diff --git a/server/src/nest/memories/memories.module.ts b/server/src/nest/memories/memories.module.ts
index 3e7e39d8f..f7909a2f3 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/memories/memories.module.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/memories/memories.module.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ import { PhotoProviderRegistry } from './photo-provider.registry';
 import { ImmichPhotoProvider } from './providers/immich.provider';
 import { SynologyPhotoProvider } from './providers/synology.provider';
 import { NotificationsModule } from '../notifications/notifications.module';
+import { StorageModule } from '../storage/storage.module';
 
 /**
  * Memories (photo-providers) domain — mounted at /api/integrations/memories.
@@ -43,7 +44,7 @@ import { NotificationsModule } from '../notifications/notifications.module';
  * adapters themselves so the set is readable in one place.
  */
 @Module({
-  imports: [NotificationsModule, AddonsModule, AuditModule, TrekPhotosModule, RealtimeModule, SchedulingModule],
+  imports: [NotificationsModule, AddonsModule, AuditModule, TrekPhotosModule, RealtimeModule, SchedulingModule, StorageModule],
   controllers: [UnifiedMemoriesController, ImmichMemoriesController, SynologyMemoriesController],
   providers: [
     MemoriesService,
diff --git a/server/src/nest/memories/photo-resolver.service.ts b/server/src/nest/memories/photo-resolver.service.ts
index bd3828c90..c1d039f39 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/memories/photo-resolver.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/memories/photo-resolver.service.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { Response } from 'express';
-import path from 'path';
-import fs from 'fs';
 import type { TrekPhoto } from '../../types';
 import { decrypt_api_key } from '../common/crypto/apiKeyCrypto';
 import { TrekPhotosRepository } from '../photos/trek-photos.repository';
@@ -11,6 +9,7 @@ import { TrekPhotoCacheService } from './trek-photo-cache.service';
 import { fail, success, type AssetInfo, type ServiceResult } from './memories.helpers';
 import { PhotoProviderRegistry } from './photo-provider.registry';
 import type { PhotoAssetRef } from './photo-provider';
+import { StorageService } from '../storage/storage.service';
 
 /**
  * Resolves a stored trek_photo to bytes or metadata by asking whichever provider
@@ -29,8 +28,16 @@ export class PhotoResolverService {
     private readonly thumbnails: ThumbnailService,
     private readonly cache: TrekPhotoCacheService,
     private readonly providers: PhotoProviderRegistry,
+    private readonly storage: StorageService,
   ) {}
 
+  /** photos.file_path / thumbnail_path are uploads-relative 'journey/…' by
+   * every writer; anything else reads as a local miss, matching the old
+   * existsSync(join(uploadsRoot, file_path)) === false path. */
+  private storageName(relPath: string): string | null {
+    return relPath.startsWith('journey/') ? relPath.slice('journey/'.length) : null;
+  }
+
   // ── Streaming ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
   private async streamCachedThumbnail(
@@ -41,12 +48,12 @@ export class PhotoResolverService {
   ): Promise<void> {
     const key = this.cache.cacheKey(photo.provider!, photo.asset_id!, 'thumbnail', photo.owner_id!);
 
-    if (this.cache.serveFresh(res, key)) return;
+    if (await this.cache.serveFresh(res, key)) return;
 
     const existing = this.cache.getInFlight(key);
     if (existing) {
       const bytes = await existing;
-      if (bytes && this.cache.serveFresh(res, key)) return;
+      if (bytes && (await this.cache.serveFresh(res, key))) return;
       await fallback();
       return;
     }
@@ -59,7 +66,7 @@ export class PhotoResolverService {
     this.cache.setInFlight(key, promise);
 
     const bytes = await promise;
-    if (bytes && this.cache.serveFresh(res, key)) return;
+    if (bytes && (await this.cache.serveFresh(res, key))) return;
     await fallback();
   }
 
