The invitation this time didn't come from an institution.
It came from the state.
Aaliyah read the email twice before forwarding it to Rowan and Elise, her pulse steady but alert.
Subject: Request for Expert Consultation, Accountability Standards Task Force
No flattery.
No framing.
Just a request.
"They're formalizing," Elise said when they met an hour later. "This isn't optics."
Rowan studied the message. "It's precedent."
Aaliyah nodded. "Which means everything we've done so far will be scrutinized."
"And replicated," Rowan added.
Aaliyah exhaled slowly. "If we do this, it changes the scale."
Elise folded her arms. "And the stakes."
They didn't answer immediately.
That was intentional.
Aaliyah spent the afternoon reviewing the task force mandate, scope, authority, duration. It wasn't a symbolic committee. It had teeth. Subpoena power. Reporting obligations.
She circled one line.
Recommendations may inform statutory revisions.
