Least Restrictive

The legal thriller begins with a six-minute hearing-and a woman whose life is decided without a single question. When attorney Celeste Duarte watches a court appoint a guardian for Alma Reyes, she recognizes a system moving faster than anyone can challenge it.

Then Celeste is asked to help Margaret "Maggie" Fontaine, a retired chemistry teacher placed under plenary guardianship after an episode of confusion. Her nephew says the illness was temporary. Medical records show a doctor recommended reassessing her after treatment. But the evaluation came first, the hearing followed, and Maggie was left in a care facility with her visitors restricted.

Celeste has spent years avoiding restoration cases. The judge who granted Maggie's guardianship must now consider whether it should end. The appointed lawyer signed a consent after one brief meeting; the guardian insists she is protecting Maggie. And Celeste's own past gives her reason to fear how easily an order can take a person's home, choices, and voice.

As Celeste presses for access to her client and examines the records behind the case, small discrepancies raise larger questions. Why was the petition prepared when it was? Who benefits from Maggie's confinement? And can a lawyer prove that a less restrictive way forward exists before the system closes ranks?

Set in a county courthouse and the care facilities it oversees, Least Restrictive is a character-driven legal thriller about power, family, and the right to be heard. Celeste must decide how far she is willing to go-and what it will cost to keep asking questions.