@@ -77,26 +84,26 @@ export class PhotoResolverService {
     }
 
     if (photo.file_path) {
-      const uploadsRoot = UPLOADS_ROOT;
-
       if (kind === 'thumbnail') {
         const isVideo = photo.media_type === 'video';
         let thumbRel = photo.thumbnail_path ?? null;
         // Only raster images get a lazily-generated Jimp thumbnail; Jimp can't decode
         // video, so a video relies on the poster captured at upload (#823).
         if (!thumbRel && !isVideo) {
-          const result = await this.thumbnails.ensureLocalThumbnail(uploadsRoot, photo.file_path);
+          // Generation stays root-addressed until ThumbnailService becomes
+          // category-addressed in slice 4; serving below is already storage-backed.
+          const result = await this.thumbnails.ensureLocalThumbnail(UPLOADS_ROOT, photo.file_path);
           if (result) {
             thumbRel = result.thumbnailRelPath;
             this.photos.recordLocalThumbnail(photo.id, thumbRel, result.width, result.height);
           }
         }
         if (thumbRel) {
-          const thumbAbs = path.join(uploadsRoot, thumbRel);
-          if (fs.existsSync(thumbAbs)) {
+          const thumbName = this.storageName(thumbRel);
+          if (thumbName && (await this.storage.exists('journey', thumbName).catch(() => false))) {
             res.set('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=86400, immutable');
             res.set('X-Content-Type-Options', 'nosniff');
-            res.sendFile(thumbAbs);
+            await this.storage.sendToResponse('journey', thumbName, res);
             return;
           }
         }
@@ -109,11 +116,11 @@ export class PhotoResolverService {
         // Images fall through to original if the thumbnail is unavailable.
       }
 
-      const localPath = path.join(uploadsRoot, photo.file_path);
-      if (fs.existsSync(localPath)) {
+      const name = this.storageName(photo.file_path);
+      if (name && (await this.storage.exists('journey', name).catch(() => false))) {
         res.set('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=86400');
         res.set('X-Content-Type-Options', 'nosniff');
-        res.sendFile(localPath);
+        await this.storage.sendToResponse('journey', name, res);
         return;
       }
     }
diff --git a/server/src/nest/memories/trek-photo-cache.service.ts b/server/src/nest/memories/trek-photo-cache.service.ts
index d0c264a5b..57fbc3312 100644
--- a/server/src/nest/memories/trek-photo-cache.service.ts
+++ b/server/src/nest/memories/trek-photo-cache.service.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@ import crypto from 'node:crypto';
 import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
 import { Response } from 'express';
 import { DatabaseService } from '../database/database.service';
+import { StorageService } from '../storage/storage.service';
+import { StorageNotFoundError } from '../storage/storage.types';
 import { UPLOADS_ROOT } from './uploads-root';
 
 const TREK_PHOTO_DIR = path.join(UPLOADS_ROOT, 'photos/trek');
@@ -36,7 +38,10 @@ function cachedFilePath(key: string): string {
 /** Disk + metadata cache for provider thumbnails and originals. */
 @Injectable()
 export class TrekPhotoCacheService {
-  constructor(private readonly db: DatabaseService) {}
+  constructor(
+    private readonly db: DatabaseService,
+    private readonly storage: StorageService,
+  ) {}
 
   cacheKey(provider: string, assetId: string, kind: string, ownerId: number): string {
     return crypto.createHash('sha1').update(`${provider}:${assetId}:${kind}:${ownerId}`).digest('hex');
@@ -79,13 +84,21 @@ export class TrekPhotoCacheService {
     );
   }
 
-  serveFresh(res: Response, key: string): boolean {
+  async serveFresh(res: Response, key: string): Promise<boolean> {
     const entry = this.getFresh(key);
     if (!entry) return false;
 
     res.set('Content-Type', entry.contentType);
     res.set('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=3600');
-    res.sendFile(entry.filePath);
+    try {
+      // send() keeps a pre-set Content-Type, so entry.contentType survives the
+      // .bin extension.
+      await this.storage.sendToResponse('photos-trek', `${key}.bin`, res);
+    } catch (err) {
+      // getFresh→send delete race: fall back like a cache miss.
+      if (err instanceof StorageNotFoundError && !res.headersSent) return false;
+      throw err;
+    }
     return true;
   }
 
