Two Projects With One Databse

I have two projects that use the same database
Admin

Public
The Admin project is where all the data is entered and the security is setup - the Public project is view only with no security
Structure of the website
Public/Admin
Everything is working EXCEPT:
Any image field on the Public project.
The settings in the Admin project are to upload to the folder "../files/foldername/"
I have verified that the images are in the folder after upload.
on the Public side

I have the images pointing to the "files/foldername/"
I am stumped on why the public project cant see the images on any pages ( get the default "no image" )