Sin and Betrayal (Sin and Lies #1)

Chapter 1

One

P resent Day

Nerine

I finally did it. I finally killed him .

The bastard deserved to die by my hands.

He won’t hurt me anymore. He won’t hurt anyone anymore.

He thought I was a commodity, a thing to use for power and status.

Big mistake. Huge mistake.

I stared down at my blood-soaked hands. The dark, crimson liquid glistened rich and beautiful, pooling in my palms, still warm, still filled with the essence of the monster I married. Not by choice but force.

Tick, tick, tick.

The grandfather clock in the library counted the seconds since Andraius Fredric Angelos’s demise.

Not a true Angelos but a faker, a charlatan, someone who assumed a name to take my fucking throne.

Bastard.

A laugh bubbled up inside me, but my stomach clenched before I set it free. Then chills filled my body, making it seem like I’d never feel warm again.

I dropped my head back against a wall of books, trying desperately to ignore the pounding in my head, and shifted my attention to the asshole.

The handle of the knife I’d used to slice his belly open poked out from underneath him as he bled all over the rug.

A brutal death was a fitting end to the demon who used a blade to carve his punishment into my skin for not meeting his expectation of a new bride.

That was nearly five years ago.

I’d lost count of the number of times since then that he’d threatened to end me, take another, younger wife, and use the inheritance that came if I died to build upon his empire.

His empire.

Fucker. It was my damn empire. I was the true Angelos. Not him. Without me, he was nothing. And now he was nothing.

He’d done everything to destroy my spark, my confidence, and my youth. And in the beginning, he’d almost succeeded. I’d lost everyone and everything I loved, and he preyed upon it. He turned me into a shell of the person I remembered before he entered my life. Then I realized falling under his rules made him happy and gave him power over me.

That was unacceptable for a girl brought up to fight for what belonged to her.

I decided I’d rather have him hate me. He’d treat me the same no matter how I behaved.

Plus it wasn’t as if I’d get back all the time stolen from me.

At nearly twenty-four, most of my old friends had graduated from college. In contrast, I’d spent my time in hell, living as a wife to a man who’d take my family name as if it were his birthright and then wanted to breed me like a mare so he could legitimize his claim.

Thank God the bastard never proved to be anything but sterile. Though he’d never once admitted it. No, it had all been my fault.

As in all cases when men held bigger egos than abilities, they blamed a woman for their shortfalls.

Piece of shit.

Tick, tick, tick.

The clock rhythmically warned me to get moving.

Wiping my hands on my clothes to clean away Andraius’s blood as best as possible, I pushed to my feet. Immediately, I gritted my teeth as a shot of pain radiated down my leg.

The fucker always knew how to land those sneaky kicks when I least expected them. But then again, I hadn’t expected tonight’s attack at all.

I closed my eyes and breathed through the dizziness.

I could handle this.

I’d lost count of the number of times I’d borne the discomfort of his abuse, hidden the bruises, and pretended indifference. Knowing the public knew damn well it was all a fucking lie.

I could admit he’d eased up on his lessons, as he liked to call them, over the last two years. It had nothing to do with him becoming a better man and all to do with me refusing to give him the reactions he craved. It wasn’t as much fun for him when I acted the cold, calculating bitch he accused me of being.

By locking down my emotions and acting as if nothing hurt me, I forced myself to die inside, to become the epitome of the venom-filled whore that he’d named me.

It wasn’t a part of me I relished. I never expected to develop the persona of a bitter, unhappy woman.

Yes, I’d always spoken my mind and fought for what I believed was right. But that girl, the one from five years ago, saw a future of possibilities.

Who I’d become held a rage that festered and unleashed at specific times and usually in the direction of the newly departed bastard on the floor.

My undisguised hate had kept him away from me.

Well, for the most part. The only exception was when it came to impregnating me.

He hated me but had no problems fucking me. However, when I made the experience as miserable for him as it was for me, he decided to turn to science.

I smirked.

Not anymore, asshole.

With ginger steps, I moved to Andraius’s lifeless body and loomed over him.

“All I wanted was one fucking night of peace, without having to think about you, and you couldn’t even give me that. Surprise, surprise. I learned a few skills from the very person you thought would teach me how to be a proper wife. She taught me the exact moves I used on you tonight, fucker.

