The Billionaire's Forgotten Night

Anderson Kane woke up with a woman's bracelet in his hand and no memory of how it got there.

That was his first problem.

His second problem was the blood on his white dress shirt.

His third problem was the fact that the woman was gone.

He sat up too fast, and pain cracked through his skull like someone had taken a hammer to the inside of his head. He cursed under his breath and grabbed the edge of the bed.

The suite around him was silent.

Too silent.

The kind of silence that came after something bad had already happened.

Sunlight slipped through the tall windows of the hotel suite, soft and gold, touching the marble floor, the half-open curtains, the broken champagne glass near the couch. The room smelled like expensive cologne, spilled wine, and trouble.

Anderson looked down at himself.

His shirt was unbuttoned halfway. His jacket was on the floor. His tie was wrapped around the leg of a chair like it had tried to escape during the night and failed.

He blinked.

"What the hell?"

His voice came out rough.

He tried to remember.

The charity gala.

The speeches.

The investors.

His father smiling like a snake in a custom suit.

A waiter bringing him a drink.

Then...

Nothing.

No, not nothing.

A flash.

A woman's voice.

Soft. Angry. Scared.

Then her fingers gripping his wrist.

Then darkness.

Anderson looked at his hand again.

The bracelet was thin and silver, with a tiny moon charm hanging from it. Cheap. Delicate. Not the kind of jewelry worn by women who usually came near him. Those women wore diamonds heavy enough to count as weapons.

This bracelet looked personal.

Private.

Lost.

He closed his fist around it.

The bedroom door opened.

Daniel Reed stepped in holding a tablet, two phones, and the exhausted face of a man who had already had three coffees and still wanted to sue the morning.

"Good," Daniel said. "You're alive."

Anderson stared at him.

Daniel looked him over. "Mostly alive."

"Why are you in my suite?"

"Because your security team called me after you missed your seven-thirty meeting, your eight o'clock call, and the breakfast with Mayor Whitlock."

Anderson pressed two fingers to his temple. "Cancel them."

"I did."

"Good."

"Then your father called."

"Uncancel them."

Daniel sighed. "Too late. I already lied and said you had food poisoning."

Anderson looked at him coldly.

Daniel shrugged. "It was either that or tell people the great Anderson Kane was found passed out in a hotel room looking like a rejected perfume ad."

"I was not passed out."

"You were horizontal and unresponsive. In my family, that's called passed out."

Anderson pushed himself off the bed. His knees almost gave out.

Daniel moved forward.

Anderson lifted one hand. "Don't."

Daniel stopped. "Right. You prefer to collapse with dignity."

"I prefer people not touching me."

"Wonderful. Very warm. Very human."

Anderson ignored him and walked to the bathroom mirror.

His reflection looked back at him.

Dark hair is messy. Jaw tight. Eyes bloodshot. A small cut near his lower lip. Another faint red mark on his neck.

He touched it.

Not a cut.

A bruise.

His stomach tightened.

"What happened last night?" he asked.

Daniel's joking expression faded. "I was hoping you could tell me."

"I remember the gala."

"After that?"

Anderson looked at the bracelet in his palm. "Nothing clear."

"Nothing?"

"Pieces."

"What kind of pieces?"

"A woman."

Daniel went still. "Name?"

"I don't know."

"Face?"

Anderson closed his eyes.

A laugh.

Dark hair slipping over one shoulder.

A hand pushing against his chest.

A voice saying, "You are very annoying for a rich man."

His eyes opened.

"No."

Daniel stared at him. "You don't remember her face?"

"No."

"That is bad."

"Thank you. Your deep wisdom comforts me."

Daniel glanced around the room. "Was she invited?"

"I don't know."

"Did security see her?"

"They should have."

"Should have is a very dangerous phrase in your world."

Anderson turned away from the mirror. "Get me the hotel footage."

"Already requested."

"And?"

Daniel's jaw tightened.

Anderson noticed.

"What?"

"There is a problem."

"There is always a problem. Be specific."

Daniel tapped on his tablet. "The hallway camera outside your suite went dark for six minutes."

Anderson's eyes sharpened. "Dark?"

"Black screen. No feed."

"When?"

"Between 1:12 a.m. and 1:18 a.m."

Anderson's hand tightened around the bracelet.

Six minutes.

"Who accessed the camera system?"

"The hotel claims it was a technical error."

Anderson gave him a flat look.

Daniel nodded. "Yes. I also laughed, but only on the inside because I am a professional."

