The Stand-In Is Done Being His Second Choice

Introduction Even when Victor Ravelli, the Don, picked out a gift for me, he bought two and let my sister Diana choose first. One was a black diamond signet ring he'd paid a fortune for at an auction in Russia. The other was an obsidian brooch that came free with the diamond. It didn't go with my wedding dress at all. For once, I spoke up, pointing to the black diamond ring before Diana could claim it. "This time, can I choose first?" Victor twisted the family's bone ring around his thumb and ruffled my hair. "Diana's always been competitive. If she can't have her first choice, she doesn't want anything at all. You're just filling in for her. What you wear doesn't matter." I fell silent, staring at the brooch as a hollow feeling settled in my chest. I'd spent ten years with Victor in this war-torn territory, but to him, I'd always be Diana's replacement. Whenever someone tried to assassinate a member of the Ravelli family, Victor would send Diana straight to the safest underground bunker. Then he would shove a fully loaded Beretta into my hand. "Cover me out here. If you make it back alive, I'll reward you." At Mafia council meetings, he let Diana choose her seat first too. Diana took the second-in-command's seat beside him, a sign of absolute trust. Then Victor pointed me to a seat at the far end of the council table. "The one in the back is a little far, but it doesn't matter where you sit." When we won a territory war, he let her pick her district first too. She claimed the lucrative West District, where she could rake in the profits without getting her hands dirty. Then Victor put me in charge of the North District, where gunfights could erupt at any moment. "The North District's rough, but you're a good shot. You're perfect for it." Later, the same thing happened with our marriage. He loved Diana, but she chose power and the position of family heir. Devastated, Victor fastened a necklace bearing the family insignia around my neck instead. He worshipped Diana. I was nothing more than a tool to him. I looked at the obsidian brooch and pushed it away. "She can have both. I'm done choosing." It was time to tear up the marriage contract too. Chapter 1 "Eve, don't throw a tantrum at a time like this." Victor pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "How could a cheap freebie like this be good enough for someone of Diana's status?" I looked at him calmly. "Then how is it good enough for me?" Victor looked startled, then let out a low laugh. "You don't understand. Gunfights break out in the North District all the time. Wearing a black diamond would only make you a target. "You operate in the shadows. Obsidian won't catch the light and give away your position. I'm trying to keep you alive." Keep me alive. Diana and I looked somewhat alike, but our lives couldn't have been more different. When I first joined the family, I knew I was only an illegitimate daughter. I'd spent years fighting to survive, building up thick calluses on my palms and scars between my thumbs and index fingers. The family elders always looked at me with contempt. "So what if she looks like Diana? She doesn't have an ounce of class. "Forget it. One smart heir is enough for the family. You can be her shadow! The family doesn't need two heiresses." I followed behind Diana. I took stray bullets for her. I did her dirty work in the interrogation room. For ten years, they called me her shadow. I'd told Victor countless times how much I hated that nickname. In bed, Victor would kiss my scars and promise never to call me that again. But the moment Diana appeared, he'd forget that promise. "Shadow." The word would roll off his tongue as naturally as ever. I looked at the cheap brooch on the tray. "Victor, I want out of this marriage arrangement." Victor stared at me as if I were a child throwing a fit. "That's enough. If you hate the brooch so much, I'll get you another one. Is that really worth threatening to call off our wedding over? "Let's go down to the armory. Pick any gun you want, okay?" Diana gracefully pushed the black diamond ring back to the center of the table. "Eve, if you want it that badly, you can have the ring. "You're getting married, after all. You should have a proper keepsake. Stop giving the Don a hard time." But Victor reached out and pressed a hand over the ring. "I bought this at auction specifically for you. Eve's never been in charge of one of our key districts. It'd be wasted on her." For all his talk about letting me choose, he'd already decided who would get the ring. Victor stood up, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me out. "Come on. Let's go find something to make it up to you." We'd barely reached the manor hall when Diana stopped. "Victor, I heard a new shipment of miniature defensive wrist crossbows just came in from Switzerland." Victor stopped right away. "Then let's look at defensive weapons for Diana first. You can pick your gun later. Things have been quiet in the North District anyway." Here we go again. It didn't matter if I'd been first in line. The moment Diana wanted something, I was pushed aside. Diana spent two whole hours picking through the display cases in the armory. She liked two engraved sterling silver Browning pistols and couldn't decide between them. Victor saw her hesitation and told the quartermaster to wrap up both guns. "Take them both. Keep one in the car, and give the other to Eve." He signed for them