Never Judge

"Thank you for granting an old man\'s request." Grandpa Chan said with a smile as Cedric appeared on the stage.

Cedric kept his cold demeanor and nodded.

"Emilio Reyes, Cedric\'s grandfather, and I go way back. We were friends in our youth just as Cedric and Miguel have been friends since they were children." The old man boasted as Cedric stood next to him.

Cedric smiled and nodded as the host handed him a microphone.

"Cedric, we the Chan family are beyond grateful that you have found someone we had thought passed away. It pained me to think that a grandchild of mine could have died without us being able to do anything and never meeting him." The old man said as he washed his hands of any involvement in the death of Uncle Miguel\'s wife.

"It\'s nothing grandpa." Cedric said. "When I saw Lucius at the Gizmo Awards he reminded me so much of Miguel that I couldn\'t help but notice the similarities."

"Oh, so it was at the Gizmo Awards that you looked him up?" Grandpa Chan asked.

"Yes, of course." Cedric said with a nod. "It was my first time seeing him or even hearing about him. I was quite surprised to hear that he owned a startup tech company that was doing decently." 

To everyone it seemed like Cedric was praising Lucius, but Cedric knew that Lucius was now furious at him. It was as if Cedric had said that the Arch Group was way too small for him to notice them, so small that his people didn\'t even care to report back about the company.

Cedric smiled as he saw Lucius frown at his words, he was glad that he got the message. 

"We are very thankful that you have brought our missing relative to us." Grandpa Chan said with a smile.

"You\'ve done a DNA test?" Cedric asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do we?" Grandpa Chan asked. "You yourself told us that everything matched up perfectly. That there was no question in your mind that he is a Chan." 

"It never hurts to be sure." Cedric said with a shrug. "I hope you don\'t take this the wrong way Lucius, many people would love to take advantage of a moment such as this."

Lucius simply nodded, choosing not to say anything.

"Cedric, this is Chan family business, you have no right to interfere." The old man said.

"Cedric, he won\'t budge." Miguel said as he came up next to Cedric. "We\'ve tried to convince him to do a DNA test, I think that\'s what pushed him to do this public announcement."

Cedric nodded at Miguel and turned his attention back to the old man.

"Very well sir." Cedric said with a nod. "I respect your decision. After all, I\'m sure Uncle Miguel is looking down, watching how you treat his son." 

"What are you trying to imply?" Grandpa Chan asked Cedric as he glared at the younger man.

"Only that there are dues that must be paid, grandpa." Cedric said with a shrug as he turned and left.

When he approached his table, Cedric was stopped by one of his father\'s bodyguards who indicated that Emilio Reyes wanted to speak with him.

Cedric simply nodded and obliged. 

"Dad, you wanted to talk?" Cedric asked as he sat at the vacant seat between his father and grandfather.

"This isn\'t business you should involve yourself in, son." Emilio Reyes scolded Cedric. 

"Don\'t pretend you have no idea why the older Miguel Chan died, father." Cedric said in a bitter tone.

"Ah, there is your temper and hot headedness." Emilio Reyes said with a chuckle. "I was wondering how you could hide it so well."

"Dad, with all due respect, don\'t you guys want to know what happened to your friend\'s son?" Cedric asked, he found it odd that their generation was not that eager to find out if Lucius Ting was indeed Uncle Miguel\'s son.

"Cedric, let the Chans have their time." His grandfather, Emilio Reyes II, said as he placed a wrinkly hand on Cedric\'s. 

"But grandpa -" Cedric began to complain before his grandfather began shaking his head. 

"I know my friend, he had lived with the regret of his second son\'s passing all his life." Grandpa Reyes said with a frown. "He has lived his life in regret and all he wants to do is to make up for everything."

"And what if this man is someone else?" Cedric asked.

"Then the Chans will have to live with the consequences." Emilio Reyes II said with a shrug. "They are a family of geniuses, one of them should figure it out."

"I won\'t let my friends lose everything to a man like that." Cedric hissed. "Lucius Ting is a threat not only to the Chans but to the Reyeses as well."

"Are you trying to tell me that you can\'t handle one measly businessman?" Emilio Reyes II asked his grandson.

"Of course I can deal with him." Cedric said, crossing his arms. "I just don\'t think he is Uncle Miguel\'s son. I think the Chans are making a huge mistake welcoming that man into their family."

"The child died, Cedric." Emilio Reyes said, shaking his head. "Don\'t you think we placed every resource into finding that child? Miguel Chan was a friend, just as Eric is your friend. He was like a younger brother to all of us."

"The technology now is different from your time, dad." Cedric told his father.

"And the trail back then was fresh." Emilio Reyes said in a cold and intimidating tone as he glared at his son. "The child is gone, drop it."

"What are you trying to say, dad?" Cedric asked as he gave his father a puzzled look.

"I\'m telling you that this is over, Miguel Chan\'s child died as an infant with his mother." Emilio Reyes said.

"Wait, you said his." Cedric said, quickly catching his father\'s mistake. "The child was really a boy, not a daughter."

"Cedric, enough of this." Emilio Reyes II scolded his grandson. "Your father already told you. They did everything to find the child, but the child was dead, so drop it."

Cedric frowned and walked out on his father and grandfather, there was something the elders were not telling them and he couldn\'t figure out what it was.