Curate, connect, and discover
I'm not talking 'what if Sadie was the elder sibling' or 'what if Carter stayed with the Fausts' (which would be impossible, as explained later). I'm saying, what if Carter looked like Ruby, their mom, and Sadie looked like Julius, their dad? Imagine Carter Kane before the first book, our nerdy, obedient, geek of a boy dressed in a button down shirt and slacks, always following up with a suitcase in one hand and NBA stats on the tip of his tongue...with the curliest blonde hair you've ever seen and light skin and eyes blue enough to rival the sky? Imagine Sadie Kane before the first book, our rebellious, confident girl with combat boots and attitude ready for absolutely anything...with red streaks in brown hair and dark brown skin and warm brown eyes that are always filled with fire?
It's always specified in the books that Carter was discriminated against and his dad always told him to dress properly to never give anyone an excuse to be racist. Even if Carter wasn't dark anymore, I'm pretty sure Julius would still want his son dressed impeccably. And the fact that people always got confused when Sadie, Carter and their dad went out (is heartbreaking) doesn't change. It just becomes more frequent, seeing as Carter, who looks like his mum, is with his dad permanently. Everyone they met, at dig sites, museums, ceremonies, hotels, would be confused for a split second. And Carter, honestly, would go through what Sadie describes in the Red Pyramid. An African-American who doesn't look African. And for Sadie, well, that's another story altogether. It's specified rather clearly in the books that the Fausts never liked Carter because he resembled his dad. Can you imagine them getting Sadie, who is only one gamete short of being a carbon copy of her dad? I'm not saying they'd hate her. I trust them enough (I hope think) to still love Sadie because she has her mother's spirit and Ruby is really reflected in our little Kane girl. But I can imagine them flinching every time they see Sadie and her dad standing together, because damn, they look similar. They wouldn't hate her, but a part of them would never truly accept her. And she'd still be as rebellious as ever. Blue streaks in the midst of chocolate coloured hair? She's up for it. But then, instead of Carter, she'd go through the racism that Rick's described. (I am purely quoting the Red Pyramid here, because I personally have no experience of racism and don't want to comment much on something I don't know much about). But she would have to face it.
In summary, the idea just seems really cool to me, and yes, I believe that the House of Life would still influence the court case and give Carter to Julius, since he's the elder one, regardless of any skin tone. It would just be cool to see Sadie vibing with their mom while looking like her dad and Carter and their dad travelling the world, proving stereotypes wrong and being an amazing biracial father son duo.