Never Judge

"Let\'s go out for a walk." Emilio sighed as he got up and entered his room to change clothes.

When he emerged they all went out in silence.

A few neighbors spoke to Emilio and even said hi to Al. They gave the twins curious looks, Al and Emilio were forced to lie that they were Al\'s friends from school and Emilio was their chaperone.

If the neighbors found it odd that the kids were picking the chaperone up, they didn\'t say a word. They simply nodded and smiled, they knew that both Emilio and Al were very private persons.

"Let\'s go to the mall!" Christina exclaimed as they walked down the street.

Emilio\'s apartment was located in the central district of the capital and it was just a short walking distance from the closest shopping center.

"Always shopping with this one." Christopher said as he rolled his eyes at his sister.

They all just laughed as they continued to walk towards the direction of the mall.

Of course, like most malls in the capital, this one was owned by the Reyes family as well.

Normally, if the siblings were to make an appearance in one of the malls, the manager would rush to greet them and the entire place would be secured by their security team.

Today it was a different scene.

When the group of four entered the mall, no one greeted them, they were like every other group of friends entering the mall.

"No shopping in your usual stores." Emilio warned his sister as she obediently nodded and led their group through the mall.

"You know what\'s nice about our trips like these?" Christina asked her brother and cousins in a low enough voice that no one else could overhear.

"What?" Al grumbled, still torn by his dilemma. The fact that Emilio made them go to the mall before helping him decide what to do did not settle well with Al.

"We get to see what it\'s like when the staff aren\'t at their best behavior." Christina giggled as she pointed at two janitors chatting at the side. "It\'s fine, of course, they just feel so worried every time that we will fire them if they aren\'t working 100% of the time."

Al nodded as they continued to walk around, it seemed like Christina had no idea where they were headed.

"Are we lost?" Emilio asked his younger sister.

"Kind of." She said with a shrug. "I wanted to see if someone with no prior knowledge about the mall could find shops. That\'s how all Pris Malls are planned, but this one is off."

"You\'re working?" Al asked, surprised that his cousin was making the effort to work when they were supposed to be hanging out.

"Well I can\'t not think about these things. I love Pris Malls and I hope that when your mom decides to let go of it, I can become the new vice president, under my brother of course." Christina was so excited that she blushed in embarrassment at the end.

"It\'s fine." Al said with a smile as they continued to walk around.

Al was surprised how much he had calmed down and relaxed while they spent their time looking around and carrying the bags of clothes Christina decided they needed.

"The press would be appalled if they saw you in this." Emilio chuckled as he looked at the local no name brands that Christina had purchased.

"Island\'s Inc. was practically a no name brand before mom took over. It doesn\'t hurt to support local growing businesses. I bought a couple for you guys too. They will get free advertisements just because I like their designs and the quality." Chrstina said with a smile.

The boys all simply nodded, quite impressed with how Christina acted.

To the public she seemed like every other daughter of a rich family, pampered and protected, but they didn\'t know that due to her own brother\'s poverty training she was more exposed to the truth.

Christina was also more dedicated to the Reyes Group than people believed.

At a young age she was already attending meetings and joining her father and aunt on work trips together with Christopher.

"I\'ll tell my dad." Al suddenly said as they walked into a cafe in the mall. "This matter isn\'t just about me or what I feel. It\'s for the safety of everyone, including Cara."

Emilio nodded, respecting Al\'s decision.

"I pity Uncle Seth though." Christian said as he looked at the menu. "He had no idea his people accepted a minor."

"I\'ll just lie and tell dad that I tricked them." Al said with a shrug as he waved a waiter over.

"Either way, I think you\'re doing the right thing, Al." Emilio said as he gave his younger cousin an approving look.

They ate their meal in peace before eventually making a move to leave.

As they exited the mall they were shocked when a wave of camera flashes greeted them and several bodyguards ran to usher the cousins away.

"Mr. Reyes is it true that you are the Reyes Heir?" A reporter called out as Emilio glanced back, shocked that his identity had been leaked, it was too soon, way too soon.

"Are the boy and girl with you the twins, your younger siblings?" Another reporter called out as a black car and more bodyguards arrived on the scene.

"What the fuck is going on?" Al cursed as they quickly climbed in the familiar Rolls-Royce Phantom, one of Uncle Cedric\'s favorite cars. "What is this car doing here?"

"We were the closest unit to you, sir." The driver said as the door was slammed shut behind Emilio who was the last to get in.

"How did our identities get leaked and how is it possible that the security team didn\'t see that crowd of reporters arriving?!" Emilio asked, furious about what had happened. "Dad will want answers."

"Sir, we are investigating it now, but I think someone leaked the information." The driver said as he stepped on the gas and took them back home.