FOURSAKEN: The Long Road

By Spencer LeGrande, Inc.

Foursaken is the untold story of anguish, confusion, and soul evolution of a young man coming face-to-face with the darker side of spirituality to discover himself.

Khalil started his life in the projects with his loving mother and his older brother at his side. The absence of his biological father left a black hole inside his heart that nothing seemed to fill. As a child, Khalil was desperate to be loved and accepted by the people around him. The harder he tried to fit in with others the more he realized he didn't. Being raised by a community of single mothers and their kids within the walls of his run-down apartment complex left Khalil growing up feeling rejected and lost as his family started bouncing from town to town.

It wasn't until Khalil found Valiant Transformation Academy for Boys (VTAB) that the hole inside his heart began to fill and the pain began to lessen. For the first time in his life he felt like he belonged somewhere. VTAB gave Khalil so much more than a community; it gave him meaning, purpose, and acceptance that he had longed for in his mundane existence. VTAB quickly became a safe haven and a second family to Khalil and became the root of Khalil's success in making friends, athletics, and in life until the unimaginable happened.

The founder of VTAB Ted Armstrong who had taken Khalil under his wing as a son, betrayed his trust in the most disturbing and alarming way known to man. The aftermath sent Khalil into a tailspin, leaving him to question everything he knew about life, VTAB, and most of all himself. Khalil soon found himself dragged into a life-altering court case that put all eyes on him with media attention from the entire world. With the trial sparking outrage, betrayal, and confusion across the country, we learn in the book Foursaken, how Khalil picked up the pieces of his shattered life?

From growing up with no father to being mentored by the world famous Ted Armstrong and from being at the lowest point of his life to being involved in one of the most controversial story in the world. Foursaken is a must read story about betrayal, agony, and despair, but most importantly forgiveness, redemption, and true resilience.

Spencer LeGrande, Inc.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781638746249

Book preview

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FOURSAKEN

The Long Road

Spencer LeGrande, Inc.

ISBN 978-1-63874-623-2 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63874-624-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Spencer LeGrande, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Jay West,

Queen Up Media Group Incorporated LLC, would like to first congratulate Spencer Legrande on the completion of his book, FOURSAKEN The Long Road. This book is going to change the World and help heal those who have experienced trauma in their lives. It has truly been a long road to bring this book to fruition. Spencer is a very brave man and watching him bring this project together was worth the wait. He understands that there are many young men and women that are living in silence after being abused. FOURSAKEN, gives insight, courage and highlights a course to victory.

It has been a pleasure for Queen Up Media Group Inc., to consult, brainstorm and assist in bringing this story to life. FOURSAKEN is definitely the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Queen Up Media Group Inc., is honored to have been a part of the final chapter. We look forward to working with you on other amazing projects. You did an amazing job! Salute!

Jay West

CEO/Queen Up Media Group Inc. LLC

Acknowledgements

Message from the Author

Prologue

Chapter 1

New Beginnings

Chapter 2

My Safe Place

Chapter 3

My Brother's Keeper

Chapter 4

The Meeting

Chapter 5

Let the Games Begin

Chapter 6

Those Who are Chosen

Chapter 7

Is This Love

Chapter 8

Who Can I Trust?

Chapter 9

Silence is Not Golden

Chapter 10

The Point of No Return

Chapter 11

I Am Free to be Me

Chapter 12

All Rise

Chapter 13

The Road to Redemption

Chapter 14

Back to Square One

Chapter 15

The Conclusion of Things

Jay West,

Queen Up Media Group Incorporated LLC, would like to first congratulate Spencer Legrande on the completion of his book, FOURSAKEN The Long Road. This book is going to change the World and help heal those who have experienced trauma in their lives. It has truly been a long road to bring this book to fruition. Spencer is a very brave man and watching him bring this project together was worth the wait. He understands that there are many young men and women that are living in silence after being abused. FOURSAKEN, gives insight, courage and highlights a course to victory.

It has been a pleasure for Queen Up Media Group Inc., to consult, brainstorm and assist in bringing this story to life. FOURSAKEN is definitely the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Queen Up Media Group Inc., is honored to have been a part of the final chapter. We look forward to working with you on other amazing projects. You did an amazing job! Salute!

Jay West

CEO/Queen Up Media Group Inc. LLC

Acknowledgements

In all the trauma, success, failures, betrayals, and happiness I have experienced in my life, I must give praise to the Almighty God. His love is unwavering and uncompromising. I trust and believe that with everything in my soul, He is in control of my destiny. Even when I doubted Him, He believed in me. I have come to understand that all the things I went through made me a better Man, Father, brother, friend, and servant.

To my Consultant, Mr. Ed Haynes, I appreciate your support throughout the process and for giving me access to your vast network of resources.

I want to dedicate this book to the other brave men who brought this important matter to light and your tenacity is breathtaking. All of the challenges you all went through with your families and you still held your heads up high. You all are truly heroes. I am hopeful that this fictional account of events will save other boys and girls from experiencing any kind of misuse of power. Thank you!

Message from the Author

God is real. He hears our prayers, and He answers them. There will be tests, trials, and tribulations that happen to us along the way. Those things ultimately make us who we are.

Those things come into your path to ignite something within you, to push you, to challenge you, or to shape you. No matter what the problem is, if it's something life-altering or something minuscule, it is here to teach you something about the world—yes—but also about yourself, about the kind of person you are meant to be in this world. It is my prayer that this book helps someone to heal and not to live in silence. You got the victory!

After it's all said and done, make sure you are rooted in, trusting in, and believing in God, not man, who simply desires to be like Jesus. AMEN!

There are four valuable lessons to be learned from this book. Please take heed of each of them as you never know what life has in store for you and your family.

