“Card of Betrayal”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLVoIuyICu1
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JK5NxQC7s
Naomi stood at the podium under dim, deliberate lighting.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QLBFBcfLC
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ30d20IXiaF
“Today,” Naomi began, voice crisp, “we close a page.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGWftUIds3
“The ledgers within this crate represent the past we choose not to forget—but to contain.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiaYWgRNyZ
The prefects stood still. No movement.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXb9HvgyOg
Naomi leaned forward. “Let it be known: Mercy’s ledger, last of its kind, is here. And this assembly will witness its archiving.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXNZTouovd
She lifted the lid slowly. Tissue and canvas inside.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtoi1HW9uw
Perfectly wrapped.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsYbMfBPFkX
She reached in.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS67O8t5DNK
Paused.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbaPckaqLvO
Her hand emerged—not with a ledger. But with a flat black card, stamped with a silver serpent.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4mcVwtOAW
Gasps rang through the hall.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZgb4h0k08M
Naomi stared at it, frozen.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡliauQ60Pi4
She whispered sharply, “That wasn’t in the crate.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKXDPCAV7Q
Mary stepped forward, too late.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXwKOpM4hH
“There’s been a switch—!”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ZhwlDsXCT
But the room had already turned.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFOBs9HNZ6
“Is that… Mercy’s mark? Did Naomi fake the crate?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRUPjF2lKN
“Was this whole thing a setup?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfnT7gOFOV
From the back of the hall, a junior whispered to another:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV25MatRnhI
“She said she had nothing left to hide. Then what’s that?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAF0oUEMQq
Naomi placed the card down without a word.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezFflSzJkt
The silence was suffocating.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXm572kry3Z
Then she said, slowly:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlJr8mX9Dtw
“This is not the card we inspected last night.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1bRQLYiT1H
Murmurs spread. A few laughed nervously. Others stepped backward.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAopyc2h5W
Kim whispered, “There were two?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrLtCX290L8
June’s face hardened. “Or someone replaced ours after we destroyed it.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6yLPTD3H2
The room was already vibrating with uncertainty.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0mrUwQB2X
Naomi's fingers hovered over the black card, but her composure had cracked. Whispers were no longer whispers.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwE8toWze2
“She’s not in control.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLz7UuRY7aj
“This was never about safety.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJouWRJM5qu
“Mercy’s winning.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr7rl8NADVK
Suddenly—61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsOvStPHWf
June stepped forward. Without asking.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpgEc6axI3e
She snatched the card from Naomi’s hand — held it up to the hall’s filtered light.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoDriHv5NWa
Gasps rang out.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFSBIbX3R1
In the upper right corner, only visible at an angle under the glow of the nearby reading lamp:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoq7qnJ0x89
A faint signature. In soft gold ink.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyo5zbGZAor
One name:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz5SfVaKpP6
Ayo.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6FAdH5wRyz
A prefect shouted, “One of the boys?!”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2AKSIIwzlU
Another hissed, “So they set us up?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2mBPAT0RH
Kim’s jaw tightened. “That’s why the card wasn’t just symbolic. It was bait.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqabmAcFWBx
Naomi stood frozen — trying to catch her breath, the weight of the card finally gone from her hands.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfMRD0XVLJ
June turned to the room:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNaO1241bZ
“This is not Mercy’s card. This is a forged threat. It carries the signature of a boy who helped deliver the crate.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgajoTNvvE
Gasps deepened into murmurs.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0llS7fNXW
“It was a plant. So, the alliance wasn’t fake—someone tried to make it look fake.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9qkC6LpaKQ
June turned toward Naomi — not confrontationally, but like a scalpel in a surgeon’s grip.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLfoP2YFqx
“You need to decide, Naomi. Either call this what it is — sabotage — or let them write your ending for you.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtora64YfAb
Naomi finally nodded.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1nKgwmPV8
She turned back to the room.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeV95wWXGd
Naomi quietly sealed the box again, her voice calm.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02Wol0HHIR
“The Tribunal is postponed.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNvYZ1datbU
The Tribunal Hall had half-emptied. Girls were filing out in low whispers after Naomi’s announcement suspending the boys’ alliance.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUaXqYRyma
But Mary stayed behind, unmoving. June stood by the crate. Kim lingered at the base of the lectern. Naomi had turned to leave.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMqnAZ3O1ZP
That’s when Mary stepped forward.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFpKxxrlNU
“There’s something else,” she said quietly.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsgFzg3Sj7N
Naomi turned.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTBTootWhi
“Not now, Mary—”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ77OqL855xX
“Now,” Mary repeated, louder.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2n17muIj4k
From her jacket, she pulled a tightly rolled bundle. The room stilled again.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsKd7541JP
“This passed through the old herbarium drain vent.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaitC7mbeit
She unrolled the pages on the center table.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNQyZlZ4Mk
