diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/gcsStorage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/gcsStorage.ts
index 59675a8c..78028fa2 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/gcsStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/gcsStorage.ts
@@ -958,7 +958,7 @@ export class GcsStorage extends BaseStorage {
     useCache?: boolean
   }): Promise<{
     nodes: HNSWNode[]
-    totalCount?: number
+    totalCount: number
     hasMore: boolean
     nextCursor?: string
   }> {
@@ -1029,6 +1029,7 @@ export class GcsStorage extends BaseStorage {
 
           return {
             nodes,
+            totalCount: this.totalNounCount,
             hasMore: !!nextCursor,
             nextCursor
           }
@@ -1038,6 +1039,7 @@ export class GcsStorage extends BaseStorage {
         if (response?.nextPageToken) {
           return {
             nodes,
+            totalCount: this.totalNounCount,
             hasMore: true,
             nextCursor: `${shardIndex}:${response.nextPageToken}`
           }
@@ -1049,6 +1051,7 @@ export class GcsStorage extends BaseStorage {
       // No more shards or nodes
       return {
         nodes,
+        totalCount: this.totalNounCount,
         hasMore: false,
         nextCursor: undefined
       }
@@ -1220,6 +1223,7 @@ export class GcsStorage extends BaseStorage {
 
       return {
         items: filteredVerbs,
+        totalCount: this.totalVerbCount,
         hasMore: !!response?.nextPageToken,
         nextCursor: response?.nextPageToken
       }
diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts
index 6a81549f..def5e657 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/opfsStorage.ts
@@ -132,6 +132,9 @@ export class OPFSStorage extends BaseStorage {
         create: true
       })
 
+      // Initialize counts from storage
+      await this.initializeCounts()
+
       this.isInitialized = true
     } catch (error) {
       console.error('Failed to initialize OPFS storage:', error)
diff --git a/src/storage/adapters/s3CompatibleStorage.ts b/src/storage/adapters/s3CompatibleStorage.ts
index 8d1ea005..07ed9370 100644
--- a/src/storage/adapters/s3CompatibleStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/adapters/s3CompatibleStorage.ts
@@ -346,7 +346,10 @@ export class S3CompatibleStorage extends BaseStorage {
       
       // Auto-cleanup legacy /index folder on initialization
       await this.cleanupLegacyIndexFolder()
-      
+
+      // Initialize counts from storage
+      await this.initializeCounts()
+
       this.isInitialized = true
       this.logger.info(`Initialized ${this.serviceType} storage with bucket ${this.bucketName}`)
     } catch (error) {
@@ -1843,6 +1846,7 @@ export class S3CompatibleStorage extends BaseStorage {
     
     return {
       items: filteredGraphVerbs,
+      totalCount: this.totalVerbCount,  // Use pre-calculated count from init()
       hasMore: result.hasMore,
       nextCursor: result.nextCursor
     }
@@ -3367,21 +3371,9 @@ export class S3CompatibleStorage extends BaseStorage {
       }
     }
     
-    // Calculate total count efficiently
-    // For the first page (no cursor), we can estimate total count
-    let totalCount: number | undefined
-    if (!cursor) {
-      try {
-        totalCount = await this.estimateTotalNounCount()
-      } catch (error) {
-        this.logger.warn('Failed to estimate total noun count:', error)
-        // totalCount remains undefined
-      }
-    }
-
     return {
       items: filteredNodes,
-      totalCount,
+      totalCount: this.totalNounCount,  // Use pre-calculated count from init()
       hasMore: result.hasMore,
       nextCursor: result.nextCursor
     }
diff --git a/src/storage/baseStorage.ts b/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
index 06e5e586..bc660acc 100644
--- a/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
+++ b/src/storage/baseStorage.ts
@@ -508,9 +508,21 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
         // This prevents pagination bugs from causing infinite loops
         const safeHasMore = items.length > 0 ? result.hasMore : false
 
+        // VALIDATION: Ensure adapter returns totalCount (prevents restart bugs)
+        // If adapter forgets to return totalCount, log warning and use pre-calculated count
+        let finalTotalCount = result.totalCount || totalCount
+        if (result.totalCount === undefined && this.totalNounCount > 0) {
+          console.warn(
+            `⚠️  Storage adapter missing totalCount in getNounsWithPagination result! ` +
+            `Using pre-calculated count (${this.totalNounCount}) as fallback. ` +
+            `Please ensure your storage adapter returns totalCount: this.totalNounCount`
+          )
+          finalTotalCount = this.totalNounCount
+        }
+
         return {
           items,
-          totalCount: result.totalCount || totalCount,
+          totalCount: finalTotalCount,
           hasMore: safeHasMore,
           nextCursor: result.nextCursor
         }
@@ -705,9 +717,21 @@ export abstract class BaseStorage extends BaseStorageAdapter {
         // This prevents pagination bugs from causing infinite loops
         const safeHasMore = items.length > 0 ? result.hasMore : false
 
+        // VALIDATION: Ensure adapter returns totalCount (prevents restart bugs)
+        // If adapter forgets to return totalCount, log warning and use pre-calculated count
+        let finalTotalCount = result.totalCount || totalCount
+        if (result.totalCount === undefined && this.totalVerbCount > 0) {
+          console.warn(
+            `⚠️  Storage adapter missing totalCount in getVerbsWithPagination result! ` +
+            `Using pre-calculated count (${this.totalVerbCount}) as fallback. ` +
+            `Please ensure your storage adapter returns totalCount: this.totalVerbCount`
+          )
+          finalTotalCount = this.totalVerbCount
+        }
+
         return {
           items,
-          totalCount: result.totalCount || totalCount,
+          totalCount: finalTotalCount,
           hasMore: safeHasMore,
           nextCursor: result.nextCursor
         }