Window Dressing Of Financial Account Is Fraudulent Accounting Essay Example For Students

Window Dressing Of Financial Account Is Fraudulent Accounting Essay Harmonizing to Wikipedia Online accounting is the art of pass oning fiscal information about a concern entity to users such as stockholders and directors . The Law of commercialism provinces that concern administration must objectively enter the histories of the concern administration. These Torahs besides province histories must be clear and stand for a just and true record of the fiscal personal businesss of a concern ; these Torahs besides put in topographic point ordinances on distinguishable ways in which a concern administration can show their histories. Corporate direction have some discretion in act uponing We will write a custom essay on Window Dressing Of Financial Account Is Fraudulent Accounting specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now the happening, measuring and coverage of these points.In contrast legal agencies can be adopted by concern administrations in order to pull strings their histories as to paint a different fiscal picture.A A This can merely be referred as window dressing. A Harmonizing to Your Dictionary window dressing is an accommodation made to a portfolio or fiscal statement to make a more positive visual aspect than is really the instance. For illustration, a director may make up ones mind to supply window dressing to a portfolio by selling stock that has declined in value and replacing it with stock that has increased in value . By making this the director creates the feeling of a successful portfolio direction. In short, WD is a fiscal statement use or window dressing where frauds are camouflaged by exaggerating the income or minimizing the disbursals or understating liabilities and exaggerating assets. Tutor2u see window dressing as a signifier of accounting affecting the use of figures to blandish the fiscal the fiscal place of the concern . The focal point of window dressing: Liquidity concealing a deteriorating liquidness place Profitability massaging net income figures Outline1 The Importance of Window Dressing2 Advantages of Window Dressing3 Examples of window dressing in Indian Companies:4 . The Importance of Window Dressing To acquire congratulations from portion holders and possible portion holders the history book must be decently percentaed and do good to the general populace as observed in the instance A.B.B ( Asia, Bovia and Brown ) Incorporated US this building house along side with enron presented to the general populace for 10 old ages a positive history balance even though they were in ruddy and their portions and stock were the toast of the US before the bubble. Similarly, window dressing is of import to enable the house to raise present and future capital from the stock market given their positive history balance as in the instance of Intercontential bank and pelagic bank severally in Nigeria who were rated AA+ by international recognition evaluation companies where as they were in the forests. Window dressing is similar to asymmetric information in which a party has better information than the other. To sell a hailing company it must be window appareled otherwise no prospective purchaser will come. Besides to avoid revenue enhancement payment a house may show a hapless fiscal return or place to the general populace to technically hedge payments of revenue enhancement. This is achieved by distotinting the balance sheet of the house. Advantages of Window Dressing The advantages of window dressing is similar to the importance of window dressing in the sense that the house is able to accomplish what its taking to accomplish without running poultry of the jurisprudence. The punishment for window dressing is mild except where it is non decently done as in the instance of Enron where the proprietor was jailed for more than 36 old ages even though Enron has achieved what it wanted to accomplish. Furthermore it cost less to window frock than taking a loan for concern enlargement merely because it involves with internal running of the house. .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 , .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .postImageUrl , .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 , .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6:hover , .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6:visited , .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6:active { border:0!important; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6:active , .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6 .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc93bdee64c6df759b40de4fc4e8f52c6:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The core EssayDisadvantages of Window Dressing Examples of window dressing in Indian Companies: 1. Tata Motors transferred 24 % interest in Tata Automotive Components ( TACO ) , a company with gross of $ 675 in FY07, to Tata Capital, a group company, and booked a net income of Rs 110 crore in Q1 FY09. Management declined to unwrap the rating methodological analysis. Tata Motors besides changed its methodological analysis for ciphering commissariats for dubious receivables, which resulted in higher reported Ebitda to the extent of Rs 50.7 crore ( 10 % of Ebitda ) . 