diff --git a/utils/fastapi_utils.py b/utils/fastapi_utils.py
index ac4c5c3..5dd8709 100644
--- a/utils/fastapi_utils.py
+++ b/utils/fastapi_utils.py
@@ -615,13 +615,19 @@ async def fetch_bot_config_from_db(bot_user_id: str, user_identifier: Optional[s
             if not config.get("api_key") and user_identifier:
                 async with pool.connection() as conn:
                     async with conn.cursor() as cursor:
+                        # Sub-accounts should fall back to the parent account's API token
                         await cursor.execute(
-                            "SELECT new_api_token FROM agent_user WHERE username = %s",
+                            """
+                            SELECT u.new_api_token, parent.new_api_token
+                            FROM agent_user u
+                            LEFT JOIN agent_user parent ON u.parent_id = parent.id
+                            WHERE u.username = %s
+                            """,
                             (user_identifier,)
                         )
                         row = await cursor.fetchone()
-                        if row and row[0]:
-                            config["api_key"] = row[0]
+                        if row:
+                            config["api_key"] = row[1] or row[0] or ""
             logger.info(
                 f"Fetched general agent config: model={config['model']}, "
                 f"api_key={'*' + config['api_key'][-4:] if config.get('api_key') else 'N/A'}"