Never judge anyone

Speak your truth

Never allow anyone to control your life

Family and friends are more important than material things

This is the voice of the victims who have been silenced for too long.

Prologue

He was dying from an aggressive form of liver disease. Though too weak to speak, Ted was able, in shaky and sometimes hard-to-decipher writing to pen a letter. She was able to keep his deepest secrets for so long, hiding behind fabulous lunches, glorious attire, and Southern pleasantries. He left the letter in her favorite Bible on the nightstand next to the bed they shared but did not enjoy being in together. The letter read:

To My Amazing Wife,

Let me say that I love you. I deeply appreciate you loving me through all the good and mostly the dreadful things that happened in our lives. I was nine years old and we lived in a poor neighborhood in South Carolina. I had no father in the home, nor was there a positive role model in our community. My mom took my siblings and me to a political rally where I met the most powerful man in the room. He was the featured speaker for the evening. His name was Congressman Julius McCormick. He was a fashionable, tall, handsome white man who was well-shaven and fashionably dressed. He was a prominent figure in the political arena and was on a clear path to the White House. I was excited upon meeting him and after a brief conversation, Mr. McCormick told me that he wanted to be my mentor. I was desperate for a father figure, and although Julius was a white man, I felt that he could still teach me many things and show me a different way of life. He treated me very well and taught me everything about life, leadership, manhood, and sex. It didn't take long for Congressman McCormick to groom me, and I became under his spell. I was initially confused, but I relished the attention, money, trips, and power that came along with being in his life. His wife was aware of the relationship but stayed quiet and supported him through it all. She, like you, enjoyed being in the limelight. I have made mistakes that I have asked for forgiveness for. I could only imagine how embarrassing all this is especially because you are my wife. Nevertheless, our appearance and reputations are important to us, our families, and to the members of VTAB as well. All I want is for God to forgive me for all the pain I caused, and I need you to forgive me as well.

His wife, no longer able to hold onto the heavy burden of the horrible things her husband had done or her guilt for supporting him throughout the madness, wanted to clear her conscience. He shared his last confession, then suddenly took his last breath.

Chapter 1

New Beginnings

One of the hardest decisions my mother had to make was moving us into the New Gate projects after divorcing our father. It was so different from our previous home in a quiet neighborhood. There was always someone outside walking around and noise throughout the day. The projects were plagued with gang violence and drugs and required a constant police presence. However, with newly renovated apartments and new tenants, the reputation improved for the better. My first memory from my childhood was when I was five years old, sitting at the dinner table. It was a small wooden table with uneven legs that loudly squeaked every time we sat down. I was swinging my legs back and forth in anticipation as I watched my mom cook my favorite meal, macaroni and cheese, for lunch. Cooking from scratch took several hours and she always made enough to last two days. She stood over the stove as she boiled the macaroni, turning a long-handled wooden spoon counterclockwise in the large silver pot my grandmother passed down to her. That pot was so heavy it could have been used as a weapon. She enjoyed singing her beloved gospel hymn by Gospel Singer Shirley Caesar, " Jesus! Oh Jesus! Oh, how I love calling your name!" My mom is a gorgeous woman with a beautiful voice. The neighbors enjoyed hearing her sing as much as I did. After divorcing our father, the small apartment we lived in, the New Gate Projects, was all that she could afford. She had been trying to get on the Section 8 program that assists with housing but was denied.

Although we lived in the projects, my mom still had a sense of pride. She loved decorating the rooms for my brother and me. We had matching Spider-Man comforter sets on our beds—that was our favorite cartoon character. Although we didn't get to spend much time with her, dinner time was when we discussed our day and shared everything that happened during the week. I looked forward to our evening conversations. Mom was my only source of comfort; being without our father, I depended on her love and reassurance, but there was always a hole in my heart, and I felt empty. She worked two jobs to make ends meet, and even with the adjusted rent, it was hard to make the payment. The other mothers in the neighborhood would watch us when my mother was at work. Between jobs, she would come home to take a nap, make sure we ate, and did our homework and then she was off again. My mother worked so hard to take care of my brother and me. I often wondered if our life would be different if we had a father. When I prayed at night, I was sure to thank God for all we had.

For our entertainment, we had a Nintendo PlayStation. I remember when my mother brought it home. My brother and I had been asking for the game for the longest time. She made it a point to give us everything we needed and some of what we wanted. Even though we grew up in poverty, I didn't feel like we were poor. Aaron and I would say grace before we ate and knew to use our manners when we wanted something or asked for it. We were taught as children to appreciate our blessings, which we held onto dearly.

Whenever I thought about my father, bad feelings stirred up inside of me, I really hated him; he was the man that made my mother cry every night. They didn't think we heard their arguments. I was a child, but I knew she was hurting inside, although she put on a brave front for Aaron and I. It is upsetting to know that he didn't support her or us in any way. I would often think, "If only he had paid the child support, my mother would not have had to work two jobs." I also hated the fathers who didn't show up for their kids in my neighborhood. Their absence was heavy and hung in the air like a thick fog over the New York skyline; we all felt the sadness but did our best to ignore it.

As I grew older, it seemed the mothers in the neighborhood, who were once our overseers, began to work more hours. They were no longer at home to keep an eye out for us. Times were hard for all single mothers, and this was the time when the absence of fathers was even more painful. The older siblings taught us how to throw a football, hit a baseball, and kiss girls. Mom used to say that raising kids took a village, but there was no village for us. Nevertheless, we all longed to rise above our circumstances and live better lives.

My mom met a guy named Jackson. He was a smooth talker. There was something I didn't like about him, but my mother was smitten. When he would come for a visit, they would go to her room and all we heard was banging on the walls. Aaron and I would go and play our games, or she would tell us to go outside to play. That's the only thing I liked about him visiting; she didn't care what we were doing as long