The Mafia Boss’s Substitute Groom

Elias’s POV The first sign that something was wrong was the silence. The Carter mansion was never silent on a wedding morning. There should have been people everywhere. Staff rushing through the hallways. Wedding planners shouting into their phones. My mother checking the decorations for the hundredth time. My father complaining about something that nobody else cared about. Instead, I stood outside my brother’s bedroom and listened to nothing. Not a single sound. I knocked. “Gabriel?” Nothing. I knocked again, harder this time. “Gabriel, open the door.” Still nothing. I glanced at the clock on the wall. Nine thirty in the morning. The wedding was at three. My brother had less than six hours to get dressed, meet the photographer, greet the guests, and marry the most feared man in New York. And he was not answering his door. I tried the handle. Locked. “Gabriel?” A strange feeling settled in my stomach. I knocked one last time before stepping away. Maybe he was sleeping. Maybe he had gone downstairs. Maybe I was overreacting. I turned around and almost walked straight into my mother. “Have you seen your brother?” Her face was pale. That was when I knew something was seriously wrong. “No.” She looked toward Gabriel’s door. “He’s not answering.” “I know.” “Did he tell you where he was going?” “No.” Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her robe. “Elias, I need you to open that door.” I stared at her. “Why me?” “Because you’re his brother.” “That doesn’t explain anything.” She didn’t answer. Instead, she walked away. I followed her downstairs. The closer we got to the study, the more people I saw. My father was standing behind his desk. Two of his security men stood near the windows. Another man was talking quietly into a phone. And in the middle of the room stood someone I had never wanted to see this early in the morning. Roman De Luca. My stomach dropped. He wasn’t dressed like a groom. He was dressed like a man attending a funeral. Black suit. Black shirt. No tie. His dark hair was perfectly styled, and his expression was completely unreadable. His eyes moved toward me. For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then he said my name. “Elias.” I swallowed. “Roman.” His gaze remained on me. “Where is Gabriel?” I looked at my father. Nobody answered. Roman’s jaw tightened. “I asked a question.” My father finally spoke. “We’re looking for him.” Roman’s expression didn’t change. “How long?” “Since seven this morning.” The room became even quieter. Roman glanced at his watch. “Three hours.” My father nodded. “He hasn’t answered his phone. His car was found abandoned near the river.” My heart began pounding. “His car?” Nobody had told me that. I looked at my mother. She looked away. “Why wasn’t I told?” “Elias,” my father said firmly. “No.” I stepped forward. “You all knew?” “We didn’t want to alarm you.” “You didn’t want to alarm me?” My voice rose. “My brother is missing on his wedding day, and you thought I should just continue getting dressed?” “Elias.” “No, Dad.” Roman was still watching me. I turned toward him. “Did you know?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “No.” For some reason, I believed him. That scared me even more. My father walked around the desk. “We don’t know what happened yet.” “Then call the police.” Silence. I stared at him. “Why aren’t you calling the police?” My father exchanged a look with one of the security men. Roman’s voice cut through the room. “Because your family doesn’t want the police involved.” I looked at him. “Why?” He didn’t answer. My father finally said, “There are complications.” “What complications?” “Business.” I laughed once. “Of course.” Everything with my family was always business. My brother was missing, and somehow there were still secrets nobody wanted to tell me. Then the front doors opened. One of the security men rushed into the room. “Mr Carter.” My father turned. “What?” The man held out a phone. “We found this.” My father took it. I recognized it immediately. Gabriel’s phone. My heart sank. “Where?” The security man looked at Roman before answering. “Inside the chapel.” Nobody moved. The chapel. The place where Gabriel was supposed to marry Roman in less than six hours. Roman’s expression became colder. “Show me.” The security man hesitated. Roman stepped toward him. “Now.” They left. I followed. “Elias,” my father called. I ignored him. I didn’t care about rules anymore. I needed answers. The chapel was at the far end of the estate. When we entered, everything looked perfect. White flowers lined the aisle. Candles stood beside the altar. The chairs were arranged for hundreds of guests. It looked beautiful. It also looked wrong. Because the groom was missing. I walked toward the altar slowly. Then I saw it. A small envelope sitting on one of the chairs. My name was written on it. Elias. My hands went cold. I picked it up. “Don’t.” Roman’s voice stopped me. I looked over my shoulder. He was standing several feet away. “Why?” “Because you don’t know what’s inside.” “Neither do you.” He walked toward me. “Give it to me.” I tightened my grip. “No.” His eyes darkened. “Elias.” “I said no.” For the first time, something flickered across his face. Not anger. Surprise. I opened the envelope. There was only one piece of paper inside. Three words were written across it. I’m sorry, Elias. My breath caught. Below the words was another sentence. You have to take my place. I read it twice. Then again. My hands began shaking. “What the hell?” Roman took the paper from my fingers. His eyes moved across the message. His expression changed. “What does this mean?” I stared at him. “I don’t know.” A second later, my father walked into the chapel. He looked at me. Then at Roman. Then at the letter. His face fell. “He’s done it.” I frowned. “Done what?” My father didn’t answer. “Why does everyone keep looking at me like that?” He closed his eyes. “Elias…” “What?” His voice was barely a whisper. “Your brother is gone.” I already knew that. Then he said the words that changed my life. “And you’re going to marry Roman.”