All Chapters of A Substitute Bride For The Mafia Boss: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Valentina.I never wanted to wear this dress. It’s suffocating. Not just the lace strangling my throat, or the corset squeezing my ribs. It’s the weight of it, the lies, the silk soaked in secrets. My mother zipped me into it with trembling hands. My father wouldn't even look at me. And my sister? My perfect, obedient, spineless sister vanished into thin air. One night before the wedding. One night before she was meant to marry Alessandro De Luca, heir to the De Luca empire, a man whose name tastes like gunpowder and danger. And now I’m the substitute. “Smile,” my mother hissed as she fixed my veil. “This is your family’s only chance to survive.” Right. Because when a mafia don wants a Russo bride, you don’t say no. You offer him your other daughter like a sacrificial lamb. The double doors open and the heavy music starts. My legs move, but my heart tries to escape through my ribs. Rows of unsmiling men in black suits stare, hands folded, eyes cold. Like vultures. Like witnesse

“Do you want to die tonight, Valentina?” Alessandro’s voice cuts through the air like a blade. He stands before me, gun leveled at my face. His dark eyes burn not with fear, but fury. The kind of fury that can rip worlds apart. I raise both hands slowly. “Put the gun down.” “You followed me.” “You didn’t leave me much choice.” He cocks the gun. The soft, menacing click reverberates louder than thunder. “Don’t test me.” I step back, bumping into the rusted wall of the warehouse. “You think I’m your enemy? Fine. Shoot me. But when you find out I know more about what’s going on than you do, it'll be too late.” His jaw clenches. That bullet is one breath from escaping the chamber. “I heard what that man said,” I whisper. “He was talking about Bianca. She’s alive, isn’t she?” A pause. And the gun lowers just a fraction. “You heard nothing,” he says hoarsely. “You should’ve stayed in your room.” “And you should have told me someone put a price on my sister’s life!” The words

VALENTINA The silence in the war room is suffocating. Alessandro. Lorenzo. Me. Three bodies. Three motives. Too many secrets. Lorenzo leans against the wall, his arms crossed, his sharp gaze fixed on Alessandro like a hawk stalking its prey. "You've had this board up for how long? And you never once thought to tell her?" Alessandro’s jaw tightens. "Because I was still trying to confirm who was playing us." "Or covering your own tracks?" Lorenzo replies coolly. “I don’t need to cover anything,” Alessandro growls. “But maybe you do.” Their voices, low and cold, crackle like electricity between them. I sit in the chair, gripping the edge, my fingernails digging into the cushion. I’m not even the storm. I’m just the damn spark. "Enough," I say, my voice hoarse but steady. "If you two are going to kill each other, do it later. Right now, I want to know where my sister is." They both go quiet. Lorenzo’s eyes flick to me. "There’s chatter. She may have been moved to Eastern

NOX They think I’m a name in the dark. A ghost. A whisper. They’re wrong. I’ve been in their homes. I’ve watched them bleed. I’ve been the shadow behind the throne of power for years. I don’t want Valentina Russo dead. I want her broken. There’s a difference. And Alessandro De Luca? He’s already cracking. I watch the footage again grainy surveillance pulled from the Budapest explosion. Lorenzo limping. Alessandro dragging him. Both of them fooled. Sloppy. Human. And the girl? Valentina… Valentina is fire. She was never supposed to take her sister’s place. She wasn’t supposed to survive the wedding. And she damn sure wasn’t supposed to stir the beast inside him. But Bianca made a choice. She ran. And now, she's mine. +BIANCA) I wake up in silk sheets that don’t feel like mine. The scent of rosewater clings to the air, but underneath it, there's something metallic. Cold. Sharp. Blood. I sit up slowly. My wrists aren’t tied today. Progress? The door opens with a

(Alessandro De Luca) She’s gone. Vanished into the fucking night like smoke. I slam the door shut behind me, the glass shattering against the wall. The guards flinch but keep their mouths shut. They know better. "Find her!" I bark into my phone. "Sweep every street, hack every goddamn camera. I want eyes on her within the next twenty minutes or I’ll burn this city to ash." Valentina Russo. No Valentina De Luca, technically. Legally. Regrettably. She has no idea what she’s walking into. She thinks this is some dramatic rescue mission white horse, loyal sister, flashing eyes. I saw it in her face before she left. The recklessness. The fire. The same fire that made her slap me across the face three nights ago and not flinch when I gripped her by the throat. The same fire that I can’t seem to put out. Damn her. I didn’t want her. I don’t want her. But somehow, she’s crawling under my skin like poison I can’t extract. And now, she’s out there alone, bold, and stupid digging ar