“Card of Betrayal”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡux5puOPQyr
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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpV0kRo6wn
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALwP7NkeB1
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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvgmFMWaW8
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxpP9mlGjPN
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oQtNlef1P
The prefects stood still. No movement.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtyZSbdjVr
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1AWDw4TgV0
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqOVVp39Uu
Perfectly wrapped.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMklj0PTtQK
She reached in.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGr5fVBFWJy
Paused.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1TQFtQmzi
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QrWpR3iKF
Gasps rang through the hall.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlUSHz8bjK4
Naomi stared at it, frozen.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsetACla4z
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSWo31gA3z
Mary stepped forward, too late.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZLkjbbJ0E7
“There’s been a switch—!”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJArnRCmNx4
But the room had already turned.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcSKAG2iFcH
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EnBU1cfdL
“Was this whole thing a setup?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNWYufWEtU
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡan5wMuxFJJ
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRqzIgphm5
Naomi placed the card down without a word.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZA1DAlYLAY
The silence was suffocating.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4fjPiw4df
Then she said, slowly:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ihpqd7aNb
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTn8UOrblzA
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ06cDfdO57s
Kim whispered, “There were two?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuwzNB4kEE8
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbx6Sv80Izv
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhj0pR4nwr
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc26lccIZNK
“She’s not in control.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaU5fnY0W6c
“This was never about safety.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrTn3Kr1H3
“Mercy’s winning.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssmpy5Ldg9
Suddenly—91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBt2NMQXT5
June stepped forward. Without asking.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ19o7SLXDa4
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uf2MZkEhC
Gasps rang out.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvc37wapsX
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡto8epDg5nC
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVrRBQZn9vO
One name:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkbUwxA7hx3
Ayo.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByqDgyCLRq
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopsyUbYD4x
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIwBkGq9Nm
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkzTyyIemHP
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYI2ZBwMqc
June turned to the room:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJChztHQjp
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrHer1xyEf
Gasps deepened into murmurs.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwuAtRa2zU
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLCIb5oyuzx
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazatufv13x
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWDzYRXWZJ
Naomi finally nodded.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZUYQcEqnsO
She turned back to the room.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQA1HLBpI6y
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9F7nxdGgri
“The Tribunal is postponed.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZIuPC9mig
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0Swv5S0GI
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELSDgviJo6
That’s when Mary stepped forward.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Zc0rYwWar
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWt3f0RJw4
Naomi turned.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRLh62xGqGn
“Not now, Mary—”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBj2CYduS10
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZjWPWFmfg
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKgO8TIDkTn
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtX03nxgtb
She unrolled the pages on the center table.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2t5juWd6BK
Real ledger pages.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2zjTqAHGOR
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBNjGmIpErD
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsziYZzFMNi
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsI1FykCVi
Invented correspondences.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HGWw8EKLi
Mary flipped to one marked in red:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpP2hgvTSi
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrRtLdWQyF
Naomi stared at it.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoH2yi7ldWc
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcH4vKgAV4p
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDoyJLzAxs
Then — finally:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ns2nLnYpo
“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.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbC1Ns1S1Rf
She stepped back from the lectern.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJOeNjKAWH
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DvvXI19CT
Mary rolled the pages up again.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmYvy4tp6o
“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.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCDVbyirPO
Naomi nodded.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4Ss60odSS
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMeDNB0blp9
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJICHkWlFg
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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVgqb6ZWxWy
All heads turned.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj5v4VP2w7T
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrv7bLpDmw
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMHhrtAiCPb
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiaMiD1wH9Z
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxahd9qGy7u
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8bHluBXAY
“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?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfhtuwNWoY
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrUMXg5xsF
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRTDvksSyCF
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xMtU9WzBf
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxnaYvwLtv
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgSncbSLYeh
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlW5DvxWc7
She faced the remaining prefects.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL72z1q2NAD
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡufXwP9tXhL
She turned.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYujrAVY8Y
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡac6sjuZddz
And she walked out.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL3gBTIcI0r
No one followed.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84YnIe1x0P
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQA2R4Lsnz5
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH75rakL07P
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7gOWw3urK
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjO9bSLbt3
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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrb7IqPOGz
Kim slipped outside.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfPizxHN6S
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.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6hS1TqAfJ8
Shiko.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ52ILFmLvxT
No words — just presence.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41Q6qFfVki
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNCXvzNffHp
“You were right,” she whispered.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfexYqvEAp
“You didn’t flinch.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiuOt7bYdUo
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP8D1c9herb
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡooNp61qi3g
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVVZdVHd4S6
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTS1Fx6zmJ8
Kim turned her face toward her.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIPK2eKfSI
“Why?”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdatQfCFXjB
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ890bRBq0hu
A pause.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywk9ghifn7
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziR0SnRqVK
But then — her eyes flicked.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡesHtOqmzL5
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rtYraKq2z
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJnKNA38OOs
Her breath caught.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgo4uYma6Wo
She pulled back gently.91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKzq162nsM
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1VebcLcIS7
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”91Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXESdtUgNO0
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
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