diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 66453d7..72e6d63 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@push.rocks/smartexit",
-  "version": "2.0.1",
+  "version": "2.0.2",
   "private": false,
   "description": "A library for managing graceful shutdowns of Node.js processes by handling cleanup operations, including terminating child processes.",
   "main": "dist_ts/index.js",
diff --git a/ts/smartexit.classes.lifecycle.ts b/ts/smartexit.classes.lifecycle.ts
index d7c0eb9..ed3fc76 100644
--- a/ts/smartexit.classes.lifecycle.ts
+++ b/ts/smartexit.classes.lifecycle.ts
@@ -187,18 +187,25 @@ export class ProcessLifecycle {
     });
   }
 
-  /** Synchronous last-resort: SIGKILL any remaining tracked PIDs. */
+  /** Synchronous last-resort: SIGKILL any remaining tracked process groups. */
   private handleExit(): void {
     const instances = ProcessLifecycle.getInstances();
     let killed = 0;
 
     for (const instance of instances) {
       for (const pid of instance.trackedPids) {
+        // Kill entire process group (negative PID) for detached children
         try {
-          process.kill(pid, 'SIGKILL');
+          process.kill(-pid, 'SIGKILL');
           killed++;
         } catch {
-          // Process already dead
+          // Process group may not exist, try single PID
+          try {
+            process.kill(pid, 'SIGKILL');
+            killed++;
+          } catch {
+            // Process already dead
+          }
         }
       }
     }