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/photo-resolver.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/photo-resolver.service.test.ts
index 9b443c413..1a659b81c 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/photo-resolver.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/photo-resolver.service.test.ts
@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ const cache = {
   setInFlight: vi.fn(),
   put: vi.fn(),
 };
+// Local bytes go through the storage facade (slice 3); the resolver only ever
+// addresses the 'journey' category with the 'journey/' prefix stripped.
+const storage = { exists: vi.fn(), sendToResponse: vi.fn() };
 
 const dbs = new DatabaseService(testDb);
 const repo = new TrekPhotosRepository(dbs);
@@ -80,6 +83,7 @@ const svc = new PhotoResolverService(
   thumbnails as unknown as ThumbnailService,
   cache as unknown as TrekPhotoCacheService,
   providers,
+  storage as unknown as import('../../../src/nest/storage/storage.service').StorageService,
 );
 
 function makeRes() {
@@ -111,6 +115,8 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   cache.serveFresh.mockReturnValue(false);
   cache.getInFlight.mockReturnValue(undefined);
   cache.cacheKey.mockReturnValue('k');
+  storage.exists.mockResolvedValue(false);
+  storage.sendToResponse.mockResolvedValue(undefined);
 });
 
 afterAll(() => testDb.close());
@@ -168,6 +174,64 @@ describe('streamPhoto — dispatch', () => {
     expect(row).toEqual({ thumbnail_path: 'journey/thumbs/abc.jpg', width: 800, height: 600 });
   });
 
+  it('RESOLVE-014: a local thumbnail hit streams through storage with the immutable headers', async () => {
+    const id = insertPhoto({ provider: 'local', file_path: 'journey/x.jpg', thumbnail_path: 'journey/thumbs/h.jpg' });
+    storage.exists.mockResolvedValue(true);
+    const res = makeRes();
+
+    await svc.streamPhoto(res as never, 1, id, 'thumbnail');
+
+    expect(storage.exists).toHaveBeenCalledWith('journey', 'thumbs/h.jpg');
+    expect(res.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=86400, immutable');
+    expect(res.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('X-Content-Type-Options', 'nosniff');
+    expect(storage.sendToResponse).toHaveBeenCalledWith('journey', 'thumbs/h.jpg', res);
+  });
+
+  it('RESOLVE-015: a local original hit streams through storage with the day-long cache header', async () => {
+    const id = insertPhoto({ provider: 'local', file_path: 'journey/x.jpg' });
+    storage.exists.mockResolvedValue(true);
+    const res = makeRes();
+
+    await svc.streamPhoto(res as never, 1, id, 'original');
+
+    expect(res.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=86400');
+    expect(res.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('X-Content-Type-Options', 'nosniff');
+    expect(storage.sendToResponse).toHaveBeenCalledWith('journey', 'x.jpg', res);
+  });
+
+  it('RESOLVE-016: a missing thumbnail falls through to the original for images', async () => {
+    const id = insertPhoto({ provider: 'local', file_path: 'journey/x.jpg', thumbnail_path: 'journey/thumbs/h.jpg' });
+    storage.exists.mockResolvedValueOnce(false).mockResolvedValueOnce(true);
+    const res = makeRes();
+
+    await svc.streamPhoto(res as never, 1, id, 'thumbnail');
+
+    expect(storage.sendToResponse).toHaveBeenCalledWith('journey', 'x.jpg', res);
+  });
+
+  it('RESOLVE-017: a video whose recorded poster is gone 404s instead of falling through (#823)', async () => {
+    const id = insertPhoto({ provider: 'local', file_path: 'journey/clip.mp4', thumbnail_path: 'journey/thumbs/t.jpg', media_type: 'video' });
+    storage.exists.mockResolvedValue(false);
+    const res = makeRes();
+
+    await svc.streamPhoto(res as never, 1, id, 'thumbnail');
+
+    expect(res.status).toHaveBeenCalledWith(404);
+    expect(res.json).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ error: 'No poster available' });
+    expect(storage.sendToResponse).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('RESOLVE-018: a file_path outside journey/ reads as a local miss without touching storage', async () => {
+    const id = insertPhoto({ provider: 'local', file_path: 'nope/other.jpg' });
+    const res = makeRes();
+
+    await svc.streamPhoto(res as never, 1, id, 'original');
+
+    expect(res.status).toHaveBeenCalledWith(404);
+    expect(res.json).toHaveBeenCalledWith({ error: 'File not found' });
+    expect(storage.exists).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it('RESOLVE-006: an immich original goes straight to the provider with the range header', async () => {
     const id = insertPhoto({ provider: 'immich', asset_id: 'a1', owner_id: 5 });
     const res = makeRes();
diff --git a/server/tests/unit/nest/trek-photo-cache.service.test.ts b/server/tests/unit/nest/trek-photo-cache.service.test.ts
index 747bc2fa9..89a7aa658 100644
--- a/server/tests/unit/nest/trek-photo-cache.service.test.ts
+++ b/server/tests/unit/nest/trek-photo-cache.service.test.ts
@@ -27,8 +27,13 @@ import { runMigrations } from '../../../src/db/migrations';
 import { DatabaseService } from '../../../src/nest/database/database.service';
 import { TrekPhotoCacheService, CACHE_TTL } from '../../../src/nest/memories/trek-photo-cache.service';
 import { UPLOADS_ROOT } from '../../../src/nest/memories/uploads-root';
+import { StorageNotFoundError } from '../../../src/nest/storage/storage.types';
+import type { StorageService } from '../../../src/nest/storage/storage.service';
 
