The Mafia’s Substitute Bride Chapter 03

At the bottom of the stairs, Callum set me down.

“Vivienne,” he said, adjusting my veil with a smile. “I’ll only carry you this far. You have to walk the rest on your own.”

Claire stiffened. “The groom carries the bride to the car. That’s the rule.”

“Rules are rules,” Callum said. “People can be flexible.”

“Callum, what is wrong with you?” Claire’s voice shook. “You’ve been strange since you walked in. Did someone put a spell on you?”

“Claire,” I said softly, pressing her hand. “It’s fine. I can walk.”

Callum was never my groom.

What right did he have to carry me to the end?

The wedding convoy waited a hundred yards away.

Once I walked that road, every step would take me farther from the life I had once begged to keep.

When I got into the car, Callum stood beside the door.

“Vivienne.”

For a second, something complicated moved behind his eyes.

Then he said, “Take care of yourself.”

Claire frowned. “Are you getting in or not?”

Callum smiled. “I’ll take another car. I’ll follow behind and protect you.”

Then he slammed the door.

Claire stared at him through the window. “What is wrong with him today?”

“Nothing,” I said quietly. “He just wants me to take Mara’s place in the marriage.”

“What?”

Before I could explain, Claire saw the route.

“Wait. Driver, stop. You’re going the wrong way. Turn around.”

“Claire,” I said. “He’s not going the wrong way. We’re going to the Russo estate.”

Then I told her everything.

Her whole body shook with rage. “How could he do this to you? He’s a monster.”

I stayed calm. “The Shaws raised me. Consider it repayment.”

“You saved his life too,” Claire snapped. “When his old gunshot wound acted up and he couldn’t even move, you cared for him every day for two years. You’ve paid that family back a hundred times over.”

She wasn’t wrong.

But it no longer mattered.

My phone buzzed.

A message from Mara.

Vivienne, such a happy day. Callum just gave me a wedding gift. Isn’t it beautiful?

I opened the photo.

An emerald jade bracelet gleamed on her wrist.

My mother’s bracelet.

Passed down from my great-grandmother.

The Shaws had promised to return it to me on my wedding day.

Callum had given it to Mara.

“Stop the car!”

The driver didn’t even glance back. “Miss, once the convoy starts moving, it doesn’t stop.”

Of course.

Callum’s man. Callum’s car. Callum’s trap.

I called him.

My hands trembled, but my voice stayed steady.

“Callum,” I said, “why did you give my mother’s bracelet to Mara? That belongs to me.”