diff --git a/src/shared/agent-hook-listener.test.ts b/src/shared/agent-hook-listener.test.ts
index 09ce99f33a3..f536799d797 100644
--- a/src/shared/agent-hook-listener.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/agent-hook-listener.test.ts
@@ -3221,9 +3221,60 @@ describe('shared agent-hook-listener', () => {
         agent_id: 'a1',
         background_tasks: cappedTasks
       })
+      // Why: the uncapped raw scan still sees hidden-live running — the pane is
+      // truthfully working, never done.
+      expect(stopped?.payload.state).toBe('working')
+    })
+
+    it('claims nothing from a no-lead removal when a truncated inventory shows no live work', () => {
+      claudeEvent({
+        hook_event_name: 'SubagentStart',
+        agent_id: 'a1',
+        agent_type: 'general-purpose'
+      })
+      const teammateOnly = Array.from({ length: 33 }, (_, i) => ({
+        id: `t${i}`,
+        type: 'teammate',
+        status: 'running'
+      }))
+      const stopped = claudeEvent({
+        hook_event_name: 'SubagentStop',
+        agent_id: 'a1',
+        background_tasks: teammateOnly
+      })
       expect(stopped).toBeNull()
     })
 
+    it('resolves a fresh-pane child permission wait whose child dies to done, not phantom working', () => {
+      // Why: the wait is this pane's FIRST lead record; the old no-stash fallback
+      // fabricated 'working' when the waiting child stopped — a stuck card.
+      claudeEvent({
+        hook_event_name: 'PermissionRequest',
+        agent_id: 'w1',
+        agent_type: 'general-purpose',
+        tool_name: 'Bash'
+      })
+      const stopped = claudeEvent({ hook_event_name: 'SubagentStop', agent_id: 'w1' })
+      expect(stopped?.payload.state).toBe('done')
+      expect(stopped?.payload.subagents).toBeUndefined()
+    })
+
+    it('clears restored phantom rows when a no-lead stop carries a complete empty inventory', () => {
+      seedClaudeSubagentRosterFromSnapshots(state, PANE_KEY, [
+        { id: 'a1', state: 'working', startedAt: 1, agentType: 'general-purpose' },
+        { id: 'a2', state: 'working', startedAt: 1, agentType: 'general-purpose' }
+      ])
+      // Why: a2's finish hook was lost while Orca was down; a1's stop reports an
+      // authoritative empty inventory, which must not leave a2 spinning forever.
+      const stopped = claudeEvent({
+        hook_event_name: 'SubagentStop',
+        agent_id: 'a1',
+        background_tasks: []
+      })
+      expect(stopped?.payload.state).toBe('done')
+      expect(stopped?.payload.subagents).toBeUndefined()
+    })
+
     it('keeps working when a no-lead drain leaves a live shell in the inventory', () => {
       claudeEvent({
         hook_event_name: 'SubagentStart',
diff --git a/src/shared/agent-hook-listener.ts b/src/shared/agent-hook-listener.ts
index d1b82f395c8..a5836e32671 100644
--- a/src/shared/agent-hook-listener.ts
+++ b/src/shared/agent-hook-listener.ts
@@ -2478,7 +2478,11 @@ function normalizeClaudeSubagentLifecycleEvent(
           getOrCreateClaudeSubagentRoster(state, paneKey),
           inventory.tasks,
           Date.now(),
-          { inventoryComplete: false }
+          // Why: an empty inventory is complete by construction and proves nothing is left
+          // alive (lead-path rule), clearing restored phantoms; a non-empty one folds
+          // additively — its reap would kill a just-parked teammate row before its
+          // TeammateIdle confirmation arrives.
+          { inventoryComplete: inventory.tasks.length === 0 }
         )
       }
       // Why: a blocked child that dies without another tool event would pin its permission/question wait on the pane forever — nothing else references that agent again.
@@ -2552,7 +2556,14 @@ function clearClaudePendingWaitForAgent(
   if (lead?.state !== 'waiting' || !lead.waitingAgentId || !ownsWait(lead.waitingAgentId)) {
     return
   }
-  state.claudeLeadStateByPaneKey.set(paneKey, lead.stateBeforeWait ?? { state: 'working' })
+  if (lead.stateBeforeWait) {
+    state.claudeLeadStateByPaneKey.set(paneKey, lead.stateBeforeWait)
+    return
+  }
+  // Why: no stash means the wait was this pane's FIRST lead record (child wait on a fresh
+  // process); fabricating 'working' here becomes a stuck card when the waiting child dies —
+  // drop the record and let the evidence rules decide downstream (STA-2915 review).
+  state.claudeLeadStateByPaneKey.delete(paneKey)
 }
 
 /** Clear an AskUserQuestion wait after the answer is typed (answering emits no hook event; the caller infers it from the submit keystroke). Restores the stashed pre-wait lead state or 'working', drops the cached card, and returns the pane state to emit (gated up to 'working' while children run). */
@@ -2580,6 +2591,22 @@ export function clearClaudeAnsweredQuestionWait(
 }
 
 /** Re-emit the lead's cached state on child activity — gated up to 'working' while a child works — without touching the lead's tool/prompt caches, so a live card or permission wait survives child churn. */
+// Why: the roster parser bounds TRACKED rows at the wire cap; this boolean liveness scan of the
+// raw array must still see a running subagent-typed entry hidden past it.
+function rawInventoryHasRunningSubagentTask(hookPayload: Record<string, unknown>): boolean {
+  const raw = hookPayload['background_tasks']
+  return (
+    Array.isArray(raw) &&
+    raw.some((item) => {
+      if (typeof item !== 'object' || item === null) {
+        return false
+      }
+      const task = item as Record<string, unknown>
+      return task.type === 'subagent' && task.status === 'running'
+    })
+  )
+}
+
 function buildClaudeChildDrivenStatusPayload(
   state: HookListenerState,
   eventName: unknown,
@@ -2610,16 +2637,18 @@ function buildClaudeChildDrivenStatusPayload(
     })
   }
   if (evidence.removedRow) {
-    // Why: live shells/crons veto done (the raw-array check is uncapped). A truncated agent-task
-    // inventory is incomplete evidence — a running child past the parser cap would be invisible —
-    // so it claims neither done nor working. Running non-teammate tasks were already folded into
-    // the roster above and surface through the working branch.
-    if (hasActiveClaudeNonAgentBackgroundWork(hookPayload)) {
+    // Why: live shells/crons veto done, and the uncapped raw scan sees a running subagent hidden
+    // past the parser cap (tracked folding surfaces the listed ones through the working branch).
+    if (
+      hasActiveClaudeNonAgentBackgroundWork(hookPayload) ||
+      rawInventoryHasRunningSubagentTask(hookPayload)
+    ) {
       return buildClaudeStatusPayload(state, eventName, '', paneKey, hookPayload, {
         stateName: 'working',
         updateToolSnapshot: false
       })
     }
+    // Why: a truncated inventory with no visible live work is incomplete evidence — claim nothing.
     const inventory = readClaudeBackgroundAgentTasks(hookPayload)
     if (inventory.present && inventory.truncated) {
       return null