-const svc = new TrekPhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(testDb));
+// serveFresh is the one byte-serving method; the cache's disk internals
+// (getFresh/put/sweep) stay raw-fs until slice 4.
+const storage = { sendToResponse: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined) };
+const svc = new TrekPhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(testDb), storage as unknown as StorageService);
 const CACHE_DIR = path.join(UPLOADS_ROOT, 'photos/trek');
 const written: string[] = [];
 
@@ -112,22 +117,32 @@ describe('put / getFresh', () => {
 });
 
 describe('serveFresh', () => {
-  it('CACHE-007: sends the cached file with a one-hour cache header', async () => {
+  it('CACHE-007: sends the cached bytes through storage with a one-hour cache header', async () => {
     const key = freshKey('serve');
     await svc.put(key, Buffer.from('bytes'), 'image/webp');
-    const res = { set: vi.fn(), sendFile: vi.fn() };
+    const res = { set: vi.fn() };
 
-    expect(svc.serveFresh(res as never, key)).toBe(true);
+    expect(await svc.serveFresh(res as never, key)).toBe(true);
     expect(res.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Content-Type', 'image/webp');
     expect(res.set).toHaveBeenCalledWith('Cache-Control', 'public, max-age=3600');
-    expect(res.sendFile).toHaveBeenCalledOnce();
+    expect(storage.sendToResponse).toHaveBeenCalledWith('photos-trek', `${key}.bin`, res);
   });
 
-  it('CACHE-008: reports a miss without touching the response', () => {
-    const res = { set: vi.fn(), sendFile: vi.fn() };
-    expect(svc.serveFresh(res as never, 'nothing-cached')).toBe(false);
+  it('CACHE-008: reports a miss without touching the response or storage', async () => {
+    storage.sendToResponse.mockClear();
+    const res = { set: vi.fn() };
+    expect(await svc.serveFresh(res as never, 'nothing-cached')).toBe(false);
     expect(res.set).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
-    expect(res.sendFile).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(storage.sendToResponse).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('CACHE-013: a getFresh→send delete race reads as a miss, not a crash', async () => {
+    const key = freshKey('race');
+    await svc.put(key, Buffer.from('bytes'), 'image/webp');
+    storage.sendToResponse.mockRejectedValueOnce(new StorageNotFoundError(`photos/trek/${key}.bin`));
+    const res = { set: vi.fn(), headersSent: false };
+
+    expect(await svc.serveFresh(res as never, key)).toBe(false);
   });
 });
 
@@ -151,7 +166,7 @@ describe('the stampede guard', () => {
     // Load-bearing: a per-instance map would hand any second instance a private
     // guard and the dedup would be silently gone. The sweep cron injects the
     // container singleton now, but the invariant stays pinned.
-    const other = new TrekPhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(testDb));
+    const other = new TrekPhotoCacheService(new DatabaseService(testDb), storage as unknown as StorageService);
     const promise = Promise.resolve<Buffer | null>(null);
     svc.setInFlight('shared-key', promise);
     expect(other.getInFlight('shared-key')).toBe(promise);