“Card of Betrayal”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAMPfEHugV
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.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4tpYawzf0
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv80BkO7EwH
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.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfg0ajenE1a
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtn01vfTiN4
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxkel9f0jw
The prefects stood still. No movement.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfo7O6seyl
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRe1BvsvJgP
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbCzsOS5Iuo
Perfectly wrapped.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhkj4O9b1Cm
She reached in.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlF9YDdcPGe
Paused.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2R4Gu0JwQ
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJ02MDqLih
Gasps rang through the hall.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHVmwjiuN75
Naomi stared at it, frozen.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQZdr6wRLvt
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2aJZXh01a7
Mary stepped forward, too late.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc20EjM6qgx
“There’s been a switch—!”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3NIDjPeAV
But the room had already turned.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Gu1BLhLJm
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8J0zrw6Mo
“Was this whole thing a setup?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkN72D8wScl
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8j4yqTEzk7
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXvGRfichs
Naomi placed the card down without a word.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynxiKGXBMm
The silence was suffocating.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ToLa20UCz
Then she said, slowly:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGbo6VPiOqo
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡugm6546jOE
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJK53mKKNU
Kim whispered, “There were two?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15Cw2noCSf
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsk8AiLN5l
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbxOPr8OE78
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HhaBxd7eA
“She’s not in control.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHP7mSvucrn
“This was never about safety.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡibpryJGKAv
“Mercy’s winning.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRwSgrtn80
Suddenly—48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkrYoppd1nU
June stepped forward. Without asking.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCAteDcAdpi
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4VrRWOOk2
Gasps rang out.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRtjWEHOq4
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWz1pNswr7D
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZOpPOOFfS
One name:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1YX1BvTY6
Ayo.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCizMRlATA
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqVw6FATZyK
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsvpX7tLSf
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNlgV249NY
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xOX3xJBjj
June turned to the room:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZs5PpYEZ3b
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6BWkT1eU9
Gasps deepened into murmurs.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1XZjMe2341
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIofP4gHaQ
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIsR49PkUAE
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIX3T7wUIG4
Naomi finally nodded.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1vKIejHonN
She turned back to the room.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB6XgwCRvKp
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1mCqo608j
“The Tribunal is postponed.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwaVCy1fQVc
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmq96CeHSIZ
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡztJjZdE2EF
That’s when Mary stepped forward.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTn3zu7lN6N
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwBitQ8sSy
Naomi turned.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZJki5B7My
“Not now, Mary—”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS3YUU7cqwn
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rjadNuakS
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFdT0oKU8u
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRB8B4qMDkk
She unrolled the pages on the center table.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2s7JlO3QBC
Real ledger pages.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTM9GKRCpX
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMlwxeqxYZ
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfcShn5y7T
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFh9ELgdEG
Invented correspondences.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXCVTs46Ip
Mary flipped to one marked in red:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8B2SueFlK8
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡENyCppC1Fy
Naomi stared at it.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzhwBogbOr
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO5hBsTPGua
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLH7RzDpiAC
Then — finally:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YqGuHUk0E
“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.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiwsVL0qVH
She stepped back from the lectern.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AoAUeH8QN
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXzyfMqEzdz
Mary rolled the pages up again.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpREyABS690
“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.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQnM0MjUMUv
Naomi nodded.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnOED5Dx0P
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0AgjAIdIr
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCydp61vrn
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.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9bgj01hpZ
All heads turned.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQ3N2GVBH7
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5z0x0DphY
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6yx3PBymsn
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYrzDhNafR
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWuAnOOBuW
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdtIGkNXZc
“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?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6km2kWnJ2
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWI3OVqCj7S
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBuGBwnIjhh
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZq9WZyYmt
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHV3NRTFgy
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Q0RfHRX5k
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkUQcMvo7q
She faced the remaining prefects.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcLoISEjsZ
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCrpzEN2PZ
She turned.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nkcN7vAEn
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqAqTsz4Ai
And she walked out.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQlPY93rTfH
No one followed.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GYCns3wAh
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cM2gSSXic
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKdP5l8cXs
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeT6YNXD3gJ
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG2e3ORzZxW
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.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ14x9meIWnB
Kim slipped outside.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNzkErQnx2
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.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZf2WSgz7i
Shiko.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡipEhsCqXpL
No words — just presence.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkOS5ACAL9y
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALMmRYtWKX
“You were right,” she whispered.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDSHBmtuliS
“You didn’t flinch.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwmQmQS3cn
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmR4P8mOnYD
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86sMni7Oku
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJj3NTMRXvI
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolnOUA4rjT
Kim turned her face toward her.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVowI4HDmuX
“Why?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPgfheTdxsJ
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfMCJ9ESzB
A pause.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQOj9rydng
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9q9krxTPY
But then — her eyes flicked.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WgnTMIlHp
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbs7ocIdgN
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡffXARXs3D9
Her breath caught.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lhAg9oGgR
She pulled back gently.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnady04Nw4g
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrV0dyeFwEY
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnCDkygrZ9
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
