diff --git a/src/components/ChainOfThought.css b/src/components/ChainOfThought.css
index 7a30fe4..12d8732 100644
--- a/src/components/ChainOfThought.css
+++ b/src/components/ChainOfThought.css
@@ -1,59 +1,102 @@
-.cot { margin-top: var(--sp-2); }
+.cot { margin-top: var(--sp-3); }
 
-/* The finding, always visible — the one sentence that answers "what did it
-   conclude" without opening anything. */
+/* The finding — the one sentence that answers "what did it conclude", visible
+   without opening the reasoning. */
 .cot__finding {
-  margin: 0 0 var(--sp-2);
+  margin: 0 0 var(--sp-3);
   font-size: var(--fs-sm);
   line-height: var(--lh-normal);
   font-weight: var(--fw-medium);
   color: var(--zk-ink);
 }
 
+/* THE THINKING CHIP. A quiet pill, tinted in the accent, that reads as an AI
+   reasoning affordance rather than a plain link — the "how did it decide"
+   handle. */
 .cot__toggle {
   display: inline-flex;
   align-items: center;
   gap: var(--sp-2);
-  padding: var(--sp-1) 0;
-  border: 0;
-  background: none;
+  padding: 5px 12px 5px 9px;
+  border: 1px solid var(--zk-blue-light);
+  border-radius: var(--r-pill);
+  background: var(--zk-tint-blue);
   cursor: pointer;
   font: inherit;
   font-size: var(--fs-2xs);
   font-weight: var(--fw-semi);
   color: var(--zk-blue-dark);
+  transition: background var(--t-fast), border-color var(--t-fast);
 }
-.cot__brain { width: 15px; height: 15px; flex: none; }
-.cot__ct { color: var(--zk-grey); font-weight: var(--fw-normal); }
-.cot__caret { width: 11px; height: 11px; transition: transform .18s var(--ease); }
+.cot__toggle:hover { background: var(--zk-white); border-color: var(--zk-blue-mid); }
+.cot__brain { width: 14px; height: 14px; flex: none; }
+.cot__ct { color: var(--zk-blue-dark); font-weight: var(--fw-normal); opacity: .72; }
+.cot__caret { width: 11px; height: 11px; transition: transform .18s var(--ease); opacity: .7; }
 .cot__caret.is-open { transform: rotate(90deg); }
 
+/* THE REASONING, revealed as its own artifact: a soft accent-tinted panel with
+   a stepped rail, so the chain reads as a distinct object — the record of how
+   the machine got there — not loose text under a link. */
 .cot__steps {
   list-style: none;
   margin: var(--sp-3) 0 0;
-  padding: var(--sp-3) 0 var(--sp-2);
-  border-left: 2px solid var(--zk-blue-light);
-  padding-left: var(--sp-4);
+  padding: var(--sp-4) var(--sp-5) var(--sp-3);
+  border: 1px solid var(--zk-blue-light);
+  border-radius: var(--r-md);
+  background:
+    linear-gradient(180deg, var(--zk-tint-blue) 0%, transparent 70%),
+    var(--zk-white);
 }
 
-.cot__step { position: relative; display: grid; grid-template-columns: 82px 1fr; gap: var(--sp-3); padding: var(--sp-2) 0; }
+.cot__step {
+  position: relative;
+  display: grid;
+  grid-template-columns: 76px 1fr;
+  gap: var(--sp-3);
+  padding: var(--sp-2) 0 var(--sp-2) var(--sp-4);
+}
+/* the marker dot */
 .cot__step::before {
-  content: ""; position: absolute; left: calc(var(--sp-4) * -1 - 6px); top: 9px;
-  width: 9px; height: 9px; border-radius: 50%; background: var(--zk-white); border: 2px solid var(--zk-blue);
+  content: "";
+  position: absolute;
+  left: 2px;
+  top: 9px;
+  width: 9px; height: 9px;
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  background: var(--zk-white);
+  border: 2px solid var(--zk-blue);
+  z-index: 1;
+}
+/* the connector between markers */
+.cot__step:not(:last-child)::after {
+  content: "";
+  position: absolute;
+  left: 5.5px;
+  top: 18px;
+  bottom: -6px;
+  width: 1.5px;
+  background: var(--zk-blue-light);
 }
 
 .cot__mark {
   font-size: var(--fs-3xs);
-  font-weight: var(--fw-semi);
+  font-weight: var(--fw-bold);
   letter-spacing: .06em;
   text-transform: uppercase;
   color: var(--zk-blue-dark);
-  padding-top: 1px;
+  padding-top: 2px;
 }
 
 .cot__b { font-size: var(--fs-xs); line-height: var(--lh-normal); color: var(--zk-muted); overflow-wrap: anywhere; }
 .cot__b b { color: var(--zk-ink); font-weight: var(--fw-semi); }
 
 .cot__foot { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; gap: 6px; margin-top: var(--sp-2); }
-.cot__conf { font-size: 11.5px; font-weight: var(--fw-semi); color: var(--zk-blue-dark); background: var(--zk-tint-blue); border: 1px solid var(--zk-blue-light); padding: 1px 9px; border-radius: var(--r-pill); }
-
+.cot__conf {
+  font-size: 11.5px;
+  font-weight: var(--fw-bold);
+  color: var(--zk-blue-dark);
+  background: var(--zk-tint-blue);
+  border: 1px solid var(--zk-blue-light);
+  padding: 1px 10px;
+  border-radius: var(--r-pill);
+}
diff --git a/src/screens/Lead.jsx b/src/screens/Lead.jsx
index f7fa18b..e6119a7 100644
--- a/src/screens/Lead.jsx
+++ b/src/screens/Lead.jsx
@@ -314,8 +314,16 @@ export default function Lead() {
   // instead. `role: 'do'` is the committing step — never a re-run or a
   // recovery lever, which must not be dressed as the thing to do.
   const acceptedAlready = Boolean(row.acceptance_ref)
+  // Once the documents are in, Collect Documents stops being the move — the AI
+  // is capturing the risk from them. The render already demotes it from a step
+  // to a "replace or add" recovery lever (docsDone), but the header CTA read
+  // straight off `actions` and kept surfacing "Upload documents" over a lead
+  // whose documents had just been uploaded. Same demotion, applied here.
+  const docsInAlready = stage?.after === 'documents received'
   const primaryAction = actions.find(
-    (a) => a.role === 'do' && !(acceptedAlready && a.uid === 'zk-act-accept'),
+    (a) => a.role === 'do'
+      && !(acceptedAlready && a.uid === 'zk-act-accept')
+      && !(docsInAlready && a.uid === 'zk-act-collect-docs'),
   ) || null
   const goToAction = () => {
     if (!primaryAction) return