>i tried btcrecover but it's not for paper wallets.
That's incorrect -- btcrecover.py supports the --bip38-enc-privkey option.  Make sure to use the 3rd iteration of btcrecover.py (https://github.com/3rdIteration/btcrecover).

If you have other questions about recovering lost passwords to bip38 encrypted private keys, check out this article: https://cryptoassetrecovery.com/posts/how-to-recover-your-paper-wallet