Never Judge

"Has Cedric come down yet?" Ayanna asked as she grabbed a piece of bread from the table, she wasn't one for breakfast. She normally just ate a slice of bread and headed for work.

"No." Emilio Reyes said as he looked at his daughter. "You know that's not healthy right?" 

"I know, but I can't really stomach food in the morning." Ayanna said with a shrug.

"Benedict! Camilla! Good morning." Ayanna greeted as she watch the siblings arrive at the dining room. 

"Ah, you've decided to bring your grandfather along for breakfast." Emilio Reyes said as he nodded at the old man who was on a wheelchair.

"Thank you for letting me stay." Clemente Ortiz said as Camilla took over from the nurse, pushing him towards the table.

"You can thank the Lobos when they get back from work." Emilio said with a smile. "This is their home after all. We are just guests." 

"I should also thank you and your children." Clemente Ortiz said with a nod. "If it weren't for your forgiveness I'm sure the Ortuiz family would have died out today."

"We could never harm Camilla or Benedict." Ayanna said, shaking her head. "Camilla is like a sister to Cedric, and Benedict has grown on us." Ayanna teased, making everyone in the room laugh.

"I also owe you and your friends and apology Emilio." Clemente Ortiz with a serious look on his face.

"We've already spoken about this, Clemente." Emilio said, shaking his head. "What's done is done. My friends and I were more than happy to provide for Camilla growing up."

"Uncle, I promise to make it up to you." Camilla said as she looked at Emilio and Ayanna. "I will dedicate my life to the betterment of the Reyes Group."

"We don't need your life Camilla." Ayanna said with a laugh. "The Reyes Group will do just fine with your ordinary dedication. I'm sure my father and uncles just want you to live a happy and healthy life."

"And no, I will be married to my job bullshit." Emilio Reyes said with a laugh as he shook his head. "I don't want to see people in the Reyes Group suffering because of overwork. I'm sure Cedric would hate that even more."

Ayanna nodded, agreeing with her father.

"My brother understands the employees much better than we do, it's of course because he was one for his entire working career." Ayanna added. "He would never accept an employee saying they will drop their personal lives for the company."

"I'm sorry uncle Emilio, but I think Cedric will bring the Reyes Group to new heights under his leadership." Camilla said with a sly grin as Emilio Reyes just laughed at her. 

"No need to apologize Camilla." Emilio Reyes said, shaking his head. "I already know how good my son is. He learned things that I never would have imagined. His poverty training taught him things that even I never learned."

"The Reyes Group will be entering a new era under my brother." Ayanna said proudly.

Everyone around the table nodded in agreement, they all acknowledged that Cedric was the genius that the Reyes Group needed to take it to new heights.

"Mr. Reyes, you are up early." Ivan Lobo remarked as he and his family arrived.

It had been tradition for the Lobo family to attend first Friday mass together every month since Jam's death. The mass was held at 6am so when they woke up Emilio and the rest of their guests were still in bed.

"Mr. Lobo." Benedict said in a shy voice. Everyone was shocked because he usually sounded so confident and so sure of himself.

"Benedict, what's with the formality?" Ivan Lobo asked. "I told you to just call me uncle."

"Uncle." Benedict said with a nod. "My grandpa and I have some things we would like to say."

Ivan Lobo nodded as he took a seat at the table.

The Lobos valued tradition and position quite highly, even with the change in their attitudes this was something that couldn't be easily shifted for them.

They made sure that the person who would sit at the head of the table was always the most powerful person in the house, at that moment, it was Cedric.

So it came as a shock to Clemente Ortiz that Ivan Lobo sat across him, he knew that in the eyes of this family the Ortiz's were way below them.

"I think you shocked the old man." Emilio Reyes said with a laugh, treating Ivan Lobo more like an old friend, rather than someone that had looked down at his son in the past.

"Some traditions can be changed." Ivan Lobo said with a nod. "Without Aiden, you and your family are better in my eyes. And who am I to judge, if the Reyeses think well of you now, then I should too."

"You know that it doesn't work that way." Emilio Reyes said, rolling his eyes. 

"It might not for you, or in the world you Reyeses have tried to build, but out here, your opinion is still highly regarded." Ivan Lobo said, keeping his words as formal as possible.

Emilio Reyes simply shrugged and returned to eating his breakfast.

"I understand that my grandson, Aiden, did something unforgivable." Clemente Ortiz said as Benedict placed a hand on his grandfather's shoulder.

Benedict knew it was hard for his grandfather to accept that Aiden had ordered Jam to be killed for no reason at all.

Then again, Benedict was against the whole idea of killing for revenge, something his grandfather still hadn't accepted wholly.

"You have every right to demand blood for blood." Clemente Ortiz said. 

"The world had moved on from that practice, Mr. Ortiz." Ivan said, shaking his head. "Aiden is gone, he won't be able to harm other people anymore. That is enough for us."

"Then allow me to offer you more." Clemente Ortiz said.

Benedict and Camilla gave their grandfather a curious look, they thought their grandfather was simply going to ask for forgiveness, not offer up something to the Lobos.

"There is no need Mr. Ortiz." Ivan said. "Your granddaughter is a friend to my niece and my daughter. She helped Amanda and Tony adjust to their new life in the capital. No additional compensation is needed."

"I offer you all of the Ortiz properties in this province." The old man said suddenly, shocking everyone in the room.

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