The Forbidden Docket

Billions vanish into the digital ether. The world of high finance teeters on the brink. The culprit? The Ghost Protocol, a phantom in the machine exploiting the cutting edge of quantum computing.  It leaves no trace, only the gaping void of missing funds.
Lena Calloway, a young attorney haunted by her family’s past, finds herself defending the enigmatic tech visionary accused of orchestrating this digital heist: Sebastian Wells. The media paints him as a ruthless mastermind, but Lena sees something else in his piercing gaze—a flicker of defiance, a hint of a man wronged. As their late-night strategy sessions blur the lines between attorney and client, a forbidden intimacy ignites, further complicating Lena’s quest for the truth.
The evidence against Sebastian is a digital Everest, yet Lena’s instincts scream foul play. Aided by Derek Flores, a chain-smoking ex-hacker with a checkered past, Lena descends into the labyrinthine depths of the dark web.  They uncover a conspiracy far deeper than mere financial gain, one that threatens to destabilize global markets and topple empires.
Meanwhile, lead prosecutor Carol Santos, a woman as sharp and cold as fractured ice, pursues Sebastian with chilling intensity. Their courtroom battles are epic clashes of intellect and will, every exchange a calculated move in a high-stakes game of chess.
As Lena digs deeper, she discovers the conspiracy’s tendrils reach into her own prestigious law firm, implicating mentors she once revered and shattering her faith in the very system she swore to uphold. A cryptic message unearthed from the digital underworld reveals a shocking connection between Sebastian’s past and Lena's own family history, a connection that ties her father’s downfall to the very forces now targeting Sebastian.
Lena must risk everything—her career, her reputation, even her life—to expose the truth. In a heart-pounding courtroom showdown, she gambles on a daring strategy, one that could either exonerate Sebastian or expose her to the conspiracy’s full wrath.
Caught in a dangerous tango of desire and deception, Lena must decide: is she falling for a manipulative criminal, or is her heart leading her to the truth?  The answer lies buried within the intricate code of the Ghost Protocol, a code that holds the key to not only Sebastian’s fate but Lena’s own redemption.