Never Judge

Cedric waited for his mother to fall asleep before stepping out to make arrangements. There were still a lot of things that needed his attention and Cedric wanted his father to focus on keeping his mother company.

His first agenda was to check up on Dave and Mae, he quickly dialed Mae's number to get an update from them.

"Sir." Mae said as she picked up the call.

"What is the status on your end?" Cedric asked.

"We've been receiving calls non-stop, different agencies asking us to confirm if their suspicions are correct." Mae said. "They are afraid to publish anything regarding your identity in case they get it wrong."

"What time is Jen's interview airing?" Cedric asked.

"Seven hours from now." Mae told Cedric. 

"Schedule a press conference for before that." Cedric instructed. "Have they called asking about my mom?"

"Yes, it's part of the questions they ask, but now they are more focused on figuring out your identity." Mae informed him.

"Include that in the agenda of the press con." Cedric told Mae.

"Where would you rather have it sir, at R Tower or at the hospital?" Mae asked Cedric.

"At the hospital. I don't think I'll be able to leave here without being hounded by the press." Cedric instructed. "And, Mae, I would prefer if the press con happens sooner rather than later. I would like to continue working on the investigation rather than just waiting here." Cedric added. He also wanted to take his wife home so that she could rest.

"Since the press is already there sir, I don't think it will take long to arrange." Mae confirmed. 

"Thank you Mae." Cedric said sincerely. He appreciated his people's hard work and loyalty very much. He knew that sometimes, doing their work came at a very personal expense. 

After arranging everything with Mae, Cedric called Alexi up. He had left his friend in charge of the investigation and he was anxious to hear an update.

It took a while before Alexi picked up the phone, but he eventually did.

"Do you have her?" Cedric asked. He didn't have to say who he was referring to.

"We do." Came Alexi's reply. "Right now we are keeping her in isolation, nothing starts a torture better than ones own thoughts." Alexi told Cedric.

"I trust you on that." Cedric said over the phone.

"I saw that you stepped out into the public today." Alexi said, mentioning Cedric's surprising actions.

"I didn't want to visit mom like a thief in the night." Cedric said with a sigh. "Plus the person I had been hiding my identity from has shown his face, he also probably knows who I am by now since Jen did that interview. Hiding in the shadows will do me not good."

"Well, I was against you keeping your identity a secret from the very beginning." Alexi chuckled. "I still think you should have let people know the moment you came back."

"You know it wasn't that simple." Cedric said with a sigh. "Adrianna didn't know who I really was and I still wanted to give her family a chance." 

"And after you dealt with the Hernandezes?" Alexi asked over the phone.

"I did it for Adri." Cedric admitted.

"We both know that things would have been much better for everyone if you had told the world the truth from the beginning." Alexi scolded Cedric.

"We don't know that." Cedric answered back. "For all we know Aiden could have done worse things by now. At least this way my whole family is still alive."

"That's true, and yet despite this we still don't have a clue about what Aiden is planning." Alexi said with a sigh. "Do you even have any idea on why he killed Jam?"

"No." Cedric said with a frown. "That's something I plan on finding out once we capture him. We will avenge Jam."

"I'll see what we can learn from Jen first." Alexi told Cedric over the phone. "Is it bad to hope that she will tell us the truth the first time around?" Alexi asked, hoping for the best.

"You know it won't be that easy." Cedric said with a sigh.

"Oh before I forget, Natalia and Adolfo took some men and raided Jen's apartment." Alexi informed him. "They found the serums Jen took, but some were already gone. We think she gave it to Aiden on the night of the wedding." 

"Are they dangerous serums?" Cedric asked. 

"A few that Natalia was working on with foreign government agencies." Alexi explained. "They aren't dangerous per se, it's the application that could be dangerous."

"Can any of the serums help us with our investigation?" Cedric asked.

"One." Alexi said proudly. "It's called the Veritas Serum."

"Truth Serum? Really? She has hundreds of those, didn't say they weren't as effective as she hoped?" Cedric asked Alexi.

"This one is different, it's much more potent. It can even tap into subconscious memories. Things Jen could have just overheard but ignored." Alexi explained. "It just has a bad side effect."

"At the moment I don't give a shit on the side effects." Cedric said angrily, he was surprised to hear Alexi laughing at the other end of the line.

"We don't care about the side effects either." Alexi said.

"What are the side effects?" Cedric was now curious.

"She will be sterile, unable to bear a child in the future." Alexi explained.

"If she ever escapes." Cedric said angrily. He didn't plan on letting her escape, especially since she and Aiden had tried to kidnap his son, caused Mia's death, and harmed his mother. Jen would never be seeing the light of day again.

"I told you we wouldn't care." Alexi said proudly over the phone. "I'll give you a call once we get information from her."

"I might be back there by then." Cedric told Alexi.

"Won't you stay with your mom?" Alexi was clearly confused based on his tone.

"Adrianna is also exhausted, and the hospital is not a place for my son right now." Cedric explained. "I also want to focus on the investigation. There is little I can do here to help."

"Alright." Alexi said, giving in to what Cedric wanted. "We'll wait for you. Mind giving Nicole a ride too? We need her here to administer that serum without overdosing Jen. An overdose can still kill." 

"I'll talk to Nicole." Cedric said as he dropped the call.