diff --git a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/SitePskProvider.cs b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/SitePskProvider.cs
index 055599b4..13028b84 100644
--- a/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/SitePskProvider.cs
+++ b/src/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host/SitePskProvider.cs
@@ -114,10 +114,9 @@ public sealed class SitePskProvider : ISitePskProvider
     }
 
     /// <summary>
-    /// Reads the key from the secrets store, treating a store fault as "not found" rather than
-    /// letting it propagate. A host with no master key configured (the development rig) throws
-    /// from the resolver; that must produce the same clear "key not configured" error as a
-    /// missing secret, not an opaque cryptographic one.
+    /// Reads the key from the secrets store. A store fault (unreachable SQL Server, no master
+    /// key) surfaces as <see cref="SecretStoreUnavailableException"/>, distinct from a secret
+    /// that is simply missing (null return), and is never cached.
     /// </summary>
     private async Task<string?> ResolveFromStoreAsync(string secretName, string siteId, CancellationToken ct)
     {
@@ -131,10 +130,14 @@ public sealed class SitePskProvider : ISitePskProvider
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
-            _logger.LogDebug(ex,
-                "Secret store lookup for '{SecretName}' (site {SiteId}) faulted; treating as not found.",
+            // A store fault is NOT "secret missing": telling the operator to seed a secret that
+            // exists (while the shared store is merely unreachable) sends them the wrong way.
+            // Surface it as a distinct exception type and keep the cause visible at Warning.
+            _logger.LogWarning(ex,
+                "Secret store lookup for '{SecretName}' (site {SiteId}) faulted; the key could not be "
+                + "read (this is a store fault, not a missing secret).",
                 secretName, siteId);
-            return null;
+            throw new SecretStoreUnavailableException(secretName, siteId, ex);
         }
     }
 
@@ -147,3 +150,29 @@ public sealed class SitePskProvider : ISitePskProvider
         }
     }
 }
+
+/// <summary>
+/// The secrets store could not be read while resolving a site's gRPC preshared key — a store
+/// fault, as opposed to the secret being absent (review 2026-10-21 05/U2).
+/// </summary>
+public sealed class SecretStoreUnavailableException : InvalidOperationException
+{
+    /// <summary>Initializes the exception.</summary>
+    /// <param name="secretName">The secret that was being read.</param>
+    /// <param name="siteId">The site whose key was being resolved.</param>
+    /// <param name="inner">The underlying store fault.</param>
+    public SecretStoreUnavailableException(string secretName, string siteId, Exception inner)
+        : base($"The secret store could not be read while resolving gRPC preshared key '{secretName}' "
+            + $"for site '{siteId}' ({inner.GetType().Name}: {inner.Message}); the secret may exist — "
+            + "this is a store fault, not a missing secret.", inner)
+    {
+        SecretName = secretName;
+        SiteId = siteId;
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>Gets the secret that was being read.</summary>
+    public string SecretName { get; }
+
+    /// <summary>Gets the site whose key was being resolved.</summary>
+    public string SiteId { get; }
+}
diff --git a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host.Tests/SitePskProviderTests.cs b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host.Tests/SitePskProviderTests.cs
index 5cfa66bc..661f4e5b 100644
--- a/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host.Tests/SitePskProviderTests.cs
+++ b/tests/ZB.MOM.WW.ScadaBridge.Host.Tests/SitePskProviderTests.cs
@@ -122,21 +122,22 @@ public class SitePskProviderTests
             async () => await Create(resolver).GetAsync("site-a", CancellationToken.None));
     }
 
-    /// <summary>Verifies that a faulting store surfaces as a key-not-configured error rather than a crypto error.</summary>
+    /// <summary>Verifies that a faulting store surfaces as a distinct store-unavailable error.</summary>
     /// <returns>A task that represents the asynchronous operation.</returns>
     [Fact]
-    public async Task AFaultingStore_SurfacesAsKeyNotConfigured_NotAsACryptoError()
+    public async Task AFaultingStore_SurfacesAsStoreUnavailable_NotAsMissingSecret()
     {
-        // A host with no master key throws from the resolver. The operator's problem is the
-        // same either way — "this site has no key" — so the diagnosis must say that.
+        // Review 2026-10-21 05/U2: a store fault must not read as "secret missing".
         var resolver = Substitute.For<ISecretResolver>();
         resolver.GetAsync(Arg.Any<SecretName>(), Arg.Any<CancellationToken>())
             .Returns<string?>(_ => throw new InvalidOperationException("no master key configured"));
 
-        var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<InvalidOperationException>(
+        var ex = await Assert.ThrowsAsync<SecretStoreUnavailableException>(
             async () => await Create(resolver).GetAsync("site-a", CancellationToken.None));
 
         Assert.Contains("SB-GRPC-PSK-site-a", ex.Message);
+        Assert.Contains("store fault", ex.Message);
+        Assert.IsType<InvalidOperationException>(ex.InnerException);
     }
 
     /// <summary>Verifies that successful resolves are cached so not every call hits the store.</summary>