2. TCS, the package major, increased its depreciation policy on computing machines from two old ages to four old ages. As a consequence, Q1 FY09 PBT was higher by an estimated Rs 50 crore ( 4 % of net net income in 1QFY09 ) . TCS followed cash-flow hedge accounting and boulder clay FY08, it used to recognize fudging additions on effectual hedges in its gross line, therefore hiking the reported gross growing and Ebit border. In FY08, TCS had Rs 421crore from fudging additions, of which, Rs 137 crore was included in the gross line. However, from Q1 FY09, TCS is expected to describe all forex losses/gains below the Ebit line in other income. Therefore, the losingss it had on its hedge place will no longer be booked in the operating line. 3. Jet Airways, changed its depreciation policy from WDV to SLM, and thereby wrote back Rs 920 crore into its P A ; L, which helped the company to describe net incomes during the one-fourth. It besides helped Jet to describe a higher net worth, which will assist in maintaining reported pitching low. 4. Dr Reddy s adjusted grade to market losingss ( Q1 FY08 ) on outstanding $ 250 million of hedges in the balance sheet, while P A ; L reflects forex additions realised. 5. Reliance Communications adjusted short-run quarterly fluctuations in foreign exchange rates related to liabilities and adoptions to the transporting cost of fixed assets. The company adjusted Rs 109 crore of accomplished and Rs 955 crore of unfulfilled forex losingss in the above mode. In add-on, the company has non recognised Rs 399 crore of interlingual rendition losingss on FCCBs, since the FCCBs can potentially acquire converted, although the FCCBs are out of money. Adjusted for all the above, the company would hold virtually no net incomes in Q1 FY09. Bibliography and Reference Stimpson P. ( 2002 ) , AS and A degree Business Studies. Cambridge University imperativeness Dave.H, Jones.R.C, Andertain. A, ( 1993 ) Business Studies ( 4th edition ) . Pearson Education Edinburgh .

Victimization of Women in Society with Regard to Anita Nair, S Ladiescoupe Essays

Victimization of Women in Society with Regard to Anita Nair, S Ladiescoupe Essays Victimization of Women in Society with Regard to Anita Nair, S Ladiescoupe Essay Victimization of Women in Society with Regard to Anita Nair, S Ladiescoupe Essay etc. , shrink from grandeur to petty profit-taking. (48) The question ‘Who conquered whom’ melts into insignificance: â€Å"history is written by victors, but in the case of India, it’s not always clear who won, is it? 90) It is that both the victor (West) and the vanquished (East) mutually enriched the sensibility of the two cultures. It is a strange divine coincidence that John Mist’s creation of the â€Å"Mist-Nama† and â€Å"Mishtigunj† is along a line which the ancient tradition of India endorses. The discovery of such a wonderful treasure is made possible by the research work of an Indian immigrant in America, Tara. Both John Mist and Tara are in a way immigrants. The philosophical axiom is that cultures are not fixed entities like â€Å"quantity. Naturally ‘being’ and’ becoming’ are not static. The mutations have repercussions. Though the word Ã¢â‚¬Ë œbeing’ created a misleading picture of fixity and permanence, it has the character of fabric. The British conquest of India forms the context of the new in which these issues are raised indirectly. The history of Mishtigunj created by British Hindu John Mist puts obstacles in the way of glibly accepting the two categories ‘being’ and ‘becoming’. What determines history is not its concern with outward form but the ‘inner implications’ is which it unconsciously creates. It is this history which has created a martyr, John Mist. Tara Lata Gangooly represents the best of the East and her predecessor John Mist represents both the best of the East and the best of the West. Characters like Virgil Treadwell are more concerned with the British form and decorum than with the essence of life. Both John Mist and Tara Lata Gangooly live at a deeper level while men like Virgil Treadwell move on a superficial plane. There are many places where Virgil Treadwell is compared to Churchill and Nixon and he is satirized subtly. Both John Mist and Tara Lata died a martyr’s death. The former was hanged in 1880 on a charge of disobedience of the British Colonial venture and the latter died in a prison in 1943 on the same charges of treason, sedition and disobedience. These events and situations by themselves are utterly insignificant. But the effect and impact they leave have a lasting value. It is this fact which enable the readers arrives at a philosophical link between being and becoming both is that the reality of life permits a movement between being and becoming. Liking John Mist, Tara Lata, Virgil and their life styles lead the leader draw an intelligent interference events and circumstances keeps them in a state of transition and transformation. It is a great achievement on the part of the novelist to aim at an imaginative-historical reconstruction of Mishtigunj. Bharathi Mukherjee is not a thoughless immigrant. Her loyalty to the essence of life gives her a new responsibility to rephrase the issue of the contact and correlation between being and becoming.

