There were no formalities when the notification came.
There was no warning before. There will be no soft language. An official email with a time stamp and the words "attendance is mandatory" was all that was needed. There was no room for negotiation.
Senior executive leadership and relevant independent consultants must attend the Calderic Group Oversight Transition's Independent Review Hearing.
Right.
After I finished reading the word twice, I closed the message and sat back in my chair.
This was not a random event.
This was all because of gravity.
Ruvan Calderic read the same notice in a room that had suddenly become hushed. He was on the other side of the city. The law was determined. Communications were hovering near the door. Nobody else spoke until he did.
"They are moving rapidly," he said.
Legal said, "They have to." "Public pressure sped up the timeline."
Ruvan nodded once. Who is on the list?
"Legal was unsure." "You. There were two board members present. Also, Ms. Noem.
There was a growing silence.
Elowen's eyes suddenly opened wide. She will be brought in, right?
As an independent consultant, What the law said. "Not as a witness." It is not like staff.
Able to take care of oneself.
It was a word that cut through.
I closed my laptop, stood up, and smoothed out my jacket before walking across the city. The flat felt smaller all of a sudden. It wasn't dangerous; it was just... temporary. I knew that this time would come in the end. When cracks happened in the system, the people who built it were usually pushed back.
I looked in the mirror at one point. Not biased. An expert who has been trained. None of the above factors were present.
exactly how power wanted its factors to show up.
The forum and the hearing room were not the same thing.
The forum held less importance than the hearing room. The scope of the forum was significantly more restricted. There is nothing to watch. There are no cameras. There is only a big table and walls made of glass, and you can be sure that everything said inside will matter at some point in the future.
I showed up early again.
Ruvan came right on time.
No one said we were together.
The people in charge came and sat down in the room. The files were opened up. There was a click. He used the chair to clear his throat.
He said, "This review is about making sure that internal oversight stays the same after personnel changes." We want to start with statements.
Ruvan was the first to speak.
Measured out. He was well-organized and took charge of the situation. That's exactly right.
He discussed the attempts to restructure. Temporary protections. There are already steps being taken to correct the problem. He didn't say anything about me.
There was no reason for him to do that.
When it was my turn, the chair spoke to me right away.
He said, "Ms. Noem, your independent knowledge came up several times in the first analysis we did." Before you leave, we want to know how the supervision system works.
I got up.
Every action was done on purpose.
I said calmly, "Oversight was able to work through redundancy." There is no hierarchy.
There was a break in the middle of a note.
The chair asked, "Please explain."
I also explained that I monitored risks across departments, as there was no single system capable of tracking risks that could impact multiple departments. It was work done as a precaution. There is no noise. And that's how it is.
"After you leave?" someone else in the regulatory body asked.
I never looked at Ruvan.
"I can't say anything about how things work inside now that I'm gone," I said. But when unnecessary information is removed without being replaced, voids are made.
You could hear a rumble.
There is no charge.
There is no defense.
The structure itself.
Ruvan didn't show any signs of being impatient or frustrated now that he was watching me.
Please be careful.
The chair slowly nodded. Your paperwork shows that you have many informal duties.
"Yes," I said. "Responsibility without authority."
The phrase had a big effect.
"Could that be kept up?" he asked.
"Yes, it was," I said. "As long as it was done with respect."
Then there was silence.
The regulators looked at each other.
They got everything they needed.
There was no tension after the hearing. There is no decision. There is no immediate effect.
Just the force of gravity works on its own.
The hallway got busier just outside the room. There were parts where you could hear footsteps, muttering, and phones ringing in the distance.
Ruvan stopped next to me while other people walked by.
"Ms. Noem," he said in a low voice.
I turned.
Yes, Mr. Calderic, it is true.
He said, "It wasn't necessary."
Who is it for? I asked about it.
He decided not to answer.
Elowen showed up at that moment, and her presence was sharp. She looked at me with an open and honest expression.
She spoke up and said, "You like this."
I look at her eyes. Not at all.
I turned my attention back to Ruvan. Even so, I'm not scared of it.
I left before any of them could answer.
The air outside seemed to be clearer.
Not any lighter.
More clear.
After everyone else left, Ruvan stayed in the penthouse by himself for a long time. He didn't just remember the words he heard; he also remembered the balance.
Yes, she did not hurt him.
She didn't make any kind of case for herself.
In short, she had explained.
And an explanation had done more damage than any accusation could ever hope to do.
I took off my jacket in the middle of the city and put it neatly over the chair. That day was the first time my phone rang.
I received a text from a number I don't recognize.
We will get in touch about what happens next. I greatly appreciate your help.
I turned the phone over and faced it down.
This was not the end.
It's the other way around.
Furthermore, the distance that had protected me was no longer guaranteed.
Some conflicts don't start with a fight.
They started as soon as it was clear that they couldn't be ignored.
After this point, we must acknowledge each other.