Chapter 262: Busted

Tim walked behind the old woman as he surveyed his surroundings. He did not know what Ivy's apartment number was. So, he had to be careful from now on to not to raise suspicion. Also, he could see that the security in the building was top notch. There were surveillance cameras in every corner of the floor, covering almost all the houses entrance doors. His job had become more difficult now. Not only did he have to find her house and break into it, but also had to be careful of being caught. 

He sighed in defeat. He had no idea how to proceed from here. 'Why am I here and what am I even doing? Killing people is easier than keeping an eye on people.' He concluded as he followed the woman to her house. The lady kept chattering nonstop on her way, which Tim did not even heed to. It was as though he had gone deaf after he had entered the building. 

The woman led him to his house which was on the third floor and entered inside. Nobody was present in her house except for a maid who was mopping the floor. He looked around the house. It was quite cozy and homely, completely different from how he felt at that moment. He was not in no mood to appreciate the interior decoration. All he wanted was to escape from the woman's clutches and complete his mission.

"Please sit." The lady said and ordered the maid to bring a glass of juice and some fruits. She then smiled at Tim.

"Please have these." She said sweetly and Tim did not deny her offer. He had nothing to lose on filling his stomach when the woman was offering it herself. He ate it heartily, every now and then looking at his watch.

"Did you call your cousin? When will she return? Any idea about it?" Tim choked on listening to her questions. How was he supposed to know all these answers when he was not Ivy's cousin in the first place? He coughed as he thought of an answer that could stop the gullible woman from speaking and also not raise any suspicions. 

"She told me that she would be back before lunch."

"But it's way past lunchtime right? Where could she be? Also, where did she go?"

"She had some work to attend to."

"You could meet her in her workplace right?" The woman suggested and Tim cursed at the overly nosey lady.

"I called her to inform her about my arrival. But she isn't picking my calls. If I go over there and she comes here in my absence, it would only become more tedious." Tim cooked a lie and then he gulped the juice. The maid gave him one look before she went back to cleaning.

"That's true."

At that moment, Tim's phone rang and he got up to speak, thanking the person on the other side. It was Jared's assistant. He had saved him twice today and he couldn't praise him more.

"It's Ivy." He said to the woman and the woman nodded in return, urging him to answer the call.

"Hey." He chirped and Jared's assistant was momentarily stunned by his enthusiastic greeting.

"Hey. I called you to tell you Master wants to meet you tomorrow."

"Okay. I got it." Tim said and cut the call immediately. He then looked at the old woman whose eyes were fixed on him.

"That was Ivy. She has returned home." 

"Is it? That's great then."

"Oh, God," Tim exclaimed suddenly.

"What happened, dear?"

"This is my first time visiting Ivy and I forgot to ask her apartment number. Let me call her again." Tim unlocked his phone and acted as though he was searching for Ivy's number while he waited for the old woman to take the bait. 

"She lives at 4B." The woman blurted out and the maid stopped working suddenly hearing her. She frowned and felt that something was wrong. As far as she knew, nobody was living in that apartment for almost a week. 'When did the sisters return?' She wondered. But she did not give much thought to it and continued with her work.

Tim smirked and praised the old woman for being such a fool. He lifted his head slightly, his eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you so much, Madam. And sorry for troubling you. I'll take my leave now. My cousin is waiting for me."

"Not a problem dear. Take care of your health."

Tim left her house and smiled in delight. His plan was working fantastic and he could not believe how lucky he was today. He went to the next floor towards Ivy's house and waited for some time, scrutinizing his surroundings. When he saw it to be clear, he made a call to Margeret.

"What is it, Tim?" She asked. Tim heard her annoyed voice and rolled his eyes. He wondered when was she never annoyed. Whenever he met her, she would have a big frown on her face and this would make him avoid her like a bug.

"I want you to hack the surveillance cameras of the apartment I am in and delete my parts in it."

"Fine. Send me your address or your location."

