Do you think narcissists pretend or really believe they are empaths and kind and caring?

I’m think it depends on the person. My mother and my sister are both narcissists. Mother truly thinks what she does is for the benefit of all…beating a child bloody with a wire coat hanger for example teaches them a lesson for their own good.
My sister, however, has a whole delusional world in her head…everyone else is out to get her, everyone else has the problem. She’s literally told me she can never be or do wrong.