The initials stayed in Damien's mind throughout the drive back from Blackwood & Vale.
M.H.
They could mean Marcus Hale.
Or they could mean nothing at all.
Experience had taught him one lesson every trial lawyer eventually learned.
Assumptions lost cases.
Evidence won them.
---
The following morning, Damien met Roman and Vivian in Margaret Ashford's conference room.
The archive withdrawal register lay open in the middle of the table.
Roman broke the silence.
"So..."
"Are we accusing Marcus?"
Damien looked up immediately.
"No."
Vivian seemed surprised.
"But the initials—"
"Are only initials."
Damien interrupted gently.
"If we build a case on assumptions, we're no better than the people trying to frame me."
Roman smiled.
"That's the answer I was hoping for."
Damien picke
