Never Judge

Cedric and Dave's cab stopped on a busy street, it was lunch so a lot of people were walking around looking for a restaurant to eat at.

"It should be down there." Dave said as he pointed at a row of restaurants.

Cedric simply nodded and walked ahead while Dave duitily followed. After walking for a few minutes Cedric looked up and saw the restaurant signage it read, Cocina Casera, this was the place Jonathan Carpio had chosen for them to meet at. It was a small restaurant with all the tables occupied. Cedric knew that none of these guests were actually patrons, they were either his men or Jonathan's men.

Cedric fixed his suit and walked into the restaurant.

"Hola, mesa para? (Hello, table for?)" A waiter asked as he noticed Cedric and Dave enter.

"Jonathan Carpio." Cedric simply said. His Spanish was quite rusty and he didn't want to attempt to converse with the waiter.

Luckily the man understood him and led him to a table by the window.

At the table a man in his late fifties sat and smiled as Cedric approached. Cedric had met Jonathan Carpio in the past, but back then he remembered the man to be young and vibrant, today he looked worn with is black hair now turned gray.

"Cedric Reyes, you have grown up to be quite a handsome young man." Jonathan Carpio praised as he stood up and shook Cedric's hand.

"Uncle Jonathan." Cedric said respectfully, despite their family's history the Carpios and Reyeses had been coexisting peacefully in the past few years and Jonathan was still Cedric's elder.

The two men sat and the waiter brought over their food.

"I took the liberty of ordering for us." Jonathan said as the waiter left. "This place is my favorite restaurant, I often spend lunch here when I want peace. As you can imagine it's rarely peaceful with Calathea and her mother at home." Jonathan said with a laugh.

"I saw Calathea in the Capital." Cedric said with a nod as he tasted the food served to him. "This food is really good uncle. No wonder you like it so much." Cedric praised as he savored the Jamón that was served.

"I know you're a busy man, so I won't bother you with small talk." Jonathan said as he took a sip from his wine. "Why did you want to talk to me in person?" Jonathan asked as he looked Cedric directly in the eyes.

"There is someone or some people that I am looking for and I think you might be able to tell me who they are." Cedric said.

"I shall help you in whatever way I can." Jonathan said with a nod. "The Carpios and the Reyeses have enjoyed peace this past few years and I have no intention of disrupting it. I will point you at the right direction if I can."

"Two years ago, Regis Inc. sold off one of the companies you purchased, MT Summit. I want to know who bought it." Cedric told the older man. He watched as Jonathan's smile turned into a frown.

"How did you know about MT Summit?" Jonathan asked nervously. It seemed to Cedric that Jonathan would not be giving up any information easily.

"Many people talk, and many people listen." Cedric said with a shrug. He was not about to tell Jonathan Carpio that he had hacked into Regis Inc.'s system and gotten the information. "Will you tell me? Or will I need to convince you to tell me?" Cedric asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Jonathan Carpio looked down and sighed.

"I'll tell you, but I can't tell you much." Jonathan finally said.

"I'll take what I can." Cedric said with a nod. He didn't think Jonathan Carpio would lie to him, especially since Cedric had already threatened him.

"Do you know the history of MT Summit?" Jonathan asked.

"It was a bank that closed." Cedric said simply, it was all he knew anyway.

"Yes it was a bank, but it has a much more complicated history." Jonathan said as he called a waiter over to refill his glass of wine. "MT Summit was a bank that was also being used as a front by a man named Rene Lim - Ty."

Cedric suddenly looked up, he knew who Rene Lim - Ty was.

"I see you are familiar with the name. Rene Lim - Ty was a distant cousin of your assistant, Ian Lim. He was also the man that defrauded the Lim Family and ran off with a huge sum of their wealth as well as framed them for many crimes." Jonathan Carpio explained.

"What does the Lim Family have to do with your purchase and sale of MT Summit?" Cedric asked.

"Rene Ty's wife is my wife's cousin." Jonathan Carpio explained. "The Lim family for a time was one of the most vengeful out there. Ian's grandfather did not hesitate to have his cousin hunted down. So Rene and his wife turned to us. Rene was quite lucky, or unlucky, depends how you look at it. By the time the Lim's found him their money and power had hit a steep decline, they couldn't touch him, and by the time Ian started working for you, Rene died. During his time in hiding his wife asked me to purchase MT Summit and keep it under Regis Inc. I don't know why she needed me to do that but I did as she asked."

"Didn't she ask you to transfer the property to her name?" Cedric asked Jonathan.

"They couldn't. By the time I had purchased MT Summit Rene and his wife managed to offend an even more dangerous family, the Sebastians. One thing led to another and they both passed away. I tried to find their son, but it seemed he had gone into the system and there was no trace of him." Jonathan said with a shrug. "Two years ago I handed the reins of Regis Inc. to the management team, and their one request was for me to dispose of MT Summit. They believed that it brought bad luck. I didn't mind selling it since my wife's cousin and her husband had passed away. I had them process the sale, I didn't even know who purchased MT Summit, let alone the purpose of the purchase."

"Alright, then if you can't tell me who bought MT Summit, who can?" Cedric asked Jonathan.

"The new CEO." Jonathan told Cedric.

"And how can I get into contact with your new CEO?" Cedric asked the older man, he wished Jonathan would make it easier and just tell him who the CEO was and how to talk to him.

"I only promised to answer one question, I've answered more than one." Jonathan said with a grim look in his eyes.

"Uncle Jonathan, why can't you tell me?" Cedric asked.