Real ledger pages.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1S3qDTZZb
Stiff, yellowed, handwritten. Dated.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡps8zPeQOkB
June stepped in, scanning the topmost page.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cet5WST3G
Mercy’s handwriting. Pages of surveillance. Fabricated claims.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ32n0Yh7Zj
Invented correspondences.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb8KTCA0AEu
Mary flipped to one marked in red:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNWgWPrwyvw
“Naomi collaborated with external prefects to remove dissenters in Form 3. False medical reports approved.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPisi2YLFr
Naomi stared at it.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWAWAYHLIL3
Kim stepped forward. “Is it real?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkODfYfoPjn
Naomi didn’t speak for a long time.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEGloNkeI8
Then — finally:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBMaHdDAhs4
“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.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtrKZg4N3H
She stepped back from the lectern.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2k3dknzUL
“I wasn’t innocent. But I wasn’t the architect either.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMuW0x2Qcm
Mary rolled the pages up again.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5E60PJRdH
“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.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wyas5nwuV
Naomi nodded.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiCsIkwAqMf
She looked at Mary with a hint of something close to gratitude.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBNtgFJDOU
“Then make sure whatever truth you choose next… doesn’t turn into another cage.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdQZikhBVg
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTl6bnPNDE
All heads turned.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Tma3Dg43K
Seline stepped forward, eyes blazing.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mPK7PQefh
“So that’s it? We’re supposed to believe the Order was never complicit? That Mercy lied, but Naomi just… forgot?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OPXgwHUKB
June’s jaw tightened. “Seline—”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOr6UtrRuO
“No. I’ve listened long enough.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC6mPzXE3ey
She pointed at Naomi, then Mary.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWDapYn6e0v
“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?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6inniEHkcU
Kim stood, but didn’t speak.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQzs1q4k2U
Seline stepped onto the tribunal platform.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM49oljwUnd
“You all failed us. Naomi with her scripts. Mercy with her games. Even June with her riddles.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeUj8phtYNv
You think you saved us by picking the cleanest villain.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFGKWVD8kd
She pulled a thin red ribbon from her wrist and tied it around her thumb.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4CKWg5l9Q1
“I don’t owe this school another secret. I don’t owe this Order another name.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqM7YgnHzQ
She faced the remaining prefects.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIPi5SW3my
“As of today, I start my own record. One that doesn’t vanish in burn bins or whisper vents. One that remembers.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6WK6PbViZC
She turned.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxfE0DIQKj
“You can keep your confessions. I’ll take the truth.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm9OCfeklnz
And she walked out.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAdLrCId2tG
No one followed.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTw9S2FnGY
But several girls looked at each other with new uncertainty.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54wuYF3w06
As Naomi walked out, her fingers are trembling though nobody notices.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡirPA2kBSNy
In the archive box beneath Kim’s bed that night, a second folded black card is found — unsigned, but marked with a blue thumbprint.
*****61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4KEdDWaQIE
The Assembly Hall had nearly emptied.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2tR2ludrx
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrFpcJXWuc
Kim slipped outside.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBODfiXP2ob
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.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpGt35Dsz4q
Shiko.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTCvujBlpa
No words — just presence.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU2zbEieafL
For once, Kim didn’t resist the comfort. She leaned in, and Shiko placed a hesitant hand on her shoulder.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilUFsc78HL
“You were right,” she whispered.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPXk4EbvgS5
“You didn’t flinch.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGR1DkD2thQ
Shiko gave a nervous smile. “I still wanted to.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4VVEgy2Szk
Then — just above the wind, quiet enough to be mistaken for breath:61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEKJKl5Ctzc
“I think I’ve always wanted to tell you.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPlslvE9DJM
“That night by the wall. The message in the atlas. The fake card I planted to protect you.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdq5Znl6O95
Kim turned her face toward her.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdmvDL4tZf
“Why?”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh6HHYeDDli
Shiko swallowed. “Because… if they ever turned on you, I wouldn’t be able to stand behind a wall.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9PXhhLlgj
A pause.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpfpVyMl6H
Their foreheads touched for half a second. She almost let it linger.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFTOQLubbU
But then — her eyes flicked.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnJdP1bzJS
Across the courtyard. Toward the boys’ side.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOr5SIp6Wue
Toward Jabari, standing with Musa beneath the awning, just beyond reach — half-shadow, fully watching.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWk8fJElbnR
Her breath caught.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWswCdbbe85
She pulled back gently.61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmHpPPtOQ9
“You’re brave, Shiko. You always have been.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELUFYpsk5p
“But sometimes the person you trust the most… isn’t the one who unlocks the map.”61Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4hGcJsO7G
She squeezed her hand once. Then walked back away.
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