and handed me the wrapped gun. "There. No need to choose anymore. Diana has excellent taste. You should be thanking her." I didn't reach for it. The sight of that silver gun felt like a slap in the face. Wasn't he supposed to be making it up to me? "I'll hand command of the North District to my second. I won't be coming to the manor anymore." Victor's hand hung in midair, and his face finally darkened. "Eve, my patience has its limits." That night, he summoned several of his most trusted elders to the meeting room. My father, Falco Marchesi, led them in and struck the floor with his cane. "Eve, has living among those thugs in the North District rubbed off on you? How dare you make a mockery of this marriage arrangement? "If Diana weren't so busy expanding the family's empire, do you honestly think you'd have a chance at marrying the Don?" I'd heard it so many times I'd gone numb. I was lowborn. I was crude. I'd never measure up to elegant Diana. Victor stepped up beside me, blocking the elders' view. "Calm down, gentlemen. Eve's just been under a lot of pressure. Her loyalty to the family is beyond question." My father snorted. "You're lucky the Don still sees fit to protect you. Now get out of here and prepare for the ceremony! "Bring up canceling the marriage again, and we'll have you shot for treason." I lowered my eyes and swallowed what I felt. "Fine." When I finally gave in, Victor breathed a sigh of relief and patted my shoulder. I left the meeting room and went back to my bedroom. I locked the door and took out an untraceable satellite phone. "Sofia, is there still room for me on your smuggling boat to the South Shore?" Sofia sounded shocked. "Are you crazy? You're about to marry the Don! If you leave him at the altar, Victor will throw you to the sharks!" I stared into the darkness outside, a bitter smile tugging at my lips. "Sofia, meet me at the docks in seven days." Chapter 2 Sofia was quiet on the other end of the line for a long time. To Sofia, I was Victor's weapon. Cold, obedient, and ready to strike wherever he pointed me. Betraying the family was unthinkable for someone like me. But obedience was the only reason I'd survived in a family this ruthless. While Diana gave orders from the safety of her tower, I fought through gunfire and dragged myself home covered in blood, carrying the severed heads of our enemies. Only then would Victor and the elders begrudgingly acknowledge me. But I didn't want to be a shadow or a blade anymore. Early the next morning, Victor took me to see the new safe house we would live in after the wedding. Out of habit, I reached for the passenger door of the armored SUV, but he caught my wrist. "Eve, have you forgotten the rules? That's Diana's seat. The bumps in the back strain her eyes." Diana was coming down the steps. Victor gallantly put a hand over the door frame to protect her head. "Diana needs to check out her new territory in the West District anyway. It's on our way." Without a word, I opened the back door and got in. "Mm." The villa was built like a fortress halfway up the mountain. The moment Diana reached the second floor, her eyes lit up. "The view from the main bedroom is perfect, and the bulletproof windows are thick enough. My classified files would be safest here." Victor stood beside her, looking at her tenderly. "If you like it, the room's yours. You can come stay whenever you want. "I'll have the best security team install an infrared defense system for you." I leaned against the wall in the hallway. Back when they chose the site and built the safe house, Victor hadn't even bothered to look at the blueprints. He always said, "It's an outpost that could be bombed anytime. As long as it's bulletproof, it's fine." Now he and Diana stood side by side at the window, eagerly discussing camera blind spots and firing positions. They looked like the couple about to move in. Diana turned and shot me a challenging look. "Eve, you won't mind if I take this room, will you?" I looked up at Victor. "Do you remember that the blueprints call this the master bedroom?" Victor's expression didn't flicker. "Master bedroom is just a name. It's not like you need a specific temperature and humidity the way classified files do. "There are a few rooms left on the first floor. Just pick one." I clenched the dagger hidden in my sleeve until pain shot through my palm. "Whatever makes you happy." Victor came over and stroked my cheek. "Eve's so understanding." After we left the safe house, the Italian tailor called the manor. My custom bulletproof wedding gown was ready. Diana affectionately slipped her arm through mine. "Come on, dear sister. Let me check how thick your bulletproof gown is." To anyone watching, we looked like loving sisters. But just as I changed into the deep sea-blue velvet gown, her comm unit rang. After the call, Diana looked anxious. "Victor, there's an important dinner in the West District tonight, but the bulletproof dress I ordered is stuck in customs..." Victor frowned and looked around the tailor's shop. His gaze finally landed on the deep sea-blue gown I was wearing. "Diana can pull off this color, and the protection is good enough. This one will do. Have Eve take it off." The old tailor's eyes widened. He couldn't help speaking up. "Don, this gown was custom-made for Eve! The Kevlar lining was tailored to fit her body perfectly! "Besides, what kind of groom makes his bride give her wedding dress to another woman?" Victor gave the tailor