“Card of Betrayal”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwSIYIQQt7d
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.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5hTfVPQ69
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvN5L5HmVq4
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.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCb3YqbEpLF
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAkSpzlMn8
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6q5fXV6A1a
The prefects stood still. No movement.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLYx3C0pHd
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQR5EEIxCjI
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTLriH6wVF
Perfectly wrapped.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xc2bkbiKT
She reached in.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdwPKlkTMc
Paused.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFidsVkOcCe
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKENjAb430U
Gasps rang through the hall.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbJjZuoyCX
Naomi stared at it, frozen.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SqepsGJz9
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcF4xSxDZSP
Mary stepped forward, too late.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6vIXpiCR3
“There’s been a switch—!”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMImYOO1Hfs
But the room had already turned.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbapc3xPVQp
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD52sqbZUQq
“Was this whole thing a setup?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJG0JNKMkI
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUddGlIFnr
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYRrvAVuaR
Naomi placed the card down without a word.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡElTchrwgmH
The silence was suffocating.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfzjw7JSB8U
Then she said, slowly:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvxkkfssI0
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wKM0VmQCZ
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFO2etHYv6c
Kim whispered, “There were two?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclbSF9kTEy
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0661vUPNi5
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHnSXVqLs5W
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmleGI3mpEj
“She’s not in control.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCatcMEq5y
“This was never about safety.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB26bkzS1UP
“Mercy’s winning.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLYsOJhN2l
Suddenly—62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwKxie1VTw
June stepped forward. Without asking.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvW2KxDcjz
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU853YlucND
Gasps rang out.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWOWWofXfz
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqR5sp2IjVN
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX4dPmjcdPh
One name:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6h4Cm4FMt7
Ayo.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡljqejOTgDp
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypx3EO5t4n
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Z8NC6DUMz
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubmmsv47Pq
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTAeOGTEWA
June turned to the room:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejt1Yjl7ut
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT8FIWFmSiV
Gasps deepened into murmurs.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3adu9VlV8
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoH7GnzUDLV
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVRSFeqF8S
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLAmpMiDBY
Naomi finally nodded.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnA7jHcEsqD
She turned back to the room.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZczPNrKE6w
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaP2oIIWbyS
“The Tribunal is postponed.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2b4Fx4dNgs
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PuzV1FMpA
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZ0Rjy8YKU
That’s when Mary stepped forward.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxSHvK096n
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKk7ap3ihLf
Naomi turned.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7azfWuiUV
“Not now, Mary—”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgyueJ2nTl
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYqbFVeMda
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWgWbJpduP
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJzYc1sXTh
She unrolled the pages on the center table.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbI7hToXGk
Real ledger pages.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlC2FuvCcP
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1ze9ibP5f
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsto8mPh2Eo
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIP1j07S1n3
Invented correspondences.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLeqWZtOnC
Mary flipped to one marked in red:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4TNV8KQ6HN
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOPNTjI7eg
Naomi stared at it.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwBhhBKBnE
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwV3fusNfxk
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYMw51UhSh
Then — finally:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfAZR3DIk6C
“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.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvuL0xdLeA
She stepped back from the lectern.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5fHKxpYKO
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcl1LeVi55
Mary rolled the pages up again.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGtecNf2545
“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.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhq4YSWoMuN
Naomi nodded.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwxD9JdHTbl
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhvEyXwH5t
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWaEH1zMRyc
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.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcaUZIPstP
All heads turned.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyPavqxUR5
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBtiL3fV5T
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyyGZ3tCmmH
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSbkuaU9igI
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsE09uCOPW
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwDBjn2T02d
“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?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCw2bCGcXUJ
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9Px877mTv
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDL293e37VB
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKr8x4dokhu
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnkjuAMNO0
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEhf0REKtH
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKVgxayMXc
She faced the remaining prefects.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3HSRbcl2L
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvQDz67ld1
She turned.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1UCoLQdmSN
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4aQF4oKpD
And she walked out.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwEbcusaUnD
No one followed.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZS04jqOIvd
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBvyEhSNhU
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQUQvLI2CV
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbm3DQOvwDq
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIiqABBJvd
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.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCNyZffTJK
Kim slipped outside.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NzU6LW4xk
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.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnpgyBip4U5
Shiko.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmfzG9HXR3
No words — just presence.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfu9T2ye1HC
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQyXl1hDVnc
“You were right,” she whispered.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVzJskOw2M
“You didn’t flinch.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2UBpsPXkFZ
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0s6hFOKyA
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKWt9usOTN
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAJflOAx7J
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnVebEpoDf
Kim turned her face toward her.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfER6ngykri
“Why?”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5yWBuMAwo
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEchQwOGYz
A pause.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflPUbHHzC7
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJVcIFSSCn
But then — her eyes flicked.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxME82bJ7GE
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkwMjarBxRl
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHsOuaGy8j
Her breath caught.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXi6VjffikB
She pulled back gently.62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKB67ha1fi
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡww0dEMvmnc
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”62Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrbU3JGpPp
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
