diff --git a/.claude/verify-report.json b/.claude/verify-report.json
index a4f742e..3622986 100644
--- a/.claude/verify-report.json
+++ b/.claude/verify-report.json
@@ -1,29 +1,29 @@
 {
   "gates": [
-    {
-      "name": "Parse-check PowerShell scripts",
-      "status": "Passed",
-      "detail": "Parsed every *.ps1 under the repository with [System.Management.Automation.Language.Parser]::ParseFile. No parse errors."
-    },
-    {
-      "name": "Run Pester tests",
-      "status": "Passed",
-      "detail": "Invoke-Pester -Path tools -Output Detailed -PassThru\nTests completed in 110.75s\nTests Passed: 280, Failed: 0, Skipped: 0, Inconclusive: 0, NotRun: 0"
-    },
-    {
-      "name": "Validate the core/companion split",
-      "status": "Passed",
-      "detail": "./tools/Test-Companion.ps1\nCompanion split OK - 21 core(s) checked, 0 companion file(s) present, 21 core(s) with no companion.\nState: Valid, Findings: {}, CoreCount: 21, CompanionCount: 0, AbsentCount: 21. Exit 0."
-    },
-    {
-      "name": "Check the design state against the tree",
-      "status": "Passed",
-      "detail": "./tools/Test-DesignState.ps1\nFindings (0):\nReported (8, all non-blocking): [MirrorStale] work/8..work/14 - MirroredAt '394505aae8cdd82a2375a4956fc7ba93090db469' is not the current commit '66fb48a7f411a4bdbecbb6b3a846da80a95586f2'; [WorkStateDivergence] work/8: mirrored State 'OPEN' disagrees with tracker's 'CLOSED'.\nCould not evaluate (0):\nLargest closure: unit/script/test-designstate, 6122 bytes (ceiling 16384), largest contributor contract/test-designstate.\nExit code: 0."
-    },
-    {
-      "name": "Check the spec set",
-      "status": "DidNotRun",
-      "reason": "./tools/Test-SpecSet.ps1 exited 2, State=NotEvaluated, Reason=RegisterAbsent, Detail='No provisional-register region exists, so provisional-number checks could not run.' Documents=8, Declarations=936, Unchecked=1."
-    }
+  {
+    "name": "Parse-check PowerShell scripts",
+    "status": "Passed",
+    "detail": "Every *.ps1 under the repository parsed with [System.Management.Automation.Language.Parser]::ParseFile with zero parse errors returned."
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "Run Pester tests",
+    "status": "Passed",
+    "detail": "Invoke-Pester -Path tools -Output Detailed -PassThru: Tests Passed: 281, Failed: 0, Skipped: 0, Inconclusive: 0, NotRun: 0. The 5 failures present at 6ced5a2/bcd8fec were a single pre-existing cause (design/state-index.md's outstanding region stale against the live tracker after afb4cf0 updated WorkRef records without re-running the projector) and were cleared by 9ba4f50, which regenerates that projection. That commit changes only the projected `outstanding` table, no hand-authored content."
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "Validate the core/companion split",
+    "status": "Passed",
+    "detail": "./tools/Test-Companion.ps1: Companion split OK - 21 core(s) checked, 0 companion file(s) present, 21 core(s) with no companion. State: Valid. Exit code 0."
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "Check the design state against the tree",
+    "status": "Passed",
+    "detail": "./tools/Test-DesignState.ps1: Findings (0), CouldNotEvaluate (0), ExitCode 0. Largest closure: unit/script/test-designstate, 6122 bytes (ceiling 16384), largest contributor contract/test-designstate. The blocking ProjectionStale finding present before 9ba4f50 is gone."
+  },
+  {
+    "name": "Check the spec set",
+    "status": "DidNotRun",
+    "reason": "./tools/Test-SpecSet.ps1 returned State: NotEvaluated, Reason: RegisterAbsent, Detail: 'No provisional-register region exists, so provisional-number checks could not run.' Exit code 2. Not a defect: design/20-contract.md's Error semantics table names RegisterAbsent as an unchecked reason that forces exit 2 by design (SS5, 'If any check is unchecked, the run exits 2 regardless of findings'). The provisional-register region is S5's territory, not S2's, and main itself has been red for this same reason since S1 added this workflow step. design/30-slices.md's own Contract question 1 already flags SS5's all-unchecked-forces-2 semantics as possibly wrong for the permanent CrossRepositoryUnresolvable case; this run surfaces a second, narrower instance (RegisterAbsent, temporary, clears when S5 lands) that the recorded question's 'S1-S3 and S5-S7 are unaffected' line did not anticipate. That is a contract question for /contract, not a code fix here."
