diff --git a/gateway/run.py b/gateway/run.py
index 93ef09b73d..c35593ab8b 100644
--- a/gateway/run.py
+++ b/gateway/run.py
@@ -2986,6 +2986,7 @@ from gateway.session import (
     SessionStore,
     SessionSource,
     SessionContext,
+    TranscriptReadError,
     build_session_context,
     build_session_context_prompt,
     build_channel_continuity_note,
@@ -20867,8 +20868,23 @@ class GatewayRunner(GatewayAuthorizationMixin, GatewayKanbanWatchersMixin, Gatew
         # began processing if the gateway died while it was still waiting.
         await self._mark_durable_active_turn(event, session_entry.session_key)
 
-        # Load conversation history from transcript
-        history = await self.async_session_store.load_transcript(session_entry.session_id)
+        # Load conversation history from transcript. An unreadable canonical
+        # store is not an empty conversation: stop before the agent can invent
+        # continuity from a plausible-looking []. This return happens before
+        # the broad cleanup finally below, so restore task-local context here;
+        # the outer dispatch still clears the durable marker and turn lease.
+        try:
+            history = await self.async_session_store.load_transcript(
+                session_entry.session_id
+            )
+        except TranscriptReadError:
+            self._clear_session_env(_session_env_tokens)
+            return (
+                "⚠️ This session's history is temporarily unavailable, so "
+                "this message was not processed. Ask the operator to inspect "
+                "state.db, then resend after it is healthy. Use /reset only "
+                "if you intentionally want to start a new conversation."
+            )
         
         # -----------------------------------------------------------------
         # Session hygiene: auto-compress pathologically large transcripts
diff --git a/gateway/session.py b/gateway/session.py
index 568322d83f..a6c76bb3d4 100644
--- a/gateway/session.py
+++ b/gateway/session.py
@@ -23,6 +23,14 @@ from typing import Dict, List, Optional, Any
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
+class TranscriptReadError(RuntimeError):
+    """Raised when persisted history cannot be read safely."""
+
+    def __init__(self, session_id: str) -> None:
+        self.session_id = session_id
+        super().__init__(f"transcript read failed for session {session_id}")
+
+
 def _now() -> datetime:
     """Return the current local time."""
     return datetime.now()
@@ -4400,15 +4408,17 @@ class SessionStore:
                 session_id, repair_alternation=True
             )
         except Exception as e:
-            # A failed read must be distinguishable from an empty transcript:
-            # downstream guards treat [] as "nothing persisted" and may make
-            # routing decisions on it (#82616). WARNING, not DEBUG.
-            logger.warning(
-                "Transcript read failed for session %s (returning empty; "
-                "downstream must not treat this as data loss): %s",
-                session_id, e,
+            # Empty history is valid data; a failed canonical read is not.
+            # Preserve that distinction so live-replay callers can fail closed
+            # instead of starting the model with a plausible-looking [].
+            logger.error(
+                "Transcript read failed for session %s; refusing to treat the "
+                "conversation as empty: %s",
+                session_id,
+                e,
+                exc_info=True,
             )
-            return []
+            raise TranscriptReadError(session_id) from e
 
     def rewind_session(
         self,
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_42039_duplicate_user_message.py b/tests/gateway/test_42039_duplicate_user_message.py
index 13a73181f6..3ddc30d90e 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_42039_duplicate_user_message.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_42039_duplicate_user_message.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import pytest
 import gateway.run as gateway_run
 from gateway.config import GatewayConfig, Platform
 from gateway.platforms.base import MessageEvent
-from gateway.session import SessionEntry, SessionSource
+from gateway.session import SessionEntry, SessionSource, TranscriptReadError
 
 
 def _bootstrap(monkeypatch, tmp_path):
@@ -185,6 +185,24 @@ async def test_not_new_messages_skip_db_when_agent_has_session_db(
     )
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_transcript_read_failure_stops_turn_before_agent_or_append(
+    monkeypatch, tmp_path
+):
+    runner = _bootstrap(monkeypatch, tmp_path)
+    runner.session_store.load_transcript.side_effect = TranscriptReadError("sess-dedup")
+    runner._run_agent = AsyncMock()
+
+    response = await runner._handle_message_with_agent(
+        _event(), _source(), "agent:main:telegram:group:-1001:12345", 1
+    )
+
+    assert "history is temporarily unavailable" in response
+    assert "not processed" in response
+    runner._run_agent.assert_not_awaited()
+    runner.session_store.append_to_transcript.assert_not_called()
+
+
 # ── Post-stream MEDIA delivery keeps prior-turn deduplication ──────────
 
 
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_session_continuity_82616.py b/tests/gateway/test_session_continuity_82616.py
index d99bccfa77..7f9a498dc6 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_session_continuity_82616.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_session_continuity_82616.py
@@ -201,6 +201,28 @@ class TestPeerResolutionRecency:
 
 
 class TestLoadTranscriptReroutes:
+    def test_load_transcript_raises_when_message_read_fails(self, tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+        from gateway.session import SessionStore, TranscriptReadError
+
+        from gateway.config import GatewayConfig
+
+        store = SessionStore(sessions_dir=tmp_path / "gw-failed-read", config=GatewayConfig())
+        db = store._db
+        assert db is not None
+        monkeypatch.setattr(db, "get_compression_tip", lambda _session_id: None)
+
+        def _malformed(_session_id, *, repair_alternation):
+            assert repair_alternation is True
+            raise RuntimeError("database disk image is malformed")
+
+        monkeypatch.setattr(db, "get_messages_as_conversation", _malformed)
+
+        with pytest.raises(TranscriptReadError) as exc_info:
+            store.load_transcript("existing-session")
+
+        assert exc_info.value.session_id == "existing-session"
+        assert isinstance(exc_info.value.__cause__, RuntimeError)
+
     def test_load_transcript_follows_reroute_chain(self, tmp_path):
         from gateway.session import SessionStore