a cold look. To him, there was nothing to discuss. If Diana was in danger, my armor was hers to take. I pressed a hand to the bulletproof plate over my chest. Somehow, the heart beneath it couldn't hurt anymore. I turned, went into the dressing room, took off the gown, and handed it to Diana. "Take it. I won't be in any danger anyway." Victor seemed caught off guard, then gave a satisfied smile. "That's more like it, Eve. I'll have the tailor make you another gown with even better materials." But the moment he'd said it, he couldn't take his eyes off Diana in my wedding gown. He knelt on one knee and adjusted the holster under the hem of her skirt himself. Every time I'd come close to death, I'd imagined him doing something like that for me. I'd come to this tailor's shop for more than a dozen fittings. He only came with me once. That time, the tailor suggested Victor help adjust my waist strap, saying it would bring us closer. He didn't even look up. His answer was curt. "Why bother? I'm paying you to do that, aren't I?" I looked at his back as he knelt at Diana's feet. Only then did I realize what those fantasies had cost me. All my life, everyone had favored Diana. The elders did. So did Victor. Yet I'd been drawn to him like a moth to a flame. When I first joined the family, the elders scolded me like a dog. Only Victor had handed me a spent shell casing after everyone else left. "Keep your hand steady when you pull the trigger. Be ruthless, and no one will dare look down on you." I'd clung to those words like a lifeline. Then he proposed to Diana, and she told him the Mafia needed power, not love. Devastated by her rejection, he turned to me and tossed me the ring that symbolized our marriage arrangement. I knew I was his second choice, but I caught it anyway. I was better at intelligence analysis, but I forced myself to carry a heavy machine gun. I copied Diana's fighting style and charged into battle for him. No matter how hard I tried, I'd never be Diana. My terminal buzzed. An encrypted message from Sofia popped up. "The route to the South Shore is open. When are you leaving?" Diana had already changed out of the gown and left in a hurry with her people. Victor grabbed a black trench coat with a high collar from the rack and tossed it to me. "Eve, throw something on. We need to go. Diana's waiting for backup, so hurry up. "That black coat will do. It hides stains, and it suits you." Black again. The color I hated most. I lowered my head. I typed a reply on the screen. "Before dawn on the wedding day. Once I'm gone, I'm never coming back." Chapter 3 That night, we were called back to the manor for dinner. It suddenly hit me that it was my birthday too, not just Diana's. Ever since I joined the family, they'd celebrated it on the same day as hers. Victor had a bottle of Russian vodka brought over, the family's grandest way to celebrate. It was top-shelf liquor, all right. But it was Diana's favorite, not mine. I had a severe stomach ulcer. A single sip of liquor that strong would leave me doubled over in pain. Yet no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with that. Victor poured the first glass as he always did and pushed it toward Diana. "Diana, the first toast is yours. Here's to another step toward the top." I looked at the glass, at the smugness in Diana's eyes, at Victor's same old favoritism. This time, I spoke up. "Victor. "Whenever there was territory or weapons to divide, Diana always got first pick, and I had to settle for the scraps. But tonight, you couldn't even spare me a glass of vodka? "And why do I have to wait until she's done drinking before it's my turn?" The noisy banquet hall went silent at once. Victor frowned. "It's always been this way. What's wrong with you tonight?" My father slammed his cane down on the table. "She controls the family's lifeline! You're just muscle! She's 100 times more valuable than you, so of course she goes first! "If you could bring the family a hundred million euros in profit, I'd pour your drink myself!" I opened my mouth, but no words came out. Diana threw back her head and drained the glass. Thunderous cheers erupted all around. By the time they remembered me, the bottle was practically empty. Victor glanced at my empty glass. "Never mind. We're out anyway, and you don't even like vodka. It's just a formality. There's always next year." Next year. It was always next year with him. And somehow, that day never came. I quietly retreated into the shadows and watched them celebrate. Somehow, the conversation drifted to the wedding ceremony a few days away. My father suddenly turned and stared at me. "How's security along the perimeter coming?" I was about to answer, but he'd already turned to Victor. "Oh, and Don, the heads of several neighboring gangs will be there on the wedding day. "Diana just took over the West District port. The ceremony would be the perfect chance for her to announce its new tariff rules." Victor nodded without a second thought. "Cut the blood oath reading. Leave time for Diana to take the stage and establish her authority." Diana covered her mouth and laughed softly. "Oh, how could I? It's Eve's wedding. I can't steal the show, can I?" Victor gazed at her tenderly. "What does it matter? The family's interests come first. Don't worry. I'll set up the whole thing for you myself." The three of them gathered around the long table, eagerly discussing how to lower the West District's new flag and force the other