Never Judge

On the night that Guan Ming and Camilla were finally reunited, Nicole and Veronica also came back with good news. So after dinner they were all gathered in Cedric's office to hear what Nicole and Veronica had learned in the Chan Family home.

"So did you find out how Lucius Ting still has a hold on our family?" Miguel asked, he was still on Kashmere as they waited for Julia to regain consciousness.

"Yeah, and the reason will make you laugh, it's pathetic!" Nicole exclaimed as she adjusted herself on her seat. She was now eight months pregnant and ready to pop soon.

"Please tell me he isn't keeping a hold of the family because he knows about one of grandpa's children with his mistresses." Eric grumbled as he thought of the possibilities. "I mean it isn't a secret that we have uncles and aunts out there that might be our age."

"No, no, it's not that." Nicole said as she shook her head and brushed off her brother's worries. "Well, it's also annoying but let me finish first." She said as she scolded the actor.

"Fine." Eric responded as he kept silent and let his sister continue with what she had discovered.

"So it seems that grandpa has always been suspicious of Lucius Ting's real identity." Nicole revealed to everyone in the room. "From the moment Lucius Ting entered the room he had a feeling that he was not who he claimed to be."

"And how did you find this out?" Katerina asked Nicole with a raised eyebrow.

"It took a lot of convincing, but eventually grandpa understood that he needed to come clean for the future generations of our family. I promised that we would protect him." Nicole explained as everyone nodded and listened eagerly to her story.

"Go on, Nicole." Cedric said with a nod as he wordlessly promised that no one would interrupt.

Nicole took a deep breath before telling her story.

"As we all know, among all of our families, the Chans are the youngest in terms of wealth. So when grandpa inherited the small chain of hospitals and drug stores at first he acted like your typical new rich, spending money and not really caring for what happened to the business." Nicole explained, confusing Adrianna.

"Wait, I thought it was your grandfather that had managed to grow Saints Hospital to the successful company that it is today? Wasn't he also a doctor?" Adrianna asked as she looked at the Chan siblings.

"Grandpa was forced to become a doctor by his father, so he bribed him, grandpa couldn't inherit the company or gain access to his cards if he wasn't a doctor." Eric said with a shrug, shedding light on the past of one of the most secretive families in the country.

"It's a part of our family's past that grandpa doesn't like the public knowing about." Miguel admitted.

"Anyway, back then grandpa was out of control and he got into trouble with the wrong people. He had disrespected several old rich families and he was now in so much debt that he was about to lose Saints Hospital." Nicole said as she recalled the story her own grandfather had told her earlier that day.

"Let me guess, he borrowed from the wrong people? The people that Lucius Ting is related to." Eric Chan said quite confidently.

Nicole shook her head, much to the surprise of most people in the room.

"Borrowing money would have been the most obvious choice." Veronica said with a sigh. "But that's not what your grandfather did. He decided to go down a much darker path."

"You have to remember, grandpa was desperate and it was the first time he was in this kind of a situation. He didn't want to approach his father either since the company might be taken from him." Nicole explained.

"Murder, bribary, assult, malpractice." Veronica said with a sigh as she recalled the crimes that the old man had confessed to.

"WHAT?!" Miguel exclaimed as soon as he heard what his wife had to say.

"Grandpa was not a good man, Miguel." Nicole told her brother as she shook her head. "In order to save the company he had agreed to a deal with a government official, killing his rival through means that would make it look natural."

"So this person was a patient at Saints Hospital?" Eric asked calmly as he tried to learn more about the crime their grandfather had committed.

"He was. As a matter of fact the only reason why he chose to be admitted into Saints Hospital was because Grandpa and our great grandfather were the only people who had no connection to his rival." Nicole explained.

"This was back when what remained of the Rajas were still active." Cedric said upon realization of how turbulent those times were.

"It was, yes." Nicole said with a nod.

"So grandpa killed the man then what?" Miguel asked, his worry and a clear urgency could be heard in his voice.

"The politician that hired him used him as a runner, sending money to officials until one day, grandpa was caught." Nicole revealed to everyone in the room. "Fortunately for him at that time, the people who caught him were allied with his relatives."

"So he got out and he was safe?" Ian asked Nicole who nodded in response.

"That's what caused the change in grandpa, wasn't it?" Miguel asked as he looked at his sister.

"It was." She responded with a nod. "It was after that incident that grandpa became the savvy businessman that grew Saints Hospital. But the damage had already been done and he was exposed to this side of his family."

"They kept evidence?" Cedric asked as he realized that the old man wouldn't be so fearful if there was no proof.

"Grandpa isn't sure." Nicole told them as she shook her head. "According to him he saw the evidence burned, but he said he could never trust them. He always had a feeling that they didn't destroy everything."

"If what Grandpa suspects is true, can we protect him?" Eric asked as he looked at his girlfriend, Katerina Sebastian, who was deep in thought.

"I'm not sure, Eric." Katerina said with a frown. "If they go public with this there is nothing I nor my family can do."

Everyone was silent for a moment as Katerina's words sunk in.

They were some of the most powerful people in the country and yet there were still some problems that they could not solve.

Cedric looked around and noticed that everyone was exhausted, it had been a long day and adding another challenge only made the night heavier on them.

"Why don't we all call it a night and continue to come up with a plan for Grandpa Chan tomorrow?" Cedric asked as he looked at his friends and family. "We can't come up with a solution exhausted like this."

"Cedric is right." Ian said with a nod as he got up, stretched and yawned.

He then offered his hand to Nicole to help the mother of his children off of her seat.

"Let's call it a night." Nicole nodded in agreement.

"I don't want grandpa to just get away with this." Miguel suddenly said through the speakers.

"We will do what's right." Nicole said with a nod as she smiled at her brother.. It seemed that she had already expected that declaration from him.