Tim sent her his location and waited for her signal. When he received her message, he proceeded with his plan. He went to Ivy's house and tried to see if there was any possibility to enter her house. There was a fingerprint scanner attached to the door lock and Tim smirked. His work had been reduced significantly now. He took out a transparent sheet he had with him. He applauded himself for his quick thinking and deciding to bring this paper with him at this crucial moment. He placed the paper on the scanner and pressed his finger. This was a sure shot method he had learned from his Master.

Many times, the scanner would have the fingerprints imprints and he used transparent sheets to render the scanner inactive. He had done this a lot of times and this time too, he was sure he would be successful. However, to his surprise, this method did not yield any results. The door did not even budge.

He looked at the door with a strange expression and tried again, only to meet the same result. He frowned in confusion. If he thought he was smart, Joshua was smarter. He had cleared all the fingerprint imprints on the scanner as he knew a day like this would come soon. But this was something Tim did not know about.

This method of his had been rendered useless. He had to find out some other method to get in. He looked around trying to see if there was any alternative. But he could not get any ideas. He gritted his teeth in frustration. How was he even supposed to enter her house with this top-notch security? After idling for some time, he then remembered that Maggie had hacked into a scanning device once and his eyes widened in happiness. He called her again, disturbing in her work.

"What do you want now, Tim?" She asked impatiently.

"I want you to hack a fingerprint scanner of an apartment." 

Maggie's brows creased on hearing his request. Since the time she had joined Jared's gang, she had been doing all sorts of crimes which she was against. Still, she did it as she had to follow the plan and gain Jared's trust. Her Deputy had entrusted her with an important and dangerous mission and she had to do it at all costs.

"Fine. I'll do it." Maddie said and apologized to the resident in her mind.

In a matter of five minutes, the work was done and the door opened a little. Tim smiled like a small kid and was in awe with Maddie's ability. Her skills were beyond belief and she was one of the best programmers he had ever seen.

Slowly and stealthily, Tim entered Ivy's house and darted his eyes everywhere. It was clean and everything was in place and organized. The place looked very welcoming. Tim started with his work and went around searching for any clues. He first started with the living room. He checked all the drawers and cupboards. When he did not find anything there, he went to one of the rooms which he presumed to be Ivy's.

Meanwhile, the maid who worked in the old woman's house could not stop the pestering thoughts in her mind. "Madam, I think there is something wrong here." She voiced her thoughts finally when she could tolerate it no longer.

"What is dear?" The woman asked, pushing her glasses back on her nose.

"The girls you were talking about with the man just now.." The maid stopped suddenly trying to put her thoughts together.

"Yes, what about them?"

"I have not seen them in the apartment for almost a week."

"What?" The woman asked flabbergasted and her face paled in fear.

"Yes, Madam."

"How do you know that? Do you work for them too?"

"No mam. But her neighbor told me that the girls have gone out and one of them has asked her to keep a watch on her house until she returns."

"What?" The old woman stood up suddenly.

"Yes madam. I think there is something suspicious about the man. We need to inform the security."

"Yes, yes. If what you are saying is the truth, then I did a grave mistake." The woman called the security immediately. She did not want to be responsible for a crime she unknowingly committed. She did not know what the man wanted from the two girls and why he was even here in the first place.

The security came running after getting the woman's call and he gave her a look that said: I warned you about him before. The woman darted her eyes, unable to meet his gaze in guilt. Without wasting another moment, they went to the next floor and pressed the bell to Ivy's apartment. But nobody opened it.

Tim, who was busy in his work, froze on hearing the bell and his eyes widened in disbelief. He was spooked with the sudden turn of events and tiptoed towards the door to see what was happening.

Hearing the commotion, Ivy's neighbor came out. "What are you guys doing here? The girls are not at home."

"Where did they go?" The security asked, sweat drops running down his neck and his back.

"I have no idea. But they will not be returning any time soon."

"Who told you?" The security asked again.

"The elder twin, Ivy. She requested me to keep a watch on her apartment until she returned."

That's it. Tim, who was listening to their conversation from the other side of the door cursed his bad luck. He was busted now and he did not know what to do.

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