“Card of Betrayal”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNL7Klf0BhS
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.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxyfxIzxVdA
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7uMKXqDGBH
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.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZCQepDKhi
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbWN13kieI
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiDxuT0Fs08
The prefects stood still. No movement.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvG2hOnMMzC
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9qDPuPeGw
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRxGwDGxq5
Perfectly wrapped.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIuexANJJM
She reached in.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVWp7bBrLDT
Paused.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQ46ZfpLMO
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS54EfTYz3D
Gasps rang through the hall.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpqTdxbZBO
Naomi stared at it, frozen.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJlB2Hr92S2
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRelLRBdobX
Mary stepped forward, too late.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Nw3xHERZI
“There’s been a switch—!”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fNB4izNBa
But the room had already turned.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP08Cdwc7Il
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMX2gqNsUmu
“Was this whole thing a setup?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sRfEgvyOn
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxwPfEAd0F
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPRjKgmcbME
Naomi placed the card down without a word.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKX5DMebChB
The silence was suffocating.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2I9CbKzRu
Then she said, slowly:55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIFUix6lvwi
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghSIe55ITA
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRNdaMFmRp
Kim whispered, “There were two?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItmiBLXZ3P
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhwZ0cmURi
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPF1seRBmD
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTbPkM0g8Rk
“She’s not in control.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BqjnqXYXk
“This was never about safety.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5DLN73Xea
“Mercy’s winning.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfirh2txrw5
Suddenly—55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyGjfwvkWj
June stepped forward. Without asking.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCZw6B9gOdX
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MFMGOT0vs
Gasps rang out.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjybUJcA2sz
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw14zvAf7Wc
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRHiRYah5di
One name:55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpzzLuX6nzy
Ayo.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkaj3PqGNB
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6HppC44BzK
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqNr6iaFaEP
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ93UtFUtHYE
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZ12YMH1Az
June turned to the room:55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2ihVjJHSf
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdY7J3JqNF
Gasps deepened into murmurs.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLwBjK5XlV
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfB7jjz3N9
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxdhqGPKYom
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSpVe58YEB
Naomi finally nodded.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUkWMcqs43
She turned back to the room.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLxY15xgqmA
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWVuSNnunH
“The Tribunal is postponed.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMVDBeoidr
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQjq4w1feP
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPjTvp3udJB
That’s when Mary stepped forward.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYIyv3TQSQo
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDm2EOMunK
Naomi turned.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvCwpXHfPz
“Not now, Mary—”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbRFFcLahsO
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcvpF5Edd1
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXpM0T6PNf
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mt9PQkWjE
She unrolled the pages on the center table.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFXkaB5D19
Real ledger pages.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPksnvND1t
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVStZpos6P
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdonQPJzJUX
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfTCXTFhkm
Invented correspondences.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdPEYSyXzMa
Mary flipped to one marked in red:55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRBRQE12bp
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EBkZrKTdO
Naomi stared at it.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCjYvzMeY2
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhx2mk3UVV
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpS15mwZvE
Then — finally:55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcITQubmqSk
“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.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmDBOvvN5Ud
She stepped back from the lectern.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5EfAP6WnW
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgipmDKCYZv
Mary rolled the pages up again.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBc9geJRlWS
“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.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWN7MdjP2fn
Naomi nodded.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV905L1wT5J
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrK9IaFQQLS
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImCkhFyjQm
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.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgAWxcPTvo
All heads turned.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytXEce6b7u
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5BB2O2Lgx
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOx1W4bTWK
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVspCmTqSuT
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIhw5cxBeQ
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwpLacUEUz
“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?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf64SRq6Gsa
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2mfmuMHDQ
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡppEyFEOcnI
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Q0AtbOzx0
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXgnuHBS89
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvT7Cf2n9ih
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrXZ0PzbUm
She faced the remaining prefects.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQUXFBap4sY
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIziOq8I35G
She turned.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2Gd5LgzPy
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9QkbpA4Gh
And she walked out.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeqJEltxtfx
No one followed.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbrndNdL1d
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGLn0bG6Ni
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oVKee6b05
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLAuWzJyw11
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlF8ewdRoMM
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.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPjmdwvi9V
Kim slipped outside.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59tU3lQtbA
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.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSorUgrE6E
Shiko.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfstLWh2iGT
No words — just presence.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkCUk7BO10
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQd1iOveXc
“You were right,” she whispered.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG30bvsxYkb
“You didn’t flinch.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLt9DVDL2J
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2uKZrhGIY
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7VeqX3rXW
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHm70yyYEwH
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KPq4ZdV75
Kim turned her face toward her.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJYecZ9FS7
“Why?”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡly8HKwzByP
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGs4DpamJFn
A pause.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡteEE5uR5dN
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe6M2gS3Ixc
But then — her eyes flicked.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ47RjfAJXfN
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1JIHPkoafC
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUVsxgVClGI
Her breath caught.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSCWY7iWmN
She pulled back gently.55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXvPHyaEYL
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpC7DVimUI
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”55Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡePxUBi1buy
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
