Never Judge

Ian and Samantha sat next to each other as they anxiously waited for what their father, Richardo Lim, had to say.

Their family history had always been a complicated one. The Lims had never been clean, they had always clawed their way up to the top, but Ian thought he knew all of the dark and shocking truths. He never expected something as big as this one to come to the surface.

"Your grandfather was a friend to the old dictator and his most ardent financers." Richardo Lim explained.

"So grandpa was part of the founding members of the Rajas?" Ian asked.

"Well the answer to that is much more complicated, it seemed that he was, but he wasn't." Richardo explained to his children.

"Dad, are you trying to confuse us?" Samantha asked her father as she leaned forward and gripped the edges of the couch she was seated on.

Ian placed a hand on his sister's shoulder to calm her. Of his two sisters, Samantha had always been the more hot headed one.

"Your grandfather was not like the Raja founding members." Richardo Lim explained. "He didn't come from an affluent background nor did he go to an elite school. As a matter of fact he was a simple farm boy when a rich relative saw potential in him and sent him to the capital to study."

"That still doesn't answer the question." Samantha pointed out.

Their father shook his head and gave a small laugh.

"You've always been impatient, Samantha. Let me finish my story, then you can ask your questions." Richardo told his daughter.

"Fine." Samantha crossed her arms and leaned back, clearly annoyed with her father's comment.

"As I was saying, he didn't have the proper background or pedigree as you would call it, but they were his friends. He was often seen around them, speaking to them, making business deals with them and out of friendship they would bail his family and friends out of hard times." Richardo Lim explained.

He paused for a moment and observed his two children seated across from him. He waited to see if they wanted to interrupt, but neither did and so he continued.

"In your grandfather's last few years I did eventually ask him if he was one of the founding Raja members or if he was part of it." Richardo finally explained to his children. "Your grandfather told me that he never asked to be associated with them, he never wanted to be part of the Rajas."

The room was silent for a moment until Ian finally spoke.

"So why did Henry believe that it was the Rajas that helped him?" Ian asked.

"Probably because your grandfather was friends with many of them and because the Rajas didn't exactly make it a secret that they would support your grandfather's endeavors." Richardo calmly explained as he carefully studied his childrens' expressions.

To his surprise, Ian suddenly got up and left the room. He didn't even say goodbye, he simply walked out, got in his car and left.

As he drove through the old city his phone began to ring and he was forced to pull up in the side.

"Cedric." Ian answered the phone as he noticed a group of people he didn't particularly like approaching.

"Have you settled your family matter?" He asked from the other end of the call.

"In a way, I have." Ian said calmly as someone began to tap on his window.

"You do know that we trust you, we know that we didn't even think of your betrayal, not even for a second." Cedric explained to his friend.

"I did, I do, I have faith in you guys, but it means a lot that you are telling me this yourself." Ian smiled as the man outside continued to tap on his window.

"Lim!" The man outside shouted, making Ian roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Is something wrong, Ian?" Cedric asked, he knew that only those that had looked down on Ian in the past called him by his last name.

"Yeah, just some pests I haven't gotten around to dealing with." Ian grumbled.

"Shouldn't they be afraid of you now?" Cedric was clearly confused as to why these people would want to harass Ian.

It was quite well known that Ian was not just Cedric's assistant, but a good friend as well. People in the business world also knew that he was behind the rise of his family and it's slow return to its old place in society.

"Some people just shouldn't be allowed to reproduce." Ian commented, making Cedric laugh.

"Hey Lim, don't be such a coward, show your face. We know you had something to do with a lot of the other companies falling. We know you're behind what happened to the Juans years ago!" The man outside shouted as he continued to challenge Ian.

"You didn't bring your bodyguards, did you?" Cedric's concern was clear and Ian knew he was about to get scolded by his friend. "Those guards are normally enough to deter those idiots."

"I can deal with them on my own." Ian confidently answered.

"Them? How many are they?" Cedric asked as Ian heard the men start hitting his car.

"They are idiots and I can handle them." Ian confidently answered.

"You don't need to fight them." Cedric quickly said. He knew that Ian was planning on taking on those men head on in a fight.

"I don't, but I find it best for idiots like these to be taught their lesson in person and painfully." Ian grinned as he turned off the engine of his car as he spotted a policeman approaching. "I'll go straight to Mountain View after this so you can scold me. For now, I'll deal with this my way."

Ian dropped the call before Cedric could even argue with him.

"He forgets I'm also the King of the Underworld's third in command." Ian chuckled before opening the door, hitting his assailants and pushing them back for a bit.

Outside where three men dressed head to toe in luxury clothes. Ian on the other hand was wearing an unbranded suit made by Henry.

"What do you want?" Ian asked coldly as he closed the car door behind him and glared at the other men.

"You think you can intimidate us with your fake fancy job? What favors did you do for the Reyeses for them to give you such a good job? At the end of the day you are still nothing but a poor man." One of them said as he spat at Ian's face.

Ian was disgusted by their actions as he pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and whipped the spit.

He couldn't help but feel annoyed that these people didn't seem to have any originality, still accusing  him of the same things they had for the past seven years.

Ian took a step forward and gripped the man by the collar, slamming him against his car.

The man was suddenly shaking, shocked by the fact that Ian was willing to get his hands dirty.

"Sir, this man is beating up our friend." One man called out as he waved to the policeman approaching them.

Ian couldn't help but smile, things were just about to get a lot more exciting.