“Card of Betrayal”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1jmFKyVwt
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYst12kXBG
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71HrMK8P2u
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM65lk9DOje
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpEuQZ8uGWG
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuubDCHWTe
The prefects stood still. No movement.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpxXbDV4rLB
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdtIpEdgjt
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGwMq0LUjFr
Perfectly wrapped.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAn3zgXrLwS
She reached in.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGpnx8AYep
Paused.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8VQRkdd0Pn
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkGRcIO6aF
Gasps rang through the hall.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOe9GcQS5Hg
Naomi stared at it, frozen.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡflcuowx4qp
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWGYgT2mgw
Mary stepped forward, too late.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6noTpl511D
“There’s been a switch—!”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQPtKPPcor
But the room had already turned.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmxP2VibLs
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZyY4jESeF
“Was this whole thing a setup?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCnRInlbFI
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojC48mDG6i
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoptMygZEdL
Naomi placed the card down without a word.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAs3PfaFDEu
The silence was suffocating.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1f7vN12BD
Then she said, slowly:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ0Ap9bke4W
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUIaHplrRg
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBoX2ry6rL
Kim whispered, “There were two?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCwZ89MKMe
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14dhzXJkJu
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXRSmpvonG
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzbfZx3wZ2
“She’s not in control.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYEWor35QT
“This was never about safety.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJ0AB7oHau
“Mercy’s winning.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ21g3tY9j3O
Suddenly—25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB0OeB0GhRq
June stepped forward. Without asking.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXIwRnDQGT
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovqplAh272
Gasps rang out.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXFcZqZtFs
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡob6ifK5NzN
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡht919xkhzf
One name:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVxCMfWlIkp
Ayo.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpP6KtUX9my
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡee9mcfCZ4j
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNhoT5RhS1G
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNj3zDOIqf1
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOALlcaDDZ
June turned to the room:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjHpxruHPf
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5IeDkiX65g
Gasps deepened into murmurs.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVy6aV6MulA
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbo5wNnNBNv
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BvvUcDCW8
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0GFMRIvtp
Naomi finally nodded.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JOxPHqWKe
She turned back to the room.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrC7ZePplB5
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowoMbT0L4i
“The Tribunal is postponed.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLPRdivHov
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqwdudMNU8
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCBdRlj2gxT
That’s when Mary stepped forward.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvxoGi2ijs
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRC6JM9KDCC
Naomi turned.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEpfAIsqVo
“Not now, Mary—”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zg6Ose8eC
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cJYFqa6qQ
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIuWBPQIeRd
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiO5OFhcpHN
She unrolled the pages on the center table.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMnc1dAgV8
Real ledger pages.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREjaNGLuvf
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKC2gUB8jyU
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡql8cFIeQAt
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ655XIxtj5Q
Invented correspondences.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacA7kKYUPW
Mary flipped to one marked in red:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBqIyRC6UM
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ZgXoIUT87
Naomi stared at it.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhFG8QXSH2
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUPwsrKOc4
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIzwZyJEVa
Then — finally:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdCI4zOQDj1
“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.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJi53n8oMe
She stepped back from the lectern.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4wi14Z8zaO
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡApX4fAg1hk
Mary rolled the pages up again.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBi337aE3rk
“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.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTzdnw5kej
Naomi nodded.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHr3zaBgP2D
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmvY6z2WZKC
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRMnn2awUF7
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqMiA4uyP9Z
All heads turned.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMKQKlz3cIJ
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82gGXbSQsX
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTRLcy7RFM
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ee02Z8sTo
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmsY0ophoH
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3j7p5033VE
“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?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSK8O9ZlH5
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWAAN7wbJN
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSnpISJ84Sr
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh50rRfJqrl
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarrwK3XoGB
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyQFQUjCuP
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1HfuMZ6F7
She faced the remaining prefects.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYYR2XpAThD
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJ375ytN4b
She turned.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2a8Bnrnu59
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqMAPWLrA6
And she walked out.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGHYlOXsNky
No one followed.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJQElK80Uk
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLf8R9HulP
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjwRY5lATx
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTP2mCrJtsy
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWitGl6X3l
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeD2xwF2xKx
Kim slipped outside.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpf1rbhP3RM
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.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLBdABuiG6F
Shiko.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmaKM7JdJO
No words — just presence.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfNNMUAWqoz
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRbnBFUBK1v
“You were right,” she whispered.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVD0Jgmn833
“You didn’t flinch.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbSwZQgvMu2
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvkVXNK675
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkoWbDypkQ
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhFU9TvGAik
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tZyyZmk7m
Kim turned her face toward her.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimR74OV2vc
“Why?”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe0dlva03Sy
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9J1qp79wtq
A pause.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkQKLN23cLx
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtPcpUduBI
But then — her eyes flicked.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN49xZTLVC2
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcbZ8qdcTB4
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDqRS6AuJ9
Her breath caught.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAWXeSNsE3
She pulled back gently.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGimZ2r6hB
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8Tlbj6EGa
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsws0kKdlm
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
