I Was the Stand-In Wife. Now I'm the Mafia Queen
Lily · Completed · 8.0k Words
Introduction
And I was forced into her place—the temporary bride, the contract wife, the whispered “replacement” in every gilded hallway.
I thought I only had to survive five years. Five years to earn what I was promised, and then walk away from this city of shadows and blood.
I clawed my way through bullets, politics, and betrayal. I earned respect. I gained power.
And somehow... I tasted a tenderness I was never meant to have.
Now, with only ten days left on our marriage contract, I thought everything was finally under control. I thought freedom and power were within reach.
Until she came back—wrapped in grace, dripping secrets, smiling as if she owned the world she abandoned.
She looked at me and said, “Little sister, give me back my life.”
Chapter 1
Seraphina's POV
"Gentlemen, this port expansion contract benefits both parties."
I tapped the table, my voice crisp and authoritative. The eight men in the conference room all looked at me, their eyes holding the respect I'd earned bit by bit over five years.
Williamson, the director of the New York Port Authority, nodded: "Mrs. Romano, your proposal is very convincing."
'Mrs. Romano.'
The title made my heart clench. I stole a glance at my watch—240 hours left until the contract expired. Ten days. In ten days, I would no longer be anyone's wife.
"Thank you for your recognition, Mr. Williamson." I maintained a perfect smile. "The Marchetti family has always valued our cooperative relationship with the Port Authority."
Every word was perfectly measured. Five years—I'd learned how to maintain authority in front of these men. No longer the 19-year-old girl who had been casually married off to Lorenzo by her father.
Lorenzo cleared his throat softly beside me: "Regarding the cargo distribution issue, my wife's suggestion is very reasonable."
'My wife.'
Damn it, when that title came from his lips, it still made my heart race.
"The loading equipment in District 3 does need upgrading." Lorenzo added, perfectly complementing my argument.
Our eyes met for an instant. Five years of practiced coordination, precise as clockwork.
But was this habit or genuine feeling?
I didn't dare think too deeply. The answer might shake my resolve to leave, and I'd waited too long for these ten days.
"So regarding the specific implementation timeline..." Williamson was about to continue when the conference room door was suddenly pushed open.
No knock.
No announcement.
What was security doing?
A woman walked in, wearing a black Chanel suit and red-soled shoes. Her long curls fell perfectly over her shoulders, her red lips bright as blood.
She looked tired, but still beautiful.
My blood instantly froze.
"I'm back, Lorenzo." Her voice carried a European accent. "You must have missed me."
The conference room fell deathly silent.
Isabella.
My sister. My sister who had disappeared for five years.
"Now it's my turn to sit here." Isabella surveyed the entire conference room, her gaze finally landing on me. "Sera, you've occupied my husband and child's place long enough."
Williamson and the others exchanged glances. Several partners' expressions shifted from shock to confusion to suspicion.
"Gentlemen might not know," Isabella walked gracefully toward the head seat, "my sister has always had a habit of picking up my discarded things. Toys, clothes, friends..."
She stopped beside me, her voice soft as silk: "Now it's my husband's turn."
Childhood memories flooded back instantly.
On my seventh birthday, she suddenly said she wanted my doll, and father immediately made me give her my gift.
At twelve, she took a liking to my best friend Lily, and a week later Lily stopped talking to me.
At sixteen, she stole my first boyfriend.
Every time, I could only watch helplessly as she effortlessly took everything from me.
That feeling of abandonment and despair returned.
But now was different.
I was no longer that little girl who could only cry.
"Isabella." I stood up, my voice so calm it surprised even me. "Where have you been for five years?"
"I was in Europe, living a wonderful life." She lifted her chin. "Unlike some people who only know how to hide in others' shadows."
"A wonderful life?" I repeated the phrase. "So wonderful you couldn't remember your son's birthday?"
Isabella's face changed slightly.
"When Marco cried for his mother on his third birthday, where were you? When he learned to walk, where were you then?"
With each sentence I spoke, Isabella's face grew paler.
"For five years, I've been the matriarch of this family." I surveyed the entire conference room, my voice growing stronger. "No one can change that fact."
Then I looked at Lorenzo.
Waiting for his statement.
Waiting for his choice.
But he remained silent.
Complete silence.
He neither supported me nor welcomed Isabella.
Just like that night five years ago when she ran away from the wedding, he fell into silence again.
"Security," I pressed the red button on the table, "please escort this lady out."
"You have no right!" Isabella screamed.
"I do." I looked into her eyes. "As the mistress of this house, I do."
Security personnel entered, standing politely beside Isabella.
She looked at Lorenzo, her eyes full of expectation: "Lorenzo, won't you say something?"
Everyone in the conference room looked at him.
Including me.
Lorenzo slowly stood up, adjusting his suit.
What would he say?
Who would he choose?
"Meeting adjourned." His voice was low and weary. "Gentlemen, we'll continue our discussion tomorrow."
That was it.
He neither chose Isabella nor supported me.
Typical Lorenzo-style handling—avoidance.
Williamson and the others hurriedly packed their files and left, their eyes bright with gossipy excitement.
Isabella was escorted out by security, shooting me a venomous glare before leaving: "This isn't over, sister."
Only Lorenzo and I remained in the conference room.
"You have nine days left." I said coldly, gathering my files.
Lorenzo looked up at me, his eyes holding emotions I couldn't read.
"Nine days?"
"Until the contract expires." I shouldered my bag. "Nine more days, and I'll be free."
I walked toward the door, my hand already gripping the handle.
"Sera." He grasped my hand on the handle.
I stopped but didn't turn around.
"We need to talk, I..." he said quietly.
