diff --git a/tests/tools/test_delegate.py b/tests/tools/test_delegate.py
index 0fa8a965c..ac3790849 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_delegate.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_delegate.py
@@ -918,6 +918,31 @@ class TestDelegateObservability(unittest.TestCase):
             result = json.loads(delegate_task(goal="Test max iter", parent_agent=parent))
             self.assertEqual(result["results"][0]["exit_reason"], "max_iterations")
 
+    def test_empty_sentinel_marks_status_failed(self):
+        """Regression: a child that returns the literal '(empty)' sentinel
+        (emitted by run_agent.py when the LLM returns empty responses after
+        retries — e.g. transport misrouting) must be reported as failed, not
+        silently accepted as a completed delegation. Otherwise the parent
+        surfaces an empty string as if the subagent succeeded."""
+        parent = _make_mock_parent(depth=0)
+
+        with patch("run_agent.AIAgent") as MockAgent:
+            mock_child = MagicMock()
+            mock_child.model = "claude-sonnet-4-6"
+            mock_child.session_prompt_tokens = 0
+            mock_child.session_completion_tokens = 0
+            mock_child.run_conversation.return_value = {
+                "final_response": "(empty)",
+                "completed": True,
+                "interrupted": False,
+                "api_calls": 4,
+                "messages": [],
+            }
+            MockAgent.return_value = mock_child
+
+            result = json.loads(delegate_task(goal="Test empty sentinel", parent_agent=parent))
+            self.assertEqual(result["results"][0]["status"], "failed")
+
 
 class TestSubagentCostRollup(unittest.TestCase):
     """Port of Kilo-Org/kilocode#9448 — parent's session_estimated_cost_usd
@@ -1341,6 +1366,32 @@ class TestDelegationCredentialResolution(unittest.TestCase):
         creds = _resolve_delegation_credentials(cfg, parent)
         self.assertIsNone(creds["provider"])
 
+    @patch("hermes_cli.runtime_provider.resolve_runtime_provider")
+    def test_bedrock_provider_with_base_url_uses_runtime_resolver(self, mock_resolve):
+        """Regression: provider=bedrock + base_url set must NOT fall through the
+        direct-base_url branch (which would force provider='custom' +
+        chat_completions and silently misroute OpenAI JSON to the Bedrock
+        native endpoint, returning empty responses)."""
+        mock_resolve.return_value = {
+            "provider": "bedrock",
+            "base_url": "https://bedrock-runtime.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
+            "api_key": "aws-resolved-key",
+            "api_mode": "bedrock_converse",
+        }
+        parent = _make_mock_parent(depth=0)
+        cfg = {
+            "model": "us.anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-6",
+            "provider": "bedrock",
+            "base_url": "https://bedrock-runtime.us-west-2.amazonaws.com",
+        }
+        creds = _resolve_delegation_credentials(cfg, parent)
+        # Must use Bedrock, not 'custom'
+        self.assertEqual(creds["provider"], "bedrock")
+        self.assertEqual(creds["api_mode"], "bedrock_converse")
+        mock_resolve.assert_called_once()
+        self.assertEqual(mock_resolve.call_args.kwargs.get("requested"), "bedrock")
+
+
 
 class TestDelegationProviderIntegration(unittest.TestCase):
     """Integration tests: delegation config → _run_single_child → AIAgent construction."""
diff --git a/tools/delegate_tool.py b/tools/delegate_tool.py
index 8a5a060fd..17b9435a0 100644
--- a/tools/delegate_tool.py
+++ b/tools/delegate_tool.py
@@ -2051,9 +2051,16 @@ def _run_single_child(
         interrupted = result.get("interrupted", False)
         api_calls = result.get("api_calls", 0)
 
+        # The child emits the literal "(empty)" sentinel (see run_agent.py) when
+        # it gives up after repeated empty-LLM-response retries — typically a
+        # transport bug (misrouted provider, adapter returning empty
+        # ChatCompletion, etc.). Treat it as a failure so the parent surfaces
+        # it instead of silently accepting zero-content "success".
+        _empty_sentinel = summary.strip() == "(empty)"
+
         if interrupted:
             status = "interrupted"
-        elif summary:
+        elif summary and not _empty_sentinel:
             # A summary means the subagent produced usable output.
             # exit_reason ("completed" vs "max_iterations") already
             # tells the parent *how* the task ended.
@@ -3000,7 +3007,17 @@ def _resolve_delegation_credentials(cfg: dict, parent_agent) -> dict:
     configured_api_key = str(cfg.get("api_key") or "").strip() or None
     configured_api_mode = str(cfg.get("api_mode") or "").strip().lower() or None
 
-    if configured_base_url:
+    # Native-SDK providers (Bedrock, Vertex, Google GenAI) speak their own
+    # wire protocol — they cannot be reached via OpenAI chat_completions against
+    # a base_url. For these, always fall through to resolve_runtime_provider()
+    # so the proper SDK path is taken. The configured base_url is still
+    # forwarded through runtime-provider resolution when applicable (e.g. a
+    # custom Bedrock regional endpoint).
+    _NATIVE_SDK_PROVIDERS = {"bedrock", "vertex", "google", "google-genai"}
+    _provider_lower = (configured_provider or "").strip().lower()
+    _is_native_sdk_provider = _provider_lower in _NATIVE_SDK_PROVIDERS
+
+    if configured_base_url and not _is_native_sdk_provider:
         # When delegation.api_key is not set, return None so _build_child_agent
         # falls back to the parent agent's API key via the credential inheritance
         # path (effective_api_key = override_api_key or parent_api_key). This