"Rose Anderson Sinclare. Owner of this hotel."

That landed like a slap. Her expression didn’t change, it only deepened into a defiant scowl.

Ivan exhaled. "Leave us. Both of you."

"Yes, boss!" His goons rushed out the way they came.

With them gone, Ivan took a step back.

"I... uhh..." His mouth kept opening and closing, words refusing to land. "Your face."

"What about it?" Rose’s voice was low, razor-sharp.

"I see it now. You were with Osiris. Osiris Zoos." He folded his arms, connecting the dots. "But how did you end up here, as my..." He stopped.

"Did you drug me?" Rose stepped forward, bedsheet tight around her.

"That’s preposterous. We never even spoke at the party. How would I drug you? And why the hell would Atali’s granddaughter be wandering around without bodyguards?"

"...” She didn’t have an answer to that. She should’ve been guarded.

"Then explain why I have no memory of following you? All I remember is hosting a party, welcoming a bunch of criminals into my precious hotel. I had, what, two glasses of champagne to toast and that’s it! Nothing after that!"

"I couldn’t have dragged you to the penthouse without getting spotted," he argued.

"And what about you? Tell me."

"I remember the party. The casino. Way too many shots of whiskey. I was hitting on some escort who cheered me on while I won big. I told my men to bring her up after."

"You’re lying."

"Then you’re lying!" Ivan snapped. But he took a breath and brought his hands together, cooling the heat.

"Let’s just call this a misunderstanding."

"A misunderstanding?" she echoed in disbelief. "You take advantage of me, and we’re supposed to call it that?"

"I didn’t force you into my room, lady! But fine. I apologize. It was a bad accident. Let’s settle it, any amount you want."

"No!"

"Then how about this. We go our separate ways, and in exchange, I offer you one wolf-paw."

Rose’s stare hardened. That term.

"You do know what that means in this business, right?"

"I know what a mafia’s wolf-paw is. Whoever gives it owes a favour. No exceptions. Even if I told you to shoot yourself in the head."

Ivan smirked. "I’d be one sexy dead body but that wouldn’t help you. Think about it. You could accomplish a lot with one silver coin from me."

He wasn’t wrong. Better to strike a deal than stir up Atali’s wrath.

"So, what do you say?" Ivan perched both hands on his bare waist, cool now. The rest was in her hands.

**********************

Everybody jumped up when Rose entered the room.

"Where were you?!" nagged her Aunt Lisa before Rose even got her shoes off.

"Stop bothering me. I'm not a little kid who goes missing," Rose replied, too tired to keep pretending with her relatives.

But one face caught her eye. Olivia. Her bodyguard. Her shadow. The one person who wasn’t supposed to mess up.

"You have a meeting at twelve. It’s almost eleven," Olivia said. Her voice was calm, cool, always allowed to follow her boss wherever she went.

Rose headed into her closet room, discreetly slipping the silver crest from her pocket and placing it in a jewelry box. "I'm aware of the time. I'm not blind."

She reached behind for the zipper of her dress. When her hand fumbled, Olivia stepped forward silently, helping her without being asked.

As the dress slid off, Olivia's eyes widened. Her gaze froze on the bruises. Dark, blooming shapes across Rose’s back and shoulders. This wasn’t how she’d left her.

"Rose... what happened? Where did you get those bruises?"

"Be thankful I haven’t fired you for neglecting your job," Rose snapped. The words stung coming out because speaking of it made it real. And humiliating. "I woke up in bed. In a completely different room. With a man who called me an escort." She spit the word like venom. "You were supposed to be watching me, Olivia. So, give me one good reason not to suspect you."

"Rose, I don’t understand. Last night, you had a headache. I brought you to your room myself. You were fine when I left."

"Sure. Treat me like I’m a fool."

"Check the cameras, Rose. You were in bed before midnight."

"The cameras... why didn’t I think of that?" Rose slapped a palm to her forehead. She pulled on a bathrobe, mind already racing toward the security footage. If that man and his goons were lying, the tapes would show it. They had to.

"But Rose..." Olivia's voice hesitated. "You still need to explain the bruises."

"I don’t know, okay?! I woke up like this!" Rose flung her hands in the air, brushing past her friend as she grabbed her toothbrush. The bitter taste in her mouth still hadn’t left.

She scrubbed, then stepped into the shower. Minutes later, she stepped out, barely towel-dried.

"How long until the meeting?"

"Forty minutes," Olivia said, already fetching her some pills for the headache.

"Alright. Take me to the security room. I need to see the tapes."

"You know how serious the Chairwoman is about punctuality," Olivia reminded her. "We can review the footage after the meeting."

"Fine. Okay." Rose gave in. It was the sensible thing to do. "Get me that pill before I lose my patience. My head is killing me."