iPhone disable after 10 wrong passcode inputs

Hi,

Yesterday I lost ~1,5 years of my sons childhood photos. Today I am back to his 6 month, since that was my last backup to iTunes. My problem you will say and you will not be mistaken. BUT...

What does this selection mean: Settings > Touch ID & Passcode >Erase Data (on/off)?

It was set to off in my case, and still, after 10 wrong inputs of passcode the outcome was the same - I lost all my unbackuped data. To my understanding, this setting clearly states, that if I choose not to Erase Data after 10 wrong passcodes, I should not loose my data. So what happened here? Is there a way to get back at least part of the wiped data after iPhone restore via iTunes?

Sorry for abrupt and chaotic mind evolution but I could not sleep all night as I have taken childhood from my son due to some dumb programming.

There is a bug in this iOS version (12.2), that after 10 wrong inputs of passcode and delayed (60min) login via Touch ID, you can use the phone normally, except the Touch ID & Passcode settings and probably other interfaces where Passcode is a means of verification. But if you power down the phone (which was my mistake, as I did not know about this software bug), upon restart it will be disabled without ANY WAY TO GET YOUR DATA BACK. Why? I mean, if the phone was already under suspicion of misuse, why does Touch ID unlock it? And why there is no warning system that would inform you, that rebooting the phone would rip your hear out of your chest?

I love Apple. The concept, the quality. Not sure if that is true anymore.