diff --git a/src/components/daily/__tests__/today-hero.test.tsx b/src/components/daily/__tests__/today-hero.test.tsx
index f21a9ae03..4ca384a0b 100644
--- a/src/components/daily/__tests__/today-hero.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/daily/__tests__/today-hero.test.tsx
@@ -175,6 +175,28 @@ describe("<TodayHero>", () => {
     expect(html).toContain('data-slot="today-hero-lead"');
   });
 
+  it("promotes the top signal when score de-duplication removes the only lead", () => {
+    const html = render(
+      <TodayHero
+        digest={digest({
+          briefingLead: "Your health score is 82.",
+          line: "Your health score is 82.",
+          topSignal: {
+            sourceMetric: "pulse",
+            tone: "info",
+            headline: "Pulse is settling lately",
+            nudge: null,
+            delta: null,
+          },
+        })}
+      />,
+    );
+
+    expect(html).toContain('data-slot="today-hero-lead"');
+    expect(html).toContain("Pulse is settling lately");
+    expect(html).not.toContain('data-slot="today-hero-signal"');
+  });
+
   it("does not invent a score narrative while the digest is provisional", () => {
     const html = render(
       <TodayHero
diff --git a/src/components/daily/today-hero.tsx b/src/components/daily/today-hero.tsx
index 58850ded9..870b27798 100644
--- a/src/components/daily/today-hero.tsx
+++ b/src/components/daily/today-hero.tsx
@@ -159,6 +159,13 @@ export function TodayHero({
     (hasScore ? digest.line : null);
   const lead = withoutRepeatedScore(rawLead, digest.score?.value ?? null);
   const topSignal = digest.topSignal;
+  // A score-only briefing can legitimately lose its lead when the only
+  // sentence repeated the number already printed inside the ring. Keep the
+  // day's signal as the visible headline in that case instead of leaving the
+  // hero with a muted, orphaned subtitle below an empty bold slot.
+  const signalFallbackLead =
+    hasScore && !lead ? topSignal?.headline?.trim() || null : null;
+  const displayLead = lead ?? signalFallbackLead;
   const justInTime = digest.justIn ? formatJustInTime(digest.justIn.at) : null;
   // A score-only all-clear digest has no narrative content for the leading
   // column. Keeping the full md ring in that two-column shell left a blank
@@ -224,17 +231,17 @@ export function TodayHero({
           <div className="min-w-0 flex-1 space-y-2">
             {/* Hero numeric face: the read leads large in the foreground
                 token, calm and legible — the day's read, not a slogan. */}
-            {lead ? (
+            {displayLead ? (
               <div
                 data-slot="today-hero-lead"
                 className="text-foreground text-lg leading-snug font-semibold tracking-tight sm:text-xl"
               >
-                <ProseBlocks text={lead} strip linkify={false} />
+                <ProseBlocks text={displayLead} strip linkify={false} />
               </div>
             ) : null}
             {/* Top signal — present-tense headline + optional delta, one
                 muted step down so it supports the lead without competing. */}
-            {topSignal ? (
+            {topSignal && lead ? (
               <p
                 data-slot="today-hero-signal"
                 className="text-muted-foreground text-sm"