Valentina stood up.
She was across the desk and moving toward him before he had fully finished the sentence. For a moment, Rex assessed the specific quality of her movement—the involuntary speed of someone who has had something touch a nerve that controls the whole system.
He remained exactly where he was, which he knew was the correct choice.
"How did you come by that name?!" she exclaimed, her voice losing its usual measured quality. Though not entirely stripped of control, there was enough tension for Rex to sense the underlying emotion.
"Kregg," Rex replied as he had anticipated. "Before he died, he entrusted me with the name, the document, and the ring, and then the engagement concluded."
"He confirmed it twice," Rex said. "Once under pressure and once voluntarily."
"That name," Valentina said, "is not a name that leaves this room."
"That's why I came here first," Rex said. "Before Elizabeth, before the review, before anyone else."
