BEHIND HIS WALLS

Chapter 11

Elizabeth Cole's name appeared on Mara's desk on a Tuesday, and she wasn't looking for it. It was buried inside a stack of old firm records Duke had asked her to retrieve—historical partnership documents, founding agreements, and administrative paperwork that she had been flipping through without much interest. She was already thinking about the Halloran case when her eyes caught on a familiar name, and her hand stopped mid-page.

Ashford & Cole, LLP.

Founded by Sean R. Ashford and Elizabeth M. Cole.

Two signatures sat side by side beneath the heading, their ink faded slightly with age. Mara stared at them for a moment before turning the page, and that was when she found the photograph.

She stopped breathing for a second.

Sean was younger in the picture. His tie was loosened, his hair wasn't quite as perfectly controlled as it was now, and his face held an expression Mara had never seen in the three months she'd known him.

He was laughing.

Actually laughing.

Not the rare, restrained smile she had occasionally managed to draw out of him. Not the quiet amusement that appeared in the corner of his mouth when she teased him. This was different. His entire face was open, relaxed, almost boyish.

Beside him stood Elizabeth.

She was beautiful, confident, and completely at ease. Her hand rested naturally on Sean's arm, as though it belonged there. They weren't posing like two business partners for a formal photograph. They looked like two people who knew each other completely.

They looked happy.

Certain.

Like people who believed the future belonged to them.

Mara stared at the photograph for a long moment, studying the man in it and comparing him to the man she knew now. She couldn't reconcile them completely. The Sean in the photograph seemed lighter somehow. Less guarded. There was no invisible wall around him, no careful distance between himself and the rest of the world.

Slowly, Mara closed the file.

She didn't ask questions. She didn't tell anyone what she'd found. She simply returned the documents to the stack and forced herself to continue working, even though the image stayed in her mind long after she left the office.

That night, she found herself looking at Sean differently.

Now she knew there had once been another version of him—a man who trusted someone completely, a man who had loved someone enough to build a life and a future beside her, a man who had believed in forever.

And she couldn't stop wondering what had happened to that man.

Later that evening, they sat across from each other at the conference table, surrounded by case files and highlighted documents. The office was quiet except for the occasional sound of pages turning. Mara tried to focus on the work in front of her, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the photograph.

Sean eventually looked up.

"You're quiet."

Mara lifted her eyes from the page. "Just thinking."

"About the case?"

She hesitated for half a second before answering.

"Something like that."

Sean studied her carefully. His eyes narrowed slightly, the way they always did when he sensed that someone wasn't telling him the whole truth. "You've had that expression for an hour."

Mara gave him a faint smile, hoping it would be enough to satisfy him.

Maybe I'm tired."

"Maybe."

He didn't push her any further. He simply returned his attention to the documents in front of him, picking up his pen and continuing where he'd left off.

But Mara knew he didn't believe her.

And, if she was being honest with herself, neither did she.