Never Judge

Cedric paced across his office in his Mountain View Mansion as they waited for news. Today was the day they would confirm if Aiden was really hiding out in the convent.

"Bro, calm down." Ray told him as his friend kept one ear tuned into listening to his subordinate's reports.

"I just feel like all our hard work can be ruined in a moment." Cedric sighed, shaking his head.

"I didn't think he would hide there." Benedict suddenly said, shifting Cedric's attention to him.

"What do you mean?" Cedric asked as he sat down.

"My brother hated that place with a burning passion, he swore he would shut that school down the moment he had enough influence and power." Benedict said, shaking his head. "That place, it holds so much of our memories as kids, all painful ones."

"It seems you went through a lot there as well." Eric said as he observed Benedict closely.

"Yup, I did." Benedict said with a nod. Cedric could see how much pain the place caused Benedict, it was clear in his eyes. 

"I never stopped my brother, when he said he would close that place down." Benedict added. "I didn't even stop him when he said he would ruin the people there that made our life so bad."

"The Roccis?" Ram asked, as he held his breath in, somewhat scared of the answer Benedict would give.

"No, the Roccis and Edward came in much later." Benedict said, shaking his head. "They hurt my brother when he was in university, I didn't know them, so I didn't stop that either. No these people from our younger years, my brother prepared a much more painful hell for them."

Cedric watched as Benedict gripped the side of the seat, clearly trying to shove his emotions down. Whether it was pain or anger or something else, Cedric didn't know, but he wouldn't have to wait to know.

"I hated them, all of them, but not to the point that I would kill them." Benedict confessed. "I just wanted them to live a life worse than ours. For them to feel the pain I felt growing up. Aiden knew this." Benedict said with a frown.

"You don't have to tell us if you can't." Miguel said, resting a hand on Benedict's shoulder.

"No, it's fine." Benedict said, shaking his head. "Camilla is right, I should let these feelings out more often." He said with a laugh, thinking of his sister.

"Alright." Cedric said with a nod, allowing Benedict to continue.

Cedric glanced at Ray as well, who shook his head, signaling that there was still no movement on Aiden's end.

"They were bullies, they knew something was wrong with our family life and they made rumors about us." Benedict recalled. "The rumors went as far as calling us unwanted children, they shoved it in our faces whenever they could. Eventually their bullying turned physical, my brother was strong, he would try to fight them off, but he couldn't go against ten guys his age."

Benedict looked up, he was a bit surprised to see that he still had everyone's attention. He took a deep breath and continued his story.

"Aiden wasn't always evil, our past molds us, and it's how we use those experiences that matter, and it all went wrong with Aiden and I." Benedict explained. "I'm not defending my brother, everything he has done is wrong, I'm just saying he had his reasons, we had our reasons."

"You and Aiden went through that same pain Benedict." Alexi said, giving Benedict a sympathetic look. "But the way both of you processed what happened was different."

"I just wish, he could have changed." Benedict said with a frown. "When things got better for us, Aiden went up to me and told me he had a plan, a plan to get back at our bullies, and I listened, and I agreed."

"You were angry too." Cedric said with a nod. 

"That's the thing, Cedric. You went through something similar and you didn't follow the same path as Aiden and I." Benedict said, shaking his head.

"I went down a pretty dark path as well." Cedric said with a shrug, confessing what he did was also quite sinister in nature.

"No, compared to Aiden you were kind. Those men that bullied you were evil, they should have gone to prison." Benedict told Cedric. "Our bullies changed when we grew up. A few even apologized to us when we were in Uni, but to Aiden that didn't matter, it never mattered."

Benedict took a deep breath, gathering himself before telling the others his story.

"My brother eventually became rotten to the core, it was a mixture of our upbringing and my grandfather filling his head with vengeance. To him, regardless of what you did to atone for your past mistakes, you cannot and should not be forgiven." Benedict explained.

"One day, he asked me if I was busy. At this point I was already planning his whole revenge plan, making sure all our investments were in the right place. So I didn't have much to do, so I accompanied him." Benedict told them. "He took me to a warehouse in the province, in our old province, and he told me we would be getting our first taste of revenge."

Benedict hesitated for a moment, he knew that what Aiden had done was horrific, part of him still couldn't get over what he saw back then. 

"When I walked inside I saw all ten of our bullies, tied up, chained to a wall. They could move a distance, but not too far. My brother laughed as he pointed at the people across them, when I saw who it was I was shocked. I saw wives and children, all in chains, only an arms length from their husbands and fathers." Benedict felt as tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Benedict, you don't need to tell us if you can't." Cedric told him with a sad look. It seemed the memory hurt Benedict more than he let on.

"No, you need to know this. You need to hear this. You need to understand that no matter what, my brother, cannot be redeemed or forgiven." Benedict insisted.

Cedric simply nodded, telling him to continue.

"My brother tortured their families in front of our bullies. Those men, when they saw their wives and children cry out, they would reach for them, running as the chains tugged on their necks, slowly hurting them, drawing gashes as they pulled, making them bleed." Benedict said in a pained voice. 

"The more their wives and children cried out, the more the men tried to run to them, desperate to help. Eventually those small wounds that refused to heal were bleeding them dry, the adrenaline in their system stopped them from realizing it, but soon all ten lay dead as they desperately tried to save their wives and children." Benedict said, recounting what had happened. 

"And my brother, he laughed, he enjoyed every minute of the torture, every minute of their slow death." Benedict said, shaking his head. "I said nothing, I just stood there and watched, I should have stopped him. But I was too weak, too afraid."

"What happened to the wives and children?" Ram asked, clearly afraid of the answer he would get.

"My brother had no use for them, the bullies were dead and he didn't want any witnesses." Benedict said as his voice faltered. "He killed them, he smiled as he personally slit their throats."