“I believe her husband’s version of proper and yours are vastly different. You deserved this and more. I wish I hadn’t waited this long to be the person Papa raised me to be. I was never stupid or as weak as you believed. I am ashamed that I let you take so much from me.”

The urge to kick him, punch him, mutilate him overwhelmed me. I craved to chop him into tiny pieces as I’d heard he’d done to my baby brother, Linus, and my papa on the day he’d staged his coup.

My heart ached for the eight-year-old boy who’d never been able to live because of this bastard.

Everyone assumed since I had a brother, Papa planned to groom him to take over the family. And because of this, Andraius had targeted a defenseless child.

Fucking bastard never knew Papa wasn’t one to follow traditional gender roles, especially since Linus’s birth was a surprise. He’d raised me to fill the position of heir. Papa taught me everything about running the organization, informing me of every secret passed down through the generations to how to access all assets. Most of all, he taught me how to be ten times as ruthless as any man since women rarely got a seat at the table.

How could I have forgotten all those lessons? Why had I waited five years to act?

I was an idiot for giving Andraius power over me. I let him rule my life, all because he dangled the lives of my mother and sisters in front of me. Challenging him as a bitter, cruel wife was never enough. It hadn’t stopped him from raping me, destroying the legacy Papa created, or spending millions that never belonged to him.

I released a deep exhale, pulling back every instinct to mutilate my disgrace of a husband.

I would survive. I would make it to the other side of this lake of poison I swam in. Logic and a thought-out process was the key.

Touching him would leave evidence leading back to me. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to suspect me. Too many people I loved would pay the price for my mistakes.

No one could ever know. I’d have to take this secret to my grave.

Oh God, but my prints were on the knife he held in his hand.

A piercing cold engulfed my body, and shivers ratcheted me to my bones.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Why couldn’t I get myself under control?

I had to get myself under control. Panicking led to mistakes.

Think, Nerine.

After a few seconds, I decided I had no choice but to shift his body. Using my shoulder I pushed Andraius just enough to reveal his hand with the blade. With the hem of my robe, I pulled the weapon from Andraius’s fingers, and as thoroughly as possible, I wiped the handle. Then using the robe as a barrier, I wrapped Andraius’s hand around the hilt and set him back.

Okay. Okay. I’d managed that without making a mess. Well, a bigger mess.

My attention shifted to the clock. Five minutes since the last time I looked.

Tick, tick, tick.

The echo of the gears moving rang in my ear, causing my headache to intensify and nausea to build in the pit of my stomach.

Scanning the room, I searched for anything that pointed to my presence. As far as the household knew, I’d gone to bed.

No one dared enter the library without my permission. Every Angelos family member, soldier, and employee knew this was my sanctuary, and out of respect for me, they kept it off-limits to everyone. I spent hours here at a time, writing, reading, and trying to study everything that was denied to me when Andraius had forced me to withdraw from college following his ascent to the head of the family after our marriage and after he murdered Papa.

My blankets and sweater sat in the exact spot where I’d left them earlier in the afternoon. The room sat almost the same.

Well, except for the dead man face down on the carpet.

I tugged my robe off and cleaned my arms of any remaining blood with quick, efficient movements. Then, I picked up anything that could remotely make it seem as if I’d been in here—my slippers, my book, and my shawl—and placed them in my dressing gown, tying it closed with the silk belt.

I’d never know how we managed not to knock any furniture over or alert the guards.

Luck, maybe?

One thing I knew for sure was that he hadn’t expected anyone in here tonight. The surprise and then rage that flashed on his face told me he planned to search the room for something.

What? I hadn’t a clue.

It no longer mattered. Now I’d take the same passageways I’d used to enter the library to guide me back to my bedroom, where I’d pretend nothing happened.

With one last shaky breath, I clutched the robe satchel to my chest, stepped around Andraius, and headed toward the passageway entrance.

I couldn’t help but sigh in relief when I saw the slightly ajar wall panel. I’d never been so glad I’d left the hinge open in my life. Usually, I’d go out of my way to ensure I secured it. Only a handful of people knew of the secret hallways in the house, and Andraius and those loyal to him weren’t part of that group.

Stepping inside, I rushed through the corridors, up a flight of stairs, and through a narrow walkway to a flat wall outside my bedroom. With a tap of my heel to a groove at the bottom, the panel slid to the side. I rushed inside, paused for a brief second to ensure the wall was sealed shut, and then moved to the bathroom.

