M2 Mac Files Deleted With Option-Command-Delete: What To Check When a Scan Finds Nothing
If a first recovery scan on an M2 MacBook Air does not show the documents you permanently deleted, do not pay for several tools yet. First check whether another copy exists in iCloud Drive or in a Time Machine snapshot that was created before deletion. Only after those checks fail does a second recovery scan become a reasonable last software test.
The key fact in this M2 Mac deletion case is that the files were removed from Desktop with Option-Command-Delete, Trash was empty, and the OP later said a scan did not find the needed documents and Time Machine had never been enabled.
Check Copies Before Running Another Scan
If Desktop & Documents syncing was enabled, Apple says files stored there are kept in iCloud Drive and deleted items can remain recoverable for 30 days. Check iCloud Drive and Recently Deleted before doing anything else on the Mac. Apple documents how Desktop and Documents work with iCloud Drive.
Time Machine local snapshots are useful only when the Mac had already been using Time Machine automatic backups. Apple says those snapshots are created roughly hourly and normally retained for up to 24 hours. Because the Reddit OP said Time Machine was not enabled, turning it on now would help future losses but would not create a snapshot from before this deletion. See Apple's local snapshot guidance.
Is Another Recovery Scan Worth Trying?
Possibly, but treat it as a test rather than a promise. Different recovery engines can return different results, so one second-opinion scan can be justified when the files are important. Do not install large apps or create new files on the affected Mac unnecessarily while deciding what to do.
If you want a visual second-opinion scan, Recoverit Mac File Recovery can scan a readable Mac volume for deleted files. Its current Mac free edition can recover up to 500MB, but the useful decision point comes before payment: if the scan and preview still do not show the missing documents, buying a larger allowance does not make those unseen files appear.
Decision Point:
Check iCloud first. Skip Time Machine as a recovery path if it was never enabled. Then, if the documents are valuable enough, try one second-opinion scan and stop if the files still cannot be found rather than cycling through paid tools.