Never Judge

When Max returned he was surprised to see his mother, happily chatting with a stranger.

"My mom doesn't usually get along well with strangers." Max said in a weirded out tone as he placed a box on the table.

"Most strangers don't get along with Katrina either, and yet here we are." Ian said with a laugh as Katrina glared at him.

"Max, meet my lawyer, Katrina Sebastian." Cedric said with a nod as he gestured towards Katrina.

"S- S- Sebastian? As in the President? You're related to the President?" Max said as he forced the words out of his lips.

This time it was Katrina's turn to laugh.

"You could say that we're related." Katrina teased.

"Katrina." Cedric said as he gave her a look of warning. "Katrina IS the President's daughter and is the sister of Alexander Sebastian, who is a good friend of mine." Cedric told Max, explaining who the woman in front of him actually was.

Max was at a loss for words, clearly he had never expected to find the first daughter happily chatting with his mother.

"Does she know who you are?" Max asked Katerina as he pointed at his mother.

"Nope." Katrina said, shaking her head with an amused look on her face.

Max suddenly turned to his mother and began speaking in the local dialect. 

His mother's smiling face soon turned into one of shock as she looked at Katerina. She gasped and covered her mouth as she observed the young woman in front of her quite closely.

She then began to say something quickly in her language as she hugged Katerina.

"What's she saying?" Cedric asked Katerina who was now smiling quite awkwardly.

"She's telling me about how much she loves my family, particularly my father and his projects." Katrina said with an awkward laugh.

Cedric knew that despite being proud of her father and brother, Katerina had always sought to step out of their shadow. She and the other sisters were the same in that aspect. 

The girls were all tired of their family names being hailed as the reason for their success. They wanted to show everyone that they were just as smart and just as brilliant as their brothers.

They were no longer pawns for good partnerships between families, they were their own selves and you could stand on their own.

"Can you translate for me?" Cedric asked Max who simply nodded.

"Please tell her that Katerina is also a bigshot in her own right. She's one of or if not the best lawyers in the country." Cedric told Max who repeated his words to his mother.

Cedric watched as Max's mother gasped upon hearing the news.

"Is that why she is here?" Max asked.

"Yes, I am in a sticky situation with the Baron Family and Katerina is here to help me get out of it." Cedric told Max with a smile.

"I'm sorry." Max said as he looked down and frowned.

"Sorry for what?" Cedric asked, he was perplexed by what Max had just said.

"You got into trouble with them because you had to come to our province, because of my brother." Max explained.

"It's not your fault." Cedric said, shaking his head. "I would have run into them eventually. This country is too small for me not to bump into people like them. Plus I looked for your brother, for my friends, for the Chans."

"Here are my brother's letters." Max said as he pushed the box towards Cedric. "I hope they help." 

"These will help a lot for our investigation." Cedric said with a nod as he handed the box to Ian, who took it and went to another room to put the box away.

"Is there anything else we can do to help you?" Max asked as he looked at Cedric.

"Yes, actually there is." Cedric told Max. "Your brother's family, it would be a huge help to us if we could find them. I think he may have stayed in contact with them."

"I can try asking his friends, maybe they heard from his wife." Max informed Cedric.

"Thank you." Cedric said with a nod.

"Maybe you should ask them too?" Katerina suddenly said as she looked at Cedric.

"Ask them what?" Cedric asked his lawyer with a confused look on his face.

"My brother didn't call, did he?" Katerina said with a sigh as she shook her head.

"Alexi found something out?" Cedric asked.

"Yes." Katerina said with a nod as she glanced at Mien. "It involves your father." She told they younger lawyer.

"What about my dad?" Mien asked as he anxiously waited for what Katerina would say.

"Alexi found out from dad that Cheng wasn't his real name. It was his alias that helped him blend in in Singapore." Katerina said with a frown.

"Does he also know if my mother changed her name?" Mien asked.

"Yes, she did too." Katerina confirmed as she nodded her head. 

"Did I miss anything?" Ian asked as he looked at the stunned faces around the table.

"You came back at the right time." Cedric said with a laugh as he gestured for his assistant to take a seat. "Katerina was just about to drop a bomb that Alexi forgot to call me about."

"Well, we can't exactly blame Alexi for forgetting." Ian said with a chuckle. The young congressman was facing a lot of flack coming from his relationship both with Jen and Selina. It wasn't something he couldn't deal with, it was just a lot.

"Go on Katerina." Cedric told her as he urged her to speak.

"According to dad's file, before moving to Singapore Cheng's name was Terry Sanchez and he was married to a Lara Sanchez." Katerina said as she recalled what her father had told them.

"No!" Max suddenly said, wide eyed and in shock.

"Do you know them?" Cedric asked Max.

"Y- yes. But, they went missing years ago, and they definitely did not have a son." Max said as he pointed at Mien. "This will come as a shock to you, but Terry Sanchez was my brother's brother-in-law."