The shrill ring of my phone suddenly broke the tense silence. I mechanically took out my phone and saw my father's caller ID. No need to guess—Isabella must have already given him an embellished report of today's "victory."
"There's nothing to talk about, Lorenzo." I gently removed his hand and pushed open the door, walking out of the conference room.
The cold air in the hallway made me shiver, and I couldn't shake a bad feeling in my heart.
Last Chapters
You Might Like 😍
The Biker's Fate
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Dani," he pressed. "Do you get me?"
"No, Austin, I don't," I admitted as I pulled my robe closed again and sat up. "You confuse me."
He dragged his hands down his face. "Tell me what's on your mind."
I sighed. "You're everything my parents warned me against. You're secretive, but you're also honest. I feel wholly protected by you, but then you scare me more than anyone I've ever known. You're a bad boy, but when I dated a so-called good one, he turned out to be the devil, so, yeah, I don't get you because you're not what I expected. You drive me crazier than anyone I've ever met, but then you make me feel complete. I'm feeling things I don't quite know how to process and that makes me want to run. I don't want to give up something that might be really, really good, but I also don't want to be stupid and fall for a boy just because he's super pretty and makes me come."
Danielle Harris is the daughter of an overprotective police chief and has led a sheltered life. As a kindergarten teacher, she's as far removed from the world of Harleys and bikers as you could get, but when she's rescued by the sexy and dangerous Austin Carver, her life is changed forever.
Although Austin 'Booker' Carver is enamored by the innocent Dani, he tries to keep the police chief's daughter at arm's length. But when a threat is made from an unexpected source, he finds himself falling hard and fast for the only woman who can tame his wild heart.
Will Booker be able to find the source of the threat before it's too late?
Will Dani finally give her heart to a man who's everything she's been warned about?
The Prison Project
Can love tame the untouchable? Or will it only fuel the fire and cause chaos amongst the inmates?
Fresh out of high school and suffocating in her dead-end hometown, Margot longs for her escape. Her reckless best friend, Cara, thinks she's found the perfect way out for them both - The Prisoner Project - a controversial program offering a life-changing sum of money in exchange for time spent with maximum-security inmates.
Without hesitation, Cara rushes to sign them up.
Their reward? A one-way ticket into the depths of a prison ruled by gang leaders, mob bosses, and men the guards wouldn't even dare to cross...
At the centre of it all, meets Coban Santorelli - a man colder than ice, darker than midnight, and as deadly as the fire that fuels his inner rage. He knows that the project may very well be his only ticket to freedom - his only ticket to revenge on the one who managed to lock him up and so he must prove that he can learn to love…
Will Margot be the lucky one chosen to help reform him?
Will Coban be capable of bringing something to the table other than just sex?
What starts off as denial may very well grow in to obsession which could then fester in to becoming true love…
A temperamental romance novel.
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
Badass in Disguise
"Jade, I need to check your—" the nurse began.
"OUT!" I snarled with enough force that both women backed toward the door.
Once feared by Shadow Organization that drugged me to replicate my abilities into a more controllable version, I had escaped my restraints and detonated their entire facility, ready to die alongside my captors.
Instead, I woke up in a school infirmary with women arguing around me, their voices piercing my skull. My outburst froze them in shock—clearly they hadn't expected such a reaction. One woman threatened as she left, "We'll discuss this attitude when you get home."
The bitter truth? I've been reborn into the body of an overweight, weak, and supposedly dim-witted high school girl. Her life is filled with bullies and tormentors who've made her existence miserable.
But they have no idea who they're dealing with now.
I didn't survive as the world's deadliest assassin by allowing anyone to push me around. And I certainly won't start now.
Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
Mated by Contract to the Alpha
William—my devastatingly handsome, wealthy werewolf fiancé destined to become Delta—was supposed to be mine forever. After five years together, I was ready to walk down the aisle and claim my happily ever after.
Instead, I found him with her. And their son.
Betrayed, jobless, and drowning in my father's medical bills, I hit rock bottom harder than I ever imagined possible. Just when I thought I'd lost everything, salvation came in the form of the most dangerous man I'd ever encountered.
Damien Sterling—future Alpha of the Silver Moon Shadow Pack and ruthless CEO of Sterling Group—slid a contract across his desk with predatory grace.
“Sign this, little doe, and I'll give you everything your heart desires. Wealth. Power. Revenge. But understand this—the moment you put pen to paper, you become mine. Body, soul, and everything in between.”
I should have run. Instead, I signed my name and sealed my fate.
Now I belong to the Alpha. And he's about to show me just how wild love can be.
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
THE ALPHA'S NANNY.
Lori Wyatt, a shy, broken twenty two year old with a dark past is given the deal of a lifetime when she is asked to be the nanny of a newborn who lost her mother at childbirth. Lori accepts, eager to get away from her past.
Gabriel Caine is the Alpha of the revered Moon fang pack and the CEO of Caine Inc. A drunken one night stand leads to the birth of his daughter and he finds her a nanny following the death of her mother. When he meets Lori, he finds out that she is his mate and vows to protect her from his enemies.
The two of them cannot stop the instant attraction between them. Lori, who believes she is unworthy of love, cannot explain why the powerful billionaire is after her and Gabriel who is totally smitten with her is unsure of how to be totally honest with Lori about him being a werewolf.
Fate has brought them together and now together they must fight for their love, amidst the conflicts between packs and secrets that Lori’s past holds.
Will their love survive?
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”
A pack of their own
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."
Nanny And Her Four Alpha Bullies
But her origins make her a thorn in the side of the school's four ruling brothers.
They have to take a little baby girl, less than a year old, to school.
But the baby girl resists everyone ...... except Chloe.
So Chloe, a new adult, is forced to become the baby girl's nanny and live in the bullies' dormitory?