The need to wash away the filth of Andraius’s blood from my body surged through me.

I had to get clean. There was no choice but to get clean.

I pulled open the shower door and stepped inside, clothes and makeshift satchel included.

I barely registered the ice-cold spray touching my skin before it adjusted to a tolerable warm temperature. All I knew was I had to wash the devil off me.

But instead of following through on my intentions, I slid to the floor and braced my back against the tiled wall.

The pounding inside my skull intensified, and thoughts upon thoughts whirled in my brain.

“Would anyone believe me if I were to tell the whole truth?” I whispered into the silence of the room. I hesitated for a moment as my body trembled with fear. My heart raced, trying to answer the question: would I be strong enough to reveal the truth, no matter the consequences? In the end, I just wasn’t sure.

So many people hated him. Would anyone really miss him?

I hadn’t planned for this to happen.

Well, maybe I’d dreamed about making his last moments on earth as excruciating as possible.

I still couldn’t believe God had granted me this wish, especially since he’d abandoned me in everything else over the last five years. Why now? And what price would I pay?

The consequences were inevitable. All I wanted was to escape, to take my mother and sisters and run, to hide where no one would find us or use us.

Now, my plans were shattered.

“If only one of his enemies had taken him out before this happened.” I dropped my head against my knees and whispered, “I defended myself. I have to remember this, no matter what.”

He was the one who snuck into the library. He was the one who attacked me from behind. He was the one who planned to put me in a coma and use me as an incubator for his child. I’d protected myself in the only way I knew how.

My palm ran over the now-soaked leather knife harness. I’d have to say goodbye to this beautiful gift.

Just another special item destroyed because of the monster I’d married.

I lifted my head into the heated spray, letting the water pound my face and my clothes.

After a few minutes, I pushed myself to stand, stripped, and scrubbed every inch of my face, hair, and body clean.

Thankfully, scraping the last remnants of Andraius from my skin helped me gather some semblance of control.

Time to prep everything for destruction.

Thank you, Papa. Without your lessons on cleanup, I’d have no idea what to do next.

I sent my words up to heaven and then went about my tasks.

I slowly cleaned up the bathroom, gathering my clothes, scrubbing the shower walls and doors, and ensuring the bedroom had no traces of my departed spouse anywhere.

Twenty minutes later, after a quick trip through different passageways to the furnace room where the family disposed of “unnecessary garbage,” I sealed myself in my bedroom and slid into bed.

I stared up at the ceiling of the dark room, with only the sound of my unsteady breath in the air.

Was this real? Maybe this was a dream, and I’d wake up soon.

No. I wasn’t sleeping. My body hurt too much.

All of a sudden, laughter and tears bubbled up from deep inside.

“I’m free. I’m fucking free. I didn’t have to use my escape plan. I didn’t have to run. I?—”

After a few hiccups, the humor disappeared. Who was I kidding? I knew better than to pretend otherwise.

Freedom stopped existing the very moment Andraius killed Papa and Linus and took over the organization, and it would never exist again.

Now the real prison sentence began.

More secrets, lies, and pretenses.

I would do it because I finally had started to find myself again. My heartbeat accelerated as a realization washed over me.

According to the succession of power, I’d just inherited the seat back as the head of the Angelos Syndicate.

Oh God, what had I done?

This was the last thing I wanted—more power games. More people set into position, ready to use me.

I knew there was no escape, but now there really was no escape. All my plans, all my effort. Would any of it ever happen?

Nausea settled in the pit of my stomach as Papa’s words during one of our lessons echoed in my head.

“You decide your path, cara. You’ll fight a war either way. You have to decide whether you’re a pawn or a ? —”

At that moment, a deafening bang echoed through my bedroom as the door shook violently with each pound.

“Nerine, open up, now! Or we’re breaking it down if you don’t.”

In the next second, the door splintered inward, and two dark figures emerged from the hallway, their steps heavy and determined.

They approached me swiftly, and before I could utter a single word, the taller one scooped me up in his arms and held me tight against him before whispering into my hair, “Thank God, you’re safe. I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you.”

Then the other one said, “Andraius is dead, Angel. We’ve got to get you out of here, now.”