Once I discovered the suitcase was empty, I would have left it open on my hotel bed, and then I would leave the hotel, fly home, and then call the local police as soon as I was out of their country.
Assuming somehow I got to that stage, that's the point I would realize there is very good chance I will be killed or kidnapped if I don't do what the people that are observing me expect. I would try to conceive a plan to leave with the empty suit case from the hotel but ditch it shortly before boarding a flight to US. Still at that point I would fear retribution later in US and because of that I might decide that the best course of action is to go along sadly.
Yes, because your claim you thought it was just a dumb empty suitcase will be very believable. You forgot it because (A) it was not your bag and (B) it was not valuable, so it was easy to forget.