51

51 ~Velma’s POV I took a deep breath and let my grandfather see me again, not as the little girl he knew, but as someone who had walked through fire and come out alive. “Grandpa,” I said softly, “Theron… he invested in me when no one else would. The art galleries… they were scared of signing someone like me. They loved my work, yes, but they did not trust the girl behind it. They wanted proof, someone who had a name, a background, someone they could hold accountable. I was… nothing to them but a drawing with no face. I was so devastated. I thought maybe my talent would die before anyone saw it.” Grandpa’s eyes softened. He had seen a lot in his time, but I think he still could not imagine what it felt like to be invisible in the world that claimed to celebrate talent. “I was scared,”