Chapter 565

"Understood. I’ll get everything ready and head over as soon as my shift ends."

Nadia nodded, accepting the reminder.

After the Devil’s Child incident in Eastern Europe had finally come to an end, Nadia had followed Evenson’s advice and brought her son, Danny, to New York.

At first, she’d assumed dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D. would be the hardest part.

The chaos in Eastern Europe had been anything but minor. In Nadia’s estimation, it had come dangerously close to becoming a global incident.

Instead, S.H.I.E.L.D. had simply registered her and Danny, informed her that they would conduct periodic inspections, and instructed her to report anything unusual immediately.

Then they handed her an already-approved green card.

That was it.

Nadia had been left wondering whether S.H.I.E.L.D. considered demons crossing between Hell and the mortal world a routine occurrence.

For all she knew, some charming nightclub owner in New York was secretly a demonic overlord who had come to Earth to conquer the realms, only to settle down and start a publicly traded company.

But she had more immediate problems.

Survival.

Nadia hadn’t brought much money with her. Most of her savings had disappeared during the escape from Eastern Europe, and she’d occasionally resorted to petty theft just to get by.

New York was an international metropolis, and its cost of living was on an entirely different level.

The money she had left was barely enough to rent a basement room.

After that?

She had no idea.

Worse, Nadia wanted Danny to attend school and live something resembling a normal life. But even the tuition and expenses associated with a cheap public school were beyond what she could comfortably afford.

The weight of it all settled on her shoulders.

A single mother with no reliable income, no stable future, and a thirteen-year-old son depending on her.

There were moments when Nadia seriously wondered whether she’d have to resort to prostitution if things became desperate enough.

Then, unexpectedly, her situation changed.

Years later, whenever Nadia thought back to that moment, she couldn’t help feeling as though God Himself had reached down and pulled her out of the pit.

A job advertisement appeared at her door.

Position: Receptionist.

Female applicants preferred. Presentable appearance. Black hair preferred. Age twenty to thirty-five. Marital and parental status irrelevant. No background restrictions. Immigrants welcome. Must speak a lesser Eastern European language. Full employee benefits. Salary negotiable.

Nadia stared at it.

It might as well have had her name printed across the top.

She was ecstatic.

She immediately put on her most presentable clothes and hurried to the company named Gospel for an interview.

When she arrived, however, something struck her as strange.

The company occupied a building more than thirty stories tall. The interior was surprisingly impressive, too.

Yet there were almost no other applicants.

In fact, there weren’t any.

She appeared to be the only one.

Receptionist was a perfectly respectable job. Why wasn’t anyone else interested?

Had she arrived at the wrong time?

But the advertisement clearly specified this period.

Then Nadia realized the answer.

The requirement to speak a lesser Eastern European language must have scared everyone away.

Good thing I have a useful skill.

She had no idea that, in an effort to save money, Gospel had printed exactly one copy of the advertisement.

They had stuffed it into her mailbox.

The interview itself went smoothly.

First came a simple test of her Eastern European language skills, followed by the usual questions.

"Do you have any previous management experience?"

"Um... yes."

Nadia’s answer came a little stiffly.

She did, technically.

If managing some of Carrigan’s criminal gangs back when she’d been with him counted.

"Excellent."

Fortunately, the interviewer didn’t press for details.

"Our management staff is currently understaffed. If you perform well after joining the company, your previous experience should allow you to advance to receptionist supervisor fairly quickly."

"That would be wonderful."

Nadia could already feel her spirits lifting.

Promotion meant a raise.

"What’s your family situation?"

Nadia froze.

This was the question she’d been dreading.

Having a young child wasn’t exactly considered ideal when applying for a job. An employer could easily decide that childcare would interfere with her work.

Still, there was no point lying.

"I’m single. I have... a thirteen-year-old son."

"Hmm."

The interviewer didn’t seem bothered at all.

Instead, they offered Nadia an even more surprising benefit.

"Being a single mother must be difficult. Fortunately, our employee benefits are quite generous. We have a children’s education fund. Once you’ve settled into the company, you can choose to have a small portion of your monthly salary deducted, and we’ll cover your son’s compulsory education."

Nadia’s eyes widened.

"If his grades are good, we can also provide financial assistance for university and further education. Once he graduates, our company will give him priority consideration for employment."

She could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"Of course, this benefit only applies while you remain employed here. If you resign, the funding will stop immediately."

"That’s completely fair. I understand."

Nadia nodded so quickly she nearly looked ridiculous.

"There is one more thing," the interviewer added. "If you need accommodation, we have employee housing available."

Nadia blinked.

"Once your paperwork is completed, you can move in immediately. Utilities are capped, though. Anything beyond the allowance will come out of your own pocket."

Nadia would have happily paid the entire utility bill herself.

There was only one question she cared about.

"Can I bring my son with me?"

"Of course. It will also make transportation to and from school easier."

"That... thank you. Thank you so much."

Nadia didn’t know what else to say.

Everyone said New York was the greatest city in the world.

She was beginning to think it was Heaven.

So far, Nadia couldn’t have been happier with her job.

She worked hard and took her responsibilities seriously.

Gospel kept every promise it had made. Before long, the company arranged Danny’s enrollment and covered most of his educational expenses.

It was only a public school in Queens, but Nadia was already more than satisfied.

Her monthly salary was generous, too.

After taxes, insurance, and the portion of Danny’s tuition she still had to cover, she took home roughly three thousand dollars.

Then, not long afterward, she was promoted to receptionist supervisor.

Her monthly income rose to five thousand dollars.

For someone who had spent so long running for her life, such generous treatment inevitably made Nadia suspicious.

Surely there had to be a catch.

But nothing happened.

Month after month, her work remained perfectly ordinary.

Eventually, she stopped worrying.

There was only one thing about Gospel that she found strange.

The company’s owner seemed almost obsessively concerned with employee health.

Everyone had to undergo regular medical examinations.

Once a month.

And since Gospel was a medical-equipment company, the examinations were conducted inside the building itself.

It was somewhat inconvenient, but compared with the benefits the company offered, Nadia considered it a trivial price to pay.

Besides, free medical checkups weren’t exactly a bad thing.

At least, that was what she thought.

Now, during one of those examinations, Nadia lay motionless on a medical bed.

Her eyes were open.

There was no awareness behind them.

G’nos waved a finger in front of her face and watched her vacant gaze carefully.

The effect had already taken hold.

"We have ten minutes," G’nos said. "Move quickly."

A large medical team immediately got to work.

They inserted an IV into the vein of Nadia’s left hand and began drawing blood.

Another line was connected to her right hand, through which blood was being transfused.

The procedure continued for roughly eight minutes.

Then G’nos suddenly raised a hand.

"The effect is wearing off. Stop the procedure."

The medical personnel immediately withdrew from the equipment.

One of them produced a device resembling a spray bottle and sprayed both of Nadia’s hands.

The needle marks vanished almost instantly.

The medical team gathered the blood and left the room with practiced efficiency.

They moved like people who had done this many times before.

Nadia never noticed.

She was still unconscious.

...