Prologue

James Moriarty was not a man to believe in true love or love at all; his heart had been burned out of him long ago, if he had ever had one to begin with.

He supposed he must have had a heart, at some point at least, he had parents after all; but his childhood had quickly been washed away by blood and flames, all narrowing down to the point he was at now.

His father, that monster, deserved it, but not his mother; his mother who loved him unconditionally, who had always protected him, and who was gentled, kind-hearted, and soft spoken sort of person, no matter how heavy handed and despicable his father had been.

Well, look who was laughing now?

In the ashes of his childhood, little Jimmy boy was long gone… And in his place, James Moriarty, Consulting Criminal, was born…