Never Judge

At R Tower, Cedric arrived to see Ian already hard at work on his desk.

"How can you have so much energy after dealing with Nicole all night?" Cedric teased as he let out a yawn, he too had been busy with his pregnant wife. 

"You should be more careful with your wife, sir." Ian said adding the sir as an afterthought.

"Have the others sent in their plans for the take down?" Cedric asked.

"Yes. Camilla and I can discuss it with you now." Ian said as he gathered his notebook and laptop. 

"Alright. Then I want to see the expansion report. Construction should be done so make sure to bring Veronica over to start designing the new factories and offices in our new hub." Cedric said as he gave out instructions.

The princes were all efficient in their work. As soon as the next day started the news was filled with reports about five companies people were calling the fatal five. They all woke up to hear that Lights Entertainment, a long-time business partner had decided to end years of cooperation with them.

When people heard this, it became clear that the fatal five had just offended the Abad family. Companies didn't get banned all together, it usually happened one at a time, so what they had done must have been something big to get a giant to move like that.

The senior executives of the fatal five were either clamoring to fix things or finding a way to jump off the sinking ships.

Ian reported to Cedric how some had even applied to the Reyes Group saying that they had long intended to leave the companies they were in. 

The excuses of course made Cedric laugh, it was clear to everyone that they were leaving because they didn't think their companies could survive.

"Make sure that those who are trying to jump ship have a harder time. You can't escape that easily." Cedric told Camilla, who nodded and jotted things down on her notebook.

"Congressman Sebastian's assistant called this morning. He's already gathered evidence against the companies on bribery, tax evasion, and multiple health and labor violations. We should hear about all of these in the afternoon." Camila told Cedric.

"Alexi sure is efficient." Cedric said with a grin. "Have any of the companies approached us for funding or support?" Cedric asked.

"Yes sir. Two out of five have already called the Reyes Group." Ian told Cedric.

"Great. Set up a meeting with each of them. And make sure all five are begging us for support." Cedric ordered.

Ian nodded and continued to note Cedric's instructions.

There was a knock at the door and Camilla walked over to see who it was. 

"Miss Ayanna." Camilla greeted.

"Is my brother busy?" Ayanna asked.

"Come in Ayanna, we were just discussing some things. What do you need?" Cerdic asked after hearing his sister's question.

Ayanna's heels clicked against the hard floor as she entered Cedric's office. She took a seat on the couch and relaxed. Ian came over with a cup of coffee and Ayanna nodded her thanks.

"If you were talking about your revenge plan, no need to make Ian and Camilla leave." Ayanna said as she gracefully sipped from her coffee.

"You have something for me?" Cedric asked as he leaned forward in his seat.

"I checked our files, we have some partnerships lined up with all five of those companies, all for Elisia Malls. It would be a perfect ending for you to cancel the partnerships then ban them." Ayanna said with a gentle smile.

"You and Ray truly are a match made in heaven. Who else could deliver such news with an innocent smile." Cedric teased his sister who just rolled her eyes at him. "Have your assistant give the documents to Ian or Camilla. You're right, that would be perfect."

"Why not use Island's Inc. too? You do have a stake in it." Ayanna suggested.

"Are you crazy? Do you want your brother to sleep outside?" Cedric teased.

��I doubt Adrianna could resist you." Ayanna laughed. "You were still yawning this morning when you stumbled out of the house. And Adrianna was still asleep when I left."

"Island's Inc. is completely separate. Just as how dad never interferes with the Clarin Holdings." Cedric warned his sister.

"First of all dad always interfered, just like you, mom just doesn't know about it." Ayanna told Cedric. "Second, sister-in-law would be more than happy to help you out. Anyway, I've got a ton of work to deal with, so bye." Ayanna said as she left his office.

Cedric couldn't help but laugh at his sister, she was truly quite a character. A willful child one moment then a female boss next.

In the afternoon, the news came in, Congressman Alexander Sebastian's task force had just discovered that the fatal five had bribed some of his political rivals. As Cedric saw the news he couldn't help but grin, it seemed Alexi had figured out a way to turn Cedric's plan to his benefit as well. Trust Alexi to be the most cunning and exploitative among them, of course those were skills he needed being in politics. 

"Sir, here's what's on social media." Ian said as he handed Cedric a tablet. 

Cedric scrolled over the different forums.

'What's going on? Why are there so many big companies falling into traps today'

'Did they offend someone?' 

'My cousin said, pull out all of your investments in them, they will all plummet by dinner time.'

'First they cross Lights Entertainment then the president's son? They must have a death wish.'

Multiple news outlets had also already picked up on the woes of the fatal five and were constantly reporting about the five companies and their going ons in recent years. 

"I didn't even know some of these things." Cedric said with a laugh as he read an article.

"The media is really good at digging dirt up, sir." Ian said as he stood by Cedric's desk.

"Has Ram released anything on them yet?" Cedric asked as he handed the tablet back.

"Mr. Abad's assistant sent over a schedule of the releases he plans to make." Ian said as he opened a file on the tablet and showed it to Cedric.

"Any news on Katerina?" Cedric asked as he looked at the schedule Ram had planned.

"Attorney Sebastian said she would be filing the cases soon. Mr. Abad promised to give her top slot in the news that night when she does file the case." Ian reported.

"Alright. Keep an eye on how the public reacts." Cedric said as he dismissed Ian.

The whole day all people could talk about were the fatal five companies and how they managed to irk two very powerful men.

When Cedric got home, he found Adrianna resting on the couch, reading a book, and playing classical music in the background.

"Mmm. How's our little one today?" Cedric said as he sat down beside Adrianna and pulled her into his arms.

"Behaved. He isn't giving mommy any issues." Adrianna said as she gently touched her baby bump. 

"How sure are you that it's a boy?" Cedric asked his wife. "I think it's going to be an adorable baby girl just like her mother." Cedric said as he kissed his wife on the lips.

"Behave." Adrianna scolded. "I just have a feeling."