Never Judge

"Ah, brother, nice of you to join us." Miguel said with a chuckle as he enjoyed the stunned looks on everyone's faces.

This was the last thing they had expected to happen. How did a press conference on the crimes of the head of the Chan family turn into an entertainment press conference?

Eric revealing his identity to the public as a member of the Chan family was long overdue. It was something he had been itching to do since he finally got together with Katerina.

All he needed was to reveal it at the right time and to get Katerina to accept that his was what he wanted.

Right now seemed to be the perfect opportunity as Eric explained to everyone that his identity could always be used as a weapon against them. He was tired of watching on the sidelines as his siblings battled every accusation thrown at their family without him.

Sure there were ways he had helped as an actor and a celebrity, but he wanted to do more, and this moment was the perfect opportunity for him to show his support for his family.

"Did my brother give you permission to be here?" Veronica teased Eric, as if to show how close the family actually was.

"Do I look like I need to ask Ram?" Eric responded with a raised eyebrow. "Plus I have the prized jewel of the Abad family as my sister-in-law, you'll side with me right?"

Eric's grin made all the women in the audience swoon. They couldn't help but wonder why he was flirting with his already married sister-in-law.

"If you didn't run this by him he will be pissed." Veronica said as she rolled her eyes at Eric, who simply laughed as a response.

Even this part of their interaction had been somewhat planned.

They had all agreed that now was the time to show the public that the Chans were a genuine family. This was in case Lucius Ting had any dirt left to throw at them, they would have the public on their side.

"Right, to the second part of our announcement." Miguel said as he gave the press a rare smile. It look pained, but a smile nonetheless.

The photographers and reporters quickly shook their heads and got over their initial shock of seeing Eric interact with Miguel, Nicole, and Veronica.

They quickly snapped photos of the events that were unfolding in front of them. They knew that if they didn't have anything to bring back as proof that Eric was part of the Chan family that owned Saints Hospital they could kiss their jobs goodbye.

"I know you all have your suspicions." Miguel said as he maintained eye contact with the reporters.

"I doubt we left much to speculate, Miguel." Eric ran his fingers through his hair, brushing it backwards.

"I'm sure they need to hear it from us for confirmation." Nicole told her brother as she remained seated, holding Ian's hand.

She was anxious, she wanted things to go perfectly and yet she was painfully aware that so many things could still go wrong.

Miguel and Eric both glanced back at their sister and gave her a nod.

Taking advantage of the situation, Veronica gave her husband a quick kiss on the cheek before making her way back to sit next to Nicole.

"Right, where were we?" Miguel asked as he tried to get back on track with their announcement.

"Me?" Eric said with a laugh as he pointed at himself, making his younger brother shake his head.

"Yes, him." Miguel nodded as he took a deep breath. "Our parents long ago followed a practice that the Reyes family would do, and that was to limit the presence of their children in front of the public. Mom and dad did this so that we could have a normal life."

The reporters were a buzz with this news, it may have been true, but no one noticed it. This was because right after finishing highschool both Miguel and Nicole were already accessible to the public.

Miguel, because of the intelligence he had shown at an early age. He was getting accepted into the top Universities all over the world and eventually becoming one of the best doctors around.

Nicole on the other hand had become quite popular due to their small group of friends, consisting of her, Ayanna, Veronica, Katerina, and Natalia.

Although not as popular as their brothers, the world was at least aware of their existence. They knew that the Chans had a daughter as their youngest and that she ran in the same circles as the other sisters.

"Eric Chan is my older brother." Miguel declared. "By tradition, he is the next head of the Chan family, a position he had chosen to give up in exchange for following his dreams of becoming an actor."

Everyone was silent as they waited for Miguel to tell them more. This was something that had taken them completely by surprise.

The eldest son of the Chan family was not supposed to be in the entertainment industry, they all knew too well how badly the Chan family looked at actors and models.

Even Veronica's and Miguel's marriage had caused a stir within the Chan household, and Veronica's family practically ruled the entertainment industry from a business standpoint.

"As you have all seen, I got no special treatment when it came to working my way up in the industry." Eric announced as he carried a more serious look than usual.

Gone was the innocent and fun image he liked to portray, now he seemed more like a businessman addressing the board of directors. For some reason this made a lot of women, and some men, admire him even more.

Whether it was serious or just  acting, they couldn't tell, not that they wanted to find out.

"I chose to come clean today because it has been difficult standing on the sidelines as I've watched my family constantly attacked." Eric said as he his feeling radiated to the crowd. "It is also because I want to move on with the next chapter of my life with the person I love."

There was an audible gasp from the audience, it seemed that the Chan family was throwing them twist after twist.