iPhone 14 contacts lost after tapping a 'recent' number

My iPhone 14 recently lost all telephone contacts. It happened when I tapped a "recent" telephone number to return a call. I had the contacts set to be saved in the iCloud, but when I went to the iCloud on my lap top to recover the data, there was nothing. Any ideas where my contacts went? And more importantly, how I might recover them?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Lost Contacts