Never Judge

Cedric quickly discussed the plans with his assistants and Ian before sending them off to do their parts of the plan. 

He knew that they needed to act fast and they needed for all of their actions to be timed precisely. 

Cedric had come up with a plan that would make Lucius Ting fall into his hands so that Cedric could quickly get rid of the businessman.

He had also arranged for the Esteves family to send him help as well as to prepare to receive Lucius Ting once Cedric and his people were done with him.

What concerned Cedric was Guan Ming. The Chinese businessman had expressed his intentions to make Lucius Ting pay for being in a relationship with Camilla.

A part of Cedric felt that it was too much to go after Lucius Ting for a decision that Camilla made on her own, but another part wanted to see Lucius Ting suffer.

While everyone began on their tasks, Cedric decided to check up on Guan Ming and his friends to see if things were at least going well on their end.

He knew that Miguel and Ray would have just landed on Kashmere, so he decided to call Guan Ming first.

"Cedric." Guan Ming said in a much more relaxed tone when he picked the call up this time.

"Ming, I hope you are back in a place where it is safe to talk." Cedric told Guan Ming.

"I'm back in my room and I'm sure that the whole place has been secure while I was out." Guan Ming confirmed. "You were speaking in riddles, I mean I think I understood what you were trying to tell me. I just want to make sure I didn't misinterpret."

"Well, I'm not sure if I have time to explain. Do you have someone packing you some bags and getting you a ride to the airport?" Cedric asked his friend.

"Yes, I do, so can you please explain to me what is going on?" Guan Ming asked. "Was there a complication with Julia's rescue? Did the Esteves family harm her?"

"No, it was a good hand over, but to be honest I don't have all the details." Cedric said as he shook his head in frustration. "Miguel and Ray have already flown over to Kashmere to check on her."

"I'm guessing you used my mother as a decoy for having the great Dr. Miguel Chan fly over to Kashmere in such a rush." Guan Ming guessed.

"Miguel doesn't need an excuse to fly over there, but with your plane having been spotted landing before he left the capital, people will suspect." Cedric said with a sigh. "I would rather create our own false answer than have people speculate."

"I agree, and those speculations may lead to Lucius Ting investigating the matter." Guan Ming said.

"I think you should give Lucius Ting a call and tell him that your mother had a medical emergency on her flight back from Spain to Kashmere, that way he won't try to investigate." Cedric suggested. 

"I'll give him a call right before I get on the plane." Guan Ming said before hesitating to continue his statement.

"You don't need to tell Camilla, I already informed her and we got into an even bigger fight." Cedric said with a sigh as he recalled his call with Camilla.

"Let me guess, she doesn't want to be kept safe." Guan Ming said with a laugh. "I love that stubborn woman so much."

"They are so headstrong, I guess that's why we fell in love with them." Cedric said as he shook his head.

"I'm guessing she's not the only one you got into a fight with today?" Guan Ming asked.

"My wife, my sister, and Ian's wife." Cedric told Guan Ming as he laughed at his situation. "They all want to help, they are all capable of helping, but I can't bear to see any of them in danger."

"That's the problem with loving strong women, everything you love about them will also cause you to worry about them." Guan Ming told Cedric.

"Sir." Someone said on Guan Ming's end of the line.

Cedric heard some Mandarin being spoken, but he didn't understand the conversation. He knew his friend would tell him if it were something important.

"Out!" Cedric heard Guan Ming command.

After a while, Guan Ming spoke over the phone again.

"We may have a problem." Guan Ming told Cedric in a frustrated tone.

"You seem mad." Cedric pointed out.

"News travels fast in small social circles, especially when there are photos." Guan Ming said with a sigh. "It makes it worse when another businessman's wife is the one that witnesses it."

"Someone spotted your plane in Spain?" Cedric asked his friend.

"Not just the plane, the plane, my mom, and Julia." Guan Ming told Cedric. 

"Fuck." Cedric cursed over the phone.

"Don't worry, it won't affect your plans, it might just hurt mine." Guan Ming told Cedric.

"What do you mean?" Cedric asked, confused as to what his friend meant. "If Julia was spotted then we are both exposed."

"We aren't, all they saw was a Chinese woman getting on my plane with my mom. There are no photos of her face, just her back." Guan Ming told Cedric. "I need to tell Camilla."

"I'll tell her. She'll understand." Cedric said as he tried his best to help his friend.

"I would prefer to be the one to say it, but since you are mostly to blame for this I will let you do it." Guan Ming said with a poisonous laugh over the phone, which somewhat worried Cedric. 

"What are their speculations?" Cedric asked, he knew that others would already be trying to guess Julia's importance and identity.

"Just the usual, most think she is some girl my mom wants me to marry and is arranging a secret weekend get away." Guan Ming said as he seemed amused by the speculations. "I mean, the fact that Kashmere is closed for at least a week makes them suspicious."

"I couldn't have people seeing Julia." Cedric grumbled.

"My dad should be calling soon, if I keep the line busy he'll be pissed. I might as well make him think mom is sick so that Lucius Ting would believe me. I'll talk to you when I'm in Kashmere.." Guan Ming said as he dropped the call.