Never Judge

"I thought everyone had been looking for her for years, how is it possible that you were able to find her in a matter of months?" Mien asked as he was in a state of shock.

"We didn't look for her." Mae announced, shocking everyone in the room. "She came looking for us."

"What?" Cedric asked, he was confused by what Mae meant.

"It seemed that she and Fernando still kept in touch somehow." Mae explained. "I know we looked into all of Fernando's records but found nothing, but I think he had someone helping him get messages  to her."

"So she went looking for us because the messages stopped?" Cedric asked, assuming that was why she contacted them.

"Yes and no." Mae said tentatively. 

"You better start explaining." Cedric told Mae as he crossed his arms on his chest. She was being very confusing.

"Before Fernando had died he sent Mien's mother, Marisa, a letter about meeting their children and how if he were to go missing, she should contact me or Mien." Mae said as she bit he lip.

"Mae, what do you mean her children?" Cedric asked as he looked Mae directly in the eyes. He had a suspicion but he didn't want to dare jump into conclusions.

"I don't-" Mae tried to say as her hand shook. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and  calmed herself. "I don't know, Cedric. I'm not sure what Fernando or Marisa meant by that, I'm just repeating the message."

"Go on." Cedric said with a nod as he ignored the other question in his mind temporarily. 

"She told me that she hadn't received a letter from her husband in a while, and she knew it only meant one thing, that he had died. That's why she contacted me." Mae said as everyone's eyes continued to look at her.

"I mean, I can see a resemblance." Ian said, breaking the silence.

"Miss Lara, do you know anything about this?" Cedric asked as he turned to look at Mien's adoptive mother.

"I can't say for sure if she is Fernando's and Marisa's daughter." Lara said as she observed Mae closely. "I lost contact with Marisa when we moved to Singapore, I'm not sure if my husband kept in touch with her. Back then we had to take Mattias out of the country because Fernando told us to."

"Did Fernando tell you why you had to leave?" Cedric asked.

"No, just that people who were way more powerful than we could imagine would want to get their hands on his son. They didn't know about his daughter, just his son." Lara explained.

"Is there any chance that you have all of your husband's belongings? Maybe there is something there?" Ian asked Lara.

"It's possible, but I'm not sure." Lara said tentatively.

They were all surprised when Cedric suddenly began to laugh like a mad man. 

"Why am I so stupid?" Cedric asked as he pulled out his phone and shook his head. He quickly tapped on it and called someone.

"Hello? Cedric? What's up?" Miguel asked over the phone.

"I need another DNA test done." Cedric told Miguel in a serious tone.

"Why? Wasn't the test on Mien enough?" Miguel asked. 

"It's not for Mien." Cedric told him. "Fernando had another child aside from Mien."

"Oh, you found her?" Miguel asked.

"She's been with us the whole time." Cedric grinned at his assistant who was now clearly anxious.

"Not again." Miguel grumbled. "You get way too lucky with these things. It's Mae, isn't it?" Miguel asked.

"Probably, we won't know for sure until we do a DNA test and the results come back confirming a DNA match." Cedric told his friend.

"I'll send a team over right away." Miguel promised as he dropped the call.

"A DNA test is the fastest and most guaranteed way of finding out if you really are related." Cedric announced. "Miguel is sending out a team to collect samples." 

"Mae, are you alright?" Mien asked as he looked up at Mae.

"I'm just in shock. I don't know what to think or feel. I don't even know if I want this to be true." Mae said as she began to sob.

"Don't worry Mae, it's going to be alright." Mien said as he tried to comfort his supposed sister.

"What if I become hopeful that the results are positive and it comes out negative?" Mae asked through her sobs. "I've always wanted to meet my family, what if I become hopeful only for that family to be taken away from me."

Ian placed a hand on Mae's back as he tried to comfort her. 

"Mae, no matter what the results are, Cedric, Dave, Camilla, and I will always be here for you. We will be the family that you need." Ian said in a comforting tone.

"And it's not like you can get rid of me." Mien said with a chuckle. "Whether or not we are siblings, biologically, I already think of you as my sister."

"Isn't it disgusting that you attempted to hit on your sister?" Dave asked as he entered the room.

Cedric had quickly sent him a message, filling him in on what had happened and telling him to join them to comfort Mae.

When Mae saw Dave, she quickly got up and ran into his arms, hugging him tightly.

Her actions caught him by surprise, it was the first time she was showing any form of affection in front of Cedric and Ian. 

"Don't worry, Mae. You'll always have us." Dave said as he kissed the top of her head and held her tightly.

"As much as I would hate to ruin this moment, Dave, I need to ask Mae something." Cedric said as Dave gave him a weak smile and released his girlfriend from his arms.

"Yes boss?" Mae asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"When can we talk to Marisa Benitez?" Cedric asked as he brought the conversation back on topic.

"She said she can meet as soon as we are ready." Mae said as she recalled her conversation with the woman who could possibly turn out to be her mother.

"Are both of you ready?" Cedric asked Mae and Mien.

The pair looked at each other and nodded.

"Yes." They said at the same time, making Dave laugh.

"Set a dinner meeting for tomorrow. I'll try to convince Miguel if we can have the DNA results by tomorrow." Cedric informed them. "As soon as you are done giving your DNA specimens you can all go.. It's been a long day and we all deserve the rest."

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