“Card of Betrayal”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5j966IVhSw
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EYzuUIANN
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbSNwruClm
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6lbCH7Jal
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHDR5OXma3
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQtTTg8pmi
The prefects stood still. No movement.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ48W5eoxEBh
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqr24ze78XK
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzkdmNInnM
Perfectly wrapped.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrb9w5rC1uZ
She reached in.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1CPYQ1ROV
Paused.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsz2PAS0AqB
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2PU8xn8OD
Gasps rang through the hall.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmP7vXYuNan
Naomi stared at it, frozen.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMF2ZEegdXZ
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNs39eaId9l
Mary stepped forward, too late.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdOfNO8pu4F
“There’s been a switch—!”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9lpt0dZa2
But the room had already turned.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq235dkxOsK
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcKNWchSwuZ
“Was this whole thing a setup?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmZW5YWXG4q
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRp25fVX72C
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamorKuN3ua
Naomi placed the card down without a word.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYSmwrRdY6
The silence was suffocating.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUQS5Bgec6
Then she said, slowly:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhQq9AE6fG
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAKF6ObKp5
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJpWqenTkc
Kim whispered, “There were two?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHLOBoj8bI
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjI55Ohcdw
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9bXafUAe8
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtkDeBKLQue
“She’s not in control.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhPRuWqil8
“This was never about safety.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKEd9U8Tes
“Mercy’s winning.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡai2FnsXvIP
Suddenly—31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRKJVcXWeh
June stepped forward. Without asking.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDM58kvgBls
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVmDGgzeadV
Gasps rang out.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxQ4fIQkHbz
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DJ5P8GVGx
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXlNFyV7rSI
One name:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5IiBnPIBUd
Ayo.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCo6XkWr9xK
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1P8uB1U67E
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU9cYpCBlaH
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhhVcA9UVt
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6CLnHtjLK
June turned to the room:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjljR3mIwHE
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0193bRua8
Gasps deepened into murmurs.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCpgWKcS9o
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqvexEm1Sj
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGuOFWEJmp
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaZRrd9NHX
Naomi finally nodded.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqqVg7u9FgU
She turned back to the room.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRmSOCa5030
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphlJBDk5hg
“The Tribunal is postponed.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNXixUMfMQ6
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS8gOLQBnVU
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpD8KIz8t5K
That’s when Mary stepped forward.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa9P0sgNvdy
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqB07uiWfrK
Naomi turned.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MFAE5nZNC
“Not now, Mary—”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF1kNXagyGX
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjhod6VNHb
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblBoAJVYdN
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk7sPCJzjNN
She unrolled the pages on the center table.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv575RuF2YK
Real ledger pages.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaX4mbXtxJz
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaj3G2wz5NX
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQweSsNnN7v
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqEegai4nn
Invented correspondences.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Z5OwHlrae
Mary flipped to one marked in red:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCh1AksvAB
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJjYojfBrTw
Naomi stared at it.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpMChqxZ1mq
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxv3lrOMdZV
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGSGHekWvL
Then — finally:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eqEv5uaTt
“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.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYFAIag9AC
She stepped back from the lectern.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1riW1NN1O
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8abwn5eZt
Mary rolled the pages up again.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2rLIYDihp
“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.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVB0aF9vwO
Naomi nodded.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMR8ksLsO1E
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLRI0fMpTB
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxSph4Lwqv
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9iDTA0973
All heads turned.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvJhsUq4nbx
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt24Prpnh6C
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe8AsMaJezC
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQWsEqjvnhE
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOyVhTwhKe
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2OupxdF6cJ
“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?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYXrFsbp1C
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDSnxzxhIS
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJjiUQEqjP
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEJGVRcAjW
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vb39gzZ0J
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDi6If0dkT
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEqml5YLbUb
She faced the remaining prefects.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhneYl6VDga
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNd784O5Y0t
She turned.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVa7DDcxuf
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxAPf5aYSVb
And she walked out.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwJHY4G5MI
No one followed.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowe4nQ3JPa
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJCIhJKRpb
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNmTAGjuHlH
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn5IJ7MqkbR
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUhLHbH0PeY
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEd9ccUe0K
Kim slipped outside.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJKnmejh4A
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.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxSoAtNXXJC
Shiko.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ760X1px5TE
No words — just presence.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxXp1QZMwd
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5XLeESj70
“You were right,” she whispered.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhymO8Xr95
“You didn’t flinch.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOcJUo54nvv
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdrerP5dNa4
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xmvMoJzMx
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95bwhp8TTP
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdBmTccmKLu
Kim turned her face toward her.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMajB1xAKaD
“Why?”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5QFCboAttO
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtvBYlSjYM
A pause.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP0BwOGB6t
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleBHOpPMY1
But then — her eyes flicked.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk4GWi6JrO2
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdx4JLXnF35
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtYRhxdLtrw
Her breath caught.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLRGNW4kAnS
She pulled back gently.31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF408KG9ztP
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Qi1YRr58X
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”31Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHI17Wh7aM
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
然後按「加至主畫面」