Never Judge

Miguel chuckled as he waved for Mae to hand the document over to him.

"You knew she wouldn't be able to understand it, didn't you?" Cedric asked as he rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Not really." Miguel said with a shrug. "I never know what your assistants are capable of. They tend to be these bundles of talents and skills."

"I just pick them well." Cedric said with a grin.

"Please, we both know Ian and Camilla were selected by your dad." Ray said with a smirk.

"No, not really." Ayanna said as she came to her brother's defense. "Dad hired them and pretended to do their interviews, but it was Cedric that found them."

"What?" Ian asked Cedric as his jaw dropped. "I thought our first meeting was at Mor Co.! Bastard." Ian hissed.

"We're getting too far off topic." Cedric told his friends as he looked at Miguel. "What are the results doc?" 

"Don't patronize me Mr. Big Cold CEO." Miguel teased back.

Cedric gave him a smirk before nodding, gesturing for him to go give the news to Mae, Mien, and Marisa.

"Based on the test results, Mae and Mien are siblings." Miguel announced, to which Mae began to sob.

"It's tears of joy." Dave explained as he let Mae cry into his chest.

"Mom?" Mae asked as she looked at Marisa with a smile.

"Yes, my beautiful daughter. I'm so sorry we got separated but I couldn't come back for you right away. If I did, they would have killed you." Marisa said as she cupped Mae's face in her hands.

"Mom." Mae said as she continued to cry. "Dave, I have a family."

"I know Mae, I know." Dave said as he smiled at his girlfriend.

"I have a mom, a brother, and aunt, an uncle, and a grandmother." Mae said as she continued to cry, allowing for all the pent up emotions to flow.

Mien stood up and walked over to Mae and hugged her tight.

"No wonder we got along so well." He said with a chuckle. "I'm so happy we are siblings."

"Me too Mien, me too." Mae said with a nod. "Or should I call you Mattias."

Mien hesitated, unsure of what he should say. For most of his life he had been called Mien. He didn't even remember the time he had been called Mattias.

"Whichever you are more comfortable with, choose that." Marisa said with a nod.

"I'll need to think about it." Mien said with a smile. He was glad that his biological mother did not insist that he use his name at birth. Mien was happy that she was giving him the power to choose.

"Mom, what happened?" Mae asked Marisa. "Why did we get separated?" 

Marisa closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"You were five, your brother, aunt, and uncle had already moved to Singapore while your father was in Texas hiding out." Marisa explained as she recalled the memory as if it was just yesterday.

"They had been getting closer and closer over the years, so we were, at this point, living in the jungle. We would only come out to go to the market to buy what we needed for the next two months." Marisa told them. "While we were in the market I spotted one of them and needed to shake them off."

Cedric watched as a tear fell from Marisa's eye. Clearly the pain was still quite strong, Cedric couldn;t imagine what it would have been like to lose a child like that. He couldn't imagine losing Yoyo or any of his unborn offspring.

"I left you at a stall and hid you, I ran and caught their attention." Marisa said in a distressed tone. "They chased me out of the market. I sought refuge with some of the locals. I told them my ex-husband had sent the men and I needed to hide. They were nice enough to let me stay till I saw the men give up."

"As soon as I was sure that it was safe I went back to the market." Marisa explained. "I was so worried because it was already dark. When I got there, you were gone. I asked the woman who had owned the stall and she told me some men had taken you. I was so scared that the men I had just escaped managed to capture you."

Marisa began to cry even more as she recalled her fear that day.

"I was so scared when I lost you, I felt that I would lose my mind too. I sent a letter to Fernando and Terry, telling them that I thought you had been kidnapped and that you would be used against us." Marisa told them. "When no one threatened us with your life I feared that you had died."

"I was found mom. I was found and brought to an orphanage." Mae said as hugged her mother. It was her turn to comfort the older woman. "Mom, you protected me and I lived a good life. My adoptive parents were the best. They took care of me and treated me as their own."

"I should have just left you at home that day. I usually leave you at home." Marisa said as she continued to cry.

"Mom, it's all in the past." Mae said as she patted Marisa's back. 

"Your father, he never lost hope. He told me that you couldn't be dead. He said someone simply found you." Marisa told Mae. "And he was right, Mae, he was right. When he found you he risked everything to send me that letter, it might have even gotten him killed."

"As much as I hate to ruin this reunion, Marisa, who were they? Who was after you?" Cedric asked.

"We never found out." Marisa said as she shook her head. "After a few years the encounters became less and less, that's why Fernando or Terry would sometimes come home. They would visit me and look for Mae."

  "Did Fernando know who it was?" Cedric asked.

"He might have. He didn't tell me everything, even where he had hidden Andrew Chan was a secret he took to the grave."

"The letters." Mae said as she turned and looked at Cedric. "Maybe Fernando, no, my dad left some clues in the letters." Mae said as she adjusted to referring to Fernando as her father.

"Mom, did you keep his letters?" Mien asked Marisa.

"Yes." Marisa said with a nod. 

"Mom, we'll need to see those letters.." Mae told Marisa with a new found determination in her voice.

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