“Card of Betrayal”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1AhMVqHiJ
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6Ahhx3kMM
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2JW8YrCubV
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhu88rKJHjB
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtCzsU6Whqt
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6BT1Kl7EM5
The prefects stood still. No movement.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgylEadxXb
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBMX1dKHgH
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQkX3LoIi3
Perfectly wrapped.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8545WvUNy
She reached in.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡak4Xrf85At
Paused.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBG924sGs50
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8rP3AJ6FMo
Gasps rang through the hall.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKGK2JR27k
Naomi stared at it, frozen.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzUWDp2dRi
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZdqm8J8WX
Mary stepped forward, too late.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvPshW5bmU
“There’s been a switch—!”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGHlB2hPDi
But the room had already turned.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEvi3eh2I6
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIUkDUUh0G
“Was this whole thing a setup?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXUgxhXhBs
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGEB1nLLGi
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEiI4DmNUUe
Naomi placed the card down without a word.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbD2lfyjCxj
The silence was suffocating.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rr7Oq6CVI
Then she said, slowly:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5k5iJrb73
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQgCNfoZCm
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrG1wgx98dz
Kim whispered, “There were two?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡip1E4HUPYm
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fN5ILQy7l
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMV225ZOLzv
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWnyCGWpws
“She’s not in control.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6oNxWHhP0K
“This was never about safety.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GxE5l7xZk
“Mercy’s winning.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPsgsOlSMbc
Suddenly—50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42C0qBHet3
June stepped forward. Without asking.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB5K1Xp3xY6
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL45oBpRelV
Gasps rang out.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXfkYmoV8Q
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyVnEmH0f5
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2fX3xz0ln
One name:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhYSqx1o22r
Ayo.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbnkUPFELuX
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7TAPYfwVpH
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TOFZqJhOr
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecZB2WpGcB
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgB7UJkpw1
June turned to the room:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5K0YH7Uu0c
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7PKg1wvFTG
Gasps deepened into murmurs.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyXMlqqKaOo
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueTzwsWLNz
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTSs7uWG3KV
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxkxe19eAp0
Naomi finally nodded.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCQajEevMx
She turned back to the room.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRts2qYtmsE
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8upywWHoFA
“The Tribunal is postponed.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9wKa6ivAbY
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7dtbzOxd3
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhSBN6Xd5Y
That’s when Mary stepped forward.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm0vWa4VXVg
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1ufOZOBMW
Naomi turned.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8uS2gP25m
“Not now, Mary—”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdEamIvlF6
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9k04Ssp7k
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRi0k4w4L5
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjqLRTxg5s
She unrolled the pages on the center table.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMM2LwWTcGs
Real ledger pages.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPs2OsftK5
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ37uQv4wLdY
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxF7oeP9QX
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡawVNK70VUz
Invented correspondences.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfzuM9m6g2
Mary flipped to one marked in red:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7CpMgRc3X
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlP6Cqnoyw
Naomi stared at it.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVaDZS1Tbii
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGuWATXuVyP
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuejtwOnY16
Then — finally:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51xSrnHiXG
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaJQGoYawp6
She stepped back from the lectern.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKjNuOATSc
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gbbwzlyC6
Mary rolled the pages up again.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUlFf2ICWu
“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.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDl8bWQ3emZ
Naomi nodded.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAvwWmwlYL
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIzyozPMT4
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhR8TKNUKJ
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrLSVFqhGD
All heads turned.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqon1r0KS81
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Qiiub0PFu
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cmRrQR1PR
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjzxLvJDMZ5
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyWgfzUcfh
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ92PNwCbiWu
“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?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaoTwQlg7k
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8772qKEYG
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6b1ORiz29
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1WI8C7246l
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yWoEcCdAi
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkUI48QxJan
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldW8NHta9b
She faced the remaining prefects.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4orlEWYBY
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyTR0DHs2m3
She turned.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVzAMBTgwg
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJrDpYSmSq
And she walked out.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5p7TCCuTdz
No one followed.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbO43Yhojhb
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzj83JyAEG0
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolwRnAL55h
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7MTI195p7
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUN72yNZeyb
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZDmOZIJANy
Kim slipped outside.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oZ0pvnycc
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.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxwk5GgXu6
Shiko.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPvqf4vmbQ
No words — just presence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4yTFhQppF
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvdE60F6Ijn
“You were right,” she whispered.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwRWtAqo3s2
“You didn’t flinch.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGr1byK7Mfs
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVqMXHFbzi
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHbpog66JX
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOH1rmBuDjq
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAD6D76Q9LY
Kim turned her face toward her.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEHfp8Khmjz
“Why?”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZfWJLeR59
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYTRlBZx3yK
A pause.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQ00GybA8F
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4J80ioPrh
But then — her eyes flicked.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlP7xvUQQv
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMWRvHYOoc
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynP8KpM3Mv
Her breath caught.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGxwEiw3Ytx
She pulled back gently.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡny1JE3UwJ3
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdCUZrJGvj
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBnjl6ugFg7
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
