.psd file disappears from Photoshop 2025's Open Recent list

I am using CC Photoshop 2025 on a Mac, Sequoia os.   The file was saved on the desktop. The next day the file was not opened, and it was still on the desktop. The file was not opened that day.  The following day it was no longer on the desktop.   Tried to locate the file using Photoshop's Open Recent list. It did not appear in the Open Recent list, even though it was the last file opened.  Then used File Find but the computer was not able to find the file anywhere on the computer.  I also looked for files from the same day to see if the file had a different name, and I opened all .psd files from the previous few days.

I retrieved an earlier version of the file from the Time Machine backup. That version was missing several layers of edits. I made the edits again and saved the file to the desktop. Because I was concerned this might happen again,  I dragged a copy of it to the external drive, in addition to Time Machine backing up the file.

The file was not edited for 3 days, and it remained on the desktop. On the 19th I worked on the file for 3 hours, saved it to the desktop with a new name, and again dragged a copy to the external drive.  On the 20th, the file was on the desktop.  I did not open the file on the 20th.  On the 21st, the file was not on the desktop, and was not in Photoshop 2025's Open Recent list.

I again did a complete search using File Find. The file did not appear on the computer or the external drive.

But opening the external drive, by double clicking on its icon, I could see the file is there.

I copied the file back to the desktop, opened it, and saved it with a new name. The file works perfectly, no issues with editing, adding layers, etc. I have again dragged a copy to the external drive.

We do not backup to the Adobe, Apple or Microsoft cloud.

Other .psd files saved to the desktop and edited during the same time frame are not affected.

The strangest thing is that the file disappears from the Open Recent list in Photoshop. It's not that the file was moved, it's as if it never existed.

opening the Exernal Drive to view

This has happened twice.  Other.psd files are not affected.  The file disappears as if it never existed on the computer.

I do not back up to iCloud, Adobe Cloud or Microsoft OneDrive.

I use Time Machine and an external backup drive.  We