"Find out who touched the system."

"I'm working on it."

"No. Work faster."

Daniel looked at the blood on Anderson's shirt. "Before I do that, are you injured?"

Anderson glanced down. The blood was dried across his sleeve and a small patch near his ribs. He opened his shirt more.

No wound.

Daniel leaned closer. "Not yours?"

"No."

"Fantastic. That makes this worse."

Anderson looked at him.

Daniel lifted both hands. "I am not saying I wanted you stabbed. I am just saying unknown blood in a billionaire's hotel suite is usually bad for everyone's schedule."

Anderson walked back into the room.

His gaze moved over every detail.

The couch cushion was pushed out of place. One lamp was crooked. A heel mark showed faintly on the carpet near the door. Not his shoe size. Smaller.

Someone had left in a hurry.

The bracelet had been in his hand.

Why?

Had she given it to him?

Had he taken it?

Has she been hurt?

That last thought made something cold move inside him.

"Get the hotel manager," Anderson said.

"Already on his way up."

"Security chief?"

"Also coming."

Anderson paused. "Not the hotel's local security. I want whoever was in charge of private access last night."

Daniel's face changed.

"What?" Anderson asked.

"The security company for the gala was Vale Protection."

Anderson looked at him. "Marcus Vale?"

"Yes."

A muscle moved in Anderson's jaw.

Marcus Vale had worked with half the billionaires in the city. Quiet. Polished. Expensive. The kind of man who knew where bodies were buried because he helped schedule the digging.

Anderson had never liked him.

That alone did not mean the man was guilty.

Anderson disliked many people.

It was one of his more honest hobbies.

"Call Vale," Anderson said.

"I already left a message."

"Leave another one."

"With what tone?"

"The one that says if he ignores me, I will buy his company just to fire him in person."

Daniel smiled faintly. "Ah. Your friendly tone."

A knock hit the suite door.

Three sharp taps.

Daniel crossed the room and opened it.

The hotel manager stepped inside with two security men behind him. The manager was short, round, sweating, and dressed like a man who had never expected his career to die before lunch.

"Mr. Kane," he said quickly. "I am terribly sorry for any inconvenience."

Anderson stared at him.

The manager swallowed.

Daniel leaned toward him and said softly, "Never open with inconvenience when there is blood."

The manager's face went pale.

Anderson held up the bracelet. "Who does this belong to?"

The manager looked at it. "I... I don't know, sir."

"Was a woman seen entering my suite?"

"We are reviewing the footage."

"Then review faster."

"Of course, sir."

"The hallway camera went dark for six minutes."

The manager wiped his forehead. "A temporary system fault."

Anderson stepped closer.

The room temperature seemed to drop.

"Do not lie to me."

The manager froze.

Anderson's voice stayed calm. That made it worse.

"I own three hotels, two towers, and enough lawyers to make a judge cry into his robe. If you lie to me again, I will become the most expensive problem you have ever had."

Daniel made a small sound. "That was almost poetic."

The manager's lips shook. "Sir, I only know what my technical team reported."

"Bring me the technician."

"He left after the night shift."

"Call him."

"We have tried. His phone is off."

Anderson's eyes darkened.

Daniel looked up from the tablet. "That is not suspicious at all. Very normal. People always turn off their phones after hotel cameras fail around billionaires with mystery bracelets."

The manager looked like he might faint.

Anderson turned to one of the security men. "Who entered this suite after midnight?"

The guard hesitated.

Anderson noticed.

"Speak."

The guard cleared his throat. "Only you, sir."

"Wrong."

"Sir?"

Anderson lifted the bracelet. "This did not walk in by itself."

The guard looked at the manager.

Anderson's voice cut like glass. "Do not look at him. Look at me."

The guard stiffened. "There may have been a woman, sir."

Daniel's eyes narrowed.

Anderson stepped closer. "May have been?"

"I saw someone near the private elevator. Young woman. Dark hair. Silver dress, I think. She looked upset."

Anderson's pulse kicked.

"What time?"

"Around one."

"Did she enter my hallway?"

"I... I am not sure."

"Why not?"

The guard's throat moved. "Mr. Vale spoke to us before the event. He said no one was to question private guests unless there was a direct threat."

Anderson's expression went still.

Daniel muttered, "And there is the rat under the floorboards."

The manager rushed in. "Mr. Kane, I am certain this is all a misunderstanding."

Anderson ignored him. "Where is the woman now?"

"I don't know," the guard said.

