diff --git a/backend/apps/agents/agents.py b/backend/apps/agents/agents.py
index 2c914edc..779d025f 100644
--- a/backend/apps/agents/agents.py
+++ b/backend/apps/agents/agents.py
@@ -344,7 +344,15 @@ async def get_session_work(session_id: str):
     )
     session = agent_manager.get_session(session_id)
     if not session:
-        raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Session not found")
+        # Same disk fallback as GET /sessions/{id}. Without it this 404s on any session the
+        # dashboard has not restored yet, which is most of them and precisely the ones worth
+        # reading: the whole point is answering "what did it do" for an agent that is finished,
+        # stopped or errored. Found on the packaged bits, where the plain GET returned 200 and
+        # this returned 404 for the same id.
+        try:
+            session = await agent_manager.resume_session(session_id)
+        except ValueError:
+            raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Session not found")
     return {
         "session_id": session_id,
         "name": session.name,
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_read_agent_work.py b/backend/tests/test_read_agent_work.py
index 79d8cd35..ba66175f 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_read_agent_work.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_read_agent_work.py
@@ -118,3 +118,15 @@ def test_it_is_reachable_by_default():
     register_builtin_mcp_servers(servers, p_session(), perms, None, None)
     assert "invoke" in servers["openswarm-core"]["env"]["OSW_MCP_MODULES"].split(",")
     assert perms["ReadAgentWork"] == "always_allow"
+
+
+def test_the_route_reads_a_session_that_is_only_on_DISK():
+    """The bug the packaged drill found: the route used the in-memory map alone, so it 404'd on
+    every session the dashboard had not restored -- which is most of them, and exactly the ones
+    worth reading. GET /sessions/{id} already had this fallback; the read tool did not."""
+    src = open("backend/apps/agents/agents.py", encoding="utf-8").read()
+    i = src.index('async def get_session_work')
+    body = src[i:src.index("@agents.router", i + 10)]
+    assert "resume_session" in body, "a read tool that 404s on a stored session defeats its purpose"
+    assert body.index("agent_manager.get_session") < body.index("resume_session"), \
+        "memory first, disk second: resuming every read would be a pointless load"