How to Write a Graduate School Acceptance Letter

How to Write a Graduate School Acceptance Letter Youve  applied to graduate schools, and lo and behold, youve been accepted to the program of your dreams. You may think youre all set and you need only  pack your  bags, book a flight or load your car, and head out to grad school. But, you need to take one more step to ensure your position at the school will be open and ready for you when you arrive: Youll need to write an acceptance letter. Admissions officers have to be sure that you are ready to attend; otherwise, they will likely give your spot to another candidate. Before Writing Your Letter or Email Your graduate school applications were just the first step. Maybe you received  several  offers of admission, maybe not. Either way, remember to share the good news with friends and family first. Dont forget to thank your mentors and people who wrote  recommendation letters on your behalf. You want to maintain your educational and professional contacts as your academic career progresses. Writing Your Reply Most grad programs notify applicants of their acceptance- or rejection- by email or phone, although a few still send formal letters by mail. Regardless of how youre notified, dont immediately say yes. This is especially important if the good news comes in a phone call. Thank the caller, likely a professor, and explain that you will reply soon. Dont worry: You wont suddenly have your acceptance revoked if you briefly delay. Most programs give accepted students a window of a few days- or even up to a week or two- to decide. Once youve had a chance to digest the good news and consider your options, its time to write your graduate school acceptance letter. You can respond via a letter that you send through the mail or you can reply by email. In either case, your response should be short, respectful, and clearly indicate your decision. Sample Acceptance Letter or Email Feel free to use the sample letter or email below. Simply replace the name of the professor, admissions officer, or admissions committee of the school as appropriate: Dear Dr. Smith (or Admissions Committee): I am writing to accept your offer to enroll in the X program at [graduate university]. Thank you, and I appreciate your time and consideration during the admissions process. I look forward to attending your program this fall and am excited by the opportunities that await. Sincerely, Rebecca R. Student Though your correspondence seemingly states the obvious, it is very important that you make it clear that you intend to enroll in the graduate program. And, being polite- such as saying thank you- is always important in any official correspondence. Before You Send the Letter or Email As you would with any important correspondence, take the time to reread your letter or email before you send it. Ensure that it doesnt have any misspellings or grammatical errors. Once youre satisfied with your acceptance letter, send it. If youve been accepted into more than one grad program, youve still got some homework to do. Youll need to write a letter declining an offer of admissions  to each of the programs you rejected. As with your acceptance letter, make it short, direct, and respectful.

