Freya's words immediately lifted James's spirits.
"Is there a problem?" he asked eagerly.
"What problem?" Freya replied, as she opened the video. The video continued to play, with all the other characters unchanged, except for Smith Mary, whose face had been replaced by another.
"The original video used the most advanced face-swapping technology from abroad. This is the video that Jody restored," Freya explained.
"Madam may still be alive," she added.
James's eyes turned bloodshot and he grabbed Freya's shoulders.
"Is it true?" he demanded. "Is Mary really alive?"
Freya was taken aback by his sudden outburst and the strength of his grip made her gasp.
"I'm sorry," James quickly let go. "I got carried away."
"It's alright, Commander," Freyasmiled, placing the tablet on her lap.
"Unfortunately, apart from the video, we haven't found any other leads. So the news of Madam's survival is just speculation,"Freya continued, feeling a little embarrassed. She had given James hope, but the rest of the news was still bleak.
As one of the four commanders, Freya's connections spanned the globe, and her Vermilion Bird Camp was known as one of the world's top intelligence centers. But despite following the trail of the video and personally visiting the remaining members of the Hill family, Freya had found no one who knew anything about it.
They all agreed that the person in the video was Mary, as the master and young master had told them so. After a day of investigation, Freya even thought that there was an error in the decryption video by Jody, but Jody and his brothers from the technology camp analyzed it ten times and got the same result. The video had been altered, and the person in the video was not Mary. However, the voice matched perfectly with Madam's voice. This puzzled Freya.
Madam's voice was emotional and seemed genuine, so it shouldn't have been recorded intentionally. But then, what was the purpose of the video? Under what circumstances did Madam say those things in the video? Did Madam experience the same thing as the woman in the video? But if that were the case, why would they need to use another woman to re-enact the scene?
Was it Hill Chris's unusual preference? Freya looked at James, who was standing still with his once bright eyes now lifeless, and spoke again.
"General, there is actually a way to determine if Madam is alive or most likely alive." James suddenly lifted his head, and Freya paused. "We can open the coffin and examine the body. If it's not Madam in the grave, then there must be something fishy going on." Freya fell silent after speaking and waited for James's response. If he didn't agree, no one in the world would dare to touch that grave. Digging up a grave and examining the body was a disgrace to Madam's dignity. But if it was really Madam in the coffin, they wouldn't be able to bear James's anger for acting without his permission.
"Verify."
James said hoarsely, clenching his fists.
"If there is hope, then we must verify it. I don't need these inaccurate messages. I want to see with my own eyes whether Mary is dead or not."
"If she's not, investigate thoroughly!"
"Even if we have to search Michigan, Alaska, Texas, and the whole world, we must find out about Mary!"
James's gaze was firm. He had already anticipated everything that Freya could think of when she mentioned the video face-swapping. He even thought of more, but many things had to be carefully considered after the coffin was opened. As for eliminating several big families, he felt no regret or guilt. Even if it wasn't Mary in the video, what Hill Chris and those rich young masters did deserved death!
"You go arrange people, it needs to be done quickly," James urged, closing his eyes.
After a busy day, he was a bit tired. The image of the coffin being opened kept appearing in his mind. If it wasn't there, where did Mary go? Why didn't she leave any message? Was it because she didn't want to, or because she didn't dare to?
As the car sped along, when James entered the cemetery, the grave-digging team that Mary had called was already in place. After some ceremonies to restart the cemetery, the team set up a tall tent to block the noon sun. Shovels dug into the yellow soil, and in just half an hour, the coffin was lifted out.
"Boom!"
The coffin was laid flat on the ground, and one by one, the nails were pried out. When all the nails fell to the ground, the entire team stepped back in unison.
"Master, for the final step, will you do it?"
"Um."
James nodded at Freya and walked up to the coffin in big strides. As he approached the coffin, the sky suddenly darkened. James paused for a moment and placed his hand on the coffin lid. Whatever the outcome, there had to be a result.
"Sorry."
James said softly and pushed the coffin lid aside.
As the lid moved back three inches, a face that was completely unrecognizable appeared.
Due to being buried for a week, the face had begun to show signs of decay, but James could tell at a glance that it was not Mary.
"No."
James narrowed his eyes and closed the coffin lid.
Indeed, it was not her!
At this moment, the excitement in James's eyes was quickly replaced by an indescribable chill.
Who would dare to play tricks under his nose?
The name of a Logan family quickly came to mind. The Logan family in Lansing was definitely one of the most rigorous and difficult to investigate.
And in terms of grudges, the Logan family in Lansing had every reason to do so.
"It's better not be you guys!"
James clenched his fists. If it was really them, then they couldn't blame him for making his promise meaningless.
Ten years ago, James was in his early twenties when he first learned of his true identity as a direct descendant of the Logan family, the royal family of Lansing.
But James's father had been expelled from the family long before he was born for a simple reason: he refused to marry into the family and instead married a common woman.
The Logan family believed that James's bloodline was impure, and his father, Logan Robert, had tarnished the family's reputation.
Logan Robert was a very ambitious man. After leaving the Logan family, he came to Alaska and devoted himself to his career.
Within a year, Logan Robert had made a name for himself in southern Alaska. Within three years, he had established his own publicly traded company in the province. It was also during this time that James was born, and the relationship between the two families improved somewhat.
Logan Robert was allowed by the head of the Logan family. Logan Robert, to bring his wife and child back home for the New Year. However, during every holiday, he would inevitably face cold ridicule and insults from his relatives, most of which were about him marrying a lowly woman and having a bastard child.
These words only fueled Logan Robert's determination to work harder. However, due to his relentless efforts, he fell ill in the year that James turned twenty.
He never recovered and passed away within a month.
Surprisingly, the Logan family did not even send a peer to attend his funeral. Instead, they sent a young member who was not even twenty years old.