+  }
   ]
 }
diff --git a/design/state-index.md b/design/state-index.md
index f6c78b5..97b80c2 100644
--- a/design/state-index.md
+++ b/design/state-index.md
@@ -152,10 +152,12 @@ This document is a navigation view generated from `design/state/`. Edit the reco
 | Rank | Issue | Title | Criteria | Mirrored at |
 |---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | #8 | S1 — The spec set is read end to end, or the run stops and points at the line | S1.1, S1.2, S1.3, S1.4, S1.5, S1.6, S1.7, S1.8, S1.9, S1.10 | `394505aae8cdd82a2375a4956fc7ba93090db469` |
-| 2 | #9 | S2 — Every push runs the checks | S2.1, S2.2, S2.3, S2.4, S2.5 | `394505aae8cdd82a2375a4956fc7ba93090db469` |
-| 3 | #10 | S3 — The two documents stop being able to disagree about the types they both describe | S3.1, S3.2, S3.3, S3.4, S3.5, S3.6, S3.7, S3.8, S3.9, S3.10 | `394505aae8cdd82a2375a4956fc7ba93090db469` |
-| 4 | #11 | S4 — Every reference resolves, and every claim about the engine repository pins a commit | S4.1, S4.2, S4.3, S4.4, S4.5, S4.6 | `394505aae8cdd82a2375a4956fc7ba93090db469` |
-| 5 | #12 | S5 — Every provisional number says why it is deferred and what would settle it | S5.1, S5.2, S5.3, S5.4, S5.5, S5.6 | `394505aae8cdd82a2375a4956fc7ba93090db469` |
-| 6 | #13 | S6 — Everything the game keeps in state is counted, and told what it must say | S6.1, S6.2, S6.3, S6.4, S6.5 | `394505aae8cdd82a2375a4956fc7ba93090db469` |
-| 7 | #14 | S7 — The missing lifecycles are written | S7.1, S7.2, S7.3 | `394505aae8cdd82a2375a4956fc7ba93090db469` |
+| 9 | #9 | S2 — Every push runs the checks | S2.1, S2.2, S2.3, S2.4, S2.5 | `14a48c1a615cf682dc7e532eba983c49e6abc65d` |
+| 10 | #10 | S3 — The two documents stop being able to disagree about the types they both describe | S3.1, S3.2, S3.3, S3.4, S3.5, S3.6, S3.7, S3.8, S3.9, S3.10 | `14a48c1a615cf682dc7e532eba983c49e6abc65d` |
+| 11 | #11 | S4 — Every reference resolves, and every claim about the engine repository pins a commit | S4.1, S4.2, S4.3, S4.4, S4.5, S4.6 | `14a48c1a615cf682dc7e532eba983c49e6abc65d` |
+| 12 | #12 | S5 — Every provisional number says why it is deferred and what would settle it | S5.1, S5.2, S5.3, S5.4, S5.5, S5.6 | `14a48c1a615cf682dc7e532eba983c49e6abc65d` |
+| 13 | #13 | S6 — Everything the game keeps in state is counted, and told what it must say | S6.1, S6.2, S6.3, S6.4, S6.5 | `14a48c1a615cf682dc7e532eba983c49e6abc65d` |
+| 14 | #14 | S7 — The missing lifecycles are written | S7.1, S7.2, S7.3 | `14a48c1a615cf682dc7e532eba983c49e6abc65d` |
+| 19 | #19 | Restore missing design-state closure records | — | `14a48c1a615cf682dc7e532eba983c49e6abc65d` |
+| 26 | #26 | Read-SpecSetIndex fails closed incorrectly for a shallow fixture path | — | `14a48c1a615cf682dc7e532eba983c49e6abc65d` |
 <!-- outstanding:end -->
diff --git a/tools/Test-CIWorkflow.Tests.ps1 b/tools/Test-CIWorkflow.Tests.ps1
index ccd7c1c..d2bd93c 100644
--- a/tools/Test-CIWorkflow.Tests.ps1
+++ b/tools/Test-CIWorkflow.Tests.ps1
@@ -33,6 +33,28 @@ Describe 'CI workflow: the Run Pester tests step is authenticated (#79)' {
     }
 }
 
+Describe 'CI workflow: the Check the spec set step does not swallow a failing exit code (S2.4)' {
+
+    BeforeAll {
+        $script:WorkflowPath = Join-Path (Split-Path $PSScriptRoot -Parent) '.github/workflows/verify.yml'
+        $script:Lines = Get-Content -LiteralPath $script:WorkflowPath
+    }
+
+    It 'the "Check the spec set" step carries neither continue-on-error nor a swallowed exit code' {
+        $stepIndex = ($script:Lines | Select-String -Pattern '- name: Check the spec set').LineNumber
+        $stepIndex | Should -Not -BeNullOrEmpty
+
+        $nextStepIndex = ($script:Lines | Select-String -Pattern '^\s*- name:' |
+            Where-Object { $_.LineNumber -gt $stepIndex } |
+            Select-Object -First 1).LineNumber
+        $endIndex = if ($nextStepIndex) { $nextStepIndex - 1 } else { $script:Lines.Count }
+        $stepBody = $script:Lines[($stepIndex - 1)..($endIndex - 1)] -join "`n"
+
+        $stepBody | Should -Not -Match 'continue-on-error'
+        $stepBody | Should -Not -Match '\|\|\s*true'
+    }
+}
+
 Describe 'CI workflow: design-state pin ancestry is evaluable' {
 
     BeforeAll {