Chapter 17

Edward smiled and hugged Francesca. "I'll be here for you no matter what." Edward swore.

"How will we manage the change in my surname?" Francesca asked. "I'm sure a lot of people at Ver Industries will find it suspicious that you let me use your last name."

"Easy. I'll just say that we don't want people to think you are related to the Rocci family, mafia ties and all that, so we chose to lend you our last name. The public isn't too aware that the Vernon family owns Ver Industries anyway so people won't think we are related. As for the employees they know that we aren't related." Edward said with a shrug.

"When should I move?" Francesca asked.

"Today, if you can. I want it established that that apartment is your home and that you didn't move for a guy." Edward told her as he handed her a set of keys.

"I did move for a guy though." Francesca said with a laugh.

"No Francesca." Edward said with a serious look on his face as he lifted her chin making her stare into his eyes. "You did it for yourself, for your freedom, and for your future. Never do anything for a man."

Francesca smiled weakly, confused as to what he meant.

"I'll call Alvin up now to talk about the name change." Edward said as he informed his secretary to call the manager to his office.

"How about my parents, when will we tell them?" Francesca asked.

"I'll bring you home for dinner this weekend. We can tell your parents then, we don't even have to stay after, I expect they will be quite mad and Andres might not speak to me for a while." Edward said with a shrug.

"Isn't this too much Edward?" Francesca asked, she was worried about how her actions would affect this man who seemed to care so much for her. "What if my brother comes after you? And are you really willing to risk your friendship with him for me?"

Edward smiled and simply answered, "Yes. For you, yes."

Francesca was about to ask him another question when Alvin entered the office.

"Francesca, you should have told me you were coming over." Alvin complained. He wasn't too happy that his artist had gone straight to the boss.

"Don't worry Alvin, she didn't say anything bad about you." Edward teased the manager. "Francesca is a family friend so I called her over for a chat. Please, sit." Edward gestured.

Alvin did as his boss asked and sat next to Francesca.

"I am concerned about Francesca's last name." Edward began to say.

"What's wrong with Rocci? I think it's a good name." Alvin quickly said.

"Yes, Rocci is a good name, but I want to avoid my artist being associated with the Rocci clan." Edward said with a grin. "Do you know about the Rocci clan, Alvin?" Edward asked.

"No sir. Should I know about them?" Alvin asked with a confused look on his face.

"The Rocci clan is a rich clan that practically controls the steel business in the country." Edward explained.

"I don't see how being associated with them would cause any harm." Alvin said as he eyed his boss suspiciously.

"They aren't just involved in business, they are also one of the largest families leading the mafia." Edward explained. "If people think she is associated with them in any way it will not only have a negative impact on her career, but it may also pose a risk to her life."

"The mafia?" Alvin asked as he processed this new bit of information. "Francesca, you aren't related to them are you?" Alvin asked as he looked at his artist, who was calmly sitting next to him.

"No." Francesca felt guilty for lying, of course she was related to them, her second elder brother was being groomed to lead it.

"That's good, that's good." Alvin said as he nodded. "Then it makes sense to change your last name, but to what?"

"She can use Vernon." Edward suddenly said as if it were nothing.

"Sir?" Alvin asked as he wasn't sure if he heard things right.

"I said she could use our last name. People don't know that Ver Industries is owned by the Vernon family, my dad has never been high profile, and my role in the company hasn't been announced. If anyone asks we can just say she's a distant relative." Edward explained with a shrug.

"I'll arrange for all the documents then sir." Alvin said with a nod.

"Francesca, you can go home, we'll call you if there is anything we need from you." Edward told Francesca as he walked her and Alvin out of his office.

"Francesca you should rest, in a few weeks you'll be doing the commercial shoot. They'll send over the script next week and you will need to rehearse. As for the role in the TV drama we have a month to prepare for that. So take advantage of this time to rest. I'm pretty sure after the TV drama airs you'll be very busy." Alvin said as they walked to the elevator.

Francesa nodded as they got on. Alvin bid her goodbye as he got off on his floor while Francesca headed out. She would move everything from the apartment her brothers had arranged for her to move to an apartment her fake fiance had loaned to her.

She thought for a while about the car. It would be such a waste if she left it behind. She made a mental note to inspect it for tracking devices, growing up their parents had tutors teach them how to identify different tracking tools and how to disable them, as well as where they would most likely be hidden. She was going to use the training the Rocci family provided her against them.