Why does this work?

Here's my code:

exports.deletePost = (req, res, next) => {
  const postId = req.params.postId;
  Post.findById(postId)
    .then(post => {
      if (!post) {
        const error = new Error("Could not find post.");
        error.statusCode = 404;
        throw error;
      }
      //check login user
      clearImage(post.imageUrl);
      return Post.findByIdAndRemove(postId);
    })
    .then(result => {
      console.log(result);
      res.status(200).json({ message: "Deleted post!" });
    })
    .catch(err => {
      if (!err.statusCode) {
        err.statusCode = 500;
      }
      next(err);
    });
};

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Line #12, it says return Post.findByIdAndRemove(postId).

I was always under the impression that once you invoke the "return" dynamic, you're exiting the flow of the code at that point. Yet, in this case, it proceeds to the next "then" clause.

Why?

The code works, but I want to know why the continues to the next "then" clause despite the fact that there's a "return" dynamic in place.