Lost protected family photos after transfer

Today, I decided to transfer about 100-150 photos off my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, only keeping the protected family photos. I'd moved those photos off the 2GB SD card, and after that, everything was fine and stored on my computer. Then I went to check the card again, and everything was gone. I hadn't deleted anything. I'd only moved half the photos for a project, and now the rest are gone.

To make matters worse, a small rib on the SD card snapped off.

I'd tried many things, such as EaseUS, but I couldn't afford it (nor DiskDrill). I didn't have any money anyway. I was thinking of calling my local camera tech, but are there any other free ways to recover the rest of my photos????????? I have a residential coming up