An essay on harriot story Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

An on harriot story - Essay Example Still, the reader is struck by the detail, and the effort to be accurate, so Harriot becomes an auditor of all he surveyed. His words, although spelled inconsistently (as was then quite common) and phrased awkwardly, are not very hard to understand even from this distance in time. Remembering this man wrote with a quill and ink, with only available light, it amazes with quality of detail and recall: this is not a quick method such as typing, but a laborious hand task. It gave him time to think and consider his words carefully, which modern readers, who are used to backspacing and cutting and pasting, highlighting and copying to edit, must respect for its results. It is a clear and concise report. A student must deal with distracting words such as thereof, hereafter and wherein to get at the core of the communication, and also remember that although it is early history of the United States of America, this was an Englishman writing in the English language of the day and according to English custom and usage. What strikes the reader immediately is the point Harriot makes about using the discovered ‘country’ for making money for England: his eye was mainly on the financial and physical benefits available. His aim, and the aim of those he wrote to was to ‘... enrich your selves the providers.’ This is not a cultural expedition, where they did everything they could to find out about the ‘natural inhabitants’. The ir intention was strictly financial: to accumulate wealth and resources for England. The list of resources is very interesting, and shows how advanced England was in a scientific sense in the mid-1500s. They knew all about extracting metallic ores, and Harriot’s understanding of what could be done with certain plants and natural products is excellent, which is probably why he was sent out in the first place. (Baym Ibid) It seems a bit confronting at first to find the report so exploitative: the intention was to use one

Any controversial issue of interest to explore Essay

Any controversial issue of interest to explore - Essay Example Some of the well known social media platforms include Facebook, Google+, Wikipedia, Linkedln, Twitter, Pinterest among others. The use of social media as a means of propagating information has attracted divergent views and opinions as some argue in its favour while some feel that social media is not a proper tool for sharing thoughts and other information. Those who are against the use of social media have defended their line of thought on a number of factors which include the fact that social networking reduces face-to-face interaction. The autonomy associated with the virtual world allows people to create a lot of fantasy persona or pretending to be someone else. It thus creates a means through which some people can avoid the realities of life leading to increased cases of mistrust. Someone can easily block or cut off the flow of communication from another person whom they may not share similar views and opinions. Online communication is a tool towards crippling the development of social skills and conflict resolution strategies. Negative opinions toward social media have been supported by the fact that it is a means of fraud or identity theft. The information sent on social media platform can be accessed by anyone who has interest in it even those to whom it was not intended to reach. The information is subject to different interpretations and misunderstanding (Wankel, 34). The aspect of sharing personal information puts people at risk of being defrauded as some criminals have mastered the act of stealing personal details. Hacking presents a major weakness of social media as evident by the increasing cases of accounts and profiles of people being hacked. This leads to serious misdemeanor of identity theft and the process does not need on to be very techno-savvy to be successful but just a little knowledge in technology. Sensitive information such as passwords,

Should the Drinking Age be Lowered? Essay -- Law, Sociology

Although exceptions to every generality exist, alcohol is usually present in most gathering where adults are also in attendance. If one really examines the idea, alcohol is usually at every social event even if adults are not. At this point it would probably be important to know who actually is considered to be an adult. From country to country the answer varies but in the United States of America anyone of the age of eighteen is liable and treated just like adults of any age. Consequently, one could say that the previous statement is technically, in the majority of circumstances, incorrect in that when alcohol is around so are adults. When mentioned in such a way, nothing seems to be out of place except that in the United States the legal alcohol consumption age is twenty-one. There are not many sides one may take when contemplating this alcohol consumption law, one is either for it or against it. Many believe that if the drinking age is lowered it should rightfully be lowered to eighteen. These individuals have a number of reasons to support their ideology. John McCardell Jr. is one of those individuals and actually developed a complete organization in 2006 known as Choose Responsibility that promotes his philosophy (Cloud). McCardell Jr. is the head of Middlebury College and believes eighteen to twenty year olds should be eligible to consume alcoholic beverages as long as they are licensed (Cloud). To receive this license one must first complete a course that is around forty-two hours long and consists of the explanations of the chemistry, history, psychology, and sociology of alcohol that may include AA, alcoholics anonymous, meetings (Cloud). McCardell Jr., along with others, also believes that if one is considered an a... ...at can be done to minimize all the problems alcohol provides; I think the first step in assimilating a similar attitude is by education and through example from older adults to young adults. Maybe McCardell’s forty-two hour course of everything one should know to fully understand the results of consuming alcohol would be beneficial for the general public. With that being said the age should still remain twenty-one and adults should not be one-hundred percent intolerable towards teens that might have slipped some alcohol by, after all who has not broken a rule here and there? I believe if a little ignorance is given to the provocation it will disappear. Works Cited Cloud, John. "Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered?" Time.com. Time US, 06 June 2008. Web. 05 Feb. 2012. Scrivo, Karen Lee. "Drinking on Campus." CQ Researcher 20 Mar. 1998: 241-64. Web. 5 Feb. 2012.

Succubus Revealed Chapter 11

It was hard leaving Seth's side in the morning. We'd had too few nights together recently, and each day that passed only served to remind me I was that much closer to the transfer. Lying in his arms, watching him sleep in the early sunlight, I thought back to what he'd said about Andrea getting better. If that was true, if she was healing, then there was a chance the ties keeping Seth here might lessen. I felt selfish even thinking that way, but surely it wasn't too terrible a thing to wish we could all get a happy ending. After a leisurely breakfast, Seth and I went over to the Mortensens'. He was on babysitting duty while Andrea went to a doctor's appointment, and I was there to pick up Brandy. Chaos met us at the door, and Brandy practically flew outside, breathless and laughing. â€Å"Don't go in there,† she warned me, after I gave Seth a quick kiss good-bye. She and I headed toward my car. â€Å"It's crazy. Mom and Dad slept in, and Grandma let Kendall and the twins ‘help' with breakfast.† â€Å"What are they making?† â€Å"Waffles,† she said. â€Å"From scratch. I don't know which was scarier: Kendall mixing the batter or Morgan and McKenna on duty with the waffle iron. They set the smoke detector off twice.† I couldn't help but laugh as I pulled out of the driveway. â€Å"And you and Kayla didn't help?† â€Å"No way,† Brandy replied. â€Å"I stayed away from that mess, and Kayla was in one of her silent moods today.† â€Å"Aw.† I kind of wished now that I'd taken a moment to go inside. Tiny Kayla had a special place in my heart. Though she was better than she used to be, she still had a tendency to simply watch her world without a word, and it could be difficult coaxing conversation from her. Some of this was shyness, and some of this – I suspected – was from the fact that Kayla was psychic. Her skills were still undeveloped, but she was sensitive to the workings of the supernatural world, which I had to imagine would make anyone of any age silent at times. â€Å"She'll be fine. She loves waffles.† Brandy smiled, and I was happy to see her so upbeat for a change. She shouldered just as much stress as the adults. â€Å"If any actually get made.† We drove downtown, and I quizzed Brandy about what she was looking for in a dress. She had little to offer, which was both charming and kind of heartbreaking. Brandy wasn't a tomboy, but with all of her family drama, dresses had been understandably off her radar. In fact, when her face lit up at all the downtown lights and decorations, it became clear that family had really been the only thing in her life recently. â€Å"I haven't seen any of the holiday stuff this year,† she told me, gazing out the windows. A pang in my heart reminded me that this would be my last year to see Seattle in all its holiday finery. â€Å"We usually always come down here so that the girls can see Santa. There's been no time.† â€Å"The girls haven't seen Santa?† I asked, snapping out of my moment of self-pity. â€Å"That's not fair, especially considering I see a little too much of him.† It made me wonder how many drinks it would take to coax Walter into a house call. It also convinced me more than ever to make this a special day for Brandy. I couldn't expect her not to worry about her mom, but today, with Andrea on the mend and Seattle's shopping wonderland ready to explore, Brandy was entitled to worry just a little less than usual. She deserved to think about herself. I took her on a whirlwind tour of designer stores, chastising her for looking at price tags. I wanted this to be about more than the dress itself. I wanted her to have an experience, to feel like a princess. I made sure the salespeople were falling all over themselves to help her, which wasn't always so easy to do at such a busy time of the year. Brandy's radiant expression told me it was worth the effort, and we finally hit gold at our third store, finding what was unquestionably the dress. It was made of dark pink satin wrapped around to create a sheath silhouette that could still show off her figure without being pornographically tight. Satin flowers near the top added a whimsical edge, and the straps and knee-length made me feel it wouldn't get her kicked out of a church function. We spent the next hour finding the perfect shoes and jewelry for it, and although each new purchase clearly made her uneasy, she stopped questioning me about the cost. She didn't know about Margaret's f unding, but it had long since been spent. Exhausted and triumphant with our purchases, we went to lunch at an Italian restaurant frequented by other ladies of leisure. It was inside a larger, elegant shopping complex, and just as we were about to enter the restaurant, I saw a familiar face emerge from a nearby store. Something in my chest clenched, and I spoke before I could help myself. â€Å"Doug!† It took him a moment to figure out who'd called to him. When he did, a series of emotions played over his face. I wondered then how the encounter would have been different if Brandy hadn't been there. Would he have even acknowledged me? Maybe. Maybe not. But Brandy's presence guaranteed politeness. No matter how angry Doug might be at me, he wouldn't snub her. â€Å"Kincaid,† he said, strolling over to us. â€Å"And little Brandy. How's it going?† â€Å"Good,† she said cheerfully. The two of them, I realized, could have been related if Seth and Maddie had ended up getting married. The weird fallout from their breakup hadn't had as big an effect on Brandy as the rest of us, though, and she was genuinely happy to see him. â€Å"We're shopping.† He favored her with a smile, and I wondered if he was avoiding eye contact with me. â€Å"Last minute Christmas gifts?† he asked. â€Å"Not a chance,† I said. â€Å"This is all for Brandy. She's going to a dance tonight.† â€Å"Oh, I see how it is,† he said. â€Å"Getting ready to break some hearts for the holidays, huh?† She turned bright red. â€Å"No! It's at my church!† Teasing girls was familiar and easy territory for Doug. â€Å"Yeah?† he said, forcibly keeping a straight face. â€Å"Then why are you blushing? Church boys' hearts break just as easily as us sinners', you know. I'm sure you'll leave a trail of hundreds in your wake.† â€Å"No,† she protested. â€Å"Not hundreds – â€Å" â€Å"Just one?† he asked slyly. Brandy looked to me for help, and I laughed. â€Å"I knew there was someone.† â€Å"You guys are terrible,† she said, though she didn't look that upset. â€Å"Can I go put our name on the list?† â€Å"Sure,† I said, still laughing. But the instant she was inside the restaurant, Doug's playful manner vanished. â€Å"Well, I've got to go,† he said, starting to turn away. â€Å"Wait, Doug, I . . .† He looked back at me, but I was at a loss. What could I say? That I was sorry for sleeping with his sister's fiance? That I was sorry for lying to all of them and breaking her heart? How could you apologize for something like that? â€Å"It . . . it was good to see you,† I said at last. â€Å"You too,† he said, though he didn't sound convincing. He nodded toward the restaurant. â€Å"And her. I hope she has fun.† â€Å"Me too. She deserves it, what with everything else going on.† He had attempted to leave again, but my words made him pause. â€Å"How's her mom?† I shrugged. â€Å"Good days and bad days. It's up and down. . . . sometimes it seems hopeless, sometimes it's like everything's fixed. Wreaks havoc on everyone. . . . you just can't assume anything, you know? She's having some good days right now, but it's been a hard road for all of them. We just never know what's going to happen next and have to hang in there as best we can. I'm trying to help, but I don't know. . . . I don't feel like it's enough. But what could be?† I promptly shut up, realizing I was rambling. Doug said nothing, his dark eyes studying me for several heavy seconds. Then, his gaze shifted to Brandy, speaking to the hostess, for a few more moments before returning to me. â€Å"You're a good person, Kincaid,† he said softly. And this time, he did leave. Nothing else he might have said could have surprised me more. In all the imagined conversations I'd had with Doug, I'd expected frigid politeness at best – and that had seemed like a long shot. More often than not, I'd envisioned him telling me terrible, hurtful things, things I deserved. As much as a secret part of me yearned for him to forgive me so that we could be friends again, I really didn't think I deserved that forgiveness. I watched him walk away until Brandy stuck her head out from the restaurant door and called that they had a table. Despite how pensive my meeting with Doug left me, I was still able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon with Brandy. We were both in good spirits when we arrived back at the Mortensen home, and mine soared even higher when I saw Seth's car in the driveway. I hurried inside, eager to see him, only to have my mood shatter when I saw his face. Margaret and Terry wore similar expressions. Brandy, normally so observant, was too keyed up over her purchases to notice that there had been a significant mood shift in the house, compared to the bubbly chaos of this morning. â€Å"We had such a great time,† Brandy told them, face shining. â€Å"I got the best dress.† Margaret gave her a tight smile. â€Å"Why don't you try it on for us?† Brandy didn't need to be told twice, and Kendall and the twins followed her uproariously to the bedroom, offering to â€Å"help.† The instant they were gone, I turned to the adults. â€Å"What happened?† â€Å"Bad prognosis at the doctor's,† said Seth, when no one else spoke right away. â€Å"But she was improving,† I argued. I looked at them all for confirmation. â€Å"Right?† â€Å"We thought so,† said Terry. â€Å"At the very least, she seemed to be feeling better. But in these situations . . . well, cancer tricks you that way. It's why people go so long without ever knowing they have it. She woke up feeling bad this morning, and the doctor confirmed our fears.† I was kind of in awe at how calmly he managed to deliver that. I wasn't sure I could have without breaking down. Honestly, I didn't know how he'd been able to handle any of this with as much strength and determination as he had. If this were happening to the love of my life, I was pretty sure I'd crawl into in a corner and cry. Or would I? Looking at Seth, at those beloved features and compassionate expression, I suddenly knew that wasn't true. If the one I loved needed my strength, then I would give all I had within me. â€Å"We're not telling Brandy yet,† said Seth. â€Å"We're not going to keep it from her, but we figured it would be best to wait until after tonight.† I nodded slowly, having no words. I was usually so quick with a quip or soothing line, but what response could I make to that? Especially when, moments later, Brandy came bounding back down the stairs in the pink dress. Each twin held a shoe, and Kendall carried the glittering chandelier earrings we'd found just before lunch. I was reminded of Cinderella's mouse retainers. Brandy's tastes had been foremost in my mind while shopping, but I'd also had half an eye on what I thought her family would approve of in fashion. As she spun around for them, however, I realized it didn't matter. I could've brought her home in rags, and they would've loved it so long as she wore the look of radiance on her face that she did now. That was what sold it, one spot of pure joy in the dark cloud that kept hanging over this family. The adults were too overcome with emotion to speak, so Kendall did it for us. â€Å"Doesn't she look like a princess?† She kept trying to smooth nonexistent wrinkles out of the skirt, much to Brandy's dismay. â€Å"I want a dress like this.† Morgan sat down on the floor and tried to forcibly push the shoe on Brandy's foot while she still stood, furthering my Cinderella images. McKenna joined in as well, and both nearly succeeded in knocking their older sister over. â€Å"Well?† Brandy laughed. â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"It's beautiful,† said Margaret. â€Å"You're beautiful,† said Terry. Having successfully dislodged the twins, Brandy stepped into the shoes, flushing under the praise of her family. â€Å"I hope I don't fall in these. How stupid would that look?† â€Å"I don't think anything could make you look stupid,† said Seth. â€Å"You're perfect from head to toe.† â€Å"Okay, you guys,† said Brandy, growing embarrassed. â€Å"Now you're just pushing it.† The â€Å"head to toe† comment suddenly reminded me of something. â€Å"Oh. I won't be here to do your hair. I have to go to work soon.