Never Judge

Adrianna had settled into a new habit after losing her job at Island's Inc., Cedric was right, she didn't need to work. The Reyes Group made so much money that it could support generations to come. Every morning, Adrianna would go over to Raja Tower to accompany her uncle and cousin, after which she would take a walk in a nearby park then meet up with one of her friends to hangout at the mall. 

At every moment she was accompanied by Mia and several other bodyguards, all of whom remained hidden allowing Adrianna to walk around like a normal person rather than some VIP who was constantly surrounded by bodyguards. 

One day, as Adrianna strolled in the park, an unmarked van stopped by the curb and a group of men rushed at Adrianna. They were all wearing caps and masks in order to hide their identity from any witnesses or CCTV cameras nearby. They were prepared to kidnap Adrianna.

Unfortunately for them there was one crucial detail they didn't know, Adrianna's bodyguards. As soon as Mia and the others spotted the suspicious men, they jumped into action. One group subdued the men, another made sure that the getaway vehicle couldn't leave, while Mia led another group to secure Adrianna and take her to the car. 

Everything happened so fast that by the time Adrianna had realized what had happened, Mia was placing her in the car and telling the driver to take them back to Mountain View.

"Who was that?" Adrianna asked as she tried to catch her breath.

"We don't know ma'am, but we are taking them to a secure location. We have also notified your husband already as well. Unfortunately, he is still at work so he asked us to keep them till he gets off." Mia explained to Adrianna as they drove away in full speed.

At the Reyes Group, Cedric was in the men's room when he punched a wall. Why was it possible that someone had managed to plan a kidnapping for Adrianna. He had been so careful in hiding the fact that she was married to the Reyes Heir.

He wanted to rush off and deal with the people that tried to take Adrianna, but their investigation was entering a crucial phase and he couldn't just leave the office. He was already getting to learn how far up the syndicate went and how many people were actually part of it. He also managed to acquire a list of companies to whom the partnerships were being sold.

Cedric took out his phone and quickly dialed a number.

"Someone tried to kidnap Adrianna." Cedric said in a hushed voice, he didn't want anyone to hear.

"Want me to deal with it while you're at work?" Ayanna asked her older brother. She had taken a leave of absence from her school to help out in running the Reyes Group and the Clarin Group of Companies, and was currently in her office at R Tower.

"Work with Ray, Alexi, and Katerina on this. Have Ram suppress any media attention it might get. Check with Miguel and Nicole if they have a way of getting the truth out of the culprits." Cedric said as he gave his younger sister instructions.

"Alright, I got it. We'll be at the bunker." Ayanna said as she dropped the call.

Despite giving his sister instructions on how to deal with the matter, Cedric couldn't sit still. He had already made a quick call to Adrianna and even asked Dr. Santos to go to Mountain View to do a quick check up on his wife. Dr. Santos had told them that Adrianna and the baby were fine and that there was no need for Cedric to worry.

That day, every minute felt like torture to Cedric. He kept looking at his watch or checking his phone to see if there were any updates. What worried him even more was Ayanna had not sent him any updates yet on who was behind the kidnapping attempt. 

When it was finally time for him to leave the office, Cedric ignored his normal practice and hopped on a cab. He made the cab driver take him first to the old house before transferring to his car where Leon had already told the driver where to go.

When they arrived, Cedric found Katerina and Ayanna sitting with their legs crossed and staring down at several men who looked like they had been beaten to a pulp. Alexi and Ray on the other hand stood closer to the men giving out commands on how to torture them.

"Anything?" Cedric asked in a tired voice.

"None yet. But we are just waiting for Miguel, Nicole, and Natalia to arrive." Ayanna told her older brother.

"Why?" Cedric asked his sister as he approached.

"Natalia was working on a serum for the government that makes spies sing their deepest darkest secrets. The only problem is, she doesn't know how much to safely administer, that's where Nicole comes in. As an anesthesiologist she could estimate how much should be given." Katerina explained as she watched her brother and his friends torture the kidnappers.

"What about Miguel?" Cedric asked.

"In case one of them almost dies." Ayanna said with a shrug.

After a few minutes Miguel, Nicole, and Natalia finally arrived with some equipment.

"Are you planning on operating on them?" Ayanna teased as the equipment was rolled in.

"These serums are highly sensitive and need to be administered a proper way." Nicole said as she prepared them.

"I want the truth by tonight." Cedric said.

"Let's go out. You need a smoke or a drink or maybe fresh air." Ray said as he placed an arm on his friend's shoulder and dragged him out.

"Will it be alright to leave them?" Cedric asked Ray as they climbed the stairs out.

"I'm more worried about you. Those men tried to harm your wife, I'm pretty sure you want to kill them." Ray said in a serious tone.

"I'd rather kill the person who ordered the kidnapping." Cedric said as Ray handed him a cigarette. Cedric rarely smoked, the last time he did so was right before proposing to Adrianna. He was so nervous that day that he had to take a puff just to calm down.

"Give it a few minutes. From what I heard, Natalia��s serum is so potent that it only takes five minutes to take effect. Then the real work begins, someone needs to get the truth out of them. Ideally we would have called Eric, his Psych doctorate would have made things easier, but he's abroad doing a shoot." Ray explained to his friend.

As Cedric was finishing off his cigarette, an excited Nicole came out of the bunker.

"We know who it is. Come back in." Nicole told them as she turned around and went back down.

Back in the bunker, Cedric could see Miguel checking the vitals of each kidnapper. "It's too strong Natalia, we got lucky Nicole is that good or else they would have died." Miguel complained as he attended to the unconscious men.

"Well if I make it any weaker they won't talk." Natalia explained.

"Ah, Cedric you're back." Alexi said as he spotted his friends' return.

"Nicole said they spoke." Cedric didn't beat around the bush, he went straight to the question he needed to ask.

"They were hired by the Hernandez and Chu family to kidnap Adrianna and take her to one of Mark Chu's villas." Katerina said before Alexi could explain what the kidnappers had said.