“Card of Betrayal”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTA5NSo7yel
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.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyBf76YBih
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6RLJ7ASfr
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.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJ0jFiUVEI
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPzSN49Wr7
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7CG42rpjU5
The prefects stood still. No movement.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡin1gPpqypx
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡenV7alLPvz
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsrqeuYLCP
Perfectly wrapped.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfhlfGZnlw
She reached in.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyWB12Z6wSh
Paused.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0K6AYj1Qws
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZR6h1lqIv2
Gasps rang through the hall.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAfuIfcvPt
Naomi stared at it, frozen.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8sxq6sR5k6
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRycmPEKs3O
Mary stepped forward, too late.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGj5mpc3G5
“There’s been a switch—!”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUtKIsIp1v
But the room had already turned.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm8kFR5i7vR
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhPzb56c8L
“Was this whole thing a setup?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSg2I9fwH5g
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6R4YQQ3lhU
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJxQSE0Mov
Naomi placed the card down without a word.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1DYXBMg8gd
The silence was suffocating.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOmURWKzCUV
Then she said, slowly:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVhRusDAeR7
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3XA6S4uMt
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyInSdUvGiY
Kim whispered, “There were two?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpH0Ct3auv2
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyu9c9PvtQY
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN3EzyULZ6U
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWiLLAwm05K
“She’s not in control.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH4cWXwvjd1
“This was never about safety.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigJadC0I0i
“Mercy’s winning.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1FOA9x2Yc
Suddenly—40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMx86gwCRm
June stepped forward. Without asking.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9GuZbw4o26
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOAjBLhPZG
Gasps rang out.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GEmxYAdJW
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYW5si3gllI
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq88zS8scFg
One name:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ620TQ3px7O
Ayo.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCGZmlY1f85
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltx12YjcgS
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh1m74Xhrsy
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMcorpR0Vc
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BzywTMilU
June turned to the room:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEySFEpUGD2
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyxUx8n7OUW
Gasps deepened into murmurs.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxNP7KuRNre
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbzZORDnHA
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEfu3FQOh9X
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZUaG32aK3
Naomi finally nodded.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dqc7LiDW4
She turned back to the room.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82hHP5fBdL
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYstWPe0A7p
“The Tribunal is postponed.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqmVbx3hi6
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0T5jnkxSpG
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnPEizQXUi
That’s when Mary stepped forward.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTbdMa8Vgb
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikuJ06j78A
Naomi turned.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmBNR1kXpAX
“Not now, Mary—”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPQizblM1m
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1GzzbSOo7H
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxsMcXwnfOO
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4YR5E088q
She unrolled the pages on the center table.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyetI9Jthq
Real ledger pages.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfqP5SncG7
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTk5YHKjdY
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIr2hpd39b
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirfa3jYJoc
Invented correspondences.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOtt9JEcA5
Mary flipped to one marked in red:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgu4AEDGke
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3RDPts2sv
Naomi stared at it.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDc6c8p9I9T
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBAWflZTi2
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL0oN8Nhx4Y
Then — finally:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO7waJtcUEA
“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.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVBngSBB0F
She stepped back from the lectern.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nZ9cuqzhy
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfr1AnfIc8J
Mary rolled the pages up again.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOl2cgLLSey
“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.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0gztVFRjD
Naomi nodded.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOkbHnuUhKv
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXRI84krQn
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwxkQb4JYV
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.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4yfyKg1VL
All heads turned.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb59LIm9x3v
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPWDFC7mOQ
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPDFC4q5SS
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm2oEpCflnF
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWOTIzVA2X
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oDUrcbxzK
“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?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMIgK141405
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2KoxlNWBY
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDSGt0gW3l
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6k7CMhlCIq
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8032pXaSC
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6XcHp0tqjL
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVORADPG6d
She faced the remaining prefects.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiT767Ficra
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPxcZBk881
She turned.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsItJPv7DtC
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrE1Jp9Wsxw
And she walked out.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4B8PBAcG7
No one followed.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecrRB92aYg
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2kpN2czHV
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiZ8XOMmW2
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXs2qhIc3zW
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFYTkHe9jm
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.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRYuPK9iEa
Kim slipped outside.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXj4gU1QIeb
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.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkFZ6D2Vz8
Shiko.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7obWp23P9
No words — just presence.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAYNJ8v51Y
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSjOMr5q4GP
“You were right,” she whispered.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxsEqgAQpX
“You didn’t flinch.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5V4vWCLXG0
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTdiPMO5y2
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0WpTSusFK
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Brghoj0Sw
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnpiKhNnA1
Kim turned her face toward her.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8xSCMaZcG
“Why?”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYWP577D0l
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIV5o7g7A8J
A pause.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmIyBaAlBQH
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86KLuRIihy
But then — her eyes flicked.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6fDy3ZHwN
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUNTZhYPoP
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOdwdIeyRoK
Her breath caught.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDupPhqprZR
She pulled back gently.40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIy6BMyTHv
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJzthCI2VB
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”40Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0x1f5u5pax
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
