Not Quite Dead Yet
by Holly Jackson
Contents
Chapter 20
Overview
Jet confronts Sophia and forces an admission that Sophia has been refilling Scott Mason’s Lotrel capsules with salt for months to push him toward retirement and clear the way for Luke to inherit Mason Construction. Sophia begs Jet to keep it secret and threatens to expose Jet’s past with Billy Finney if Jet tells Luke, turning the sisters’ conflict into open blackmail.
Outside, Jet confronts Luke about his lies and his fixation on the company, then reveals Scott intends to sell Mason Construction to Nell Jankowski instead of giving it to Luke. Luke’s explosive fury exposes how high the stakes are for him and sharpens Jet’s suspicion around motive and deception on Halloween night.
Summary
Jet confronts Sophia in the kitchen during Cameron’s dinner, masking her anger with biting sarcasm. Jet deliberately ruins Sophia’s frosted birthday cake, then pointedly complains it tastes too salty, testing whether Sophia understands the implication.
Jet produces a yellow Lotrel capsule and accuses Sophia of emptying Scott Mason’s medication and refilling the capsules with salt, citing doorbell-camera footage that shows Sophia removing the bottle and returning about an hour later. Sophia stops denying it and admits she has been doing it for months, insisting she was not trying to kill Scott—only to make him “a little sicker” so he would finally retire and leave Mason Construction to Luke.
Jet presses Sophia on motives and on Halloween night, accusing Sophia and Luke of lying about being home together and asking where Sophia was at 10:46 p.m. Sophia claims she was home and insists Luke never left, refusing to give anything useful about Luke’s cuts or movements. Sophia also says Luke does not know about the pill tampering and begs Jet not to tell him; when Jet refuses, Sophia escalates by threatening to tell Billy Finney about “his mom” if Jet exposes her.
Furious, Jet storms out, yells at Sophia, and smashes the jack-o’-lantern on the porch to burn off her rage. Luke arrives home, and Jet climbs into his car to demand the employee list from Mason Construction, then confronts him about stalling and about his inconsistent story for Halloween night and his injured hands.
Jet shifts the conversation to Luke’s obsession with inheriting the company and warns him that Scott may need a kidney sooner because of “Lotrel and salt,” implicating Sophia without fully explaining. Jet then tells Luke the decisive new information: Scott is not planning to leave Mason Construction to Luke but to sell it to Nell Jankowski. Luke’s reaction is immediate, violent rage—screaming and punching the steering wheel until he reopens his scabs—while Jet walks away, leaving him behind still howling and blasting the horn.
Who Appears
- Jet MasonConfronts Sophia about the salt pills, then tests Luke’s motives and reveals Dad’s plan to sell.
- SophiaAdmits refilling Scott’s Lotrel with salt to push retirement; begs secrecy and threatens Jet with Billy.
- Luke MasonStonewalls about Halloween; admits the company is everything; erupts when told Scott will sell to Nell.
- CameronSophia and Luke’s baby; present during the confrontation, underscoring the domestic setting.
- Scott MasonJet’s father; victim of the prolonged salt poisoning intended to worsen his PKD and force retirement.
- Billy FinneyMentioned as Jet’s ally; Sophia threatens to tell him a secret about his mother.
- Nell JankowskiProspective buyer of Mason Construction; Jet’s reveal about her triggers Luke’s furious outburst.
- EmilyDead sibling referenced as the source of lifelong comparisons shaping Jet and Luke’s need to prove themselves.