Never Judge

"I want to go." Al argued as he sat in the living room of their palatial mansion.

"You just want to go because of the girl." Ray told his son as he looked down at him.

Ray Lawrence had just gotten confirmation that Colin Jao had left the country and was headed for a city called Lowe City on the other side of the world.

He had managed to get information on how often Colin Jao was in Capital City and who his known associates were.

"Al this should have never happened anyway, Cara should never have been your friend if your Uncle Seth's people didn't allow you into the Mafia. I will fix this first." Ray told his son as a maid announced that Ian Lim and Seth Dean had arrived.

"I'll receive them in my office." Ray told the maid.

He paused and looked at his son for a moment.

Al looked up at him, practically pleading with his eyes. Ray had never been too stern of a father and often gave in to what his children wanted.

He however was far more logical than his friends, knowing when stern discipline was needed and when he could be more lenient with his son.

"Come with me." Ray said.

Al quickly jumped up and followed his father, he was just glad that he wasn't forced to be in the dark.

They walked down the more private hallway that led to Ray's home office. It was quite silent as Al found it quite difficult to speak up to his dad, he didn't know if his words would cause him more harm than good.

"Someday, Aldrich, all of this will be yours, not just the wealth or the power, but the responsibility and the dangers as well." Ray explained as he broke the silence. "It's not easy being king of the Underworld, it never has been, that's why I want you to be prepared."

Al stopped in his tracks and looked up at the back of his father's head as the man continued to walk, not minding that his son had stopped.

"Were you prepared?" Al asked his father.

Ray stopped and turned to his son, he shook his head and sighed.

The look on the older man's face was conflicted, there was pain and yet Al could see that his father didn't seem too sad about the question.

"Let's not keep your uncles waiting." Ray told his son as he continued to walk.

Al nodded and followed the man.

"Your grandfather believed I would have enough time to learn while I was part of the Mafia. He didn't expect that at a young age I would have to face the possibility of the Lawrence family no longer ruling the underworld." Ray said as he recounted the past to his son. "There was a plotted rebellion, I was forced to dismantle it from the inside and take over from my father."

Al frowned at his father's lack of detail but made a mental note to ask him about it later on.

"I was basically a thug trying to be king, and I struggled a lot. You will be a king that has been both a prince and a son of the mafia." Ray explained to his son as they reached the doors of his office.

Ray stopped and touched the door, he took a deep breath and kept his back to his son as he spoke.

"Al I'm not bringing you along because of the Jao girl, you will be in this meeting because you will take over for me someday. You were wrong to enter the Mafia without my permission, you were wrong to get attached to the target." Ray scolded in a deep voice. "Don't let it happen again."

With that, Ray opened the door and entered his office.

They didn't have to wait long for Ian and Seth to join them.

Seth Dean kept his head bowed, clearly guilty from the fact that Al had somehow managed to join his Mafia and even secured a mission that Ray would never have approved of.

"Did you know?" Ray asked in a cold tone as he glared at Seth.

"That Al was in the Dean family Mafia?" Seth bravely asked.

"That your people had a mission involving a child!" Ray roared in anger.

"I knew that Cara Jao was being watched." Seth confessed as he stole a glance at Al. "I knew that we had people on her, but I didn't know that they placed a minor to watch her. I didn't even know that we had minors in our ranks."

"You need to get a better grip over your people, Seth." Ray warned as he glared at the man. "Not only are they using children, but stalking a child as well? You know my bottom line!"

Ray was clearly furious that the Dean family had followed Cara.

"I will look into it." Seth said as he looked down, clearly guilty about his shortcomings.

He and Ray might be friends outside, but in the Underworld, what Raymond Lawerence said was law and he was his boss.

Any small mistake made by his people and there would be hell to pay.

"Did you bring him?" Ray questioned.

Seth nodded in response.

"Bring him in." Ray ordered.

Seth turned and opened the door. Two of the Laurence Family's bodyguards dragged a man with his head covered by a sack in.

"No!" Al gasped as he realized who it was.

Seth made Hendrick kneel.

From where Al stood he could clearly tell that Herndrick was shaking, he probably knew where he was and who he was about to face.

He knew he made a mistake but had no idea how much larger it actually was.

"Uncover his head, I want him to know who he messed with." Ray said coldly, not showing any hint of emotion.

Al stiffened as his face became devoid of any emotion.

At that moment he was the son of the King of the Underworld, not Al Reyes.

As Seth took the sack over Herndrick's head off, the door's to Ray's office flung open.

"Uncle, he's my friend, please, don't." Emilio said, pleading before Ray and Al as he glanced worriedly at his friend who was on his knees.