diff --git a/src/app/home-page/page.tsx b/src/app/home-page/page.tsx
index 7f0b5b9..9d7e1d7 100644
--- a/src/app/home-page/page.tsx
+++ b/src/app/home-page/page.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import type { Metadata } from "next";
 import Header from "@/components/Header";
 import Footer from "@/components/Footer";
 import FeaturedBentoFromDb from '@/components/FeaturedBentoFromDb';
+import FeatureStoryHero from '@/components/FeatureStoryHero';
 import FeaturedCarouselServer from '@/components/FeaturedCarouselServer';
 import TrendsSidebar from '@/components/TrendsSidebar';
 import LiveWireTicker from '@/components/LiveWireTicker';
@@ -156,6 +157,13 @@ export default function HomePage() {
         </Suspense>
       </div>
 
+      {/* Top feature story hero — single prominent card above the bento */}
+      <ScrollRevealSection className="section-enter section-enter-2">
+        <Suspense fallback={<BentoSkeleton />}>
+          <FeatureStoryHero />
+        </Suspense>
+      </ScrollRevealSection>
+
       {/* Featured articles bento */}
       <ScrollRevealSection className="section-enter section-enter-3">
         <Suspense fallback={<BentoSkeleton />}>
diff --git a/src/components/FeatureStoryHero.tsx b/src/components/FeatureStoryHero.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b5ee249
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/components/FeatureStoryHero.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+import Link from "next/link";
+import { createClient } from "@supabase/supabase-js";
+import { rewriteLegacyImageUrl } from "@/lib/legacy-image";
+
+export const dynamic = "force-dynamic";
+
+interface Row {
+  wp_slug: string;
+  title: string;
+  excerpt: string | null;
+  category: string | null;
+  featured_image: string | null;
+  featured_image_alt: string | null;
+  author_name: string | null;
+  wp_published_at: string | null;
+}
+
+export default async function FeatureStoryHero() {
+  const sb = createClient(
+    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
+    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_ANON_KEY!,
+    {
+      db: { schema: (process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_SCHEMA || "bb") as "public" },
+      auth: { persistSession: false },
+    }
+  );
+
+  const { data } = await sb
+    .from("wp_imported_posts")
+    .select(
+      "wp_slug, title, excerpt, category, featured_image, featured_image_alt, author_name, wp_published_at",
+    )
+    .eq("status", "published")
+    .ilike("category", "featured")
+    .order("featured", { ascending: false })
+    .order("wp_published_at", { ascending: false, nullsFirst: false })
+    .limit(1);
+
+  const story = data?.[0] as Row | undefined;
+  if (!story) return null;
+
+  const image = story.featured_image
+    ? rewriteLegacyImageUrl(story.featured_image)
+    : "/assets/images/article-placeholder.svg";
+
+  return (
+    <section
+      className="max-w-container mx-auto px-4 mt-6 mb-2"
+      aria-label="Top feature story"
+    >
+      <Link
+        href={`/news/${story.wp_slug}`}
+        className="group block relative overflow-hidden rounded border border-[#252525] bg-[#0b0f17] hover:border-[#5B7C8D] transition-colors"
+      >
+        <div className="relative aspect-[21/9] md:aspect-[21/8] bg-[#111]">
+          <img
+            src={image}
+            alt={story.featured_image_alt || story.title}
+            className="w-full h-full object-cover"
+          />
+          <div className="absolute inset-0 bg-gradient-to-t from-black via-black/65 to-transparent" />
+
+          <span className="absolute top-4 left-4 inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 bg-[#5B7C8D] text-white px-3 py-1 rounded font-mono text-[11px] uppercase tracking-widest font-bold shadow-md">
+            <svg width="11" height="11" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true">
+              <path d="M12 2l2.6 7.6H22l-6.2 4.5L18.4 22 12 17.3 5.6 22l2.6-7.9L2 9.6h7.4z" />
+            </svg>
+            Feature Story
+          </span>
+
+          <div className="absolute bottom-0 left-0 right-0 p-6 md:p-10">
+            {story.category && (
+              <div className="text-[10px] font-mono uppercase tracking-widest text-[#5B7C8D] mb-2">
+                {story.category}
+              </div>
+            )}
+            <h2 className="font-serif text-2xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl text-white leading-tight max-w-3xl group-hover:text-[#C8D9E6] transition-colors">
+              {story.title}
+            </h2>
+            {story.excerpt && (
+              <p className="font-serif text-base md:text-lg text-[#cbd5e1] mt-3 max-w-2xl line-clamp-2">
+                {story.excerpt}
+              </p>
+            )}
+            <div className="mt-4 flex items-center gap-3 text-[11px] font-mono text-[#9ca3af]">
+              <span>{story.author_name || "Staff Reporter"}</span>
+              {story.wp_published_at && (
+                <>
+                  <span>·</span>
+                  <span>
+                    {new Date(story.wp_published_at).toLocaleDateString("en-US", {
+                      month: "short",
+                      day: "numeric",
+                      year: "numeric",
+                    })}
+                  </span>
+                </>
+              )}
+              <span aria-hidden="true" className="text-[#5B7C8D] ml-2">→ Read full story</span>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </Link>
+    </section>
+  );
+}