I'm going to +1 what Meadbh said and add in my own perceptions of what I see here so far.
First, it seems you feel like you were promised a promotion, but you also seem to say you weren't actually promised a promotion. Taking the position of someone who was promoted quickly does not imply or promise any such similar path for you. It seems like you went into the job feeling entitled to what happened for the last guy who had it, which you are not entitled to unless specifically told that is what will happen. As it doesn't seem anyone told you that you'll be promoted to position XYZ after ABC number of months, the entitlement seems to be in your head.
Second, if your pay is not equitable to the industry norm for someone in your position with your background, then you have a case for believing you are underpaid. The pay of someone in a position over you has no real relevance to whether or not you are being adequately compensated. If, based on research of pay for similar experience in your position across your industry and location (
www.BLS.gov is a good start for that data), you believe you are being underpaid then you can either accept that for the "hope" that things will change where you currently are, or you can look to get adequately compensated for your work elsewhere.
Third, if no one in the company is being given a raise, then the interpretation of the company's financial situation and priorities you presented earlier is mistaken. They either cannot afford to pay their people better due to reasons you do not currently know/understand, or they do not want to pay their employees better. Either situation is a red flag in my book.
Lastly, until you have another offer in hand, I would recommend you do your job to the best of your ability and avoid any conversation (with anyone at any level) regarding compensation at work unless the subject is brought up by your boss (in which case I'd be humble and express that you understand no one is getting any raises this year etc etc). The sole exception would be any routine discussion that would happen during an employee review with your boss, and then you only discuss desired increase in compensation in relation to your performance and responsibilities.