diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index af2e9506..3f38c30c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Release artifacts land in `target/wasm32-unknown-unknown/release/<crate>.wasm`.
 
 The primary storage and metering contract. Holds USDC on behalf of API consumers and deducts balances on every metered call.
 
-- `init(owner, usdc_token, ..., authorized_caller, min_deposit, revenue_pool, max_deduct)` — Initialize with owner and optional configuration; `min_deposit` defaults to `1` and must be `> 0`.
+- `init(owner, usdc_token, initial_balance, authorized_caller, min_deposit, revenue_pool, max_deduct)` — Initialize with owner and optional configuration. `initial_balance` defaults to `0`; when `> 0` the vault verifies the on-ledger USDC balance covers it. `min_deposit` defaults to `1` and must be `> 0`.
 - `deposit(caller, amount)` — Owner or allowed depositor increases ledger balance.
 - `deduct(caller, amount, request_id)` — Decrease balance for an API call; routes funds to settlement.
 - `batch_deduct(caller, items)` — Atomically process multiple deductions.
diff --git a/SECURITY.md b/SECURITY.md
index c93ac4c2..704b8133 100644
--- a/SECURITY.md
+++ b/SECURITY.md
@@ -20,14 +20,14 @@ This document outlines security best practices and checklist items for Callora v
 > All balance mutations in `callora-vault` (`deposit`, `deduct`, `batch_deduct`, `withdraw`, `withdraw_to`) and `callora-revenue-pool` (`batch_distribute`) use `checked_add` / `checked_sub` and panic with a descriptive message on overflow. `callora-settlement` (`receive_payment`) does the same. The workspace `Cargo.toml` sets `overflow-checks = true` for both `dev` and `release` profiles, so even plain arithmetic would trap in debug builds — the explicit checked calls make the intent clear and guarantee the same behaviour in all build configurations.
 
 Additional hardening note:
-- Removed a duplicated `get_max_deduct` entrypoint declaration in `callora-vault` to avoid ambiguous review surfaces and keep ABI-facing code paths singular.
+- Removed a duplicated `get_max_deduct` entrypoint declaration in `callora-vault` to avoid ambiguous review surfaces and keep ABI-facing code paths singular. The function is retained as a private internal helper called by `deduct` and `batch_deduct`.
 
 ### Initialization / Re-initialization
 
-- [ ] `initialize` function protected against multiple calls (e.g., checking if admin key exists in `instance()` storage)
+- [x] `initialize` function protected against multiple calls (e.g., checking if admin key exists in `instance()` storage)
 - [ ] Contract upgrades (`env.deployer().update_current_contract_wasm()`) protected by `require_auth()`
 - [ ] No unprotected re-init functions
-- [ ] `initialize` validates all input parameters
+- [x] `initialize` validates all input parameters
 
 ### Pause / Circuit Breaker
 
diff --git a/contracts/vault/src/lib.rs b/contracts/vault/src/lib.rs
index eba93c7b..08096f30 100644
--- a/contracts/vault/src/lib.rs
+++ b/contracts/vault/src/lib.rs
@@ -288,6 +288,13 @@ impl CalloraVault {
             .publish((Symbol::new(&env, "vault_unpaused"), caller), ());
     }
 
+    fn get_max_deduct(env: Env) -> i128 {
+        env.storage()
+            .instance()
+            .get(&StorageKey::MaxDeduct)
+            .unwrap_or(DEFAULT_MAX_DEDUCT)
+    }
+
     /// Returns the current pause state of the vault.
     ///
     /// # Purpose
@@ -412,7 +419,6 @@ impl CalloraVault {
     pub fn batch_deduct(env: Env, caller: Address, items: Vec<DeductItem>) -> i128 {
         Self::require_not_paused(env.clone());
         caller.require_auth();
-        Self::require_not_paused(env.clone());
         let n = items.len();
         assert!(n > 0, "batch_deduct requires at least one item");
         assert!(n <= MAX_BATCH_SIZE, "batch too large");
diff --git a/contracts/vault/src/test.rs b/contracts/vault/src/test.rs
index 666b526a..a3dd24bf 100644
--- a/contracts/vault/src/test.rs
+++ b/contracts/vault/src/test.rs
@@ -448,9 +448,15 @@ fn owner_deposit_increases_balance_and_emits_event() {
         })
         .expect("expected deposit event");
 
-    assert_eq!(deposit_event.1.len(), 1, "topics must have exactly 1 entry");
+    assert_eq!(
+        deposit_event.1.len(),
+        2,
+        "topics must have exactly 2 entries"
+    );
     let topic0: Symbol = deposit_event.1.get(0).unwrap().into_val(&env);
     assert_eq!(topic0, Symbol::new(&env, "deposit"));
+    let topic1: Address = deposit_event.1.get(1).unwrap().into_val(&env);
+    assert_eq!(topic1, owner);
 
     let (amount, new_balance): (i128, i128) = deposit_event.2.into_val(&env);
     assert_eq!(amount, 300);
@@ -540,11 +546,11 @@ fn deposit_event_schema_alignment() {
         })
         .expect("expected deposit event");
 
-    // Schema alignment: exactly 1 topic
+    // Schema alignment: exactly 2 topics (Symbol + caller Address)
     assert_eq!(
         deposit_event.1.len(),
-        1,
-        "deposit event must have exactly 1 topic"
+        2,
+        "deposit event must have exactly 2 topics"
     );
     let topic0: Symbol = deposit_event.1.get(0).unwrap().into_val(&env);
     assert_eq!(
@@ -552,6 +558,8 @@ fn deposit_event_schema_alignment() {
         Symbol::new(&env, "deposit"),
         "topic[0] must be Symbol(\"deposit\")"
     );
+    let topic1: Address = deposit_event.1.get(1).unwrap().into_val(&env);
+    assert_eq!(topic1, owner, "topic[1] must be the depositor address");
 
     // Data must decode as (amount: i128, new_balance: i128)
     let (amount, new_balance): (i128, i128) = deposit_event.2.into_val(&env);
@@ -3009,7 +3017,7 @@ fn batch_deduct_while_paused_fails() {
             request_id: None,
         },
     ];
-    client.batch_deduct(&owner, &items);
+    client.batch_deduct(&owner, &items); // must panic with "vault is paused"
 }
 
 #[test]