric said as he shook his head. He quickly recalled that Carlos and Chris hadn't made their identity public due to Cedric's treats. 

"From what I know they are mad at the Reyes family too. Mr. De Dios even attempted to have the Reyes Heir killed in an accident but they failed. After that, the whole family has been followed by the tightest security detail. As a matter of fact we think that the whole Ayanna-Raymund couple had to be announced because of the threat they posed." Martin explained to Cedric. It seemed that Carlos De Dios trusted him enough to let him know about his attempts on Cedric's and his family's lives. 

"I'll head home. I asked for a half day leave." Cedric told his companions. He needed to talk to his dad.

"Are you sure you want to go home to an empty house Cedric?" Carissa asked as she stepped a little too close for Cedric.

"Yeah." Cedric said with a nod as he slowly took a step back.

"Haha. It seems Carissa is into you." Martin teased. Cedric was shocked at how open the cousins were. Carissa was trying to flirt with Cedric right in front of Martin.

"Cedric, she's already cheating on you." Carissa said as she took a step closer. "She's probably with that man right now. I heard he even bought her Island's Inc. How can you be with a woman like that?" Carissa asked as she placed her hand on Cedric's chest, 

Cedric wanted to shove the woman away and have her dragged out by his security team, if the circumstances were any different he would never allow anyone to speak ill of his wife. But since he needed to keep up the charade, he simply took note of the insult and promised to pay it back a hundredfold when the issue was over.

"I really have to go. I have someone err- waiting for me." Cedric said as he quickly turned and exited the room. As he left, he heard Martin laughing at his cousin and telling her to try harder if she wanted to catch Cedric.

When Cedric got home he asked the maids if his father had arrived. They told him that the elder Mr. Reyes was in his study on the second floor. Cedric quickly went up and found his father reading a book. 

"Dad, I need to ask you something." Cedric said as he entered the study.

"What is it?" Emilio Reyes asked as he placed down his book and looked at his son.

"The syndicate is planning something that they think will tear our company apart. On top of that, the backers are Carlos De Dios and his son, Chris." Cedric explained as he stood in front of his father's desk. "The two leaders that are in contact with Carlos De Dios have an issue with the Reyes Group. Dad, they are saying that we had an employee that died and they want revenge for that."

"Cedric, many people die everyday, some while at work. We haven't been immune to these things. It's a fact of life. Plus we've always taken care of those that died while in our service." Emilio Reyes told his son as he leaned back on his seat.

"They say we claimed that the cause of death was a heart attack, but when they looked closer it wasn't. They say we lied to them about their relative's death. Has anyone ever come up to us about this?" Cedric asked as he placed a hand on his father's desk and leaned forward.

"It can't be." Emilio said as the color on his face suddenly drained.

"So we have a hand in this?" Cedric asked his father. He was hoping and praying his father would say no, but from Emilio's reaction the answer was clear.

"We do and we don't." Emilio said as he looked down, he clearly felt bad about this issue. "Is Miguel at the guest house?" Emilio asked Cedric.

"I think so. Why are you asking for Miguel?" Cedric was now even more puzzled with his father���s odd request.

"Because I don't have the right to tell this story, Miguel should." Emilio told Cedric, as his son dialed Miguel's number.

Miguel arrived after a few minutes still wearing his white coat. It was clear that he had just arrived from the hospital when Cedric gave him a call.

"Cedric, Uncle Emilio, what did you need to speak to me about? Please don't send me and V away." At Miguel's second statement Cedric and his father burst out in laughter, they would never send the young couple away.

"Don't worry Miguel, as long as you need it, you can stay." Cedric said, shaking his head. "It was actually dad that called for you." He added.

"Miguel, please tell Cedric about the man you were named after." Emilio Reyes asked Miguel.

Miguel was surprised. "Uncle, you knew about Uncle Miguel?" 

Emilio Reyes gave a slow nod and sighed.

Miguel sat and took a deep breath before finally telling Cedric the story he and his siblings had just told Katerina and Veronica. He told the story without looking anyone in the eye, he always got emotional when remembering his uncle, the man's story reminded him about how cruel his family could be.

After Miguel told the story, Cedric was speechless.

"My uncle Miguel was supposed to be an example for all of us. Tow the line or regret it. The funny thing is all three of us have rebelled in our own way. Eric with his acting, me with my charity work and my refusal to take over Saints, and Nicole with her choice to be with Ian. But it still scares me how far my family is willing to go just to get their way." Miguel said with a sigh.

"They were supposed to go even further." Emilio Reyes said as he stood up and walked towards the window, he looked out and took a deep breath. "Cora Manalo was a bright and promising employee at the Reyes Group. When she ran away with your uncle she asked for my permission. I've always been a sucker for love and I made your uncle Miguel promise to keep her safe. I reminded him about how cruel your family can be. One day, I was surprised to hear that Cora had drowned. Your father came to my office and begged me to find a way to find Cora's and the baby's bodies and have them returned to the Manalo family. We only found Cora's. The Chan family were already looking for a way to dispose of the body and they were planning on telling her family horrible things about her. It was their way of burying the secret."

"You took the fall." Cedric said as he placed a hand on his father's shoulder.

"I had my men steal the body and return it to the Manalo family. We told them she died of a heart attack at work. We sealed the coffin so that they couldn't see the sad state of her body." Emilio said with a sigh.

"Was the child really dead?" Miguel asked.

"There was no body, but a one year old child couldn't swim. Cora and her child drowned when their boat was sunk." Emilio Reyes explained.

"Martin's last name is Manalo. I'm assuming that Cora was their aunt." Cedric said slowly.

"Cedric, I'm so sorry. All of your troubles are because of my family and their inability to accept people." Miguel said as he looked down and shook his head. "Let me talk to them, let me explain that they are angry at the wrong people."

"We can't. The syndicate is backed by Carlos De Dios. This will be used against us." Cedric explained to Miguel. "But, we can use something like this to turn one of the cousins into the fall guy, the one that leaks all the information and ends the syndicate."

"I'll do whatever you need Cedric." Miguel said with a determined look.

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