I Returned to the Day He Brought His First Love Home-Chapter 123: Jason Dunn Isn’t Dead?

Francis Aldridge took Frank Dunn upstairs for a meal. Once the boy had eaten his fill, Francis took him home.

Lily Callahan pulled Grace Winslow aside and couldn’t help but gossip in a low voice, "I never would have thought. Is that Ivy White really so wild?"

"No wonder her in-laws were cruel enough to kick her out while she was pregnant. So that was the reason."

Grace Winslow frowned, feeling that something was off.

After a moment of thought, she finally spoke. "I don’t think this is right. I don’t remember Jason Dunn and Ivy White having a child that old. The baby she was carrying back then should have been their first."

"Sister-in-law, I’m stepping out for a bit."

With that, Grace Winslow left.

’The boy didn’t look very old; he shouldn’t have any reason to lie.’

’And yet, he knew so much about Ivy White.’

Grace knew she shouldn’t be so suspicious, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that his story was riddled with inconsistencies and full of holes.

She didn’t know what kind of person Jason Dunn was.

In her past life, he had already died in the line of duty by the time Ivy White arrived.

The Dunn family had never come to Prospera Town to cause any trouble.

Ivy White had lived at Caleb Forrest’s home the entire time, raising Timothy Dunn and cutting off all contact with both her in-laws and her own family.

After taking over Grace’s job at the textile factory, she made a few minor mistakes at first but was a decent worker after that.

Plus, she had Caleb Forrest backing her.

Once the economy opened up, she was one of the first to take her money and go into business, and she even made a decent success of it.

’If she had really given birth to that many children, how could she possibly...’

Grace Winslow hurried out the door, making a beeline for the post office.

Halfway there, a car suddenly pulled up in front of her.

She froze, staring at the car.

The car door opened, and Ethan Grant stepped out. "Ms. Winslow, what a coincidence. Where are you headed?"

Grace Winslow hadn’t expected to run into him. She hesitated for a second before replying, "Chief Grant, it really is a coincidence. I was planning to go to the post office."

"Let me give you a ride?" Ethan Grant stepped aside, gesturing for Grace to get in the car.

Grace Winslow hesitated for only a moment before getting in.

It wasn’t a short walk to the post office from here. She’d left in such a hurry that she hadn’t taken her bike, and running would take twenty minutes at best. A round trip would waste a whole hour.

Once she was settled in the car, Ethan Grant got in as well. "You seem to be in a hurry. Is it for something important?"

Grace Winslow shook her head. "It’s nothing major. I just need to make a phone call to look into something."

After a moment’s thought, she looked at Ethan Grant. "Chief Grant, you must be very well-connected. Could I ask you about something?"

"Oh? Tell me about it." Ethan Grant raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued.

Grace Winslow chose her words carefully before speaking. "Chief Grant, as you may know, I was previously in a rather difficult marriage that ended in divorce. Today, a boy who was caught stealing from my house claimed to be the son of the woman who broke up my marriage."

"He’s from Keldon, which isn’t exactly close. I need to know if he’s really her son. It’s crucial."

"What are their names?" Ethan Grant didn’t press for details, getting straight to the point.

Grace Winslow let out a small sigh of relief and gave Ethan Grant the names: Jason Dunn and Ivy White.

Ethan Grant looked surprised. "Jason Dunn?"

"Who told you he died in the line of duty?"

Grace Winslow’s mouth fell open. "Huh?"

"It’s quite a coincidence. I have an old army buddy who’s now in the Northwest Military Region, and Jason Dunn serves under him."

"A while back, he was on a very dangerous mission. Something went wrong, and no one from his team made it back. He was listed among them."

"The higher-ups searched for three months but couldn’t find anyone, so he was declared killed in action, and the news was sent to his hometown."

"But who would’ve guessed, not only did he survive, but by a stroke of luck, he managed to infiltrate the enemy’s ranks."

"The KIA notice had just been sent out and couldn’t be retracted before he managed to send back an encrypted message using a contact code."

"Thanks to that, they cracked a major case involving smuggled antiques and arrested a number of traffickers."

"He was awarded a Second-Class Merit for his role in it."

"The news is already out, so word should be reaching his hometown any day now."

Since this was all public information now, there was no reason for secrecy, so Ethan Grant told Grace Winslow everything.

Grace Winslow’s mouth hung open, and she was too stunned to speak.

’So, Jason Dunn isn’t dead?’

’And he might even be coming home a hero?’

She didn’t dare to imagine the look on Ivy White’s face when she found out.

’But in my past life...’

Grace Winslow’s brow furrowed.

’This never happened in my past life.’

’Or maybe it did happen...’

’...but the Dunn family, disgusted with Ivy White for being ’unclean’ and having a bastard child with another man, found it too shameful and deliberately kept the news from her.’

"Then do you know how many children Jason Dunn and Ivy White have?" Grace asked, recalling what Frank Dunn had said.

Ethan Grant shook his head. "That I don’t know. But it wouldn’t be hard to find out. We just need to ask around in Keldon. I happen to have a friend there, I’ll ask for you." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Thank you so much."

When the car reached the post office, they both got out.

Ethan Grant went to make a call to his friend, asking him to look into it.

Less than half an hour later, he had an answer.

Jason Dunn and Ivy White had been married for just under three years. The day after their wedding, Jason had left for his military post and hadn’t been back in those three years. They didn’t have any children.

"So that’s the situation," Ethan Grant said, relaying the information in full. "Why did you need to know this?"

Grace Winslow was lost in thought.

’So, everything Frank Dunn said was a lie.’

’But why would he lie?’

’What’s his motive?’

Grace’s mind instinctively jumped to the spies she’d seen in TV dramas in her past life—agents who forged new identities, went undercover, and then stole and transmitted state secrets.

’This Frank Dunn looks like he’s only seven or eight. Could he be a child spy, trained from a young age?’

"I see. Thank you," Grace said gratefully.

"I heard you were accepted into Crestwood University, Ms. Winslow. Congratulations." Ethan Grant smiled warmly, pulling a small, blue brocade box from his coat pocket and handing it to her. "This is a small gift for you. It’s nothing too valuable. I wish you a bright future."

Grace was taken aback and instinctively tried to refuse. "Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly accept a gift from you."

"You won’t accept? I thought we were friends, at least." Ethan Grant nudged the box forward again, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at her.

With a look of resignation, Grace accepted. "Well... thank you, then."

Having accepted his gift, Grace felt obliged to extend an invitation. "Would you like to come over for a bite to eat? Maybe a drink?"

This was exactly what Ethan Grant had been waiting for. "Alright. In that case, it would be rude to refuse."

They both got back in the car. As they drove, Grace was still pondering the matter of Frank Dunn.

’Francis Aldridge would never take in a child with an unknown background.’

’He would definitely investigate the boy’s background before trying to find him an adoptive family.’

’So isn’t he afraid of his lies being exposed?’

’If he’s truly not afraid of being found out, then there’s only one possibility: he’s fearless because he has some kind of backing.’

Grace’s eyes widened as a possibility struck her, and her heart began to race.