diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardService.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardService.cs
index 8286ffd4..36cf4702 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardService.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward/StoreAndForwardService.cs
@@ -123,10 +123,21 @@ public class StoreAndForwardService
     private long _bufferedCount;
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// WP-14 (telemetry): guards one-time registration of the queue-depth provider
-    /// with <see cref="ScadaBridgeTelemetry"/>. The gauge is process-global, so only
-    /// the first <see cref="StartAsync"/> wins; registering per message (or per start
-    /// of multiple service instances) is avoided. 0 = not yet registered, 1 = done.
+    /// Test seam (WP-14 telemetry): simulates a concurrent pre-seed
+    /// <see cref="BufferAsync"/> increment landing on <see cref="_bufferedCount"/>
+    /// before <see cref="StartAsync"/> seeds it, so a test can prove the seed uses
+    /// <see cref="Interlocked.Add"/> (additive) rather than Exchange (clobbering).
+    /// </summary>
+    internal void TestOnly_IncrementBufferedCount() =>
+        Interlocked.Increment(ref _bufferedCount);
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// WP-14 (telemetry): an instance field that guards against a single instance
+    /// registering the queue-depth provider (and re-seeding the counter) more than
+    /// once — e.g. a second <see cref="StartAsync"/> on the same instance. It does NOT
+    /// coordinate across instances: the gauge slot in <see cref="ScadaBridgeTelemetry"/>
+    /// is process-global, so in a multi-instance process the last <see cref="StartAsync"/>
+    /// wins the global slot. 0 = not yet registered, 1 = done.
     /// </summary>
     private int _queueDepthProviderRegistered;
 
@@ -206,12 +217,20 @@ public class StoreAndForwardService
         // WP-14 (telemetry): seed the cached buffered-message count from the
         // store exactly once (the gauge callback cannot run an async COUNT), then
         // register the sync, non-blocking provider with the process-global
-        // ScadaBridgeTelemetry gauge — guarded so only the first start registers.
+        // ScadaBridgeTelemetry gauge. Both steps are inside the one-time guard so a
+        // second StartAsync on the same instance cannot double-seed.
+        //
+        // The seed is an Interlocked.Add — NOT an Exchange — to avoid a startup race:
+        // between the await above returning and this point, a concurrent BufferAsync
+        // could already have Interlocked.Increment'd _bufferedCount. Exchange would
+        // clobber that increment (losing a +1); Add preserves it. _bufferedCount
+        // starts at 0 and only BufferAsync increments it before the seed, so
+        // 0 + pending + (any concurrent increments) is the correct live count.
         var pending = await _storage.GetMessageCountByStatusAsync(
             StoreAndForwardMessageStatus.Pending);
-        Interlocked.Exchange(ref _bufferedCount, pending);
         if (Interlocked.CompareExchange(ref _queueDepthProviderRegistered, 1, 0) == 0)
         {
+            Interlocked.Add(ref _bufferedCount, pending);
             ScadaBridgeTelemetry.SetQueueDepthProvider(() => Interlocked.Read(ref _bufferedCount));
         }
 
@@ -831,6 +850,7 @@ public class StoreAndForwardService
     {
         // Capture the category before the row is deleted so the activity log is
         // labelled correctly.
+        // WP-14 (telemetry): Parked rows are not in _bufferedCount; discarding a Parked row needs no counter adjustment.
         var message = await _storage.GetMessageByIdAsync(messageId);
         var success = await _storage.DiscardParkedMessageAsync(messageId);
         if (success)
diff --git a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward.Tests/QueueDepthGaugeTests.cs b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward.Tests/QueueDepthGaugeTests.cs
index 7a4a6e3e..a09a4b39 100644
--- a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward.Tests/QueueDepthGaugeTests.cs
+++ b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.StoreAndForward.Tests/QueueDepthGaugeTests.cs
@@ -173,4 +173,39 @@ public class QueueDepthGaugeTests : IAsyncLifetime, IDisposable
             await fresh.StopAsync();
         }
     }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Review finding (FINDING 1): the startup seed must ADD to whatever the counter
+    /// already holds, not overwrite it. A concurrent <c>BufferAsync</c> can
+    /// <c>Interlocked.Increment</c> <c>_bufferedCount</c> in the window between
+    /// <c>StartAsync</c>'s async <c>COUNT(*)</c> returning and the seed running; with an
+    /// <c>Interlocked.Exchange</c> seed that increment would be clobbered (lost +1). This
+    /// pre-increments the in-memory counter (standing in for that concurrent enqueue),
+    /// then starts the service over an empty store and asserts the pre-increment survives.
+    /// </summary>
+    [Fact]
+    public async Task Gauge_SeedAddsToConcurrentPreSeedIncrement_NotClobber()
+    {
+        // Store is empty (StartAsync's pending COUNT(*) = 0), so the only contribution
+        // is the simulated concurrent pre-seed enqueue increment.
+        var fresh = new StoreAndForwardService(
+            _storage,
+            new StoreAndForwardOptions { RetryTimerInterval = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10) },
+            NullLogger<StoreAndForwardService>.Instance);
+
+        // Stand in for a BufferAsync increment that landed before StartAsync seeded.
+        fresh.TestOnly_IncrementBufferedCount();
+
+        try
+        {
+            await fresh.StartAsync();
+            // Add(0 seed) over the pre-existing +1 → 1. An Exchange(0) seed would clobber
+            // it to 0, losing the concurrent enqueue — the bug this fix prevents.
+            Assert.Equal(1, ReadQueueDepthGauge());
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            await fresh.StopAsync();
+        }
+    }
 }