Chapter 1

Once Chasen Wellington proved to us all that he was Ross Thompson’s actual grandfather, and that Ross’ real name was Terry (Terrance) Wellington, things changed very quickly for me. Sienna, Sondra, and Jeanette were invited to stay at Mr. Wellington’s estate while we all dealt with the court to settle the permanent custody issue.

Judge Marshall was very pleased to reunite Ross with his real family, and Jeanette was thrilled to have the go ahead to continue our lawsuits against all of those found to have abused and hurt Ross. Mr. Wellington attorneys worked tirelessly with Jeanette, helping her economically and criminally denude every one of the people involved in crimes against Ross. Their work was groundbreaking as they helped Jeanette find and take everything the abusers had.

Because most of those involved were indicted and arrested on a variety of felonies, they were looking at forty to fifty years behind bars, on top of losing virtually all of their possessions and wealth. As the lawsuits progressed, Jeanette, Sondra, and I were summoned to a meeting with Mr. Wellington’s chief legal advisor, as well as representatives from the FBI and DOJ.

A representative of the Justice Department led off our meeting. “Folks, my name is John Houser. I am here to update all of you on developments in the cases we’ve been bringing against those who participated in the abuse against Ross Thompson, or Terry Wellington as we’ve discovered is his rightful name.

He addressed Jeanette, first. “When you initiated those lawsuits, you couldn’t have done it at a better time. We’ve had our electronic forensic experts tracing the ownership of the so-called snuff films that hit the market immediately after Ross’ attack. Our people have uncovered a huge pedophile network that was previously unknown to us.

“Over the last few weeks we’ve arrested over one-hundred and ten people on a variety of federal charges that carry such long sentences that our judges have routinely refused bail requests, electing to keep them incarcerated for trial. Many of those indicted and remanded are quite well known as purveyors of underage sex. Some of them are being investigated for their involvement in sexual trafficking of small children, specifically for the purpose of producing snuff and torture films.

“This is where things get ugly, and I am sorry to be bringing such distressing news to you...” He was looking right at me when he said that.

I steeled myself for the worst, but under estimated what was coming.

“Terry ... There is an entire sub-market in illegal child pornography, all starring you...”

He kept talking but I checked out as the immensity of his disclosure hit me. Sondra and Jeanette took places on either side of me, hugging and rocking me as I absorbed the titanic proportions of what those few words meant. If there was a major market in peddling torture films starring Ross Thompson, then there were fortunes at stake as the feds pursued charges.

“There will be more people coming to kill me, won’t there?” I said it and knew it was true.

“The people who are producing those films used thousands and thousands of hours of video shot while your mother tortured you, helped others torture you, and stood by while some truly evil people hurt you in ways that are beyond my imagination. They have so much to lose that they will not hesitate to try and kill you again.” He was nothing if not informative.

Chasen Wellington spoke for me, when he said, “Terry ... There is no way anyone gets near you while we are on the estate. Our security is intense, and I will be having Joseph and George beef up even more.” Joseph was my grandfather’s estate manager. George ran the protection detail. They were always nearby when Chasen Wellington was home.

“Sir,” I always called him, ‘Sir.’ “With as many people as already come and go from the property, it is only a matter of time before the people who want to kill me bribe one of them to help make it happen...” I was truly scared.

Jeanette was furious. “How do we isolate these animals and take them down?” She was demanding answers, not platitudes.

The FBI representative answered. “We are going to drill down and identify everyone. Then we will mount a task force and arrest everyone at one time, to keep word from spreading until we’re done.” He seemed so sure of himself.

“Isn’t that how you almost got Ross killed already? Your own people gave him up to the Attorney General and then showed up to help do the deed.” Sondra was not making any pretense at hiding her distrust of the government.

Both men took that as their cue to leave. They assured Mr. Wellington that they would maintain communication with us, and do all the things in their power to bring this to a close with no more attacks on me.

Joseph saw them out, and then withdrew to give us privacy.

It was time for me to do the right thing. I kept bringing bloodshed and heartache to everyone who loved me. “Sir, I am deeply sorry for having brought this trouble to your home. I’ve got some money and can go back to where I come from and keep those rats from bringing my trouble to your house. Nobody deserves to have to put up with what is going to come down on all of us if I stay here.”

The uproar that followed was nearly epic.

“You will never refer to yourself as at fault. You are my grandson and a Wellington. Terry, I don’t think you understand what the means. We are not without influence and the power to make things happen, or have people disappear. The gentlemen from the government have given us license to use our resources to proactively protect you and the rest of us by being aggressive.

“My contractors are not hemmed in by the letter of the law. We will handle this, son. I promise you that we will hunt down every mother’s son that participated in what was done to you, and we will deal with them as we see fit.” He meant it. It occurred to me that he felt personally responsible for what Hazel did to Ross, and needed to use his wealth to punish those left alive to make himself feel whole again.

Deirdre squeezed in between Jeanette and me, to hug me tightly. “Terry, you can’t ever think that we would allow you to take the blame for this? Those people are garbage and Daddy knows how to deal with garbage. In the meantime, you and I will stay close to home, where our people can keep us safe, and let daddy’s people do what they do best.”

Deirdre might not have realized what she was saying. She just admitted that her father, Ross’ grandfather, had signed death warrants for the people that hurt and ultimately participated in killing Ross, like others would change lawn service providers.

My life had settled down after the visit by the government. I learned to be very happy living with Chasen and Deirdre, and staying off the grid while his contractors hunted down those involved. Several Federal officers showed up and worked alongside Chasen Wellington’s protective detail, assuring us that they were there to help and not because something terrible was about to happen to me.

We spent the next two months getting to know each other and finding ways to meld into a family and attack my physical weaknesses. Chasen hired several doctors to oversee my recovery and they worked me over for several weeks before coming to a consensus on how to go forward with treatment for my broken and beat up body. The physical therapists that came were solicitous but driven to help me recover some of the strength and endurance a fourteen year old boy should have. The dietician worked right beside Mr. Wellington’s chef, preparing meals that would help me recover and become stronger. I gave them all my unflinching devotion and tried to achieve all the benchmarks they set for my recovery.

It just wasn’t happening the way they wanted.

Though I could lift slight weights, walk for several miles without collapsing, and swim - a little – but at least some, my medical team was lost as to how to help me pass through the physical barriers that held me back and kept me down. Too often my therapist stopped a workout because there was no improvement that could be measured. Several alternative workouts were proposed and tried with just as little success. Whatever had been damaged in Ross’ body was not responding to any of the conventional recovery methods.

As I became discouraged by my failure to thrive, Deirdre remained a wonder, and a mystery to me. She was so thrilled to finally find and meet her nephew that she set aside everything and anything to spend time with me. Sometimes her attention resulted in discomfort for me and Mr. Johnson. I’m pretty sure she knew how she affected me and let it go as just another teenage boy thing.

They hired tutors who quickly discovered that I was light years ahead of high school level courses, which created a challenge and a puzzle to everyone. “How can a boy who spent his entire life as a sex slave read at a graduate level, comprehend the most complicated literature, and easily score in the top ten percent of all of his peers, nationwide?” If I heard that once, I heard it a thousand times. This time it came from Evie, my current tutor.

We were working through various high school history textbooks, and I was blowing the tests out of the water without having spent time studying any of the material. Evie was young and slim. She admitted to being twenty-three, but she looked about fifteen, if that.

Her tiny frame held tiny breasts and a wonderful rounded bottom that simply demanded my lips and tongue. It was so hard to restrain myself when we were together. Between her and Deirdre, I spent my entire waking life with an erection.