Never Judge

"Is everything set?" Cedric asked as his car pulled up to the airport.

It was the first time since Ian's mysterious disappearance that Cedric was leaving the capital and going to a place that was not his home or office.

"Yes, sir." Dave responded as he handed Cedric a tablet filled with charts and reports.

"Thirty minutes." Cedric said with a sigh as he waited for his security team to give him the green light.

As soon as his security team gave him the all clear, Cedric quickly marched into the VIP lounge.

He smiled as he spotted Guan Ming, Camilla, and Katerina all waiting for him as they had planned.

"Sorry about that." Cedric told them as he frowned at his head of security, Leon.

"It's understandable, Ced. You have a much bigger target on your head right now." Camilla said as she gave her friend and boss a kind smile.

"Thanks, Camilla." Cedric said with a slight nod as Katerina walked up to him and handed him several documents to read through.

"This is it?" He asked Katerina who smiled and nodded her head.

"That's it, he's good to go." She told him as she gave Cedric a light squeeze on his shoulder. "It will all be over soon."

"I hope so." Cedric said out loud as he signed a few documents and handed it over to Katerina.

She quickly had an assistant process the papers as Cedric's men loaded a barely breathing Lucius Ting onto Guan Ming's private plane.

"I went a little bit too far." Guan Ming said as he looked down at his hands.

For months he had beaten Lucius Ting up, tortured him, and extracted revenge not just for himself, but for Cedric and Camilla as well.

"The deal was we had to hand him over alive and breathing, we met both requirements." Cedric grinned as he knew the Esteves family expected Lucius Ting to arrive in a sad state. "Have you discussed your issues with your brother?"

Guan Ming shook his head and frowned.

For weeks he had been avoiding the topic, it was a sore spot not only for him but for his parents as well. It was a reminder of a mistake his father had made before marrying his mother.

"I've sent him back, he can do less harm from there." Guan Ming frowned as he thought of the complicated issues he would be facing when he returned home.

But what he dreaded the most was not settling grudges with his half brother, rather it was being apart from Camilla.

"Sir, we got the clearance, the plane is departing." Dave informed Cedric, who simply nodded. "Sir, it's also time." Dave informed Cedric.

"Let's get on the plane then." Cedric told his companions as they left the VIP lounge and boarded a private plane.

On Ian's private island, he greeted and chatted with the different members of the Rajas.

Ian had summoned every single leader of the Rajas as well as their key subordinates to celebrate.

He had announced that he had important news that could spell victory for them.

Ian scanned the crowd and was satisfied to find his Uncle William and Jim among his guests. If he beat them to the punch before they could double cross him, then everything would be well.

He smiled as he noticed William Trent making his way towards him at the head of the table.

"I'm assuming you have earth shattering news." William Trent said as he raised a glass to Ian.

"Victory, that's what I have." Ian proudly said, not wanting to give out the details.

"Let us not delay then." William Trent told Ian as he drew the attention of the crowd.

All eyes were on Ian and William, the two most recognizable people in the room.

They all knew that the entire Raja organization rose and fell with those two men, and seeing them standing together couldn't paint a more powerful picture.

"Today, according to my sources, Cedric Reyes makes his ultimate move." Ian announced as he smiled at his audience. "Today, we end the Reyeses and their allies."

Beside Ian, William was smiling like a proud parent. As if he had built and mentored Ian into the man he was now.

Of course, Ian felt disgusted by this. He found it revolting that William would dare claim to have helped him, to have built him up when the man was nowhere to be found when the world came crumbling around them.

"When news errups of what Cedric and his friends are doing, we will collect what they have left." Ian said, much to everyone's cheers.

"Mr. Reyes and his friends have not just left the capital, they have left the country!" Everyone was shocked at this piece of information. They never expected Cedric to leave.

"Is it true?" Someone asked from the crowd. "Yes."

"Let's all raise a glass to Mr. Ian Lim!" William said as he raised his own glass, something everyone else raised their glasses as well as they continued to celebrate throughout the night.

Every so often, Ian would catch a glimpse of Jasmine Ortega. ｆ𝘳e𝒆w𝗲𝐛𝘯𝐨νe𝚕.cｏ𝓶

She would look at him in a seductive way before turning around and heading in another direction.

Ian wanted to laugh at how silly she was acting. He couldn't wait for things to be over so that he could return to his wife and children.

As the night went on, people began to head to their bedrooms.

Soon all were gone except Ian and William who sat at the veranda, smoking and drinking whisky.

"You've always been a smart kid, I'm glad you chose the right side." William Trent praised as they called it a night.

"Should I have someone walk you to your room? Or can you manage?" Ian asked as he watched the older man sway a little.

"I'll be fine." He told Ian as he waved and left towards the direction of the guest rooms. f𝘳ℯℯ𝙬𝒆𝚋𝐧oν𝑒Ɩ.c𝑜𝙢

When everyone was gone, Ian went not to his room or to Jasmine's room, but towards the docks where all his employees were waiting on a boat.

"Did everyone get out?" Ian asked as the boat left the island.

"Everyone was accounted for." The butler said as a sudden explosion came from the island.

"And the Rajas were no more." Ian said with a smile as they continued to sail towards the direction of Kashmere Island.