Sin and Deception (Sin and Lies #2)

Epilogue – Chapter

XANDER

“Where the hell are you?"

Theo’s message flashed on my phone, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I craved a moment of solitude before the ceremony.

Nerine had confined us to a distant wing of the estate, ensuring we wouldn’t cross paths before the wedding.

Even though I wouldn’t have my name listed on the marriage certificate, and I’d be the one marrying Theo and Nerine, it felt like I was getting married to both of them myself.

I wasn’t nervous. I wasn’t anxious.

I felt completely at ease with our plans for today. They seemed long overdue.

Theo and I should have acted much sooner to marry our angel, but the chaos with our enemies delayed us. Now that we’d overcome the worst, it was time to move forward.

I was more than ready. As I adjusted my tie, I noticed the tension I had held for years was finally dissipating. Today, I felt genuine unrestrained happiness in my heart.

The dark, empty space I had drowned in during Nerine’s absence was finally filled by her light and healed by her love. I reflected on the turmoil I had faced—the sleepless nights consumed by anger and alcohol that I had wasted, overwhelmed by worry and distress, haunted by countless unanswered questions that tormented me endlessly.

I didn’t know whether Nerine was alive or dead. Then she returned, alive and well, with our boys. It felt as though all my prayers had been answered.

Yet, I hadn’t prayed—not once. Not in my darkest hour. Instead, I had raged and cursed at God, even threatening to harm those I thought God might care about.

But in the end, all I did was hurt myself. And yet, here I was, slipping into my tuxedo jacket, the loves of my life waiting for me at the altar. I combed my hair again, adjusted my tie in the mirror, and stared myself in the eye.

A movement in the reflection drew my attention, and I turned just in time to witness the door behind me swing open. This additional bedroom led to a small private terrace through that door, which provided access to the rear of the estate grounds.

I felt at ease.

Happy.

Smiling .

And when I turned, I expected to see Theo—or possibly my future mother-in-law.

But never, in a million years, did I expect to find Gusto Aetos looking back at me.

Suddenly, all the tension returned. Alarm and anger washed over me like an unexpected wave, and I stepped back, preparing my body for whatever this fucker planned.

“Gusto!”

“Xander,” he nodded. In his hand, he held a revolver aimed straight at me. He wore the same clothes I had seen a caterer wearing earlier.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“It’s obvious. I’m here for your wedding, of course.”

“You weren’t invited.”

My mind raced as I evaluated my surroundings. Distanced from my bedroom and firearms, I found myself utterly defenseless here. I might as well have been standing there with my dick in my hand.

“I wasn’t? Forgive my rudeness,” he joked.

I took a deep breath, my eyes flicking to the door behind him.

“Don’t even think about it.”

“What’s the end game here?” I asked.

“You’re an asshole, Xander, but you’re smart. That’s a stupid fucking question, don’t you think?”

“Fair enough,” I said. “I thought we were past this, Gusto.”

“Nerine thought we were past this. I never agreed.”

“Your silence was agreement,” I reminded him .

“Fuck that,” he said. “I’m here for revenge.”

“Yeah? A life for a life?” I asked.

“Exactly.”

“You realize what’s going to happen if you kill me, right? Nerine already warned you. If you mess with the Angelos again, you’re signing your little daughter’s death warrant. Nerine will show you no mercy.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“You’re an idiot,” I scoffed, shaking my head. “How the fuck did you rise to the head of your family with that IQ?”

His face twisted in anger, his breath quickening. I took a step forward, and he jutted the gun toward me.

“Don’t move!”

I stopped, raising my hands.

“Can I talk you out of this?” I asked.

“I’ve made up my mind,” he replied, lifting his chin defiantly.

I noticed his fingers tightly clutching the gun, with one finger on the trigger.

His hand trembled, and a drop of sweat rolled down his temple into his sideburn.

For someone who planned to kill me, he was certainly moving slowly. He appeared to be more anxious than I was. Then it struck me.

Had he ever even gotten his hands dirty?

He achieved prominence in his family only because his predecessors had passed away. Born into wealth and comfort, he likely never cleaned a dish himself.

A slow smile spread across my face .

“Gusto,” I said, chuckling. “Why are you so nervous?”

He took a step toward me but stopped again, waving the gun around.

“I’m not.”

“Have you ever killed anyone?” I asked, tilting my head to the side. “You haven’t, have you?”

“I’m about to kill you.”

I nodded, my eyes scanning up and down his body, assessing him.

“You’ve found yourself at the head of a mafia syndicate. But you’ve never done your dirty work yourself, have you? Why are you here now?”

“I told you. Revenge.”

“But you don’t want anyone to know. What’s your plan? Sneak out without being seen? Do you really think nobody will notice you?”

“I took precautions,” he said, eyes darting to the camera outside the door.

“Is that so? What did you do?”

“I recruited a Harvard student to assist me in breaching your security system. He programmed it to loop so that no one would notice my entry,” he said, a sense of pride evident in his voice.

“I understand. So, you plan to kill me, and you took it upon yourself to do the job to avoid any snitches, correct? It must be difficult for you to have so little faith in your own people.”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” I asked, lifting a brow. “If you were a real godfather, I wouldn’t have seen you coming, and you’d be on your way back home after having left me on the floor to bleed out. But you’re not, are you? No, you use the only strength and power at your disposal to get things done—money. What a fucking coward you are, Gusto.”

My words hung true and heavy in the air. His eyes dilated with anger, and I knew I had called him out correctly. I tried to avoid smirking, but his incompetence was amusing.

My phone buzzed from its spot on the table, and I figured it was probably Theo again. I hadn’t replied to his first text, so he was likely getting antsy.

It was almost time to start the ceremony.

I thought about Nerine. She probably looked like an angel already in her wedding dress. I couldn’t wait to see her walk down the aisle. I had dreamed of this day for years.

And I wasn’t about to let this prick take that opportunity away from me.

Not a coward like him.

Another bead of sweat slid down his face, his hand still trembling.

I weighed my options. I needed to move this along. Which meant I needed to kill this asshole so I could go marry the loves of my life and begin the next chapter of our story.

There was no fucking way I was going to let this be the end.

“People are looking for me,” I said, pointing my chin toward the phone.

“Let them look.”

“You’re going to make me late for my wedding, Gusto. ”

He laughed, shaking his head. “You’re not going to make it.”

“Right. You’re going to kill me," I shouted, calling his bluff. “Well, go ahead and do it, then!"

He raised the gun higher, his hands shaking with fear.

“Shoot me, you bastard!” I yelled, my voice carrying through the air.

His eyes widened, and his finger wiggled against the trigger.

“Come on! Do it, you prick,” I urged even louder this time.

“You’re the prick,” he shouted. “This is payback for my brother’s death.

He took a step forward, placing the barrel of the gun against my chest. He was so close that I could smell his breath.

He was so upset that he trembled like a child, his face pale and glistening with sweat. I recognized that this kind of fear was a dangerous mix. Terror like this—unchecked, wild, and unrefined—was precisely the kind of situation that could lead to someone ending up dead.

But I also knew I wasn’t going to become a corpse today. Gusto summoned his courage, a wild and uncontrollable storm raging in his eyes as he wrestled with his emotions.