“Card of Betrayal”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXLbXCEJ2zT
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UtghKpdGn
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ylsQV8TMq
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpKgcJ9qcwU
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGBBcNftbF
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLg7mnil0r
The prefects stood still. No movement.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgRdlgOxsrd
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpMVUf62NE
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtz2dKx4tK
Perfectly wrapped.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jP4RVKzQ0
She reached in.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcmTFEkQ7GE
Paused.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnC0ABT8LsL
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wGJMiAYNX
Gasps rang through the hall.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9yj1ceuTa
Naomi stared at it, frozen.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9j70egOuEy
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2nPCH2VRzR
Mary stepped forward, too late.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT80SyVEP0X
“There’s been a switch—!”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYSCmDf5HG
But the room had already turned.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Rp1ZGJcV4
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAu7urvd3VK
“Was this whole thing a setup?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyX2Opy40n
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9Eqd7cNZi
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikhHo0u8Ln
Naomi placed the card down without a word.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KTc8Jcwld
The silence was suffocating.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSv924GdRJ
Then she said, slowly:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZ2Cs33ZXV
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAwPC8GKXX
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqC1orCN5Ip
Kim whispered, “There were two?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQytB2l81UH
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz81B5i9zTh
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oNqK6sT1s
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJo3qARZPa
“She’s not in control.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNC3TlMiae
“This was never about safety.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6Kxj2YdWM
“Mercy’s winning.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikkOwSuRXY
Suddenly—65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCr6nFD6JB
June stepped forward. Without asking.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4PAxhuCVB
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0LcRZHcBz
Gasps rang out.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NgMsMcN7F
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFXxqix4Os
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbM7h9UB6Bz
One name:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIhtaEnCQQt
Ayo.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKCxxQYHd0
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDV3GzNPMM
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPzpJaIsa40
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSK7ssDlfwR
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkvwldP5UX
June turned to the room:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsZwZUdrglw
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSMimjrbe8
Gasps deepened into murmurs.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnKlFZANMC
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVkZtT3AfQ
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsDgrCbk8IT
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqr6st4n0fG
Naomi finally nodded.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf9wPi7tnLR
She turned back to the room.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOs2O5dq6QW
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYwEpFfqXuG
“The Tribunal is postponed.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOfjnaWbTne
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQdLIhdFaO
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6wz6X9maO
That’s when Mary stepped forward.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2iTlWG5VA
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3LbD5K8mRo
Naomi turned.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR69F5nv3zo
“Not now, Mary—”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCitxSWX0tW
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrXV0Cmi5oM
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Bx5ATkE9b
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXk99D6DKc
She unrolled the pages on the center table.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEPqrk7DOF
Real ledger pages.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOnWF8aQiV
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL6FJsHAiAH
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOA2NJhbmHR
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrucrWlvyL9
Invented correspondences.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhyeFoluj72
Mary flipped to one marked in red:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZb8V0wIE1v
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtmOwK732N
Naomi stared at it.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHnw42rSKp
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmHNQFIdJ3T
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6n9SNGDQsz
Then — finally:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf437UYQtFt
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrt7LQqgp2k
She stepped back from the lectern.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIP3NoJi0tz
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQJcBaWFc7
Mary rolled the pages up again.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswYGbIREyF
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMuIOe3MXo
Naomi nodded.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURAyHvaQFE
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9s8mDc3qI3
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBtbT9RK4e
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0ZSVb3iKb
All heads turned.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXxoj4emxY
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14Hqw8O9Km
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBIXGoUQ4n
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvSdU3ZZUG
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIFLaYEJVK
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEPi6tbu89
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwUuqVecby
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhsp1eVEff
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ppe6jq0wk
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIDewLCtUKX
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaU32CHkjB
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHHjfFj5S5
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCoRHJbGOzj
She faced the remaining prefects.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkAzkH8sRUv
“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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3gO7iOhpv
She turned.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEp7CmUfIxP
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpDkDkI12X
And she walked out.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKruXVE19Z
No one followed.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UI7aX4Xa4
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8kSCWAxX0
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEpSaArVXVf
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiu2TC8Aety
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡotWTKOUgdg
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZP49En4T3
Kim slipped outside.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOB8ZYlqLM
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.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgxQS8LKlT
Shiko.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZp4QBq0ui6
No words — just presence.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2nvuFXifM
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHnx20cPHU
“You were right,” she whispered.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZsT9ohh90
“You didn’t flinch.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4rk6GVs6i3
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAZTyUdIbm
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYGQQRVM4I
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJea8DMBcco
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgHmAxc3jRw
Kim turned her face toward her.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdmjUDesFte
“Why?”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUeRKJurYD
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡADsonrkp3w
A pause.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoyICHsZFSR
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSYucnsttl1
But then — her eyes flicked.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjouyg3Won
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDVMvw2zPQ
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3E3f8QS95P
Her breath caught.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9g6wyUjGoH
She pulled back gently.65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczAaELTflt
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSJNR3Vli0
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”65Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCowsE0Ipgr
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
