diff --git a/Launcher.Next.App/PilotCli.cs b/Launcher.Next.App/PilotCli.cs
index cc908ee..47e17e9 100644
--- a/Launcher.Next.App/PilotCli.cs
+++ b/Launcher.Next.App/PilotCli.cs
@@ -237,9 +237,11 @@ internal static class PilotCli
                 // terminal evidence is durable.  Killing an active AutoCAD
                 // command before that boundary would turn ForceAfterEvidence
                 // into an unsafe general process killer.
-                var evidenceTimeout = Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(Math.Clamp(config.GracefulExitTimeoutSeconds, 1, 120)));
-                while (!exit.IsCompleted && !HasCompletedEvidence(evidencePath))
-                    if (await Task.WhenAny(exit, evidenceTimeout) == evidenceTimeout) break;
+                // Evidence is written by the Plant process, not by a task owned
+                // by this host.  Poll it with a bounded interval: waiting only on
+                // the timeout task delays an already durable result by a full
+                // timeout and makes the preview/apply hand-off unnecessarily slow.
+                await WaitForEvidenceOrExitAsync(exit, evidencePath, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(Math.Clamp(config.GracefulExitTimeoutSeconds, 1, 120)));
                 if (exit.IsCompleted) gracefulExit = true;
                 else
                 {
@@ -297,6 +299,12 @@ internal static class PilotCli
     private static bool HashesEqual(IReadOnlyDictionary<string,string> x, IReadOnlyDictionary<string,string> y) => x.Count == y.Count && x.All(p => y.TryGetValue(p.Key, out var value) && value == p.Value);
     private static PilotExecutionService CreateService(ResolvedLauncherPaths paths) => new(new PackageManifestValidator(), new PilotRootPolicy(paths.LocalLauncherRoot), new NextPilotSafetyGate(), new Sha256FileHasher(), new StartupScriptBuilder(), PermitService, new Probe(), new OperatingSystemProcessInvoker(), new PathResolver());
     private static async Task WaitForExitAsync(int processId) { using var process = Process.GetProcessById(processId); await process.WaitForExitAsync(); }
+    private static async Task WaitForEvidenceOrExitAsync(Task exit, string evidencePath, TimeSpan timeout)
+    {
+        var deadline = DateTimeOffset.UtcNow + timeout;
+        while (!exit.IsCompleted && !HasCompletedEvidence(evidencePath) && DateTimeOffset.UtcNow < deadline)
+            await Task.WhenAny(exit, Task.Delay(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(250)));
+    }
     private static bool HasCompletedEvidence(string path)
     {
         try { using var json = JsonDocument.Parse(File.ReadAllText(path)); return json.RootElement.TryGetProperty("Completed", out var completed) && completed.ValueKind == JsonValueKind.True; }