diff --git a/backend/src/shared/config/load-env.ts b/backend/src/shared/config/load-env.ts
index 61875a6..11655ec 100644
--- a/backend/src/shared/config/load-env.ts
+++ b/backend/src/shared/config/load-env.ts
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ import fs from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
 
 const __dirname = import.meta.dirname;
-const ENV_FILE = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', '..', '.env');
+// Path: shared/config -> shared -> src -> backend/.env (3 levels up)
+const ENV_FILE = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', '..', '..', '.env');
 
 interface EnvEntry {
   key: string;