And then I realized: the app wasn’t destructive.
DELETE DUPLICATES.
“What is it?”
Then I checked my “Projects” folder. 1-Click Duplicate Delete for Files v1 11-DOA
I almost archived it. Another piece of shovelware from some bottom-feeder dev. But the “DOA” part snagged me. Dead on Arrival? That’s not a version number. That’s a coroner’s report. And then I realized: the app wasn’t destructive
I unplugged the machine. Pulled the SSD. Rushed to my colleague Mira, the only person I know who still owns a hardware write-blocker. She slotted the drive into her forensic station. 1-Click Duplicate Delete for Files v1 11-DOA
She pointed at the drive’s raw hex readout. Every “deleted” file wasn’t gone. It was overwritten. But not with zeros. With a repeating pattern: