Chapter 57. Her Voice on Television

They reached out to Alyssa three times before she finally agreed to appear. Each invitation arrived with polite persistence—emails, phone calls, a formal letter slipped under her gallery door—until the producers of the national late-night institution managed to pierce her resolve. The show itself was a cultural monolith: its crisp, high-contrast sets flickered nightly on millions of screens, its biting interviews dominated water-cooler chatter, and its viral segments shaped headlines for days on end.

Yet despite the program’s history of scandal and spectacle, this time they made it clear they weren’t hunting tabloid drama. What they truly wanted was her: Alyssa Wolfe, artist and survivor, fresh from the triumphant opening of her new exhibit, emboldened by the launch of her art academy, and celebrated for the story of her long, painful, indomitable comeback.

Alyssa considered their proposal carefully. When the producer finally reached her by phone, she asked only one que