Never Judge

Angelo walked up to the main house and asked a maid to inform Yu Zimo that he needed to speak to him.

With much fewer people and resources Al and Angelo had to split most of the work between themselves, there was only so much that the people at home could support them with.

"Mr. Angelo," Yu Zimo greeted as he came out to meet Angelo. "Please, follow me."

Yu Zimo led Angelo through the mansion towards the lower levels of the house.

Just like the Lawerence Mansion, this place was filled with people, both those that worked in the underworld and the staff of the mansion dwelt here.

"My office is this way," Yu Zimo gestured as he and Angelo walked through the maze of corridors.

"To confuse intruders?" Angelo asked as they rounded a final corner and Yu Zimo pushed open an unmarked door.

"Many people would like to see my family fall, of course, we would take the appropriate precautions, does your boss not do the same?" Yu Zimo couldn't help but ask.

"They do," Angelo responded with a nod as they entered the office.

Angelo had expected it to be a small office with a simple desk.

Instead, he was greeted by a large one that probably took up at least a good chunk of the area they were in.

The room was not empty either.

There were several men and women hard at work on their laptops.

Angelo shouldn't have been surprised. As the man being groomed to be the next right-hand, Yu Zimo was bound to have a big team under him.

"You seem surprised." Yu Zimo said, raising an eyebrow as he walked over to a bookshelf.

"It's just that you seemed so simple and unassuming when we met that I forgot you were so high up in the ranks," Angelo said with an apologetic smile.

Yu Zimo laughed and shook his head as he activated a hidden door in the bookshelf.

"My office," Yu Zimo told his guest as he stepped in ahead of Angelo.

He gestured for Angelo to sit across from him as the door closed and locked behind them.

"I value my privacy, so I don't keep staff with me when I have meetings with people I trust," Yu Zimo explained.

"You're quite similar to Al and the man that will be his right hand," Angelo chuckled as he recalled Tristan Lim and his own mannerisms.

Yu Zimo chuckled and shook his head as he sat back and waited for Angelo to speak.

"The boss–I mean, Al wanted me to follow up on something I noticed from the report," Angelo explained.

"And that is?" Yu Zimo asked as he leaned forward.

Angelo took out the document and handed it over to Yu Zimo for him to read.

"Ilya Pavlov's behavior tells us that he might actually be protecting something important to him or someone," Angelo told Yu Zimo.

Yu Zimo sighed and shook his head.

"You figured out that he had a kid," Yu Zimo said as he handed the document back to Angelo.

Angelo gave Yu Zimo a confused look.

The Guan Ming and Yu Zimo had told Al that they would do everything to help them, and yet the man admitted to withholding information from him.

Yu Zimo seemed to have registered Angelo's confusion and surprise, making him react and explain the situation.

"We knew that the Lawrence family didn't like harming children," Yu Zimo quickly explained. "We kept it off the file since we thought it wasn't relevant."

Angelo slowly nodded.

He understood what they had done in a way, but at the same time, it confused him.

"Al won't harm the child," Angelo said as he realized that Yu Zimo was now worried that Al would use the child to get what he wanted.

"He won't?" Yu Zimo was clearly shocked with Angelo's answer.

It was Angelo's turn to laugh and shake his head.

"Al might want to do everything in his power to get information on Colin Jao, but he would never hurt someone that was innocent," Angelo said, smiling at Yu Zimo.

The man before him relaxed and combed his hand through his hair.

"What does he plan to do with the information then? Will he threaten Ilya Pavlov?" Yu Zimo asked thinking that was the next most logical step.

Angelo shook his head and gave a knowing smile.

"Al will want to offer the man protection," Angelo explained. "He can guarantee that Colin Jao and his men never lay a finger on the child by sending them to his family."

"I thought he was undercover because he couldn't protect someone he loves?" Yu Zimo dared to ask.

"He can protect her, but he doesn't want them living their lives having to watch their backs because of her own brother," Angelo spat. "So will you help me or not?"

"What do you want to know?" Yu Zimo asked Angelo.

"Everything about this child. We need to know what we have to offer in order to get Ilya to consider working with us," Angelo explained.

Yu Zimo nodded as he stood up and grabbed his coat.

"Come, let's visit them," Yu Zimo said as he waved Angelo to follow.

Confused but not deterred, Angelo stood up and followed Yu Zimo.

On their way out, someone handed him a black coat as they made their way to the expansive garage under the mansion.

"Wait, where are we going?" Angelo asked Yu Zimo as he chased the man.

"To visit Ilya and his son," Yu Zimo said as he picked out a car. "Get it."

Angelo didn't even question the man. He hopped into the car as they drove out of the mansion's garage, through a dark tunnel, and out to a bustling street.

It was clear that they had driven a long way in the tunnel. It was meant to make people think that the only people living in that manion was Guan Ming's family and not his entire organization.

"They live in one of my apartments," Yu Zimo explained as they drove through the city.

"And they will be fine with us jut dropping by?" Angelo asked.

"Of course, the child's mother was my best friend."