Never Judge

While in the middle of enjoying his freedom, Ian's phone began to buzz once more, this time the call was expected.

"Seth." Ian said as he picked up the call and watched as crowds began to gather outside Saints Hospital.

It seemed that word had finally gotten out that the Chans would be hosting a press conference at the side of their hospital. Ian watched as media vans and reporters in their personal cars drove up to the front.

"Lucius Ting seems to be in a fit." Seth reported over the phone.

Ian had asked his friend to see if they could sneak in some people into Lucius Ting's inner circle.

According to their suspicions, if Lucius Ting was indeed not as brilliant as they thought, Seth's men would be able to join the ranks with ease.

And it seemed that Ian's suspicions were right. With a little deception, Seth was able to send three spies into Lucius Ting's group.

"We expected him to be." Ian said in a low voice as several reporters began to enter the coffee shop he was in.

He could overhear them talking about their suspicions on what crime the former head of the Chan family had committed. It went as close as malpractice to falsification of documents, it seemed that everyone was truly baffled by how things turned out.

Ian couldn't help but consider simply blending in with the crowd and listening to what they had to say.

Unfortunately, he knew this was impossible. Most of the reporters were familiar with him at this point. He had not only spoken for the Reyes Group, but for the Chans and his own family business as well.

If it weren't for his disguise and his laptop covering half his face, he was sure that the reporters would have recognized him.

He also didn't want to abandon Nicole in front of everyone. He wanted to be there for her in every way. They might not be legally married, but to him, she was already his wife, he didn't need a piece of paper to tell him that.

"According to my men it looks like he has run out of options. Do you still want them to stay?" Seth asked.

Ian stirred the cup of cooling coffee in front of him as he considered his options.

Even if they knew that Lucius Ting wasn't as brilliant as they first thought, he still didn't want to underestimate the man.

Based on his genes alone he was smart, and if he wasn't he wouldn't have survived working for the Esteves family then Aiden later on.

His companies would also have been long gone if he didn't have some sort of intelligence to him.

On the other hand Ian worried about Seth's people. He didn't want them to be anywhere near Lucius Ting when things went rock bottom, he still had to protect them as well.

Normally, he would have asked for a second or third opinion on this matter. It was to heavy for him to simply decide on his own, but he didn't have the luxury of time.

In a few minutes his car would pull up to the front of Saints hospital and Nicole and Miguel would step out to address the issue.

One that bomb dropped Lucius Ting would definitly lose whatever calm he had left and he would get desperate.

"Do you think it is dangerous for them to stay?" Ian knew that Seth would have at least assessed the situation with a lot more details. His men often reported things that Ian didn't need to know but Seth still asked for.

"No." Seth gave Ian an answer he wasn't sure he wanted to hear.

His gut told him to ask them to stay, he knew things could always take a turn for the worst in the end, but this time he didn't know if his gut feel was right.

"Look, Ian, I know you are hesitating." Seth knew Ian quite well and he was sure that when Ian began to ask questions like these and go silent, it meant he had his doubts. "My men knew exactly what they were going into. Plus they did this for more than just the job."

Ian was surprised with the latter part of Seth's statement.

"What do you mean by that?" Ian asked Seth as he noticed the cafe was filling up more than he had expected.

He would need to leave soon, he didn't want the crowd hounding him for answers before the press conference.

"The people that went on that job, they have beef with Lucius Ting or his sister, Louise." Seth explained. "They knew the risks, as a matter of fact they were quite surprised at how easily they gained Lucius' trust."

"He could still be playing us." Ian commented as he signalled for his bodyguards to prepare his exit plan.

"My people know the risk they are taking." Seth insisted. "I also doubt they would leave if I asked them to."

Ian looked around and spotted the woman at the counter seemingly draw the attention of the other guests.

She of course knew who Ian was.

Back when he helped the Chans run Saints Hospital he frequented this place and acted like an ordinary customer.

His exit plan, in case the front door became unavailable, was to leave through the employee entrance.

"Just make sure they are safe." Ian said as he dropped the call and began to pack up his stuff.

The timing was perfect as Nicole and Miguel were set to arrive soon, so he wouldn't have to wait in the small alley in the back for too long.

He was closing his laptop while keeping his head down, when one of the camera men shouted.

"They're here!" The man pointed out the glass window as Ian's car drove up with the fleet of security vehicles that Cedric had provided.

"Perfect timing." Ian said with a chuckle as the reporters quickly rushed out of the cafe.

"It seems like we might just find out what the old man did." Ian overheard the gossiping pair who had remained in their seats the entire time.

This time Ian didn't hesitate to reveal who he was. He slowly took off parts of his disguise and fixed his hair so that it would somewhat resemble it's normal state.

"Mr. Lim, it seems you didn't need to use the alley." The manager said with a laugh as soon as she saw Ian get up.

"Luckily, I didn't." Ian said with a laugh, much to the surprise of the two gossiping women on the table near him.

Ian gave them a wink as his bodyguards handed him a suit to put on top of his casual shirt.

"And yes ladies, you will be finding out soon enough.." Ian said as he walked out of the cafe while everyone's attention was directed elsewhere.