† At that moment, calling in sick seemed like a reasonable idea. Nothing seemed more important than giving her a perfect night. â€Å"That's okay,† said Brandy. â€Å"I can do it. Or maybe Mom can.† â€Å"She's been kind of tired today,† said Terry neutrally. â€Å"But I know she'll want to see you before you leave.† â€Å"I can do a French twist,† said Margaret, surprising us all. â€Å"If you want to wear it up.† â€Å"Will you show me?† asked Brandy. Margaret nodded. â€Å"Sure, let's go upstairs.† Before they did, Brandy paused to give me a giant hug. â€Å"Thank you so much, Georgina. For everything.† They went upstairs, followed by the littler girls, all of whom thought there was nothing so wonderful as dressing up their older sister. Actually, I realized, that wasn't entirely true. Not all of them felt that way. â€Å"Where's Kayla?† I asked. She hadn't been in the entourage. Terry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, in a way similar to what I'd often seen Seth do. â€Å"In the living room, I think. She's been out of sorts today. Sometimes I think she can figure out what's going on, even when we don't tell her.† With Kayla's abilities, I didn't doubt it was true. I remembered Brandy saying Kayla had been in a â€Å"silent mood† since this morning and wondered just how much of her mother's illness the little girl was in tune with. I left the brothers to seek her out and found her curled up in a corner of the overstuffed sofa, making herself so small that she was almost lost in the cushions. â€Å"Hey, you,† I said, sitting down beside her. â€Å"How's it going? Don't you want to see Brandy's dress?† Kayla shifted her face, looking at me with huge blue eyes. â€Å"Georgina,† she said. â€Å"You have to make it stay away.† My thoughts were on the dress, so it took a moment for me to follow what she was saying. â€Å"Make what stay away, honey?† â€Å"The Darkness.† There was something in the way she said the word that let me know she wasn't referring to shadows. When she said â€Å"Darkness,† I could feel the personification in her word, the looming threat of something – or someone – tangible. With a pang, I remembered that Kayla had been able to sense Nyx when she'd escaped her angelic captors. I leaned toward Kayla, glad Seth and Terry were preoccupied. â€Å"Kayla, are you talking about . . . about the creature you felt before? The one you could sense on me?† Nyx's return would be a complication I most certainly didn't need in my life right now. She shook her head. â€Å"A different one. The Darkness comes here, to my house. To see my mommy. Will you make it go away?† â€Å"Is it here now?† I asked uneasily. â€Å"No. Just sometimes.† â€Å"How many times?† Kayla thought about it. â€Å"Two.† A cold feeling crept over me. â€Å"Was last night one of those times?† She nodded. â€Å"Have you seen it?† I asked her. â€Å"No. But I feel it. I can tell where it's at when it's here.† She peered at me beseechingly. â€Å"Will you make it stop?† I had no clue what this Darkness was or what I could do to stop it, but theories were running wild in my head. I kissed her forehead. â€Å"I'll do what I can, baby. I promise. I've got to leave now, but I'll see what I can find out for you, okay? We'll make sure the Darkness doesn't come back.† Like the flip of a switch, Kayla's whole demeanor changed. Whereas she'd been sad and withdrawn moments ago, she was now beaming and hopeful. All that faith – in me. With my empty assurance to take on something I didn't understand, she was able to put aside all of her fears and worries. All was right in her world now, thanks to me. She put her arms around me and kissed me back, and I felt like my heart would break when I finally untangled myself from her. Holiday cheer was calling, as well as a burning need to suddenly talk to Roman. Seeing as how we kept missing each other lately, I sent him a text with a reminder of when I'd be home tonight and that I had important information for him. He was so caught up in his conspiracy theories that I wasn't sure if he'd want to make time for what he'd probably see as a little girl's fantasies. Kayla's perceptions – despite her difficulties in articulating them – had proven accurate before. I didn't know what she was sensing this time, but if there was a force inside the Mortensen household, I intended to stop it.