capos into submission. This was supposed to be my wedding. Instead, they'd turned it into a grand spectacle to celebrate Diana's rise to power. And not once had anyone asked whether I agreed. Luckily, all of it was almost over. I made an excuse to leave the table and went back to my room to pack my things. There really wasn't anything to take. I took only my precision watchmaking tools, the one thing I truly loved. Suddenly, a deafening roar went up outside. Then came a volley of celebratory gunfire. Diana had won the Alliance vice chair position by a landslide. Diana complained in a coy, almost playful tone. "But my inauguration is on the same day as the wedding. If I go to North America, no one will come with me. "It's supposed to be one of the biggest moments of my life, and I'll have no one there to share it with. How depressing!" Chapter 4 The celebration in the hall fell silent for a moment. Then Victor spoke, his voice deep and certain. "You won't be alone." A few minutes later, someone knocked on my door. Victor came in. He made it sound like a request, but his tone left no room for argument. "Eve, Diana becoming the Alliance vice chair means a lot to the family. "How about we move the wedding ceremony to midnight?" I stared at him. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. By Mafia rules, only a mistress who had to stay hidden or a traitor held a ceremony at midnight. The guard outside the door muttered under his breath. "A midnight ceremony? Isn't that treating Ms. Eve like some back-alley whore..." My father's roar cut the guard off. "Shut up! Who are you to question the Don? For the family's glory, so what if she has to put up with a little humiliation?" Victor's eyes softened, but he said it like he was doing me a favor. "Eve, you've always been understanding. You understand why we have to do this, don't you?" I looked at him quietly. Suddenly, I thought back to three years ago. I'd won the underground fighting tournament. Covered in injuries, I'd asked him to come see me. But he'd said Diana's shooting assessment mattered more. He had to be there to coach her. When he saw me trembling with pain, he made an offhand promise. "Don't worry. I'll come see you in the infirmary later." But in the end, he stayed at the shooting range all night. I ended up sitting alone in the ring until dawn, my whole body aching. Even now, I was still the one he could cast aside whenever he wanted. "Sure. I don't mind. Let's move it to midnight." A wedding without a bride would be the same at any hour. Now that he had the answer he wanted, the celebration in the hall roared back to life. By midnight, Victor was so drunk his men had to help him onto the sofa. After everyone left, I brought him a cup of tea to sober him up. I looked into his hazy eyes, and the question slipped out before I could stop it. "Victor, were you ever looking forward to marrying me?" He leaned back on the sofa and didn't answer. A cold wind slipped in through my collar and chilled me to the bone. "Then why did you make me your fiancée in the first place?" I knew it was a stupid question. But I wanted to hear him destroy my last illusion himself. He rubbed his brow and gave a slurred laugh. "Aim for the best, settle for second best... If I can't have the sun, a shadow who can take bullets and looks a little like her is the best deal I can get. "Besides, you're her sister. "Keeping you beside me means I can look at her without anyone thinking twice." The cold wind drained the last warmth from me. I'd cried myself dry long ago, after countless gunshot wounds. The truth was even more sickening than I'd imagined. The seventh day came. My wedding day. Before dawn, the whole manor was buzzing, but none of it had anything to do with me. Every elite soldier was cleaning guns and checking the convoy, ready to escort Diana to the airport for her flight to North America. I changed into a black tactical outfit and headed out through the side door. "I won't be going to the inauguration. I need to sweep the church for bombs first." Victor was loading his pistol. He didn't spare me so much as a glance. "Fine. Go keep an eye on things first. Don't let our rivals find an opening." With a small tactical backpack over my shoulder, I got into the black car bound for the port without looking back. In the rearview mirror, I watched the heavily armed black convoy whisk their queen away in the opposite direction. Four hours later. Diana's inauguration opened in a blaze of spotlights in North America. At the same time, the smuggling boat I was on docked quietly at the South Shore. My terminal buzzed. It was an encrypted message from Victor. "Eve, something's come up on Diana's end. We'll be back late. Read the blood oath yourself. I'll have someone stand in for me to finish the ceremony. Be good." I stared at the words "Be good" on the screen and gave a bitter smile. I pulled out the SIM card, snapped it, and hurled it into the sea along with the satellite phone. Sofia handed me an umbrella as we stepped into the thick fog. "Let's go. Your new identity's all set." After the celebration in North America ended, Victor took his private jet back overnight and headed straight for the manor chapel. He found it in chaos. His second-in-command ran up, drenched in sweat. "Don, it's past midnight, and the bride never showed up!" Victor's eyebrow twitched. The captain beside him looked panicked too. "Don, we lost Ms. Eve's satellite phone signal four hours ago!"