“Card of Betrayal”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYc5d4dC5AN
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.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1XBsDp6sP
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRnqiMbHGYw
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.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxObVecXdO
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDOD8ha5iC
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8iLj7wAxUB
The prefects stood still. No movement.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhLtg3oonx
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ6CJMVRyas
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUbFZ4rMU5
Perfectly wrapped.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpASWXVlhZW
She reached in.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSykZImOwe8
Paused.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHI3GKJbVvo
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJYJAYoCca
Gasps rang through the hall.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6AyQwpyUf
Naomi stared at it, frozen.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ05w7uVJ0j
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmcKiLd64YD
Mary stepped forward, too late.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYE3ZlLTNNz
“There’s been a switch—!”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpLkiUwygg
But the room had already turned.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuN0UimDjm
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljNxRGVxeT
“Was this whole thing a setup?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiR0BBK1gc8
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmj0flTjRJg
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuM3g9xY5zR
Naomi placed the card down without a word.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj4a5Xd1G33
The silence was suffocating.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAl3mZkicGa
Then she said, slowly:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKySyjkJbWL
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQRZzS2eh6
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4gmc7qqkP
Kim whispered, “There were two?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSmHmnZsbP
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9IBhkKuuc1
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH2adKjGOTp
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Uy7t7aRuB
“She’s not in control.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXvNNOvv4x
“This was never about safety.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qPCPzzxyb
“Mercy’s winning.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpPtKH7D9R
Suddenly—65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRG3R1Vw2pm
June stepped forward. Without asking.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3mewxc81mB
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEp7G8IdGXl
Gasps rang out.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejcPyKNZ2q
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU48KhHL33O
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDqqBXzSkfs
One name:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMfqbYu2eq
Ayo.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTfxxpu3Nv0
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKABgailrZu
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBSuueOM8vP
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcJFlw2FmQ
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwG7yLocgr
June turned to the room:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKAHS8wCIW
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6v7xgPnh0
Gasps deepened into murmurs.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhdVvuWOJ1
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPTkwWDfnL
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUpXsxI5SN
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNdpCPjE8Q
Naomi finally nodded.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ80yaQ83JmC
She turned back to the room.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn66heZDLI
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcMcDCIRgA
“The Tribunal is postponed.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLqmKVpIPe5
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4bKoU00ZOn
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlB2Ay2lKtq
That’s when Mary stepped forward.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzug08LxPa3
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuMMX1HezPS
Naomi turned.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgncgZoM3G
“Not now, Mary—”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxi1laAs7Gf
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xcmFFH7qh
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdiGbmrpJb
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIW0YNO62s
She unrolled the pages on the center table.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOq2T7Pp9X9
Real ledger pages.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgRBdX2qUd
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOL1gTeJtd
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGHXdNxThs
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR1pzT4lL4O
Invented correspondences.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94ybPOwpek
Mary flipped to one marked in red:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHQXkPqAZQ
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDhwSQz6aQ
Naomi stared at it.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwf5sXsglB
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2fN5uZQ2Y
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSTL3mfeAF
Then — finally:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxCx2ZjOrF
“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.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbFhYWr7Bn
She stepped back from the lectern.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnDedTEpCR
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpC9lfcBZ24
Mary rolled the pages up again.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKFXGDWEUH
“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.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ5bfUAJ9G4
Naomi nodded.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUBpoUYGzS
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVi9LmWlUhr
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUFo78mu9nQ
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.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFUTQ5ULdEb
All heads turned.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmedvZ8OVS6
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6GWf2bpMD
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRqIiHdAN4
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KpTJew570
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwh1mtb2UF
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfM99d4n4B0
“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?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAMJ2eIJt2
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVuIORYeixs
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCida3L2wZt
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeuOqe35VA
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxA0WX7hk8O
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNMyw8Xxnr
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAyGs7yeai
She faced the remaining prefects.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIePedO1Snw
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8KX70y4Rdj
She turned.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVG3vf8vXM
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEWVNe5Jwu0
And she walked out.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZqIwR1CSOH
No one followed.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkdEGYsQbD9
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCECphF0hpN
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpXHhkOKEJ0
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1v6fFjiHd
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddhqRjHtgF
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.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2j6maZntyR
Kim slipped outside.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVzbCocCnH
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.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA04TowSVRP
Shiko.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALHBR1FljL
No words — just presence.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgC6296GP8
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFNTCbDLRm
“You were right,” she whispered.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtq0t7RMRwI
“You didn’t flinch.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICE6AoYkl9
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4tIEYEnV3
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPIkPNigSl
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gkEKAeQ1R
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKLSt8A1kFo
Kim turned her face toward her.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9o1TfoTcGG
“Why?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUUVB0dyuA
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnSuwzBX62
A pause.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oUjS7kkVV
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBfy5mPkU0
But then — her eyes flicked.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBt1d6d4J0m
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2tRIr3kMa
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93qJPRwRRJ
Her breath caught.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rn3PsaNdS
She pulled back gently.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfC9c2AxnC
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKBxncNCLf
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkbUbmzWgr
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
