diff --git a/src/services/unified-session-service.ts b/src/services/unified-session-service.ts
index 5d4fa134..6eaf5545 100644
--- a/src/services/unified-session-service.ts
+++ b/src/services/unified-session-service.ts
@@ -226,6 +226,16 @@ export function mergeUnifiedSessions(sources: UnifiedSources): UnifiedSessionIte
   // different UUID. Backfill from the already-passed history: first try the claudeSessionId
   // join, then the newest transcript in the same workingDir. Never overwrite a non-empty
   // firstPrompt (so rows keyed to their own transcript are untouched).
+  //
+  // The workingDir guess is a last resort and MUST be skipped for any item that
+  // already has its own 'history' entry (step 1 above already gave it a real,
+  // direct scan of its own transcript). Without this guard, a history row whose
+  // OWN extraction genuinely failed (oversized first message, etc.) silently
+  // inherited the newest OTHER session's opening line from the same directory —
+  // not a blank, but actively wrong: old sessions displayed today's conversation
+  // as if it were their own. A row with no 'history' source at all (its
+  // transcript hasn't been linked/scanned under its own id yet) has no such
+  // direct attempt to prefer, so the guess remains a reasonable stand-in there.
   const firstPromptByUuid = new Map<string, string>();
   const firstPromptByWorkingDir = new Map<string, { prompt: string; ms: number }>();
   // COD-145: lastPrompt rides the same backfill (build parallel indexes; never overwrite).
@@ -254,12 +264,13 @@ export function mergeUnifiedSessions(sources: UnifiedSources): UnifiedSessionIte
     }
   }
   for (const item of map.values()) {
+    const hasOwnHistoryEntry = item.sources.includes('history');
     if (!item.firstPrompt) {
       // never overwrite an existing non-empty prompt
       const byUuid = item.claudeSessionId ? firstPromptByUuid.get(item.claudeSessionId) : undefined;
       if (byUuid) {
         item.firstPrompt = byUuid;
-      } else if (item.workingDir) {
+      } else if (item.workingDir && !hasOwnHistoryEntry) {
         const byDir = firstPromptByWorkingDir.get(item.workingDir);
         if (byDir) item.firstPrompt = byDir.prompt;
       }
@@ -268,7 +279,7 @@ export function mergeUnifiedSessions(sources: UnifiedSources): UnifiedSessionIte
       const byUuid = item.claudeSessionId ? lastPromptByUuid.get(item.claudeSessionId) : undefined;
       if (byUuid) {
         item.lastPrompt = byUuid;
-      } else if (item.workingDir) {
+      } else if (item.workingDir && !hasOwnHistoryEntry) {
         const byDir = lastPromptByWorkingDir.get(item.workingDir);
         if (byDir) item.lastPrompt = byDir.prompt;
       }
diff --git a/test/services/unified-session-service.test.ts b/test/services/unified-session-service.test.ts
index f25faff7..2d6e1db8 100644
--- a/test/services/unified-session-service.test.ts
+++ b/test/services/unified-session-service.test.ts
@@ -270,6 +270,39 @@ describe('mergeUnifiedSessions', () => {
     expect(live!.firstPrompt).toBeUndefined();
   });
 
+  it('does NOT borrow a sibling transcript for a history-only row whose own extraction failed (no cross-contamination)', () => {
+    // A pure history row already got its own real scan (step 1 keys it under its
+    // OWN sessionId) — if that extraction genuinely failed (oversized first
+    // message, noise-filtered, etc.), the workingDir guess must not paper over
+    // it with an unrelated session's opening line. Regression: an old session
+    // in a shared workingDir was displaying TODAY's live session's firstPrompt
+    // as its own, because the guess didn't check whether this row already had
+    // its own (failed) attempt.
+    const merged = mergeUnifiedSessions({
+      history: [
+        // This session's own transcript scan found no usable prompt.
+        {
+          sessionId: 'old-uuid',
+          workingDir: '/shared',
+          sizeBytes: 5000,
+          lastModified: '2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z',
+          firstPrompt: undefined,
+        },
+        // A much newer, unrelated session in the same directory.
+        {
+          sessionId: 'newer-uuid',
+          workingDir: '/shared',
+          sizeBytes: 6000,
+          lastModified: '2026-06-01T00:00:00.000Z',
+          firstPrompt: "today's real prompt",
+        },
+      ],
+    });
+    const old = merged.find((m) => m.sessionId === 'old-uuid');
+    expect(old).toBeDefined();
+    expect(old!.firstPrompt).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
   // COD-145: lastPrompt backfill — mirrors the COD-140 firstPrompt path so the
   // most-recent user prompt also reaches live rows whose id ≠ transcript UUID.
   it('backfills lastPrompt onto a live session by claudeSessionId join (uuid-join)', () => {