maybe you should have inspected the original image more thoroughly. it is roughly these two images in composite with a steg password hint in the bottom right corner. it was never anything nefarious. the original that was sent had some interesting info to extract. the payload has never been acted upon. it was a test to see if you had any crypto/digital tradecraft skills. there are those who would have been more diligent in their investigation. multiple times I threw out tests to see if there were others here. there were not. i'm sorry this has bothered you so much, i truly enjoyed our interactions. i was just searching for others like me, those who understand that somethings are hidden in plain sight. best of luck.
also, there is no evidence. as douglas adams penned: that's just perfectly normal paranoia. everyone in the universe has that.