“Card of Betrayal”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡozppJuJJ7f
The girls Assembly Hall the following morning is the venue for the second Tribunal. Curtains drawn; bell silent. Only selected prefects, Order affiliates, and nominated students have been summoned. The rest go about their normal school routine mostly unaware of the tension in the hall.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo7X7tFAaq
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKf0JZokAT
To her left: June and Mary. To her right: Kim, silent, unreadable. In front of her: the M.O.3 crate, now cleaned, re-sealed, chalk mark intact.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QHwlaGAX2
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡla5PkDEebY
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBPpC8zctm
The prefects stood still. No movement.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8IXy83dlm
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgTBn3eqtN
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsne1YhQr6
Perfectly wrapped.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpELoehwOS
She reached in.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT87mUNCl1a
Paused.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1yZNYS3pI6
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNX4VIgynl
Gasps rang through the hall.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkx6wpAI850
Naomi stared at it, frozen.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeC4PVjyQvf
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyXBBq4Ew9
Mary stepped forward, too late.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlzgUbj7eS
“There’s been a switch—!”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVNG2I3MUec
But the room had already turned.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZYHMuxj04d
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7x3KqRLqjM
“Was this whole thing a setup?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMUMA8Hz8ru
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0c1licLsh
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJVnQdwx0q
Naomi placed the card down without a word.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vV3c1t6z7
The silence was suffocating.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiunenYnde
Then she said, slowly:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcYtvQML7Ny
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5noNzTwHkW
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5Y4ItJ8wA
Kim whispered, “There were two?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2dHXfYhJa
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNo31V9tPeq
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQI6tVrGqeE
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyL3BrS8Q7
“She’s not in control.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoeOri6OGb
“This was never about safety.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zIAC9M0hi
“Mercy’s winning.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlgkcOMAMpK
Suddenly—35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6uXPd6ZqTa
June stepped forward. Without asking.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdUjI8kMC61
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ZyEhG3urq
Gasps rang out.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjz6VfDHkQZ
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpQBmKBxkzx
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLj96ii7J0O
One name:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3ppEI7lTV
Ayo.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnKBBzvzPJD
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTWZFXvxte
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SJSimEpyL
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4p5X7Gwilm
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7Mhz61YaH
June turned to the room:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2M0huWow6p
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkG2L5CFAAF
Gasps deepened into murmurs.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4YKED4HaC
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdEqn62zH2b
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjCcvQkbx1
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YTzCQabaZ
Naomi finally nodded.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDuFZpJ2qZ4
She turned back to the room.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvDVMJljIN
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0DaZzq1eqU
“The Tribunal is postponed.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ578J7WfgVz
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIPgwqOnWi
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWz5JN7T39s
That’s when Mary stepped forward.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl30cnwyJlb
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgAQyFPAZ1
Naomi turned.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8H38Bao6tZ
“Not now, Mary—”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9Zc27EPwS
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ88DJBtnRRY
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgD0C7G2Fp7
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYrqpOfU8tp
She unrolled the pages on the center table.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMrunSCCXK
Real ledger pages.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqB5mm9l6du
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5goNN7WSJ7
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Nh53zf88l
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGm0ECoNMy
Invented correspondences.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkHwkiFVlFW
Mary flipped to one marked in red:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5W5lWuYQwU
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ600Nr13TbL
Naomi stared at it.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRC18ABFbwX
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfwqhCT1MZ
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxRYxAQ5MHG
Then — finally:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHQQwleNUE
“Partially. The cover-ups happened. But I didn’t know about all of them. I let the fear run the archive. And I let Mercy control that fear.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAVlLFuJ9l
She stepped back from the lectern.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZjNfXZDbR
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6gDUbZUP1V
Mary rolled the pages up again.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2upcTz9E7u
“How can we trust that you are not trying to protect yourself. We need to decide what to do with this. Not the Order. Not even you, Naomi.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw43GtATrca
Naomi nodded.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡot45QSAm6e
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcghDRekCs
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UGZbPC2he
As Mary rolled up the real ledger pages and Naomi sat in quiet resignation, a slow clap echoed from the back of the Tribunal Hall.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuW1TBTpYaI
All heads turned.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAQyZY3tQqH
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3X0sRwQ2KT
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeAeUMfZi2
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqYKKipfpu
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIGaYX118n
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJK3SrX4Bt
“You covered for each other. You buried girls under perfect files and soft threats and fake silence. And now you want to be forgiven because someone else did worse?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk88yVrZqhn
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtdXmO1r3l
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iez0nwrK3
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsWd7Nq2fa
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07Yeo6Bf41
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2ADHgDQxI
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6cpAYEuSf
She faced the remaining prefects.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq7UmyL76iW
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZatp0v3T4H
She turned.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs74LOEGn6b
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwe17fdJe2t
And she walked out.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaviQRudj5i
No one followed.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuNcHphWM4
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGUd9ceGiTT
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmbo9jDcVMa
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqwmlvxH5O
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfedjexszsK
Seline’s vow still echoed in the minds of those who remained. Naomi had retreated behind the archive walls. Mary and June spoke in hushed tones beside the crate.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PvmyyuLUp
Kim slipped outside.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb5optlvGzY
She didn’t notice the breeze at first, or the swirl of jacaranda petals on the stone steps. Only when a shadow moved beside her did she exhale.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoluzr2ljX
Shiko.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfLmXcFxyR
No words — just presence.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjCxWyx5Tf
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlocQMU8Bm
“You were right,” she whispered.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLt1FDJEuF
“You didn’t flinch.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRV7bwxvapD
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lykFRvG9O
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUzUgNz2nC
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0eAaYCGua4
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWUihP6ZFb
Kim turned her face toward her.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrL8XdbWD2
“Why?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIxbWSwrII
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjC2KcpvH5M
A pause.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXslIPM1cU2
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMTgi610kY
But then — her eyes flicked.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDyFuc0Nkp
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2upsxAb23
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLLYXKxQ14
Her breath caught.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgzq4F76D1
She pulled back gently.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbBoJF40I3
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI80gIqSHFN
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqNTxJWves
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
