Never Judge

"Keep them in there for a year or two, they are still Adrianna\'s family." Cedric told Alexi.

"Cedric you are too kind." Alexi said, shaking his head. ​​

"Not all of us can be as heartless as you and Ray." Cedric teased.

"They will come after you again if you let them go." Alexi warned.

"They will never be able to get back up. They might be out of prison but their names will be forever ruined, their businesses will never rise, and everyone will look at them like the scum they are. That is a far worse torture than prison." Cedric explained.

With that Cedric left.

When the convoy of cars arrived at the Mountain View project Adrianna was surprised by the amount of security outside the community\'s gates. There was a highwall blocking the view of outsiders and the gate required a special tag to let the cars in.

"Only cars of residents are allowed in, and well our family, since we own the place." Ayanna explained.

"The whole community is walled in on one side and there is a cliff on the other side. The fence is electrically charged so intruder\'s can\'t climb over. There are also cameras every five meters and roving security teams." Ayanna recalled the security details of the community. She was part of the project initially when it was being set up, this was right before her father decided to send her abroad for further studies.

"Wow, that security is quite tight." Adrianna commented.

"Well, that\'s only for the main gate. Each house can have it\'s own security team, like your house, which is actually called the Pearl house. My brother has hired a team of guards to protect the entrance as well as roving guards to make sure unwanted guests can\'t come in. The outside is also full of cameras with no blind spots. This is, of course, on top of your personal security team." Ayanna explained.

"We have a personal security team?" Adrianna asked, confused.

"Cedric didn\'t tell you yet?" By the look on Adrianna\'s face Ayanna assumed Cedric hadn\'t explained about Mia to his wife.

"After what happened in Constellations Resort in Quirino, Cedric hired Mia. She\'s your personal bodyguard. Mia follows you everywhere, even inside Island\'s Inc. She has her own team that consists of several other guards for back up as well as a medical team in case you have a medical emergency, like if you are injured. Cedric has his own, it\'s led by Leon. You\'ve seen him around, a big scary guy that\'s always smiling." Ayanna explained.

"Why haven\'t I noticed that they were following us around? I mean, I would have noticed someone stalking me." Adrianna asked.

"Leon and Mia are that good. See that\'s Mia\'s team behind Katerina\'s car." Ayanna said pointing at a van following them.

"Do you have your own security team?" Adrianna had to ask.

"Yup. Unlike yours they are always visible. And they are good at crowd control. I have fans, but I don\'t like people being in my personal life. It\'s really my life so I don\'t see the point why they need to know about everything I do." Ayanna sighed.

"Wow!" Adrianna was surprised at the size of the house they had just passed.

"Oh that\'s Ray\'s. Cedric kind of gave each of the boys a chunk of property here when he came back. They all had Veronica design their houses from top to bottom. If you think that\'s impressive, wait till you see yours." Ayanna giggled.

"You don\'t have one here?" Adrianna asked.

"I do. It\'s just not in my name yet. The girls probably have one each too, their brothers most likely bought it for them." Ayanna explained.

Adrianna noticed that they were now slightly climbing upward until they were met by tall gates.

"Welcome home Adrianna!" Ayanna said as the cars entered the driveway. There were trees that lined the side of the road covering what looked to be gardens. The driveway opened up to the front of the house, it was much bigger than what Adrianna had imagined.

A woman opened the door and held an umbrella to shield her from the sun.

"Miss, my name is Mia. Mister Cedric assigned me to protect you. I hope you won\'t be offended that I didn\'t show myself earlier." Mia said introducing herself.

"Wow, you don\'t look like a bodyguard!" Adrianna said in surprise. Mia looked familiar but she couldn\'t figure out if she had seen her before.

"The boss wanted someone that didn\'t stand out from the crowd but was strong enough to protect you." Mia explained.

"Adrianna, let me give you a tour." Veronica said as she approached.

"Wow Veronica, you really outdid yourself this time!" Nicole said, praising the exterior look of the house.

"Too bad very few people will get to see it though." Veronica sighed.

"Why?" Adrianna asked.

"Your husband is the most private and secretive person in the country. Plus this community is so exclusive that even if you knew someone inside you still wouldn\'t be able to see this house." Veronica explained.

"I wouldn\'t mind people seeing the house, well if it\'s just like a magazine feature or a blog." Adrianna shrugged.

"If Adri says so, Cedric can\'t say no." Ayanna told her friends.

"So Adri, this is the main house and to the right is the garage, it can have up to fifty cars with some display areas if Cedric or you want to have vintage cars or display cars. To the left are the gardens, tennis courts, and a basketball court. Shall we go in?" Veronica asked.

When they entered they were greeted by a grand interior.

"This is amazing Veronica! It\'s so classy and yet it feels like home." Adrianna said looking around.

"I was actually afraid of losing that feel of home when I was doing the design. I didn\'t want to over do it. So you\'ve seen the plan at Nationalia, why don\'t we go around and you can tell me what you think." Veronica said, leading them around the house.

Adrianna couldn\'t help but pinch herself when looking around the house. It was everything she ever dreamed of and more.

When they were just dating Adrianna would often sit down and sketch what her dream house would look like.

She remembered one day, when they were at a coffee shop studying.

"What\'s that Adri?" Cedric was around twenty one at this time. His clothes looked like they had been washed too many times.

"Just imagining my dream house." Adrianna said as she sketched something on her iPad.

"Can I see?" Cedric said while hugging her.

"It\'s embarrassing!" She complained.

"Oh, come on. I think everything you do is amazing." Cedric flirted.

"Stop it!" Adrianna tried to slap Cedric playfully but he caught her hand and kissed her on the lips.

Cedric took advantage of her distraction and got her iPad and sat across her.

"You\'re too smooth." Adrianna complained.

Cedric looked up and winked at her.

"Wow, this is amazing. I wish I could give you something like this someday Adri." Cedric said looking at the designs. He was actually already secretly sending them to his own email for future use.

"Ced, I don\'t need a house as extravagant as that. As long as you are with me, I\'ll be happy." Adrianna said with a smile.

Back in the present, Adrinna felt like she was walking around in her own sketch. She was wondering how Cedric was able to remember all the details that she had drawn that day.