"Did she leave?"

"I did not see."

"Then who did?"

No one answered.

Anderson looked at each man.

Their silence told him enough.

Someone had cleaned this up.

Fast.

"Get out," he said.

The manager blinked. "Sir?"

"Everyone out except Daniel."

The manager nodded quickly. "Yes, sir. Of course. We will continue reviewing"

Anderson took one step toward him. "You will not touch another second of footage unless my team is present. If one file disappears, I will assume you deleted it. If one employee runs, I will assume you helped him. If one person calls Marcus Vale before I do, I will assume you are involved."

The manager's face turned gray. "Understood."

They left in a hurry.

The door shut.

For a moment, neither Anderson nor Daniel spoke.

Then Daniel looked at him. "So. On a scale from mild scandal to full disaster, where are we?"

Anderson stared at the bracelet.

"Find her."

Daniel nodded. "I need more than 'young woman, dark hair, maybe silver dress.' Half the gala looked like rich crows and shiny forks."

Anderson looked at him.

Daniel sighed. "Fine. Finding a shiny fork woman."

"Daniel."

"I know. Seriously. I will check guest lists, staff lists, temp workers, vendors, private elevator logs, and outside cameras."

"And Vale."

"And Vale."

Anderson walked to the window.

Below, the city moved like nothing had happened. Cars slid through traffic. People crossed streets with coffee in hand. Life kept going because life was rude like that.

Somewhere out there was a woman who had been in this room.

A woman he could not remember.

A woman whose blood might be on his shirt.

His fingers closed around the moon charm.

"She was scared," he said quietly.

Daniel's voice softened. "You remember that?"

"Yes."

"What else?"

Anderson searched the broken pieces in his head.

Her voice.

Her laugh.

The feeling of her pulling away.

Then one clear memory struck him.

A whisper near his ear.

"Please don't forget me."

Anderson's chest tightened.

But the memory vanished as quickly as it came.

He turned around. "I want answers before sunset."

Daniel gave him a look. "You know normal people say please."

"Normal people do not have six missing minutes."

"Fair."

Anderson grabbed a clean shirt from the closet.

As he changed, his phone buzzed on the nightstand.

The screen showed one name.

Victor Kane.

His father.

Anderson let it ring once.

Twice.

Then he answered.

"Father."

Victor's voice came through smooth and calm. "You missed breakfast."

"I had a busy morning."

"So I heard."

Anderson's gaze sharpened.

Daniel stopped moving.

"What exactly did you hear?" Anderson asked.

"Only that you embarrassed yourself after the gala."

"I do not embarrass myself."

"No. You prefer to make other people do it for you."

Anderson's jaw tightened. "Did you call to insult me or is there a point hiding under your usual charm?"

Victor gave a low laugh. "Careful, son. Headaches make you rude."

Anderson went still.

He had not told his father he had a headache.

"How do you know I have a headache?"

Silence.

Only one second.

But Anderson heard it.

Then Victor said, "You drank too much."

"I do not drink too much."

"Everyone does eventually."

"Not me."

Victor's voice cooled. "Then perhaps you should be more careful about the company you keep."

Anderson looked down at the bracelet.

"Do you know something about last night?"

"I know you should leave it alone."

Daniel's eyes lifted.

Anderson's voice dropped. "Leave what alone?"

"The hotel. The girl. The missing footage. Whatever story your mind is trying to build."

The room felt colder.

"You know about the footage."

"I know enough."

Anderson's grip tightened on the phone. "Who was she?"

Victor sighed. "No one is important."

Something inside Anderson snapped awake.

A sharp, dangerous thing.

"No one important does not get erased from hotel cameras."

"You are tired."

"I am clear."

"You are emotional."

"I am never emotional."

"That is what worries me."

Anderson walked toward the window again. "Tell me her name."

"I do not have her name."

"Liar."

Daniel's eyebrows rose.

Victor's voice went hard. "Do not start a war over a woman you do not remember."

Anderson smiled, but there was nothing warm in it.

"Then give me a reason not to."

Victor did not answer right away.

When he spoke again, his voice was quiet.

"Some nights are better forgotten."

The line went dead.

Anderson lowered the phone.

Daniel stared at him. "That sounded healthy. Very loving. Almost made me want to call my mother and thank her for only being mildly terrifying."

Anderson did not smile.

Daniel tapped the tablet. "What now?"

Anderson looked at the bracelet in his hand.

"Now we find the woman my father wants forgotten.