PROLOGUE
The woman walkingdown the aisle isn’t who I agreed to marry.
The veil may hide her, but Iknow.
Her hips don’t sway the same.
Her hair is thicker and darker.
I signed the contract for her sister.
Not her.
And when I lift the veil and the truth is revealed, there will be hell to pay.
1
Thirty Minutes Earlier
“No,”I shout as Aleksy, my older brother and ruthless boss of the Morozova Bratva stares me down.
I shake my head, voice trembling. “I won’t marry that monster.”
He steps forward, invading my space. “Then tell me where she is.”
“I don’t know!” I throw my arms up in frustration.
He thinks I’m covering for my sister, Dasha.
His jaw clenches. “Put on your sister’s wedding dress, Liliya. You’re the bride now.” He curses Dasha under his breath before storming out and slamming the door behind him.
“Liliya,” my mother mutters before sighing. “We don’t have a choice. Let’s get you in that gown.”
I rush to the trash can, ready to vomit the bile rising up my throat.
“I won’t do it.” I hold out my arms like a barrier to stop her from coming closer. “Over my dead body?—”
“It’ll beallof our dead bodies,” she hisses, struggling to keep her voice low. “Stop being selfish. This isn’t about your feelings. It’s about saving this family.” She swats my arms away. “Your sister ran. Now, you have to take her place.”
Dasha climbed out of the bridal suite while I was in the bathroom.
I wish she’d told me about her plan. I’d gone with her.
She was smart to run.
Marrying Emilio Lastro is a death sentence.
He’s a murderer, a capo in the Lombardi Mafia family, and a man who discards people who no longer hold value to him. The dark rumors about him are endless.
But worst of them all? He betrayed his own family, killing his father in cold blood.
“He’ll know I’m the wrong bride,” I say, more to myself than her.
She shoves the gown into my arms. “Quit thinking negatively.”
I catch the dress before it hits the floor and scoff bitterly.
“He barely even looked at Dasha at the engagement party.” She gives me an optimistic pat on the shoulder.
