The Hunt for Jack the Ripper (The Phantomhive Diaries #1)

Prologue

JANUARY 15, 1886

"What is your name?" 

"My name is Ciel. Ciel Phantomhive..."

Ten-year-old Ciel Phantomhive stepped out of a burning brick building. The sounds of fire crackling and glass shattering could be heard in the background.

He stared towards a statue of an angel with a blank yet glum expression on his face. Blood trickled down his cheek below his closed eyes. The sound of fire grew louder within seconds, while the glowing golden flames appeared behind him.

Before I renounced my love for God, we were all devoted to the church every Sunday. There was a quote from 1 Peter 3:9 that we were to abide by throughout our childhood to become better men. "Do not repay evil with evil, or insult with insult. Repay evil with blessings. To this, you were called to. So you may inherit a blessing." Yet, I still wonder...Why did evil follow us in the first place?

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DECEMBER 14, 1885

"Mother! Father!" Ten-year-old Ciel cried out as he ran through the halls of the mansion. Searching for his parents. He coughed as the room was filled with hazy smoke, making it difficult for him to breathe. He no longer wore the bloody nightshirt but was now in a royal blue sailor suit and both of his eyes were open.

He opened every door near him, and he peeked through each of them for any signs of his parents. But they were nowhere to be found.

Eventually, he slowed down to a stop, his horrified eyes staring down at the floor. A tear rolled down his right eye and his face contorted in abhor.

The family dog. Dead on the floor. A two-year-old Russian wolfhound. Butchered and gutted like a pig.

Ciel stumbled back.

"No..." he sobbed. He looked around for his parents again. "Mother! Father!"

Ciel proceeded to run. He rushed past the entrance of the dining hall, where the flames engulfed the window curtains in the background.

A banner hung between the two burning curtains. The words "Happy Birthday" were written in blue bold letters against the white fabric. The tablecloth and the rest of the food on the table burned. A lemon cream cake that sat in the middle of the dining table melted along with two blue candles. A dead man was slumped near the scorching windows with multiple stab wounds to the face. The knife that was used on him was left bloody on the floor. Lastly, an elderly Japanese woman laid dead on the floor. A bloody gash marked across her throat, and her wide eyes stare up at the ceiling as the flames cover her face.

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After a minute of running, Ciel stopped. He froze in place at the sound of struggling. Coming from the next hall ahead of him. Followed by grunts and yells. Ciel squinted his eyes, trying to see through the thickening smoke that continued to fill the halls within minutes. But he couldn't see anyone. Yet, he did recognize one of the voices.

Tanaka.

Ciel's breathing shallowed as fear overtook his every being.

He called out through the smoke cautiously. "Tanaka!?"

Silence. Nothing but silence. Minus the hollow wind and crackling fire. And then...

Tanaka rushed out from the other hallway. He stumbled into the main hall. Where Ciel was. The right side of his body slammed onto the wall. Ciel squealed, shocked at the old man's appearance. Tanaka held his hand to his left ribcage where blood bloomed through his white shirt.