diff --git a/src/lifecycle.ts b/src/lifecycle.ts
index 67d53128f..bbc54d07c 100644
--- a/src/lifecycle.ts
+++ b/src/lifecycle.ts
@@ -61,6 +61,32 @@ export interface IsParentAliveDeps {
   getPpid?: () => number;
   /** Read the grandparent ppid. Default: ps-based POSIX probe, NaN on Windows. */
   readGrandparentPpid?: () => number;
+  /**
+   * Positive existence probe for a PID. Default: {@link defaultIsPidAlive}
+   * (signal-0 via `process.kill`). This is the only parent-death signal that
+   * works on Windows, where an orphaned child keeps its original ppid (#982).
+   */
+  isPidAlive?: (pid: number) => boolean;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Cross-platform "does this PID still exist?" probe. Node maps signal 0 to an
+ * existence/permission check without delivering a signal: it throws `ESRCH`
+ * when the process is gone and `EPERM` when it exists but can't be signalled
+ * (treated as alive). Any other error is treated as alive to avoid a spurious
+ * reap. Unlike the ppid-equality and grandparent checks, this fires on Windows,
+ * where a parent's death does NOT reparent the child or change its ppid — so
+ * without this probe the guard's `isParentAlive()` returned `true` forever and
+ * the orphaned server never shut down (#982).
+ */
+export function defaultIsPidAlive(pid: number): boolean {
+  if (!pid || pid <= 1) return false;
+  try {
+    process.kill(pid, 0);
+    return true;
+  } catch (err) {
+    return (err as NodeJS.ErrnoException).code === "EPERM";
+  }
 }
 
 /**
@@ -81,6 +107,7 @@ export interface IsParentAliveDeps {
 export function makeDefaultIsParentAlive(deps: IsParentAliveDeps = {}): () => boolean {
   const getPpid = deps.getPpid ?? (() => process.ppid);
   const readGp = deps.readGrandparentPpid ?? readGrandparentPpidImpl;
+  const isPidAlive = deps.isPidAlive ?? defaultIsPidAlive;
   const originalPpid = getPpid();
   const originalGrandparentPpid = readGp();
 
@@ -89,6 +116,13 @@ export function makeDefaultIsParentAlive(deps: IsParentAliveDeps = {}): () => bo
     if (ppid !== originalPpid) return false;
     if (ppid === 0 || ppid === 1) return false;
 
+    // Positive existence probe (#982): on Windows an orphaned child keeps its
+    // original ppid (no reparent-to-init) and the POSIX grandparent probe is
+    // unavailable, so both checks above/below stay green after the parent dies.
+    // Directly test whether the parent PID still exists — the one death signal
+    // that works cross-platform.
+    if (!isPidAlive(originalPpid)) return false;
+
     // Grandparent orphan check (#311): npm-exec wrappers stay alive past the
     // session owner. If our grandparent is now PID 1 but wasn't at startup,
     // the wrapping chain is orphaned and we should shut down.
diff --git a/tests/lifecycle.test.ts b/tests/lifecycle.test.ts
index 18b0aa21d..531c310a3 100644
--- a/tests/lifecycle.test.ts
+++ b/tests/lifecycle.test.ts
@@ -294,6 +294,7 @@ describe("makeDefaultIsParentAlive — grandparent orphan detection (#311)", ()
     const isAlive = makeDefaultIsParentAlive({
       getPpid: () => 100,
       readGrandparentPpid: () => currentGrandparent,
+      isPidAlive: () => true, // parent PID present; isolate the grandparent path
     });
 
     assert.equal(isAlive(), true, "alive at startup when grandparent is a normal process");
@@ -310,6 +311,7 @@ describe("makeDefaultIsParentAlive — grandparent orphan detection (#311)", ()
     const isAlive = makeDefaultIsParentAlive({
       getPpid: () => 100,
       readGrandparentPpid: () => 1,
+      isPidAlive: () => true,
     });
 
     // Multiple polls — never flip to false while ppid is stable.
@@ -318,17 +320,36 @@ describe("makeDefaultIsParentAlive — grandparent orphan detection (#311)", ()
     assert.equal(isAlive(), true);
   });
 
-  test("tolerates NaN grandparent (Windows / ps failure)", () => {
-    // On Windows readGrandparentPpidImpl returns NaN; the check must fall
-    // back to the original ppid-only path and stay green while ppid is stable.
+  test("tolerates NaN grandparent (Windows / ps failure) while parent PID is alive", () => {
+    // On Windows readGrandparentPpidImpl returns NaN; with the parent PID still
+    // present the check must stay green while ppid is stable.
     const isAlive = makeDefaultIsParentAlive({
       getPpid: () => 100,
       readGrandparentPpid: () => NaN,
+      isPidAlive: () => true,
     });
 
     assert.equal(isAlive(), true);
   });
 
+  test("detects parent death on Windows via PID existence probe (#982)", () => {
+    // The Windows failure mode: an orphaned child keeps its original ppid (no
+    // reparent-to-init) and the ps-based grandparent probe returns NaN, so
+    // BOTH the ppid-equality and grandparent checks stay green forever. The
+    // PID existence probe is the only signal that fires — without it the guard
+    // never shut the orphan down.
+    let parentAlive = true;
+    const isAlive = makeDefaultIsParentAlive({
+      getPpid: () => 100, // stable ppid, exactly as Windows keeps it
+      readGrandparentPpid: () => NaN, // no ps on Windows
+      isPidAlive: () => parentAlive,
+    });
+
+    assert.equal(isAlive(), true, "alive while the parent PID still exists");
+    parentAlive = false; // claude.exe exits; child is NOT reparented on Windows
+    assert.equal(isAlive(), false, "must reap once the parent PID is gone (#982)");
+  });
+
   test("direct ppid death still takes precedence over grandparent check", () => {
     // If our own parent dies (ppid flips to init), shut down immediately —
     // don't wait for a grandparent poll to confirm.
@@ -336,6 +357,7 @@ describe("makeDefaultIsParentAlive — grandparent orphan detection (#311)", ()
     const isAlive = makeDefaultIsParentAlive({
       getPpid: () => ppid,
       readGrandparentPpid: () => 7, // grandparent alive the whole time
+      isPidAlive: () => true,
     });
 
     assert.equal(isAlive(), true);
@@ -350,6 +372,7 @@ describe("makeDefaultIsParentAlive — grandparent orphan detection (#311)", ()
     const aliveCheck = makeDefaultIsParentAlive({
       getPpid: () => 100,
       readGrandparentPpid: () => currentGrandparent,
+      isPidAlive: () => true,
     });
 
     let shutdownCalled = false;