“Card of Betrayal”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6fTKzwAl5
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCRFEtne2J
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTyizzWlBN
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlz3AFNwrU5
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ezlcbvLAb
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsF1EdWcxmQ
The prefects stood still. No movement.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72AHhF8kAV
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZtxKyQTQR
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRuQzG57o0
Perfectly wrapped.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgTFTEjNQyO
She reached in.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtOyaLO7ub
Paused.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9k5lxNgePe
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXElhdyiBiQ
Gasps rang through the hall.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbxJpQuPBo
Naomi stared at it, frozen.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7sdXcEXPb9
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jieZfUMoN
Mary stepped forward, too late.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkUol45T0J
“There’s been a switch—!”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE9uURt2zps
But the room had already turned.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGh598E6i3
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2N0Bgw7ra
“Was this whole thing a setup?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vtL7WTbWu
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxxPVCikMCt
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFVawJwscLw
Naomi placed the card down without a word.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5FECKwed7
The silence was suffocating.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOFBs3acYC
Then she said, slowly:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqi8JcayykJ
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcHkXUXLYU
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSw5BAUkstA
Kim whispered, “There were two?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VLkNEnLnb
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9C1oeR6XvQ
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuRFOxT48pE
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDQ3DMc0b5
“She’s not in control.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBIJasRjCM
“This was never about safety.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkf96pncyvf
“Mercy’s winning.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUXw8ppsr1S
Suddenly—28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ErnzZvMqw
June stepped forward. Without asking.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItzXe5QcGt
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8g6cv9rPQ
Gasps rang out.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgOLbzpBX2
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDM5gBXl9uZ
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKofiM7tnvJ
One name:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOnN0zZ9PFX
Ayo.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8qJjvfC2P
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUWHbkzHTi
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdE7sFGlHgo
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB02iQUXPsI
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyKFRik5HQb
June turned to the room:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtLMYbxEdij
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHeQvP1szO
Gasps deepened into murmurs.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3up3bmythX
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5FumvCKsd6
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JlPiFvGLe
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HcTzB2Vfr
Naomi finally nodded.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6K50ebt6Lc
She turned back to the room.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMv72MINQJ
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYaxpCHtsF1
“The Tribunal is postponed.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZxvZxdURJh
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV4biwhzruw
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36as23WlUs
That’s when Mary stepped forward.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlO007dbZUq
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHaid4nkqj
Naomi turned.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnPRKIhOwP
“Not now, Mary—”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25MgY0L7ud
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJti9AqyqGU
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQ3gqpyWdK
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTl4A1FzxBG
She unrolled the pages on the center table.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPWENZgoFiR
Real ledger pages.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2vuEdGywl
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPREzegzd4j
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIr0gth8T4g
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Y238xVtk1
Invented correspondences.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeHsEbHtrWo
Mary flipped to one marked in red:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPvyxQHlZ2
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OBWreEH8i
Naomi stared at it.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNFQp45cOO
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3T6VC9SIAU
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafFYtpagTc
Then — finally:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyty238HL9
“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.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFCaGWgcNN
She stepped back from the lectern.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDBBLeeGIWE
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBeDfrG8l9
Mary rolled the pages up again.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlZhhIJ0LC
“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.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ySTsyWOYq
Naomi nodded.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwlsSf6g8x
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBphfwDQLM
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RnpwN5lL7
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43EwNVWhKX
All heads turned.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIpUiiYoXl
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM87WYt5rBC
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ZxXMeJQjh
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVAhQd9Ljr
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqp8n0PkAV
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJLJBItP4f
“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?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKcLu9LJfZ
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4ePcANP2W
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTr29flgOB
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtlrHOeZLzq
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2FwRgpM5I
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTyfPD7FBT
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiO1XrZuFvc
She faced the remaining prefects.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeidNT7LEeN
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMWgfWjt7rq
She turned.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUyZy1sZeiG
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iysiZY9UA
And she walked out.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUMF6aCZtK
No one followed.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGro7O5EDO
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqLO2fqK34
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7IkGkpcJ1Z
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOqIaEqy8T
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKyldA7lEu
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3BZU13vX5
Kim slipped outside.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBSXebRwa4
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.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpswxaTHAE
Shiko.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1ONAOnELQ
No words — just presence.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq2VMnAqvv
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGPXWy1WeK
“You were right,” she whispered.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5PLSyuOjU
“You didn’t flinch.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQw5JWUyNSA
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVtkfQ65D5
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8BD3bpviY
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYEf1ziXtQR
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5HS3TmHmA
Kim turned her face toward her.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9HtlNRgqD
“Why?”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhv78W2drGW
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC643MTC2tN
A pause.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwP8HROwTL1
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHoBc7BugH
But then — her eyes flicked.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpP1fsoXDg5
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWv3KebCxB
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4bpNsSzyy
Her breath caught.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTNeSD8LfS
She pulled back gently.28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoBdik1jHKq
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29otiPIUTF
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”28Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIE28pAM7iV
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
