My stomach twisted. I should've prepared myself for pre-law. Was my dad right? Would a judge use the fact that she was a clone as a technicality?
"You have Adam now, and you're treating him better than you ever treated her. I never understood why you were so hard on her."
This time it was him who crossed his arms over his chest. Yet his eyes never left mine.
"I was tough on her to make sure that she lived up to the potential."
"You were more than tough. Who the hell is she a clone of?"
My dad narrowed his eyes at me.
"Why won't you ever answer that?" My arms were loose and up by my chest.
"It's not important."
"It's not important? She's the first human clone, and it's not important who she is a clone of?"
"How did you go from trying to get Madeline away from me to ask who she is a clone of? You are so all over the place." My dad's head bobbed as he rolled his shoulders.
"When I went to that ball with you all that one year, there was an older couple at one of the tables. The man said Madeline looked familiar from before this clone thing started."
My dad's jaw clenched.
"Fine, she's just someone I grew up with." He rolled his eyes.
"Who?"
"Just an old friend."
"Friend or girlfriend?"
"What does it matter?"
"It matters because that's pretty sick to have mom help raise an old girlfriend of yours. How does the girlfriend even feel about having a clone of her out in the world?"
"Your mom's opinion is invalid because she didn't stick around." He spat. "She didn't stick around for you, so why are you defending her. Madeline is a clone of someone who is dead."
My back straightened, and my hands clenched at my sides. I tried to take in a deep breath. I opened my mouth only to close it once again as I glanced at the floor, and my eyebrows fused. Something shined on the floor close to the fridge door my dad had come out of. I bent down, my stomach dropped, and my heart stopped. Between two of my fingers was a pendant of a four-point star on a long gold chain. The front had a small clear diamond in the middle of the star. I flipped it over, and on the back were the letters SV. My head began to spin.
"This was mom's."
His face dropped, and his shoulder fell.
"What are you talking about?" My dad's voice was weaker this time.
I gulped.
"Why the hell is mom's necklace down here after all these years?"
"It's not hers."
"These are my initials on the back!" I yelled as the star clenched in my fist. "She wore this every single day."
He moved closer to me. I spun on my heel and opened the walk-in freezer door. My hand went to my mouth, and I took a half-a-step back. I could feel the burning sensation of bile rolling up. The back corner was a body wrapped in plastic, but the features were still there despite the ice crystals crawling over the material. A pair of women's eyes were open, staring blankly at me. Her hair tied back, and her shoulders curled in slightly.
"All these years," I stammered. "All these years, you had me believing mom had left us, but she's been in the basement this whole time?"
I turned to stare at him. I had come into the house ready for a fight or one of our loud yelling matches. My current voice and aching heart were not in the plans. Taking a few steps over, I gripped the side of the counter and leaned over. I began to dry heave.
"It's for the best." He mumbled.
My eyes narrowed.
"For the best? You married her because you loved her, didn't you?"
"I did. However, your mother lost sight of the vision."
I shook my head.
"I swear I can't be your son."
"I will say your mom was loyal. You are my son, without a doubt."
"Maybe genetically, but that's it. I'm nothing like you."
One corner of his lips curled in.
"Your temper says otherwise."
The muscles in my jaw clenched.
"I won't become you. Torturing little girls and all."
He got closer and shoved me.
"I don't torture anyone."
My face scrunched.
"You have my mother's body in a freezer and used to lock Madeline up in her room so that she couldn't get out!"
"When you're paving the road of the future, it isn't going to be clean-cut."
My elbow wound back, allowing my fist to drive into his face dead-on, cracks broke through. I cursed under my breath and shook my hand. My dad brought one of his hands to his face, but red liquid poured out from between his fingers. His eyes kept blinking, focusing, and un-focusing. My dad lunged at me with his free hand, but I jumped back. Quickly I turned around and darted up the stairs, trying to take two at a time. I heard his feet behind me, and I flew out of the front door. Getting into my car, I locked all the doors. My hands trembled as I tried to put the key into the ignition, but curses just spilled out until I finally got it in. My dad's face covered in blood was coming towards me. I backed out of the driveway, forgetting about speed limits. I heard a car horn scream out as I turned and headed down the street. Gripping my phone, I dialed 9-1-1. I started to talk the second a person answered, not giving them a second to greet me.
"Hello, there is a human body in Dr. Vodola's basement. It's of my mother who disappeared like sixteen or fifteen years ago."
"Are you sure?"
"I saw her with my eyes in
