diff --git a/src/captcha/captcha-challenge.service.ts b/src/captcha/captcha-challenge.service.ts
index 91833fa..7c0574c 100644
--- a/src/captcha/captcha-challenge.service.ts
+++ b/src/captcha/captcha-challenge.service.ts
@@ -12,49 +12,40 @@ import { HashService } from "src/utils/hash/hash.service";
 
 @Injectable()
 export class CaptchaChallengeService {
+  private readonly isDev: boolean;
+
   constructor(
     private readonly captchaService: CaptchaService,
     private readonly hashService: HashService,
     private readonly captchaChallengeDbService: CaptchaChallengeDbService,
     private readonly configService: ConfigService,
-  ) {}
+  ) {
+    this.isDev = this.configService.get<string>("NODE_ENV") === "development";
+  }
 
   async issue(): Promise<CaptchaResponseDto> {
     const generated = this.captchaService.generate();
     const captchaId = randomUUID();
 
-    if (this.configService.get<string>("NODE_ENV") === "development") {
-      const answerHash = await this.hashService.hash(
-        this.captchaService.normalizeAnswer(generated.text),
-      );
-      const result = {
-        captchaId,
-        answerHash:
-          this.configService.get<string>("NODE_ENV") === "development"
-            ? answerHash
-            : "",
-        image: generated.image,
-        expiresAt: generated.expiresAt,
-        expireAt: new Date(generated.expiresAt),
-        usedAt: null,
-      };
-    }
+    // Always hash and persist the answer — the env check was the root bug
+    const answerHash = await this.hashService.hash(
+      this.captchaService.normalizeAnswer(generated.text),
+    );
 
-    const result = {
+    await this.captchaChallengeDbService.create({
       captchaId,
+      answerHash,
       image: generated.image,
       expiresAt: generated.expiresAt,
       expireAt: new Date(generated.expiresAt),
       usedAt: null,
-    };
-
-    await this.captchaChallengeDbService.create(result);
+    });
 
     return {
       captchaId,
-      text: generated.text /* TODO: REMOVE THIS FOR PROD*/,
       image: generated.image,
       expiresAt: generated.expiresAt,
+      ...(this.isDev && { text: generated.text }),
     };
   }
 
diff --git a/src/captcha/captcha.service.ts b/src/captcha/captcha.service.ts
index 387b7dd..c7a8149 100644
--- a/src/captcha/captcha.service.ts
+++ b/src/captcha/captcha.service.ts
@@ -3,15 +3,13 @@ import { ConfigService } from "@nestjs/config";
 import * as svgCaptcha from "svg-captcha";
 
 export interface GeneratedCaptcha {
-  text?: string;
+  text: string;
   image: string;
   expiresAt: number;
 }
 
 @Injectable()
 export class CaptchaService {
-  constructor(private readonly configService: ConfigService) {}
-
   generate(): GeneratedCaptcha {
     const captcha = svgCaptcha.create({
       size: 5,
@@ -24,13 +22,6 @@ export class CaptchaService {
       fontSize: 52,
     });
 
-    if (this.configService.get<string>("NODE_ENV") === "production") {
-      return {
-        image: `data:image/svg+xml;base64,${Buffer.from(captcha.data, "utf8").toString("base64")}`,
-        expiresAt: this.buildExpireAt(),
-      };
-    }
-
     return {
       text: captcha.text,
       image: `data:image/svg+xml;base64,${Buffer.from(captcha.data, "utf8").toString("base64")}`,