Never Judge

The car ride from the Laurence family\'s home to the headquarters of the king of the underworld was quite awkward.

At one point, Ray had Al place a blindfold on Peter and cover his head with a sack.

Although Ray was fully aware of the fact that Peter was not a willing participant in the plot to take down his empire, he still didn\'t trust the man.

For now, Peter was cooperating because of Cara. Her safety and happiness came first for him, but if things changed, Ray was not willing to risk endangering the entire organization.

When they finally pulled up to the driveway, Peter tried to remove the blindfold.

"Not yet." Ray told him as the door opened and one of the bodyguards escorted Peter inside.

Ray allowed Peter to walk ahead, making sure he and his son were out of earshot before speaking to Al.

"I hope you know that I\'m doing this not because I doubt your information." Ray explained as they slowly made their way to his office. "I trust it, I feel like Peter was not a voluntary participant in this plot, but I need to take precautions."

As he processed his father\'s words Al nodded. He was glad that his father trusted his information.

"People can still use Cara against him if we are reckless." Ray told his son. "Then there is a matter of his priorities shifting. We never know if he could suddenly love someone more than he does Cara, or maybe Cara falling out of her father\'s favor."

"Don\'t worry dad, I understand." Al spoke the truth.

He knew that there was still a risk of the Jao\'s turning on them especially if Cara found out that he had gotten close to her because of her father.

"Good." Ray said with a nod as they stopped in front of his office.

Al was confused as to why his father suddenly stopped. Al was in somewhat of a rush since he wanted to take Cara shopping with his cousins and their other friends.

He really wanted to make it up to Cara.

Their friendship may have started under the pretense of him working for the Dean Family Mafia, but he finally admitted to his mistake. He got attached to his target.

Ray took a deep breath and turned to his son, he frowned and hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"Today might be a little heavier than normal." Ray explained to his son as he looked at him with sad eyes. "We will have to be tough when it comes to questioning Peter and those he had identified as traitors to us."

Al nodded as his father spoke.

Growing up, Al, his siblings, and his cousins were no strangers to how harsh the underworld was.

It was a known fact that their fathers had done things that were not considered morally correct.

Al knew that his uncle Cedric did his best to minimize the illegal activity of the Reyes family and the Reyes Group, but his father didn\'t have that luxury.

As king of the Underworld it was part of his job description to run the illegal world, all he did was keep it in check and make sure that it didn\'t affect too many innocent people.

"Dad, I\'m not a child." Al said as he gave his father a smile. "I know what you do."

"Oh Al, you are definitely a child in our eyes, wait till you and Emilio take over, then you\'ll wish you had the option to bail out." Ray chuckled as he shook his head, probably reminiscing when he and his brother-in-law, Cedric took over.

"I\'m sure I\'ll always be a child in your eyes, dad." Al grinned as he thought of how his grandparents sometimes treated both his father and mother.

"If your Grandma Priscilla was still alive, then you would see your mom being treated like a real child." Ray added as he laughed at the memory of his mother-in-law. "But with all that being said, I want you to know that if it is too much in there for you, you can leave."

Al nodded as he understood that his dad was giving him the option to delay the inevitable.

Whether or not Al watched it now or in a few years, if he wanted to take over after his father, he needed to see the painful and disturbing workings of the Underworld.

"Let\'s go." Ray saidwith a nod when saw that his son understood his words.

Inside, Ray\'s office looked as pristine as ever, Peter stood to the right with two bodyguards flanking him and another two standing by the door.

"You can remove his blindfold." Ray commanded as he sat down behind his desk.

Al took his spot next to his father as one of the guards came over and poured Ray some whiskey.

"On your knees." Ray said as Peter did not hesitate and did as he asked.

Ray smiled as he looked at the man before him, he glanced at his son to make sure that Al was fine with what his was witnessing.

Al kept his eyes on Peter, as the man without question knelt before Ray and Al.

From the start Al knew that his father was not done with Peter. The man had betrayed him and his people, there was no way he would get away so easily.

Al had seen and heard enough to know that a man on his knees was bad news.

The king of the underworld would demand penance for his actions, and it would not he light.

"Just because I allowed you and your daughter to stay in my house means you have escaped the punishment you deserve." Ray said in a cold voice as he looked down at the man on his knees.

"I am aware, my king." Peter said as he kept his head down.

"Good." Ray said with a nod as he gestured for the bodyguard to take action.

The man stood in front of Peter Jao and punched him in the gut.

A king didn\'t need to get his hands dirty when there were people to do it for him, but that didn\'t mean Al could slack off. He knew his father took things into his own hands sometimes.

"Now, before you pass out. Give me the names of some of the traitors and how to prove they did something wrong." Ray demanded with a grin as Peter nodded, ready to give Ray all he asked for.