Mr. Kane Got Blacklisted

The bottle was adorned with a circle of dots and dashes.
Stella wondered where he had found such an ugly bottle.
She drank the water, tossed the bottle away, and after her temper had cooled a bit, she bid farewell to the kids and headed
home.
Upon her return, she noticed Keegan sitting upright on the sofa but didn't acknowledge him.
She went straight for a shower and then to bed.
In the dead of night, someone suddenly reached out and touched her waist.
Stella jumped, raised her hand, and slapped out.
Her hand landed on Keegan's head, prompting him to cry out in pain, "What are you doing!" Stella shouted even louder, "That's
what I should be asking you! What are you doing? Acting like a hooligan in the middle of the night?" Keegan's expression shifted
unpredictably.
After a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Didn't you drink that bottle of water?" Stella was taken aback.
"Did you drug me?" So he came in the middle of the night to be her antidote? Keegan's expression turned strange.
After a moment, he grabbed the quilt and stormed out with a grim face.
He spent that night in the study.
Stella didn't understand what Keegan was up to until she fell asleep.
Not long after this incident, Keegan did something he had been looking forward to for a long time—giving his cake to Aurora
Kane.
The initially improving relationship became tense again.
Shortly after, on New Year's Day, Keegan went out of town ona business trip.
Dahlia Crosby brought Blake's family and some relatives of unknown origin over for the festival.

When Keegan was around, Dahlia rarely visited because she liked to interfere in Keegan's life, which Keegan disliked the most.
They never got along.
Dahlia also expected her son to earn money for her every month, but Keegan wasn't under her control like Aurora, so as soon as
Keegan showed impatience, she stopped, knowing just how far to push.
But with Stella, Dahlia wasn't so polite.
When Keegan was present, Stella at least appeared acceptable on the surface, and their conversations mainly revolved around
childbirth.
But in Keegan's absence, Dahlia showed a different face.
She brought Blake's family to celebrate at Stella's home without giving any advance notice.
The car was nearly there when Dahlia called Stella, catching her off guard.
Dahlia suggested going out for dinner, and gave Stella a look.
" Stella, relatives rarely visit, especially during the festival.
They mainly want to see you.
If it's only about dinner, we can eat anywhere.
Is cooking noodles too much trouble?" Stella couldn't just cook noodles.
She barely ate herself, and the guests were so unenthusiastic that they not only lost their manners but also damaged Keegan's
reputation.
She called two experts and helped the nanny prepare the meal.
Seven adults and six children enjoyed a total of twenty-four dishes of cold and hot food.
Stella washed the vegetables until her hands swelled, and during the meal, she had no appetite, but she still had to smile and
toast the elders cup by cup.

After dinner and drinks, the relatives chatted in the living room with Dahlia, and the children ran around as if they were at home,
which annoyed Stella.
Dahlia seemed to think she was in the way, so she called Stella to the kitchen to prepare a fruit platter.
Stella reluctantly went to the kitchen.
When she returned, she saw the troublemakers had brought out Keegan's "ugly thing" and were taking turns jumping on it.
Before she could even place the fruit platter down, she rushed over to intervene.
To others, the "ugly thing" was just a toy car, and they thought, what was wrong with letting kids play with it? Was there really a
need to be so stingy? Dahlia seemed to agree.
She said, "It's just a toy.
If it breaks, we'll buy another one.
Don't ruin everyone's mood on such a big holiday.
uy Stella pressed her lips together.
"I can find them another toy, but not this one.
Some parts are already discontinued, and even with money, we might not be able to buy them.
If it breaks, there's no way to fix it."