Mr. Kane Got Blacklisted

It took Joe over an hour to dye his hair. After finishing, he snapped a few selfies in front of the mirror and sent one to Keegan with the caption, "Starting fresh."

Keegan looked at the photo of Joe with his new black hair, who looked both obedient and adorable, and couldn't help but laugh.

Stella heard him laugh, put down her book, and asked, "What's so funny?"

Keegan showed her Joe's selfie.

Stella laughed, "I always wondered why he dyed his hair yellow, shaved his eyebrows, and wore an eyebrow stud. Turns out, he has a baby face! He looks even younger than Julian.”

Keegan chuckled, "His father looks just like this. He's in his fifties but looks like he's in his thirties. When Vermont first met him, he called him 'brother' and got scolded for being disrespectful. Then, a hotel supervisor- only in her early twenties-also called him 'brother,' and he stayed silent."

Stella couldn't stop laughing as she imagined the scene. She concluded, "People with baby faces are really lucky. Even in their fifties, they can still charm the young. Why didn't I get a face like that?"

Keegan paused and looked at her, "Whose heart are you planning to steal?"

Stella smiled mischievously, "Mr. Kane, will you still get jealous after all these years?"

Keegan calmly replied, "Not at all."

Stella was curious, "Really? Not even a little?"

Keegan confidently answered, "No."

Stella pressed on, "Is that because love turns into family affection over time, so you don't care anymore?"

Keegan responded, "I'm not sure about that, but I know one thing for certain."

Stella asked, "What's that?"

Keegan said seriously, "As long as this kingdom stands, you will always be my concubine."

Stella was momentarily stunned but burst out laughing the next second. She hugged Keegan and kissed him repeatedly, "You're so adorable when you're serious but a little bit cheeky." Keegan gave her a calm look, "That's the confidence of a main wife."

Stella gave him a thumbs up, "Exactly, how else could I be the main wife?"

She then nestled in his arms and whispered, "I've come up with a nickname for our kids."

Keegan was curious, "What is it?"

Stella's eyes lit up as she whispered, "Bring in wealth and treasure."

Keegan was speechless. He covered her eyes with his hand, "Be good and go to sleep. Naming is too complicated for you."

Stella playfully kicked him.

The next morning, Stella woke up to find Keegan already gone.

She yawned and asked Maria, their housekeeper, "Maria, when did Keegan leave?"

Maria replied while serving soup, "Around six in the morning. Sir woke up shortly after you did. He didn't go for his usual run, just changed quickly and left. It seemed urgent."

Stella paused, then quickly took out her phone to call Keegan, but his line was busy. She tried calling Aldor next.

Aldor was preparing for his engagement, and Keegan had given him some time off, so he didn't know where Keegan had gone.

"Maria said he left in a hurry at six in the morning. I'm worried something happened," Stella sighed. "I'll ask someone else."

"Wait a minute, ma'am," Aldor suddenly stopped her and asked in a low voice, "Did you watch the news this morning?"

Stella replied, "Not yet. What happened?"

Aldor explained, "Last night, a group of young people were racing on City New Road, and it resulted in a major traffic accident-three dead, fifteen injured. There's a construction project from our branch company on that road. The news broke early this morning, around five or six. I wonder if Mr. Kane left in a hurry because of this?"

"City New Road?" Stella was initially stunned, then suddenly alarmed. Wasn't that the race Joe had mentioned wanting to join? Could he have participated after all?

Stella immediately tried to contact Joe, but he didn't answer.

Though Stella wasn't close to the Esper family and had only contacted Joe to ask about Grace, she felt genuinely upset at the possibility of something bad happening to him. That reckless kid! He had promised Keegan he wouldn't participate in dangerous races, so why didn't he listen?

With no answer from Joe, Stella decided to call Leighton to ask Nicole, since she was Leighton's cousin and might know more than they did.

Leighton informed her, "Joe was injured and is still unconscious. Nicole just boarded a plane to rush back, so she hasn't seen him yet and probably doesn't know much either."

The worst-case scenario had come true-Joe was really involved.

Keegan likely left in such a rush because of this incident.

Just as Stella left a message for Keegan asking him to call back when he could, a hot topic exploded on social media.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

A marketing account posted that

among the injured was Joe Esper, the

second son of a local entrepreneur.

The account detailed how Joe's

family had started in the printing

business, later transitioned to

toiletries, and became quite wealthy.

Rather than focusing on the accident itself, the account highlighted Joe's identity, essentially naming the Esper family.

If Joe were just an ordinary person, this wouldn't have caused much of a stir. But he was a wealthy second-generation heir.

Words like "rich," "racing," and "accident" combined to paint a picture of spoiled rich kids recklessly racing at night, hitting innocent passersby, and causing a devastating accident.

In these tough economic times, with hostility running high online, the marketing account's exposure of Joe's identity quickly pushed him into the public spotlight.

"He had money to burn, so he deserves it!"

"Why wasn't he one of the three who died?"

"Investigate this thoroughly! If he's into illegal racing, he's probably into gambling and drugs too!"

"Joe was a classmate of my friend. I

heard he was a slacker who often

m

skipped classes. He only got into

university because of his family's money and connections, and he failed three courses in one semester."

"True, I can confirm that. He was in

my department. He failed three

courses but somehow passed the

make-up

com

-up exams with top scores! It's known that the make-up exams at S University are tougher than the originals. If he had the ability to score

so well, why did he fail in the first

place? We all think his grades were bought."

"It's good to be rich. While we're struggling to make it, these rich kids are cruising down easy street, using money to clear their path and shoving us off the bridge."